History of the World

Intro §World § Campaign

Basic History • Expanded History • Religious History
Legends • Creation Myths • Legendary Figures • The Future


None know the true history of the world nor of how long it has existed, not even the Powers who fored it. The origins of Verise are shrouded in mystery and lost to the ravages of time and wars and the desire to people to destroy the history of the past to forge a brighter future. This has happened so often and completely that no record of the history of the world exists before the legendary Urmani Empire. Of the times before that, the people have myths, legends and ancient ruins. So many deities have been worshipped and died that, since long before the Urmani Empire rose and fell, people refer to godhood as a collective being known as the Prime God, or Pantheon to a few. The name came into common usage during the Alden Empire, which promoted the deity as few other lands have before or since, save perhaps the theocracy of Caresh. This being is impersonal and does not interfere in the lives of others unless Called by an Advocate of the Prime God or by simple desperation.

Basic Chronology

The chronology refers to one continent since the people are entirely unaware their are other continents, though some have suspicions there could be others. None have travelled off the continent since before the time of the Urmani Empire. This leads many to speculate that the continent/world is very large and that its coasts are rather inhospitable, or someone would have reach them and tried to sail across. Conspiritists claim that people have succeeded in sailing across -- whatever sailing might be -- it's just that the Evil Lands on the other side kill them. Such people are often politely ignored but the debate rages on as to whether they exist or not and, if so, what lies in those lands.

Urmani Empire 400 - 13 900 EY
The Sh'Deth Raiders form a land 10 453 EY - Present
The Colnorath founded 14 200 EY [1 CE]
Condrenus Founded 500 CE [I CA] - present
Dalran's Holt 300 - 1 200 CE
The Sunken Cities 900 - 1 400 CE
The Sarain Alliance 1 700 - 12 000 CE
Carel Damei 14 200 - 14 536 CE
Kelemi 20 - 581 NY
Kingdom of Ferela 430 - 9 451 NY
Gerel Dramdik 8 048 - 15 463 NY
Kingdom of Fera founded 12 345 - 25 339 NY
Kingdom of Sej founded 12 621 - 25 339 NY
The Period of Anarchy 15 470 - 22 179 NY [1 - 6810 LY]
Namdara 17 456 NY [1 BY] - present
Egaram settled 15 620 - 25 342 NY
Vreqi is first built 15 935 - 25 345 NY
Nation of Hr'Keth founded 15 969 - 23 263 NY [1 ET]
Keral founded 16 023 - 25 342 NY
Odal beings 16 045 - 25 342 NY
Laregal founded 16 753 - 25 343 NY
Tilcaldi 17 071 NY [ 31 107 CA] Present
Namtaga river trade begins 17 390 - 25 342 NY
Nural forms a government 19 024 - 25 342 NY
Mandor founded 19 445 - 25 337 NY
Sheken formed 20 329 - 25 342 NY
Caresh Province 21 452 - 25 342 NY
Amadai Alliance 25 342 NY [1 DAR] - Present
Dominion of Xarien 6 708 LY [1 TC] - 4 340 TC
Alden 4 235 TC [1 TH] - 14 621 TH
The Hr'Keth Empire 800 DAR [1 ET] - Present
Empire of Galrin 1 GY - 6 435 GY
Tarain 29 119 BY - present
Muldrac 9 972 DAR
Nation of Indar formed in north 32 429 BY [1 DT - 1 104 DT]

Present Time is 35 383 BY using Namdaran Time.
(or 27 497 DAR if one is from the Amadai Alliance)
(or 66 874 if one uses Condrenus Age time)
(or even 26 697 Empire Time, if one is from the Hr'Keth Empire)

BY Bright Year EY Empire Year
CA Condrenus Age GY Galrin Year
CE Cold Year (Ice Age) LY The Lost Years
DAR Day the Alliance Rose NY New Year
DT Indarian Time TC Taigen Calendar.
ET Empire Time TH Time of Honour

The Years from The Founding of The Colnorath to the Present

The Colnorath is considered year 1 because they have an accurate, as well as one of the oldest, calendars. Some advocate using the New Year calendar but dispute still rages as to when the ice age officially ended so this calendar is used for official dates when travelling out of a kingdoms lands in order to convey historical issues in their proper perspective.

Urmani Empire Began - 13 500 BTC
  Ended - 300 BTC
The Sh'Deth Raiders form a land 3 447 BTC - Present
The Colnorath founded 1 CT - Present
Dalran's Holt 300 CT - 1 200 CT
Condrenus founded 500 CT - Present
The Sunken Cities 900 CT - 1 400 CT
The Sarain Alliance 1 700 CT - 12 000 CT
Carel Damei 14 200 CT - 14 536 CT
Kelemi 14 556 CT - 15 117 CT
Kingdom of Ferela 14 966 CT - 23 987 CT
Gerel Dramdik 22 584 CT - 29 999 CT
Kingdom of Fera founded 26 881 CT - 39 877 CT
Kingdom of Sej founded 27 157 CT - 39 877 CT
The Period of Anarchy 30 006 CT - 36 715 CT
Namdara 31 992 CT - Present
Egaram settled 33 005 CT - 39 878 CT
Vreqi is first built 33 320 CT - 39 881 CT
Nation of Hr'Keth founded 33 384 CT - 40 678 CT
Keral founded 33 950 CT - 39 878 CT
Odal beings 33 972 CT - 39 878 CT
Laregal founded 34 670 CT - 39 879 CT
Tilcaldi 34 988 CT - Present
Namtaga river trade begins 35 307 CT - 39 878 CT
Nural forms a government 37 260 CT - 39 878 CT
Mandor founded 37 681 CT - 39 875 CT
Sheken formed 38 465 CT - 39 878 CT
Caresh Province 39 597 CT - 39 878 CT
Amadai Alliance 39 878 CT - Present
Dominion of Xarien 36 714 CT - 40 346 CT
Alden 40 259 CT - 48 880 CT
The Hr'Keth Empire 40 678 CT - Present
Empire of Galrin 48 880 CT - 55 315 CT
Muldrac 49 804 CT - Present
Tarain 61 111 CT - Present
The Nation of Indar 64 420 CT - 65 524 CT
Present time is 67 374 CT

BTC Before the Colnorath CT Colnorath Time


The Chronology Explained
Note that some of the events or nations described herein, such as the Twelve Towers of Carolian, are not in the timeline since no accurate rendition of their calendar system or precisely when they began and ended exists any longer. Many of the nations from the past are ones that went from kingdom to small holding and back to kingdom, often as a result of wars and such.

Urmani Empire: This Empire was made by a group of mostly human soldiers who had fled a demon unleashed on their army and made a stand in the southernmost Xarien Hills, called that even in those days. They managed to find a small hill and on that so their minor magical and psychic talents increased a hundred-fold and they were able to kill the demon. Dying, it swore that the empire would not live to see its 15 000thyear. This greatly startled the soldiers -- who had no idea there was going to be an empire in the first place -- but eventually word of their deed and the prophecy of the demon spread and people came to see them and train with them until the city of Urmani was born, named after the very demon the soldiers had killed.

They formed an Empire that was rather rare in history until that date, one that was founded by warriors but not on the principals of war. This nation prospered and eventually ruled almost all of the known world in its prime. How a nation not dedicated to war defeated the armies of the rest of the world at the time is unknown but some scholars suspect they simply starved the foes to submission. Succeeding rulers of this empire decided that they were the nation that would unite the world and to do this, the decided to destroy all the history until that point and begin the world from their time. They were remarkably thorough. All history before this time is based on hearsay, garbled legends, songs and secondary sources of information, i.e. no information linked directly to those times. Some say a few libraries survived this but the greatest of those that survived, the Hall of Learning, was destroyed during the fall of the nation of Alden. Many of the other books simply rotted away with few left to care for them and fewer to care about them.

The fall of Urmani occurred due to the coming of an ice age. During this turbulent time, the last Archivists of the nation decided that the past had been sinned against enough and attempted to destroy much of the history of Urmani itself as revenge for what it had done. They vowed that it would be forgotten as it had made others forgotten. Since the ice age ruined many of their cities the records recovered are very imprecise, none know how effective the Archivists were at destroying much of the history of that time. Some legends even claim they Called the ice age in an effort to aid the destruction of the empire or brought back the demon Urmani to destroy the more vital records.

The Sh'Deth Raiders form a land: These people are a branch of the eastern barbarians that decided to civilise themselves. Fed up with the realisation that the empire needed for the barbarians to become a part of a land was not the Urmani Empire, they decided the only recourse was for them to become this empire. In accord with a seer's vision, they built a civilisation far to the south, a city capable of surviving the cold years intact. However, an Event they had waited for failed to occur sometime during the beginning of the Time of Anarchy and as bitter penance they fled their cities for the surrounding lands and forswore civilisation.

Legends claim that the cities the Sh'Deth built have great power within them and knowledge from times before the Urmani Empire. Many have sought those treasures but the Sh'Deth, while reclusive and not prone to leave their lands, are very efficient warriors and refuse to allow any other into the cities they abandoned. Those who try are killed. This may seem like a fantastic claim since entire armies have attempted to claim a city, but the Sh'Deth possess one ability no other people do. Regardless of their race or limitations, the Sh'Deth possess the ability to manipulate magical energy constantly, as legends say the first magic was used. Unlike those times, the Sh'Deth do not use the magic all the time and can control it, relatively speaking. A Sh'Deth could destroy a person but not a small weapon, which shows the obvious limitations of such raw power. Most of them can ignore the practical limitations on magica nd simply will a spell to occur and the magic makes it happen. This has stopped many invading armies when needed and those with magic are literally smashed to the ground by the veritable flood of power a Sh'Deth can use. All of them apparently have this ability but few train in it and fewer still have anything resembling mastery of such strength. It has proven an effective aid at stopping foes, even though many feel it is too close to the old magics for comfort.

The Colnorath founded: This nation was founded in the ice age that doomed Urmani and has existed in varying sizes and forms ever since. The nation has never expanded under any situation that would lead to war with another nation and often draws its borders back for no apparent reason. Few areas have even been asked to join the Colnorath and none have ever declined such an offer. The mysterious rulers of this land are called the Shadow Mages and claim to have the blood of the Powers of the world and the Gods is mixed in each of them. That helps fuel the myth that they are immortal. The people keep to themselves and hold much knowledge and wisdom they keep as their own.

The founder of Colnorath was a gerisau female (at the time) known as Jerala. She died forcing the ice age back from some of this land so that a hope for the future after the ice age might remain. She gave the people her knowledge as one of the last with the blood of the Greater Mages and when the warm place she had made iced over as the rest of the world had, the people breathed a sigh of relief since the full ice meant the end of the actual ice age was nigh and her protective area no longer needed. Even today, that spot remains as a focus for Power and draws many people to it.

The Colnorath contains many gerisau, dwarves, humans and weres as well as any other who wishes to live there. The rulers know many old secrets and prophecies and are said to wait for the return of one with the blood of Power and God who will usher in a new age. They claim that Jerela once resurrected a man from death, in full health and without any aftereffects (such as seeing the dead or committing suicide or having no brain) and without necromancy. Jerela claimed that even among her kind, a half-greater mage, such strength was rare and its cost even higher since few had the love to accomplish such a thing and for those with great magical powers, love -- or any other strong emotion -- is often more curse than blessing. They claim that when another who is not a healer or necromancer and does not die raising the dead performs that deed, the world will once more be ready to witness wonder and a new age will dawn.

Dalran's Holt: This haven was founded by the orcs in a rare moment of true seriousness. Since they were generally being banned from other havens for their sense of humour and tendacy to fight ogres, they chose to make their own haven on top of the largest glacier they could find. Many elfs and humans eventually came into the Holt and it was eventually counted as a haven for any being who sought refuge from oppression or were cast out for any reason. Some other places tried to destroy the Holt through the years but the orc Dalran and his descendants were able to form amazing defences that stopped any and all assaults. They did such an effective job that eventually The Holt changed it's name to Dalran's Holt in honour of this family about 300 years after is was first founded.

The Holt was eventually destroyed by a freak avalanche that roared up the glacier towards the city and levelled it. Few managed to flee it in time and the orcs who can trace their families back to this place have high prestige. Scholars speculate that an alliance of other areas may have banded their power together to send the avalanche at the Holt but why is unknown save the fear of the unique and unknown that the Holt held. It may have been xenophobia but regardless what was left of the ice city melted and its secrets have been forgotten and lost to the ages since that time.

Condrenus founded: The hingari founded their land during the cold years so they could spend time apart from the other races and understand their obscure need to rule others and hopefully discover their past again. As far as anyone knows, they have failed. Their land survived the cold years, which in itself was a miracle, and with the coming of the sun again, the Hingari power over fire and light re-established itself. It is said they began expansion then, when many needed rulers and, some say, when there were fewer to oppose them. However, for reasons no longer remembered, they ceased their expansion abruptly almost one hundred years after Carel Damei fell. Their own legends say that they failed in "proper" ruling though none of those legends say what it is. The fact that Condrenus once ceded land of the Amadai Alliance seems to indicate that a government that barely existed is their ideal government and the Hingari monarchy have never approached this. To them, their failure is a sin and they pay for it by isolation. Even in the height of their land, when their currency was the height in the south, few could actually claim to have seen one save during a time of war when their power was needed. Many keepers are said to find it a sad fact that a race that once "walked and was the stars" according to their legends is now less than many others.

The Sunken Cities: These were a set of cities built by the dwarves and ogres underground and linked by many paths. They were a large trade organisation that eventually banded together for protective purposes. Eventually, the cities were unable to expand due to reaching too deeply into the worlds heart and disturbing things best left alone in those areas. However, their populations continued to expand and eventually the people resorted to cannibalism in order to stay alive. Their seclusionist views meant that few other peoples were aware the cities existed and by the time they fell, Dalran's Holt (which had been one of the few places to know of their location) had fallen and no one was able -- or willing -- to answer their pleas for aid until it was too late.

The cities were a marvel of architecture and caverns containing their relics can still be found. The disadvantage of this is some say the unquiet dead still roam the cities seeking food and sustenance to ease their craving for living flesh. The Caves of Tynic are one of the few remaining examples of one of their cities and the place is said to be haunted badly enough that few venture there. Ogres and dwarves still recall their designs with pride and both races formed a lasting friendship as a result of the sunken cities that fell into the earth when the ice melted. In recent years, this

Nurakari: This is a forgotten city, known once as the home of the orcs, ogres and others during the time of ice. Its exact span of time is unknown but during its height, the orcs and ogres officially went their separate ways and thus most of them did not remain when the city fell. For a dark god, the God of Sacrifice (He Whose Name Is Not Mentioned) claimed the city and his priests killed every inhabitant as a sacrifice to their God, that it might survive the cold years. Some claim the city exists somewhere in the far east, with ghosts and the dead roaming it and paying homage to their dark master. Orcs claim that the priests of that foul God still roam the world, the same priests who destroyed the fabled city of Nurakari since the priests sacrifice themselves to the God and it brings them back continuously. Ever since that age, the orcs and ogres have built few cities and none approaching the icy splendour that was Nurakari. The spirit of their races died there and until the city is found and the dead free, they refuse to advance artistically. Some among the other races would prefer this remain so, though the hingari find such dedication to the past very honourable, as do the dwarves.

The Sarain Alliance: The Sarain Alliance was an alliance of cities formed by the vampire Sarain. The shadow demons and vampires decided to make themselves truly useful since they were not as affected by the cold and formed this alliance in order to aid the races and as a very useful public relations manoeuvre. The cities were fairly far apart and had none close to trade with but the vampires were able to travel between them and give more aid than others and enhance trade that way. The shadow demons provided a very effective security force during the night and were at least partially accepted because of this. The cities eventually just drifted apart and petty wars and fears led to the alliance falling apart.

Realising that the alliance was finished, Sarain devoted himself to helping those who needed the aid he could give, being a very powerful ice mage at the time. He failed during a time of great need later on and as penance was bound to defending a city named El Dorado, far to the south in the Amadai Alliance. He was turned into stone and can only live again if summoned. He was bound by a now unknown power to watch the city as he once did his alliance so by acting (doing anything) he violates the rules of his being and risks true death. The problem is that the rulers of this country know this so after he awakens they try and fore him to act, unaware that their very forcing is what allows him to act. Of course, he in unaware of that also. Sarain is as hard as the stone he once was and, in essence, invulnerable and recalls little of the merging of magic and science that allowed him to become the guardian of this city.

Carel Damei: Known as the city of hope, this was the place where the ice age first began to weaken and people saw actual land again. It was just one small and insignificant city of little note till the people cried that the ice age was ending right there. They were then swamped with people since this was the first official mention that the ice age might actually end (or at least the first with proof). The Colnorath had known the cold years were fading but decided to wait and let another city or nation reveal this. As a result they blame themselves to some extent for the mobs that descended on Carel Damei and quickly overpopulated the city and, in one wild night of celebration, broke it into pieces. The people eventually rebuilt it but found themselves unable to cope with the world after the ice age faded and the city died away into become a ghost town, destroyed by the hope it represented and the desires of others. Just once more testament to the foolishness of the races and lost as the others have been lost. The Colnorath will aid any descendant of these lands as payment for their crime of not giving aid when they were honour bound by Jerala herself to.

Kelemi: This was the first actual nation formed after the ice age was officially over. This nation is noted only for bringing trade (and therefore civilisation) back into the world on a large scale. The ascendancy of Kelemi also heralded an increase in literacy and schooling and a concerted attempt to recover the knowledge lost to the cold years. Other than that, Kelemi was known as one of the first nations conquered by Ferela and was eventually consumed by other nations and its people scattered. Quite a few merchants claim descendance from these, the "true merchants," as they call the folk of Kelemi, and bitterly mourn that the importance of their trade has fallen so far since that glorious time.

Kingdom of Ferela: This kingdom was named after the viscous human warrior who founded it. Ferela, using the methods of empires lost before Urmani, simply conquered each small kingdom it faced until it was an Empire that reminded people of the old days, though not in a good way. Some say it was a sign that the first Empire formed after the Cold Years should be such a tyrannical and brutal regime. Feral and her descendants, both human and otherwise, ruled coldly and without any mercy. Unlike most of its predecessors, the Kingdom of Ferela was not overthrown by a revolt but fell because of an inadequate messenger service. (The messengers were eaten by things left over from the cold years more often than not and consequently had a two year lifespan.) This lack of cohesion led some protectorates to succeed in rebellion and the whole empire eventually fell into squabbling little states since by the time the capital got word of each rebellion, they were at least a year over.

The Twelve Towers of Carolian are built: These towers were built by the nation of Carolian at the beginning of its rise to power and served as a centre of learning and knowledge for much of the far southern lands. When the ice form the cold years shrunk, pulling away to the north and going further south, the nation was once again frozen for a time and lost in myth. Even if it survived, the far southern ice wall is practically impassable and thus the nation can no longer be reached. However, in its time it was a centre of knowledge and power that even Ferela left well enough alone. Its decline and demise were sudden enough that it is still remembered and has assumed near mythical proportions. Some claim that the mage keep in Tilcaldi was the outermost of the twelve towers, which were said to have been formed by power alone, the stone and crystal created by magical energy in adherence with now-lost methods of creation that faded soon after the towers were built. Whether the towers deliberately suppressed the knowledge (which seems historically unlikely) or the architect simply lost the method is unknown. However, no other structures have been found, though some are reputed to be in Terra Australis Ignota and minor attempts at equalling the Twelve Towers are said to exist in the Colnorath. Not even the famed elfin architect Lamar, who's near-impervious wall protected the Empire of Galrin for many years, dared to try and make an equivalent to them. Some claim the Towers could not be destroyed by any means and others that they existed as dream brought into reality, a feat in itself, but were no more real than mist, which would explain how may legends recount them as vastly different. Darker tales hold that the magical energy that made them was drained in latter years in an attempt to halt the ice but it failed and since the Towers were essentially the heart and pride of the nation, Carolian died in truth even if the ice did not entirely claim it.

Gerel Dramdik: The "Kingdom of Weak War" (as it translated into modern tongues) existed by allowing rivals, such as the Kingdom of Ferela, to fight themselves into extinction before conquering them. Gerel Dramdik expanded very slowly and only when success seemed assured, though they did use assassination and causing riots to help make success assured. One of the rulers, Hevaren the VII, eventually got sick of their cowardly ways and, killing all his family, assumed the throne. His first act was to declare an actual war against its northern neighbour, The Colnorath. The assault failed miserably, the magical and psychic talents of the people of Gerel apparently being unable to work in Colnorath. None knew why this was so but regardless Hevaren decided the old way of expansion was much better. The army returned to find the kingdom in rubble. A barbarian force from the east had come while they were away and killed most of the women and children. The nation never recovered after this and the king was quickly deposed. However, the lack of royal blood led to succession after succession determined by war alone and the kingdom soon fell into anarchy, dragging much of the civilised world that was beginning to bloom with it.

Kingdom of Fera founded: While Gerel Dramdik expanded in much of the eastern lands, Fera was founded in the south west, near the Great Desert. Of course, the desert had not expanded to its present size then but the choice for Fera was still odd, save that it was far away from other wars. Some claim a special mine or place of power existed near the spot but this has never been proven. The monarchy ruled well and wisely save that one of the princes decided he wanted the throne, even though his sister held it since she was first born. Anger led him to rebel and as a result, he headed further east and established his own kingdom when his rebellion attempt failed.

Kingdom of Sej founded: This kingdom was founded by the rebellious brother who left Fera. Both kingdoms were at war for many years since as the great Desert expanded, Fera was forced to expand into lands claimed by Sej and the old rivalries turned into armed conflict. For millennia, the borders literally bled as both nations fought a ceaseless battle against each other until the nation of Mandor approached them with the idea of the Amadai Alliance. Fera, eager to end the bloodshed, offered to marry eldest child with eldest child and Sej agreed, seeing no other way to gain inclusion into the alliance as well as end the feud that was simply making both nations prey to attacks from smaller nations.

The Holy Lands: This period, according to Colnorath records, is roughly when the Holy Lands first became prominent after the Time of Ice. Though known by a different name then, this areas has often been a focus for those who worship gods other than the Prime God, though no one today knows why this is so. This locus has sustained many Gods when belief began to wane in them but has diminished throughout the years. Such wells of belief, as this area once was, can only be caused by the sacrifice of a very powerful God. These lands whethered the Period of Anarchy simply because their is very little in the north that anyone wants, and to attack the Holy Lands means one now shares borders with the Colnorath, a nation no one wishes to aggravate. This area ceased to be the power it once was approximately when Namdara was first settled. Then, with the rise of Alden, the other Gods were banished so that this area eventually became their last refuge. Alden was in the process of relenting the extremism of their dedication to the Prime God since they realised that they were to some extent murdering the other Gods, but the Empire of Galrin rose to power before they could act. Some among the Holy lands claim that evil Advocates of the Prime God had no wish to see their God's power diminished and arranged the fall of Alden so that they would lose no strength. The advocates deny this, though they do refuse to allow the other Gods out of the Holy Lands without a war, a war those people can ill afford to fight sine each death will weaken at least one God.

The Period of Anarchy: This was a rare period when not even one of the nations was able to attain dominance over any significant amount of area in the lands south of the Colnorath and north of Condrenus. Those nations were whole but had no wish to expand. The eastern barbarians were able to gain a fair amount of land but they had no wish to form any kind of empire. Near the end of this time, small nations began to band together in trade and for mutual protection but it was some time before an actual nation arose from this. Some say that the last flicker of Carel Damei tried to recapture civilisation as they had once before but failed miserably and was lost for good. This time is almost an anti-renaissance in that no one is exactly sure when it started of when it ended but most agree that the Xarien Empire occurred not long after the chaos of anarchy begun to subside and the eastern barbarians were being driven out of the newly re-civilised lands again. Many of what were to become the worlds great nations were founded during this time but none of them rose to prominence until after the period began to end and nations stabilise.

Namdara: This nation was founded in the central lands, in an area where magical abilities have always been weaker and psychic powers very rare. Wars were decided on skill rather than some magical ability until long after the Period of Anarchy ended since few were trained well enough in these powers during that time to pose a significant threat. Namdara expanded slowly, making each nation part of it so that it was one nation, with no protectorates or allied states, a factor they assumed had led to the fall of other nations. Around the time Alden began to fall, the kings of Namdara began to wish for larger expansion, expansions they could see in their own lifetime, and thus got greedy and felt invulnerable. They expanded as far north as they dared without encountering Galrin. When Galrin began to expand southward, both nations clashed. Namdara began to consider retreat when five tribes of the eastern barbarians offered to join their army. Galrin was forced back and eventually fled, destroyed a portion of the army with their deaths and ending their Empire. Namdara is generally considered the worlds largest nation and most look to it for cultural and intellectual guidance, even if they do it reluctantly. Namdara has rarely been a focus for arts and crafts, especially not with competition from the Amadai Alliance in more modern times.

Egaram settled: The land of Egaram was first settled during the Period of Anarchy for a wide variety of reasons. It has always been very good land for farming and the presence of the Namtaga river only accentuated this. Cities are a relatively new addition to this land since they wee not needed for many years due to the farmers' protecting their own lands. It was not until the ending of the Period of Anarchy that any one ruler dominated this area. Succeeding years led to a monarchy with two branches, both with equal claim to the throne (due to inbreeding and a few bastard children along the way) led to two different kings ruling the land at the same time. Few other lands have been able to equal this system and all others who have tried it have failed. Abuse of privileges was met with very painful torture and death and the nobility is given to special treatment when incarcerated or for most other reasons. The nobility basically has more privileges but fewer perks to go with them. The largest benefit of nobility is that they gain tax breaks, have a lot of land and often have guards trained by the kings as well as a personal valet who is very good at defending them from assassins, among other things. Nobility often are given special tax rates with regards to the importing of food and animals and have an almost exclusive right to the buying and riding of horses military and pleasure horses. The politics involved in a dual kingship are too complex to get into here.

Vreqi is first built: The town that would eventually become the city of Vreqi was founded by villagers who were fleeing a war to the to the far south of them. They eventually stumbled into an area of Power that was The Square. The guardian spirit of this place proved no match for their presence since it was old and weary. Instead, it begged them to take its place and preserve The Square against intrusion. The villagers agreed and built their village around that old place. It was not long before the an army decided to pillage the village on their way to a battle. The villagers happened to have a mage, Vreqi, whose primary skills lay in teleportation and transmutation spells. Vreqi simply sent the army far away -- possibly even into another reality. In recognition of this and other deeds, such as moving The Square and village on occasion, the village was renamed in his honour. Succeeding apprentices and mages were also well versed in these spells until it became the most common type in Vreqi as well as being used the most creatively by these people.

The village was eventually expanded into a large city. Various battles, especially with those who wished possession of The Square, led to it being decimated fairly often and its trading alliances often faltered when the city simply ceased to exist on occasion due to having been moved or was burning after a battle with fire mages or the like. It was not until other nations became stronger and had stable borders that Vreqi finally became a land in its own right. It joined the Amadai Alliance roughly five hundred years after the alliance began since the Amadia Alliance would provide added protection for The Square as well as aid against invasion of said place. The people of Vreqi have never lost in their long defence of that place of power, though many forces often tried to claim it for their own. Even Powers, it is said, have been forced away from that place. Only a select few are allowed to tread the square unguarded and fewer to use its powers. The people of Vreqi are known to use any means, fair or foul, in order to fulfil their long ago pledge of guardianship. The fact that they have succeeded this long is tribute to cunning, power, and suicidal courage. The nation is considered the equal to others though if not for its entrance into the Amadai Alliance it would be a minor kingdom at best. Vreqi is well aware of this fact and thus are very loyal to the alliance.

Nation of Hr'Keth founded: The nation of Hr'Keth was founded after much of the far east had already been ruined by war. A few farmers and soldiers decided to remain in that land since it would likely recover before the other southern areas did. It was a hard living, in lands that had been salted and eroded, but they managed to prosper enough so that they formed a very small nation, named after the first plant they had been able to grow successfully. When sprouts began to wilt, the people took it as a sign and prepared for war as the armies that had been fighting began to come back in their direction. Hr'Keth met them with steel and grim resolve until no more armies came that way, save to ask for land. Hr'Keth quickly agreed since they had no true claim to land outside their borders, and their nation became very large as the Period of Anarchy came to a close. However, the land was still resistant to planting and, in order to combat against a lower standard of living, slavery became common.

The necessity of some people having done so much work but wanting to live better than others led to slavery, if only indirectly. Children not seen as fast learners were not taught to read and those who were physically weak or ugly were not taught to fight or given a choice of nice wives, for in Hr'Keth a man chooses his wife, though some think it is really the other way around. Eventually, the lesser people were fed less food which seemed logical since their was little food to be had. Yet when circumstances changed and there was enough food, the lesser were still fed less since the "normal" people needed more food in order to rule effectively. The absurdities of this led to a revolt five hundred years before Hr'Keth became an empire. The revolt succeeded, partially due to strong magic among the lesser people as well as support from may of the common folk and among some noble families. When Hr'Keth became an official empire, slavery was outlawed though it was to some extent practised by many. This led to Hr'Keth abandoning the empire it had formed in recent years and Hr'ketih itself is now almost as weak as it was when first formed, since there are few lands to trade with not blocked by the Empire and it has a population almost too large for the agricultural base to support it. Some say they are looking for war now, if only to reduce their population.

Keral founded: Keral was formed out of the union of two small nations and became one of the worlds true democracies since the cold years. The original land was governed very well, with each person having an equal say as to whom got into office or what they did. But a rising population and manipulation of the electoral process eventually led to many different changes. Corruption became more and more common until, in a mere two thousand years, Keral had ceased being recognisable as a democratic country and was little more than a large crime-ridden wasteland. Desperate to preserve the nation, the people rebelled and many of the high ranking public officials and criminals (the words often being interchangable anyway) were killed. In an effort to keep the people placated, the government focused itself on a war with Odal that lasted well into the creation of the Amadai Alliance. Since the war with Odal began, Keral has had regular fluctuations of corruption and good rule, though the corruption has outweighed the good ruling since it is done "for the good of the people" and to "stop them evil of Odal." As a result, the nation becomes more and more corrupt as time passes until the present time is reached, wherein ignorance of anything political is fatal and those who do not play the game are those who are dead.

Odal beings: This nation was founded due to very fertile lands as well as have many expansive mines left over from other nations that had once inhabited that land. The people quickly formed a socialist government, much to the dismay of Keral, and the system ran itself very effectively. The rulers of Odal saw the disgust of Keral as a slight and sent the daughter of their ruling class to try and avert an unnecessary war. While travelling through Keral, she and the Keral guards were killed by bandits, though some whispered that the Keral government was behind it. Odal automatically declared a war with Keral. Since that time, the two nations have been at each others throats, both in matters of war and trade. Few nations have ever gotten the support of both the nations openly since their foreign policy is often to be friends with the enemy of the other nation. Due to the difficulties associated with Keral after its government was first demolished by the people, both nations have thrown themselves entirely into their war. While Keral has better diplomats, Odal is well known for the fact that the people are very stubborn and obey orders. Their warriors will lead suicidal charges for the good of the country and they also have few problems with doing more than the are required. It is not that they are walking servants, just that they realise someone has to do the job at hand and they see no reason why it should not be them. Besides making the people very good at fighting for themselves and reducing the number of servants (good for any travelling army) it also reduces their reliance on local farmers for food. As a result, the armies of Odal -- while not known for their brilliance or unique attacks -- are known for rarely damaging the land they pass through as well as being very courteous to their foes. It is said that if they had a general who was a good tactician, they could have defeated Keral with ease. While not entirely true, it is a fact that their army could hold its own against the rest of the Amadai Alliance for a time, though not forever -- which is the main reason Odal joined the alliance.

Laregal founded: The province that was to become Laregal was founded on a defensible hill south of the other lands that were forming. The area proved to have hot springs and was very defensible against attacks since it was riddled with caverns. The city was founded by a blacksmith who had been disgusted with governmental controls in the city he had come from and decided to found a governmnent without any power, one that directly relied on the people. He founded a monarchy that could only gain money through donations from the people. Surprisingly, the government made it through its first hundred years and began to grow as the wealth of metals and other ores were found in the area. Many other smiths began to come to that area and it grew into a thriving place for various trading. It soon expanded into a nation and prospered for some time. However, economic disparities soon led to difficulties in rulers being able to gather enough funds to manage the kingdom and it went through many upheavals before becoming part of the Amadai Alliance. New rulers became common every year as old ones lacked the funding to remain in power and rule effectively. The decision to join the Alliance was partially due to the fact that the nations nearby had joined or were considering it as well as the fact that it would help end the political upheaval that was in danger of destroying the nations credibility and, more importantly, its trade. A decrease in immigration has occurred since that time, though it has been attracted people slowly in more modern times as its system of government has survived various other recessions without that original ruler-a-year dilemma. During the past thousand years, most of the rulers have been in power for a minimum of twenty years, a sure sign of stability and the nation is showing strong signs of prospering in the coming years.

Tilcaldi: This nations was founded in the remains of a far southern land known as Carolian and is said to have retained as much knowledge of that lost time as any have. A group of mages managed to enter the tower and subdue its energies to make habitation of the local area possible. Continued reliance on them for aid and help in harvest in as well as defence led to them becoming rulers of that area almost by default. The mages ran their own lives and took very little in the way to taxes reasoning that the if the people wanted to fix the roads, they would. This system proved to work very well and the people essentially only went to the mages for help regarding wars, some trials of criminals and other deeds. Over time, the mages have become the official rulers while each village and city decides how to run itself. Due to the nature of rule by mages, Tilcaldi has had few invasion attempts in the past, but those have been brutal "kill evil mages" fanatics that sometimes came close to decimating the nation. Muldrac holds quite a few of those sort though the faction has not tried an invasion in over four thousand years.

Namtaga River trade begins: Enough stable nations begin forming that trade with them along the Namtaga river, as well as the eventual creation of the land of Namtaga, becomes a reality. The river becomes the centre of trade and has continued with this since. Due to its trade importance, pollution of the river is a crime in every land it touches and strictly enforced. No one nation has ever controlled the entire river system and none have attempted to since a small nation whose name is not recalled made the attempt and was forced to cease by the combined might of the kingdom of Namtaga, Condrenus and Tilcaldi. The waste made of that land convinced everyone to leave the river well enough alone. In recent times, the nation of Muldrac has tried to poison the river to weaken the south-most states but the plots have all failed, even though none pointed directly to Muldrac itself. Muldrac is said to have tried an alliance with Randekal and Xaldar to poison the river and lake completely but the werewolfs of Xaldar would not wish to see any part of nature harmed that severely and Randekal has no liking for political suicide -- despite appearances to the contrary.

Nural forms a government: The nation of Nural was founded entirely by accident. A very wealthy noble stumbled upon an ancient dagger and sold it to a mage for many favours as well as coin. Eventually this Nural bought prime land and conquered more in an effort to keep himself from being bored. The village he ruled expanded and, almost of its own violation, became a nation. Nural instituted the system of government that has survived, with the addition os a more diverse board of advisors, since it was founded. Nural made enough off selling the dagger to keep the nation without taxes for over one thousand years, a factor that helped greatly to facilitate its growth. Succeeding rulers have shared his luck and seem to stumble over items of power and wealth with disturbing regularity, though they cannot do it whenever they want to. (Or so most think.) The people are very diplomatic and friendly as well as despising war as a waste of time and resources. Nural only fights when directly threatened or due to blood feuds and they generally arrange a compromise before things get worse. Surprisingly, no thief has ever been able to penetrate the home mansion -- it is not well fortified enough to be called a castle -- and no thief has ever robbed it. Some claim this is because the long ago mage Nural was paid by protected it very well and others that the magically endowed members of the Nural line are very nasty to would-be thieves. Regardless, no self-respecting Nural thief would ever dream of robbing the royal family and foreign thieves rarely wish to die. Enough "princes of thieves" have tried and failed to rob it that most just leave well enough alone.

Mandor founded: Mandor was founded by warrior merchants who were setting up a stopover for their caravan trade. In order to not anger the other nations in the vicinity, they remained neutral in all wars and political as well as economic, social, cultural and practically any other issue regarding the world. Some have gone as far as to claim they are neutrality incarnate, but the people of Mandor merely laugh and say: "Increase your taxes against only us and you will see how neutral we are not." Nations taking them up on that challenge soon find trade to their nation declining very rapidly since the merchants of Mandor have a very wide network of contacts and "friends" who can ensure the nation suffers. This also convinces many not to war on them, even though Mandor has never used those tactics on anyone attacking it. The potential of it is generally a sufficient deterrent.

Mandor founded the Amadai Alliance primarily out of defensive reasons and also because they saw no reason for it to not exist. Due to their reputation for neutrality, many nations decided to join in rapid succession. Mandorians knew precisely which nations would, ideologically or politically, ensure that another nations would join and was very quick at convincing Fera and Sej to join as well as many of the surrounding nations. The last to join was Vreqi, namely because the people prided themselves on their independence and because until then The Alliance was refusing to make it part of the joining that none be allowed in The Square of Vreqi. Once Mandor begun the Alliance, it made sure it did not prosper any more than the other nations and as a result the Amadai Alliance has continued until this day.

Sheken formed: This nation was founded due to the strategic location of valuable mines found abandoned for unknown reasons. It originally started out as a monarchy but failed since only the original family could rule, and they died out. Two girls and one boy were the heirs, and all of them had a preference for their own sex to the point that they could not interact with the opposite sex to produce a child. The king had other children, bastards he tried to claim were legitimate, but failed and as the monarchy began to fall he killed his children for their crimes. The bodies were so mutilated when others found them and tortured in very disturbing ways. This fact prevented the reformation of the monarchy at a later date since the king had been deemed insane for his actions, however much people agreed with them. To replace the government, a temporary military government formed than eventually degenerated into a tyranny of epic proportions. The government refused to except any form of dissension from the laws and rules that bound the people and all insurrections (including, at one time, not walking on the sunny side of the road) were punished with immediate death, even if the ruler broke them. The military never accept bribes, are hard to sway from their duty even by means of bindings and will kill anyone who breaks the rules, including their fellows in the army and themselves. The only danger the nation has from within is a statue of unknown origin in the city of Eldorado that is said to defend the city in times of greatest peril. Since it didn't defend it when it was damaged severely many years ago, most think it will not act. The few people of Eldorado who suspect what the statue is think it will act when the spirit that makes Eldorado, the willingness of the people to fight or they are about to be exterminated. Given the rulers of Sheken, that could be very soon.

Caresh Province: The Advocates of the Prime God founded the nation of Caresh in order to ensure that the advocates continued. After less than 200 hundred years, they realised they had failed since the people had lost their respect for the Advocates as the Advocates lost their mystique in this land. They quickly decided to join the Amadai Alliance when it offered since it gave the Advocates a broader base to draw recruits from and because the Alliance would have attacked them eventually and if the Advocates had fought and destroyed the armies sent against Caresh -- which would have been inevitable -- their reputation the world over would have been irreparably damaged. The Advocates only give aid when requested and Caresh is easily the most isolated on the Alliance members due to their indifference regarding the rest of the world. They Advocates have also made it clear to the rest of their allies that they will not go to war for any nation or cause, but the mere threat of the massed power of the Prime God gives other rulers nightmares. Currently, the Advocates generally have a council set up to rule the land that has advisors picked from different areas of the land to aid them. Due to Advocate preoccupation with their primary duties, the advisory council effectively rules the nation, though its members are very careful not to do anything overt to call down the wrath of the Prim God on themselves. Most observers consider such a tightrope too risky to walk and many have refused positions to the council as a result.

Amadai Alliance: This Amadai Alliance was founded by the nation of Mandor and prospered such that within a mere hundred years the nations around it were not only founding members, but also willing to sign many mutual defence pacts to that effect. If not for the diplomacy and neutrality of Mandor, the Alliance would most likely have crumbled after the first three hundred years but now almost all the nations have very good reasons for wanting to see the Alliance prosper, though there are continuing debates over whether it should even try to expand. Due to the conflicts among its members and the nearness of the once powerful Hr'Keth Empire, the Amadai Alliance has not wielded the historical power it could have. This is slowly changing as the Hr'Keth Empire crumbles and Namdara is embroiled in its own troubles so that its southern influence is diminishing. However, the nation of Condrenus is showing signs of trying to become a southern power once more, and both groups are having The Silent War (also known as diplomacy) as a result.

Dominion of Xarien: This time is when the dwarves formed their ownm empire. The dwarves were united under one dwarf (known as Taigen) and "forced" the barbarians back into the east as well as united much of the northern peoples for a time. This race decided to turn Taigen into almost an honourary god, both as an honour and as a standard they must all live up to. Almost all historical works refer to them as Taigen's dwarves -- or even taigen -- now. Upon realising this, the Gerisau contemplated changing the name of their race into a few interesting curse words but decided against it. The reclusive nature of the dwarves led them to remain in their hills more often than not so the nation they formed simply ran itself. Then one of the nations decided it had taken enough of this token rule and made war on the dwarves. Galrin failed in its act of rebellion but this act forced then dwarves to take an active part in ruling the lands. Eventually, they simple gave up and announced the end of their rule claiming to be sick and tired of monitoring petty disputes. Most of the nation collapsed during the retreat of the nation and some people have never forgiven the dwarves for this "betrayal." The dwarves did not entirely disband the Dominion of Xarien since they still go by its calendar and laws but for the most part it is a historical oddity. During he pandemonium that followed another nation rose to power.

The Hr'Keth Empire: This empire rose form the nation of Hr'Keth, a small nation founded by a group of farmers and warriors fleeing the western battles during the period of anarchy. The empire itself was founded on the premise of rapid expansion at a speed that would leave other nations incapable of quick response, aided by the fact that others settling near their lands asked for permission to, thinking Hr'Keth ruled those lands also. Thus they were able to coerce those small kingdoms into their empire with relative ease and expand much faster. Their success did, however, lead to various rebellions, with were suppressed ruthlessly and messily. However, those injustices became common to friend as well as foe as that idea becomes ingrained in the army and began to affect the social order of Hr'Keth and justice itself became the exception and not the rule. Various monarchies became more tyrannical as it fought to keep the empire together and people fell away as the fear of the rulers became more common. In an effort to help hold the lands, nobility began to follow the path the rulers led them on and death became a constant.

The original nation of Hr'Keth broke away from the evils it had spawned and many other small kingdoms began to follow. In anger, the new capital attacked Hr'Keth and, after seven hundred years, managed to destroy the capital of the old nation and raze it to the ground. However, that place had been regarded by the rest of the world as the capital of the empire regardless and many began to ignore the ambassadors of the "new" empire and the empire's downfall truly began. In the three thousand years since the old capital was sacked, the empire has crumbled into civil wars and petty disputes until it has become a mockery of what it was. Only a brief spark of the fire remains, and some seers claim that it shall burn again. They only differ as to whether the nation will consume itself or take others with it as its sun sets for the final time.

Alden: This nation was formed by four elven healers who wished to restore the concept of honour to the people of the world and thus make a statement about the western lands they had come from and the ruins and lies that existed in those dark lands. Alden pioneered many customs still in effect in some places, such as wearing your sword strapped to your back and touching open hands or fingers together as a sign of greeting. Sadly, nearly all of these customs were corrupted by its successor, the Empire of Galrin, with a maliciousness that astounds many historians. The disadvantage of Alden was that the people of the nation could not quite understand dishonour. Crime was unknown since if you stole, you had a good reason (i.e. if you take another's food or clothing, you must be hungry or cold) but eventually this blind ignorance of crime was stopped by the first Philosopher-King, Ariand. He formed a very sophisticated government based on philosophical principals, idealism, and the pragmatism of the Lords who advised him. However, one of the cities, Galrin, had been doing very well for itself when crime was ignored and the rulers of that city got angry enough to stage a war. They recruited the eastern barbarians and sent them against the Alden army which, while well-trained, was no match for the sheer number of foes they faced. Alden then fell and a brief age of glory died with it.

The Empire of Galrin: The denizens of Galrin then killed the barbarians who had lost much for their fighting force during the battle and declared their land a new kingdom. Since few other cities had a standing army of any size, Galrin became an empire almost by default. The dwarves, who had been nominal participants in Alden, were unaware of this change and an army of Galrin was allowed into their hills wearing the badges of Alden. The dwarves were then captured and forced into slavery as revenge for crushing Galrin when it had tried to rebel against the Xarien Empire. It was during this time that magical abilities began to stabilise again and return to their strength before the ice age in lands further south that the Colnorath. The dwarves used their talents to free themselves and the other prisoners and ever since then their magics have been much stronger when used in the cause of freedom. The army of Galrin marched on them but from the deep south another empire was coming north, the nation known as Namdara.

Desperate to stop a war on two fronts, Galrin recalled its armies and ordered the elf Lamar to build a protective wall to stop the invasion. The wall built was the strongest substance the world has ever seen and not even mages make ever been able to break much of it. The army of Namdara simply chose to walk around it and braved the ancient, killing Fog that pervaded those lands. Some say that the folks of The Colnorath gave them aid in avoiding the Fog but both nations deny this. However, the fact that the Colnorath aided the dwarves in defence against Galrin is indisputable and startled many. The mere fact that the reclusive nation of secrets and lost knowledge was acting in the world -- and against them -- frightened Galrin more than anything. When they realised that a war on at least three fronts was impossible, they began to plan a retreat to defy all retreats. They knew that even if they won, the eastern barbarians would come again while they were weak and most assuredly destroy their nation. As a result, the citizens of the city of Galrin gather together in prayer and gave up their lives to form a spell cast by their mages that reduced much of the army of Namdara to bones and dust as well as creating much of the Wasting. Thus passed an age, and few mourned its loss.

Tarain: These people broke off from Namdara when it began to devour the remains of Galrin, seeking to return to the old ways of slow expansion. So far, both nations are at a strange sort of peace, though border disputes occur at least once a year over the fact that a way through the Western Ruins may exist through Tarain and the disputes have begun to get ugly during the past four hundred years. Tarain considers it sick that Namdara "forced" the citizens of Galrin to kill themselves to end a war. The constant disputes with Namdara have led to much ill will. Tarain also embraces the use of magic, while Namdara still holds it antiquated notion that such Power is unnecessary and, in some ways, evil.

Muldrac: The nation of Muldrac was founded by generals who felt that the discipline of the Hr'Keth Empire was lax an that it would soon fall. They were right, but it took longer than they anticipated. However, they exiled themselves and determined to establish their own nation. At the time, the lands between Xaldar and Crater Lake held only small nations and villages and proved easy to invade and manipulate, especially when the generals showed a proclivity to hiring very unethical mages to aid them in their quest. They quickly established a military totalitarian state with very rigid laws and mandatory service in the army. Since that time, the nation has grown to become a very powerful force and some expect its influence reaches far into what remains of the Hr'Keth Empire. In order to keep such a system running effectively, propaganda and an ignorant population are a must and have been used very effectively throughout the years. the people fight like demons when invaded and fight even harder when attaching, mainly so that the war will be over soon and they can return home without fearing the evil land will send soldiers to rape their children and wives. Intelligent people are subjected to rigorous conditioning and serve the land in higher ranks. The ruling generals have proven themselves very adept at sensing spies and assassins and have survived through many such attacks, even one that once levelled the palace, which was sent by the Condrenus, whose Hingari rulers find the very existence of Muldrac a blight on the world.

The Free States rebel: This event occurred when parts of what remained of the Hr'Keth Empire decided to secede from it and became small nations unto their own. However, in their attempt to be free of the evils of government, they have descended into almost total anarchy and, except in matters of defence, are nations in name only. Each city rule itself and some have attacked other cities for trying to bring government back to the people. Since they have proven to be very capable fighters if attacked, most nations prefer to leave them alone.

Nation of Indar: This nation was rather famous for the fact that it refuted war as evil. The soldiers of the nation, while seen as a vital need, were reviled as killers. "What Is a veteran but another dead body and what is war but a means of filling up graveyards?" were the words of Felden, a philosopher of Indar. He realised wars' necessity but could not condone it and that was the eventual attitude of Indar. Many warriors became very angry with this since they were doing more to protect the nation that the courtiers who hung around the court bemoaning the evil of war. They argued that just because war is evil it does not mean those who fight the war are evil and were met with the argument that if use do an evil act that you are evil and that the means -- the soldiers -- just become the end -- killing -- and cannot even pretend to be nothing but evil. Of course, since they were evil, that made the crown that ordered them to kill also guilty by association, an argument that shamed many. The end result of this was a civil war that wracked the nation for three years until it collapsed into four separate land, Burgen, Falket, Murstai and Samdar.

Recent Historical Events of Note (Largely centered on Outer Namdara)

Randekal founded 25 943 BY
Zandaran founded 26 345 BY
Xaldar founded 26 342 BY
Kensel founded 27 435 BY
Welde founded 27 943 BY
Founding of Tarain 29 119 BY
The Free States rebel 21 722 DAR [20 922 EY] [29 608 BY]
Namdara and Tarain wars begin 30 438 BY
City of Amanse founded 31 841 BY
Namdara finishes outer expansion 32 345 BY
Nation of Indar formed in north 32 429 BY [1 DT]
City of Fordun founded 32 765 BY [337 DT]
Indar experiences civil war 33 531 BY [1 101 DT]
Falket separates from Indar 33 533 BY [1 102 DT]
Burgen separates from Indar 33 534 BY [1 103 DT]
Indar collapses 33 535 BY [1 104 DT]
Murstai and Samdar also formed 33 536 BY [1 105 DT]
The four northern nations war 33 542 BY [1 111 DT]
General peace declared in Durlan/Indar 33 740 BY [1 309 DT]
Tarain builds Burnbroke 33 815 BY [1 384 DT]
War begins with Murstai and Falket 33 867 BY [1 436 DT]
Lon Watch built 34 034 BY [1 693 DT]
The Old Keep opened again 34 231 BY [1 836 DT]
City of Maldor founded 34 462 BY [2 067 DT]
City of Zarith founded 34 529 BY [2 134 DT]
The Collective forms 34 583 BY
Colmdë joins Falket permanently 34 649 BY [2 254 DT]
Zarith and Tarain agree to no wars 34 650 BY [2 255 DT]
Graidt defeats large Tarain force 34 720 BY [2 325 DT]
Murstai "attacks" Darkan and fails 34 742 BY [2 347 DT]
General truce 34 814 BY [2 419 DT]
Tarain warns of Namdaran expansion 34 840 BY [2 445 DT]
People finally heed Tarain 34 892 BY [2 497 DT]
The Minor Kingdoms begin to gain influence 34 912 BY
Namdara destroys Old Keep 34 978 BY [2 588 DT}
Namdara invades north and wins 34 983 BY [2 593 DT]
Old Keep rebuilt 35 003 BY [2 613 DT]
Burlai Keep Built 35 135 BY [2 745 DT]
Border Holdings Alliance Founded in the south 35 164 BY [27 287 DAR]

Present Time is 35383 BY.
(or [2 993 DT, if one is in Outer Namdara)
(or 27 497 DAR if one is from the south)

BY - Bright Year DT - Indarian Time
DAR - Day the Alliance Rose EY - Empire Year


Religious History

The history of religion on the world has always been one of war, fragile peace and much death. The original gods were very powerful and are said to have created the races, but that is now thought to be a myth. Regardless, these gods were very aloof and powerful. It was only when the diversity of the races grew so that other gods joined the pantheon that these gods began to fade. More and more gods began to be formed, weaker than their predecessors but each fulfilling a specific need and almost guaranteed not to fade, though the gods did not really understand why this occurred. Eventually, the gods began to make higher and higher demands on their worshipers and human sacrifice became a norm. The amount of holy wars increased exponentially and the world was warped by the battles between the gods.

The Powers watched until they realised that even their old woods and places of Mystery were in danger of being harmed. They then gathered together and the greatest among them, the Powers by whose efforts the world had been fully drawn from the dust of time, did a Knowing and discovered the nature of the gods. They learned that the gods were merely formed from the belief of their followers and would die without this. Moreover, they realised the gods were not aware of this. A group of select mortals were approached with the offer to become Walkers, the first time the Powers had not simply demanded this of the races. Only priests of the gods were selected and these few beings (Some say there were less than twenty) proceeded to reveal the truth and that the gods should be the ones serving their races. They were met with the power of the gods and the fanaticism of the people. Few heeded their words but these few normal mortals fought as hard and as long to end the reign of the gods over their creators.

Eventually, these few mortals realised that something would have to be created to supplement the focus of religious energy and thus they formed the Prime God. This was a being embodying the religious force of the people but having no form. The Prime God had messengers, but no true message and refused to give aid to any. Each mortal had the ability to create gods and thus were all priests. In addition to this, the Prime God would rarely, if at all, answer the prayers of mortals. The purpose of the Prime God is to drive people away from religion. In order to aid in this, Advocates of the Prime God were formed by the first mortals who fought with the walkers to end the tyranny of religion. The Advocates gain their power through meditation and focus and rarely call upon the Prime God for anything. They are the only path to their deity but the cost of travelling the path is one not even they are often willing to pay.


Other Historical Events (Legends) of the Past:

These events have no timeline since they have become lost to myth and warped by many ages of historians and songs in inns. They are some events of note (real or imagined) that have bearing on the modern world and the times we live in and mostly occurred in the order specified below.

The Fall of the Dark Powers: This event was actually two subsequent events, the decline of Witches and Wizards. The Wizards fell due to having too much pride and faith in the demons they summoned. As a result of the wizard's claims to be the power of the world, the Powers decided to teach an object lesson that effectively killed all the great wizards and many demons. The power of the wizards was broken and much of their knowledge lost and scattered. At this point, the witches were also gaining prominence and many scholars are grateful at the foresight of the Power's since that prevented an alliance between the witches and wizards that could have scarred the world even worse than it did. Many claim that the Great Desert was formed by the death of a great wizard of this time. No one knows what losses the power's suffered.

The witches were broken when abuse of their own magics became too obvious to condone -- a challenge flung in the face of the world. Certain Powers of the world, gods and other forces convened and created a select group of walkers with the express purpose of defeating the witches. Some even claim these walkers were actually sent by death. When a walker died or was altered, their energy vanished and, as per walker custom, invaded the witch and simply killed them. The witches who had sense enough to protect themselves against such possession died as a result of the amount of raw power the walkers sent into them. Since all witch training was oral and not written down like the wizards, the demise of their more powerful lines crippled the witches for so long that they faded in actual power, though not in perceived power. People still fear the witches and what they could do so few have the courage to claim that title anymore. These falls also dictated that those two groups (three in one includes the alterators) would no longer be around when the druids came and thus the druids faced less opposition than they might have, opposition that could well have destroyed the world if it had dared face the druids.

Time of the Druids: These beings from another planet arrived on the world near the lands that would become the Colnorath and became a mighty force during their short stay. They claimed to be fleeing an evil of their own making that was now greater than they were and claimed to flee each time when it came near their present location so that none would be harmed on this world. Some claim they created the shadow demons and helped form the werefolk. The Powers and Gods treated them with great respect and claimed to have known that the druids would come. Moreover, they claimed the druids would return. The druids were greatly troubled by this since their return to a world would spell its doom according to their own legends.

The druids then proceeded to alter the very fabric of the world. For a time, even the Darken Wood was tamed and the Great Desert stilled. A few legends even claim that the greatest druid of all actually melted the Ice Lake for a time, but most discredit this as a fallacy. The druids also altered many species and plants to become more efficient. They are said to have heard the plea of those who would be the werefolk to the powers and responded. They approached the werefolk -- who did not wish great Talents or Gifts from the Powers but rather the ability the powers had to assume an animal form and the Power that was a wolf died to give the werefolk the ability to become him. The druids finalised it with their power and thus that race was born. The druids also created many other species and altered a few other beings, mostly just because they could and felt like it at the time. At least ten of these species were made to tell the druids if the Evil the druids faced would come to this world.

The druids then left one night with no word to any being save the werefolk: watch and remember. Then they faded from history as so much else had before, becoming no more real than the other powers and beings of the past, no more dangerous. But some still remember their promise and any who claim to be able to call the druids back are met by shadow demons and killed. The werefolk still remember their gift and honour the names of the druids to this day. Few others actually recall them or any debt owed and many sages fear it has been so long that if the great Evil comes, no one will recognise it or be able to give warning in time. A few modern people hold the name of druids but their power is not even a shadow of a shdow of what true druids could do.

The Western Walk: This walk was done by the elves when they realised that the need for people to remember Power was fading since they held power and decided to found their own nation apart from the others. They headed west, through ruins that existed even then, and found the cause of those ruins, the race known as the lun lion. The lun lion were the lords of the elfin race and left the elfs so that the elfs could be alone and without their influence. When the elfs, entirely by accident, found the lun lion home on the western journey, old habits resurfaced and the elfs once more had princes and royalty as the lun lion dominance reasserted itself, though against their will in the beginning. Over time, the west shifted into science and the very power elfs had once kept alive for the other races has been lost to them. They refuse to speak of their rulers or the land they come from to any as it is a matter of pride and shame to them, both what they discover they have fallen fro and their servitude, which makes the people of Garath seem anarchist rebels by comparison. Many legends recalled this famous departure and that is why elfs who came back over the years were not killed as many foreigners have been but merely seen as travellers returning home after a long voyage. However, only one fragment of verse recounts it in the first person. Some keepers have thought it might be an echo of lore about the journey to this world the elfs made but that is unknown.
The night was dark and the days cold.
The wind blew fitfully, when at all
and the shadows concealed darkness
deeper than the sundered halls.

It was then that we arrived,
travellers from the east, and blessed
this new land we found ourselves in.
The journey had been long, and old
were those who had begun it young,
Yet still we felt, deep within,
that for naught had we strived.
Very little else is recorded of their journey or the lun lion and elfin records and legends have kept it that way.

The Greater Mages: These were the children and grandchildren of the first mortals to sleep with the Powers and the Gods. Their strength carried on for many centuries until they dared to try and reclaim the western ruins. No one knows what force they fought there, but these great ones declared it too powerful for them alone to understand or defeat and created the Bright Ward so that mortals would always remember they had been. The last direct descendant of their blood is said to have been Jerala, the Gerisau who founded the Colnorath and raised the dead. Each of them had nearly all the magics functioning at an unprecedented level of strength that would make modern mages choke, though they used their magics much more openly and often, hence their name. It is a wonder to many historians that the world even survived these wondrous beings.


The Oldest Legends (Records of the Keeper's)

The Time of Dragons

The world is indeed old and none live who have existed when it began, save possibly some of the fabled lun lion, and even they must die before the End. Even the long lived elves do not recall their beginning and much of their knowledge has faded into myth. It is said that when an elf dies, a part of the worlds history dies also. Not even the Powers still recall the far time when the world was formed by their kin nor the arrival of the elves and lun lion from beyond the stars. The lun lion are said to have arrived first and built cities for the elves. Their lordship of the elves was inborn but they controlled it and eventually left the elves and headed far to the west to have their own land and not be forced by blood to rule others. The elves lived long and the other races slowly were born, though none recall when they first began or which race was first. Much time is said to have passed, generations even by elfin standards, as the races became civilised and their numbers grew. Magic slowly became know and was mastered first by the elves, who had a natural bent for such unnatural powers. The first empires and nations began to be built and once more the stars sang as the hingari came. Reputed to be one the oldest races reborn in mortal flesh, the hingari had made it their mission to help civilise worlds and bring knowledge to those lands. Many great nations and wonders rose with the help of the hingari but then mining became common and the dwarves woke up the oldest danger: the dragons.

The dragons are said to have been formed the moment the Powers first stood on the world and are said to be the great whirlpool that is the core water of the world. They were great, reptilian, amphibians; the fathers and mothers of all the worlds fish, reptiles and insects. For ages they had slept, their power growing, only disturbed by the presence of the Powers, who wisely ignored them, or a foolish mage whom they easily obliterated. Then they were touched directly, harmed by mortals who had come to close to their homes, and reacted. Their great minds, as old as the world, woke and they rose up in anger and wrath. Part of what is now the Darken Wood is said to have been destroyed by their rising and the sky shuddered and was rent by their great wings. In form their were said to be fog given life by deep and ancient minds, capable of rendering any insane with a thought or of levelling entire mountains with their rage. Mighty, clawed with pure force, and scaled with glittering thought, these wondrous beings rent many a heart with their beauty. They were ancient and great, forces that nature could not even bring a comparison to. Civilisation crumbled beneath their great powers, entire seas were boiled to dust, and even the Power fell back against such ancient might. Finally, one nation of mortals was left to face the casual power of the dragons. Sitnalta rose its own fires, of magic and the lost sciences that were fading even then, but the dragons merely laughed at such a foolish gesture. It was then that the hingari decided to kill the dragons, so that civilisation would remain. They called forth their own powers, powers older than the dragons, and the stars came down from the sky, unnatural fires burned and dragons died. But the oldest dragons, those formed by the Greater Powers presence, resisted even that.

In desperation, the hingari sacrificed all their knowledge abut their past and what they had been in order to help save civilisation. The power unleashed warped reality and time as nothing has before or since and when it was gone, the hingari were nearly all dead and the dragons no more to be seen. Thus they passed into legend but the hingari remember that, if nothing else, the dragons were the worlds true core. They could not have been destroyed by the alien powers of the hingari, no matter how much they sacrificed. It is the hingari belief that their ancestors merely melded the dragons with the very core they had been a part of and simply unmade them for a time. They fear that the dragons may someday, in an age of power, reform themselves and destroy the world once more. However, the dragons have been forgotten and no one any longer recalls them, even though the dwarves are well aware of tunnels they no longer enter, where the water of the world is unnaturally hot and any who come near those places die.

Journey of the Lun Lion

This was when the lun lion first travelled west to leave the elves and other races alone. They had seen the harnessing of magic and understood the principles of demon summoning. However, they still recalled (since it had been but five of their generations since they came to the world) an old lore called science. They studied the world and discovered true science to be impossible since the reality field, which makes science possible by keeping laws steady, was at odds with the magic field, the energy of possibility. The weakening of one did strengthen the other but both were intertwined and part of each other for all time.


The Creation Myths of the World

The" Myth" the Powers Hold:

As this myth (most Sages call it truth) comes from those who saw the world form -- even if they remember little of it -- and it has more validity than other myths due to the simple fact that they were there. Many of the other creation myths are woven from it., or have become integrated with it throughout the years The following account is taken from a dre'en lore keeper's private musings. It's accuracy is unknown since she was one of the few dre'en who ever bothered learning how to read or write in any mortal tongue and they have no written language of their own.

We stood together, formless amidst the formless, but aware as the true Nothing could not be. Some claim we stood in the heart of Chaos at the true beginning before creation and time were formed, but I think this false since we, by the very nature of our True Forms [their animal form], are creatures of order. How long we waited is unknown, for we were not as aware of time then as we are now, nor affected by its turnings. Yet time must have passed, for the distant stars often flared and died and new ones were born from those ashes. Even today, none can truly know if the world exists because we willed it, knowingly or not. We Powers had seen much form and may have understood what forces caused those other suns to begin to flame and the faint music of the stars to begin singing in the core of our being.

Whatever the reason, dust slowly began to gather around the area we existed in. whether we had Called it or not was immaterial, it was here -- the ashes of other worlds and the potential for new life. Slowly, the dust revolved and coalesced until finally the sun was born from death and its light brought life to the dust and gave it purpose. Small worlds and worlds of gas and fire and ice formed but they all lacked something. We did not know how we knew this, but we did. it lacked something we could give. Then another world began to form also, more vibrant than the rest, more real. It held a beauty that even we noted and caused the sun to begin to sing as the other stars did. Yet we knew it would also fail.

Then the wisest among us, the deepest who remembered the most, slowly approached this world and its song rang into us, even deeper than the song of the sun which was a mere echo of the life of a world. They watched it form and then conferred quietly on levels the rest of us could no reach. Then the eldest stirred and turned. "This world lacks something." She said, her voice filled with an awful majesty even then. "It lacks us." Then, before the rest of the Powers could truly comprehend what she meant, the Eldest gathered the other wise and ancient and they touched the Art, the lifeforce of the other worlds that might have been, and placed it into this world. The Powers brought life.

And the world was rent and reformed, with the life force burning bright in it. Water blazed in its core and became the core of the world. The Greater Powers then spoke, words that could only be said once and never again, words forbidden since long before the great pilgrimage none recalled, and they became fire, the first fire, brighter than even a dying sun. Fire struck water and steam boiled forth to become the clouds. Then the Greater Powers called out words never spoken before and never speakable again and their outer forms were sacrificed eternally to form the land. Then we that remained, humbled and awed, were charged with preserving life and defending the water at the world's centre from contamination. Then we spoke and the animals stirred. And the others, the Unborn, came forth and the plants stirred at their coming. We faced each other, Power and Unborn and the coalescence of our energies formed the races and drew the Elves to the world.

The Dwarves Myth:

The dwarves only have an oral history so what follows is rather sketchy at best and was made by an elven scribe listening in on an oral tale. Few written records exist about the dwarves myth but some claim this modern one is very different from their older one before the Xarien Empire was formed and that after their slavery to Galrin, the myth was altered again. This is one of the more recent versions of the myth.

In the beginning, Edrenu the first fire came forth from the darkness that had held him for so long in the maze of shadows. His rage at his imprisonment and the many who had died without his aid caused Edrenu to gather up the spirits of the departed dead and plunge into the heart of the ancient prison that had once held him. Having been free, it could no longer enslave him and his light burned into its true heart. Edrenu then spoke the Word of being and the darkness was bound to the spirits of the slain and their hope moulded with the darkness to create life. Then Edrenu gathered himself and collapsed the prison on itself and swirled the smoky remnants of it faster and faster until they formed into the sun.

Edrenu then reach out to the barren lands that the darkness had killed and brought them together with his gift of light. He then gathered his power and lay with the light within his Self to form the world. When the races formed, he approached each one in turn and finally selected the dwarves with his message: "Do not forget. Remember me if naught else, but always remember. This I change you, children of freedom, to hold the memory of peace and strive to free all from bondage." He then told them that they were not exalted in any way and could not expect favours from him. He was leaving for with his presence they could never be truly free.

NOTE: The Powers have hinted that Edrenu may have been one of the Greater Powers, though his "message" has likely changed as the dwarves changed. Regardless, remembering has always been part of the message. Other scholars find then reference to laying "with the light within himself" odd and have various interpretations for it, ranging from masturbation to hermaphroditism to the light of hope being females since only they bear children and each new child is a sign of hope and peace in their own right.

The Shadow Demon Myth:

The Shadow Demons seem to believe they are a part of the darkness from the long ago when the world was not yet formed. They claim the druids gave them life again after their long slumber and that they are on the world to make sure it never forgets the darkness and what the world will one day become again. Only one shadow demon, Shargos, who claims to be among the oldest of them, was willing to explain their "creation" myth.

"We are the future. We are the echoes of the past to come that show what the world must one day become, we are the darkness that shall win again but also fight the very heritage and power that is us. We were once shadows, night, echoes of the many possible dark futures of the world but then the druids touched us and gave us being, thought; and we that were night and death and the cold of the grave to come are now touched by life and have no wish for it to end. By their will the death become life and we are sworn by our very existence to never kill without reason and to preserve life as none other can.

"Thus our myth is the future, not creation but destruction. We know what will come and do our best to stop this coming darkness. Yes, the light will destroy us and we live for our own deaths but that is the gift and curse the druids gave us. When we have all faded and the echo of the future we represent is no more, only then will we be happy. Only when our death is certain will we know peace."

The Human Myth:

The humans have as many creation myths as they have had nations and gods. A part of the human belief system seems to be to reinvent creation with each new nation. Almost all the myths have in common the ideal that humans were created first (or last; to make up for the imperfections of the other races) and are specially chosen by the gods for some task the other races are unsuited for. Most of the other races just consider such creation myths a massive ego trip and ignore them.

The Namdaran Myth: Hearken now to the tale of another time and era, when glorious deeds both fair and foul were the norm the heroes were not only those who lived by the blade. In the land that was Urmani ere it fell to the ice that spelled its doom, one Archivist managed to flee the rubble of the Master Library with a simple document. The words were old even then and few had the skill to translate them but she was one of those few and knew what this scroll portended. She knew that if used correctly by the right people, it could herald a new empire and a hope for the bleak future. She fled south to where the ice had not reached and was found by a farmer half-starved. She managed to tell him the import of the document and he laboriously copied it out by hand for she was exhausted from dehydration and lack of food. She died soon after but made him pledge to keep the scroll safe and allow it to be seen when the ice was gone. Her last, whispered breath before death took her was the word "Namdara," though he never found out if that was her name or the name of a friend or lover or city. But it remained in the myth, passed down from family member to family member, each copying it and keeping it when they were old enough to understand what it meant. Then finally the ice ended and the descendants of a simple farmer, who had used some of the knowledge on governance during the ice age to save many, found a valley newly freed from the ice and built the first of many buildings that would eventually become the nation of Namdara, following the ancient treatise on philosophy, governance and law. Using the words of a long-dead scribe who had written this simple treatise for an exercise, a nation of justice and strength flourished in the south. When the other peoples were finally beginning to free themselves of ice and their barbaric ways, Namdara was already flourishing as a small nation and survived each war and upheaval to become the hope of the future.

The Gerisau Myth:

The various myths the gerisau hold were created out of boredom and, mostly, as a way of mocking other creation myths. Not even the gerisau believe the myths they have invented and they have been embroidered upon to an extent that even singers, who create songs and poems as well as research their origins, find appalling. They are very hesitant about their actual myths but in truth they believe that they were created so that humour and laughter never leaves the world. Of course, their method of going about it leaves many thinking the loss of humour and laughter would be worth it if those annoying pests who never take anything seriously died off. They simply ignore those people as extremists, which is a feat considering how many of them there are. Adult gerisau, to some extent cursed with more power, responsibiilty and maturity, find the myths a pleasant past time to here.

The Werewolf Myth:

This "myth" is not truly a myth since the Werewolfs know it to be true and much historical evidence supports their claims. Thus they are well aware that this "event" was reality and not the myths the other races hold.

When the Powers and Gods together first slept with mortals and produced those with greater magics, a few select mortals yearned for something more, something other. We approached the Powers and asked to be able to take the forms of animals as only they could. Even the Powers were startled at our request and showed us the might that the Greater Mages held but we wanted none of that. They pondered our request for some time and eventually allowed us to gain their power. However, it proved very difficult and the assistance of the druids who were soon to leave the world was the only way to accomplish it. The druids spoke to the Powers in a conference and when they left, the Powers debated for many moons. Finally, one of the Powers Canin Xaldar (long may we recall his name) gave up his existence so that those few could become the form he had been the Power of, that of the wolf. Each of them was given a portion of his essence and the druids pledged that we should remember the druids and the sacrifice that had made it possible for the werewolfs to be born as well as watch for the coming of Evil. We have not forgotten and shall remember as they bid us.

The Vampire Myth:

The vampires actually have no myth about creation since they are well aware that they were the result of some magical experiment gone awry. They do hold various beliefs about why they are on the world as well as the purpose of their life-draining ability, but this is often passed from student to teacher and each vampire is said to have a different ethos and reason for remaining a vampire that is as close to a creation myth as they come. To be blunt, few vampires wish to find out why they were created since it would not be very flattering and might induce them to commit suicide.

Many of the other myths can be linked directly to the Powers' or the Namdaran myth. However, only the hingari actually remember the Powers myth in its entirety and believe it as the truth.

Notable Legendary Figures
(The ones everyone has heard of)

Arpalox: Known by no other name save this assumed name meaning "knife wielder" in Gerisau, this being is said to have started up the Scarlet Striders, a group of assassins who dedicated their lives to ridding the world of dark evils and foreign foes. She was a Gerisau whose name is now anathema among the race and regarded with deep hatred. The Scarlet Strider are known for carrying wooden daggers that actual turn someone inside out with a blow. The foes blood pours out of their skin and little is left of the body within a day due to rapid decomposition. Under her direction, the Striders killed many southern beings and lun lion, as well as some vampires and elves and did much assassination for hire. None know where they are trained or how one becomes a Strider though it is said that Arpalox's descendants are given first priority if they wish to apply. No Gerisau has joined since her death. Most assume she lives just before the dragons rose and destroyed the civilisation of the olden times and the shortlings still recall that name with rage and loathing.

Margan Talenwar: This being is an elf with both vampire and werewolf blodd in him. The contradictions of being an elf vampire or were alone would drive most mad, but together they make a very dangerous person. Margan often poses as a sage and is said to be an old friend of Shar's, which many take to mean he is as much a myth as Shar, or simply a vampire responsible for creating the Shar myth in the first place. He is said to be a short, exceptionally furry elf with sharp teeth but few other legends recall him. However, he has appeared often enough in minor historical roles to warrant a mention and is almost venerated by werewolfs and vampires.

Shar: Shar is one of the mythical figures in dwarven history. He was born during the time of the Alden Empire and is famous for being nearly immortal as well as a blood relative to Taigen himself. He left the Xarien Hills with his sister and she became one of the few who was touched by the backlash of the Bright Ward. Knowing the legends and that his sister would go mad, Shar reportedly drove a dagger into her heart the instant she emerged from the coma it im,poses on her. He ignored her pleas that she would not go mad and killed her. It is said that he vowed never to do anything for anyone's own good again as he wept over her corpse. The dagger he used was infused with power and gained many abilities, not the least of which was unnatural sharpness and the ability to become a sword. In his grief, he returned north but could not bear the scorn of the dwarves he went east and entered the Haldri Vale. There he spoke to one of the spirits in the pool and was shown a future so horrific he rebelled against it. The spirit tried to force him to obey her and he slew the Power of the world for that.

With his latent talent for destructive magic and the dagger, he was able to accomplish what none other has in history. Angered, the Power ordered the dorathan who guard the vale to slay this interloper and Shar succeeded in killing a dorathan. The Power, rather than fade and possible truly die, bound herself to him for all eternity and made him a surrogate power, to some extent. Shar was now immortal for all practical purposes. The price of this was the loss of his magic and much of his freedom.

There have been many Shar's throughout history and they are either this mythical person or merely descendants of the real Shar, a dwarves who has been mythisized, as the dwarves have a habit of doing with all their heroes. The modern Shar is a mercenary of some renown and is reputed to take any job. He has even bee into the Caves of Tynic and the Galrin Ruins. Some even claim he has entered The Fog and the fields of Ratsun, but most discount this. He claims to have no magic at all but given the amount of mages and others he has "dealt with" most doubt this.

The Councillors of Alden: This group of altered beings is said to live so long as the spirit and honour of Alden are remembered and held to. They were created out of pure honour and duty as an aid to the rulers of Alden during their height of that land and their purpose makes them more real that even death according to some Powerful and very difficult to kill, the Councillors are remembered among many farmers and villages as having given aid to their families in the past. The cities and nations have forgotten them but they still roam, among the few who can shape shift and who hold the honour and glory of a fallen nation as their pride. It is said that as the people turn away from what Alden was and cease to believe that such could ever have been, they fade and weaken. Their numbers have never been known but they are said to have been able to tap the Art through special medallions and be able to alter reality in its entirety with their strength. However, they never bring war and are very difficult to anger so even villagers seem to assume they are weak. The few farmers who remember the Councillors, who are often called the Protectors or Guardians in other legends, leave a moonlit candle burning by its own light at their window every night as an offer for sanctuary to any councillor or traveller who comes in the name of that lost honour.

The Future

The future of the world is not set in stone by any means. Some even argue it was never set at all. Regardless, here is the basic structure of the future, taken from seers, sages, the wisdom of the common folk and political trends. Each event is listed in the time it is most like to happen and will occur gradually.

War in Outer Namdara: This situation is almost inevitable as that area of the world heats up in political turmoil. Whether it will aid in the fall of Namdara or weaken that nation is debatable. If Tarain gains control of those lands a concerted effort by Zandaran and Tarain may well weaken Namdara greatly. The collapse of the Hr'Keth empire in the south will also lead to many nations forming as well as more aid being given (in the form of] weapons and people) to The Collective, Welde and the Minor Kingdoms with regards to fighting Namdara's eastern expansion. Some claim that the modern age is going to witness the decline of the worlds greatest empire and many privately think they are right -- with the obvious exception of Namdarans, who do not believe the nation can fall.

Limitation of magics: As the present age is leading to, fewer people will be born with more than one magical school of power though those with only one will be very powerful in it. This may lead to an increase in mages but truly powerful people will multiple magics are becoming rarer and rarer. This will also lead to a decrease in knowledge about magic as the oldest magics that are not written down become lost. Some say that others powers will come into prominence but most discount that as wishful thinking.

The Great Muldrac War: This event has not been seen by seers but merely speculated by political watchers and diplomats. When the Hr'Keth Empire dies, Muldrac will gain much of the land close to it and launch a war against the Free States as well as Xaldar and the Border Holdings Alliance. Only an alliance of the Amadai Alliance, Condrenus, Randekal, Tilcaldi and Xaldar, as well as the Sh'Deth raiders, can hope to stop Muldrac. Some claim that this will cripple the south for some time and if Namdara emerges from its troubles without losing any military strength, it may be able to expand into those lands.

The Weakening of The Bright Ward: "When the mages leave the world, there will be not enough power to feed the Ward that is Light and none will be able to sacrifice for it in the true way. Thus its magic will die again and only the mages who are death and the dancers who are bound to death will be left to hold off the might of the western ruins." This is an ancient prophecy from the long ago. Most think it a lie since the Bright Ward has been around far longer than any other being in the world. Others hope they are right. What happens is that the Bright Ward simply breaks, and its accumulated energy (over three times what exists in the world now) is unleahsed in a blaze of power that destroys almost all people still remaining with more than one magical or psychic ability.

The Loss of Power: The mages will fade in the manner that only they can. The great centres of training, consisting of The Mage Keep, The Collegiate and Arcanar in the far east, and possibly even Mageshold in the far south, will close up their gates with enough Power that none may enter or leave it. Tamdel Citadel will become inaccessible to any save the suicidal whom wish to try and reach it. Even the Hingari will go into seclusion. Some Tilcaldi mages will remain outside those barriers since they have an obligation to the nation but they will be few and far between. All knowledge of mages will be destroyed outside the fortresses and wonder depart the world for a time. This event may be caused by a great magical cataclysm resulting from loss of knowledge due to the decline of mages with more than one ability. Signs of this are already apparent as Arcanar is said to have closed its gates due to a great error.

Death of Legends: Terra Australis Ignota tries to absorb the energy from the Bright Ward. While it only absorbs 5%, the result is that the shield around this land glows with incandescent white fire as if it were a second sun. The fire seems to be burning from within and trying to escape. The general assumption of most is that whatever is in this land is now dead. Honouring an old vow, the oldest of the Councillors of Alden tries to stop the land from "fading" and fails. The Councilllor perishes in this attempt.

The Great War: A war lost prophecied and worried over. The Gods make war on those who follow the Prime God, their own powers increased by the Bright Ward's destruction and are able to inflict heavy casaulties. The Walker of the Bright Ward, a werefolk named Kelrin Xeran, is too busy trying to halt the forces of the Western Ruins to even try and control what happens to the energies that were once part of the Ward.
Intro §World § Campaign