History of Arkendrose
Story of Arkendrose
Tyrillia
It is said that when the Gods made Arkendrose they created the Tyrillians to watch over it and protect it. As the legends tell us, the dragon race known as the Tyrillians, the largest and most powerful of dragons, began to feel superior to the rest of the peoples of Arkendrose and deemed themselves their betters. They believed that the rest of the world should and would serve them as slaves and as living farms for the growing Tyrillian population. The Tyrillians launched a massive war of conquest and subjugation across all of Arkendrose forcing it to come to heel under the might of Thyillia. This is known to legend as The First Tyrillian War.
Ahk'ha'ma
Legend tells of the first coming of Ahk'ha'ma who would late be known as the God of Vampires though theologians have often disputed the validity of the domain. What is believed, however, is that he did in fact create the race of the Vampire and "The Gift" which creates them. The first Vampires created covens and fed on the subjugated populations of Arkendrose making resistance to Thyrillian rule ineffective. This led to the First Vampire War which, with Divine aid, led to the defeat of Vampires and the destruction of Ahk'ha'ma .Fall of Tyrillia
Sometime after the Destruction of Ahk'ha'ma
, the resistance against Tyrillian rule grew and became more effective. The ancient artifacts known as the "Shields of Tyrillian Slaying" were believed to be used to kill Tyrillians. Some of the original "Tyrillian Slayers" are said to have been gifted with long life and still exist to this day. If their stories are to be believed, then all the legends are true. Indeed, those "surviving" slayers are respected and or feared individuals in today's Arkendrose.
Tyrillia is said to have finally collapsed when two Ishtikarrian heroes combined their efforts and killed the King of Tyrillia in the Tyrillian capital of Tyrillor. The city was later renamed CrestGrath in honor of those two heroes of old.
The Birth of Evil
In the days when Arkendrose was young, the Counsel of the Spirit Realm convened regularly to discuss issues and rules. One such regularly discussed issue was that of Divine Spirits wishing to ascended to Godhood. The Council was headed by Jena who had taken the title of God of Light and Salvation and, Ruler of Heaven. The spirits of Good and Evil were planned to meet with the Counsel to discuss their potential divinity.
Pyra, the Lord of Fire had recently entombed The Void with his power when he became aware of the beautiful pleasure spirit who just happened to also be the Spirit of Good. He took a liking to Good and Pleasure then.
When Pyra captured the Nothing (Void), he both gained access to its Chaos as a result went mad. So, when Pyra looked upon Good and Pleasure, what would have been a harmless interest instantly became an obsession. He confronted Good and Pleasure just cycles before the Counsel of the Spirit Realm was to convene on Her Fate. As he was a God and She only a Divine Spirit, he had access to enough power to to overtake Her. He captured Her and imprisoned her between His power and Void.
The Counsel met as planned but only one of the two Divine Spirits were present. The ruling made then was in the interest of balance. They decided against Pain and Evil's ascension.
Outraged, Evil went down to Arkendrose to create a race of worshipers that would one day thrust him upon the seat in the Divine Circle. This act was against the Counsel's rules and was intended only for those with the power and status of true Gods. First, Pain and Evil created a temple for himself in which to start His work. Then he created the race of Wraiths to be his worshipers.
The Counsel made the rules they did for a reason and soon Pain and Evil would find out why. The First Wraith, Sect, convinced the wraiths that they were better off leading themselves then succumbing to the whims of a would-be God. This was an easy task as most of the wraiths did not enjoy being enslaved by the Spirit of Pain and Evil.
The wraiths, led by Sect, attacked the Lord of Evil. They imprisoned Him under His own temple and toppled it down around him. In the century that followed, a civil war broke out between Sect and their followers and the Second Wraith and theirs.
Sect in the Beginning
Zakurias, the Second Wraith, had begun to suspect greater intentions from Sect the First Wraith some decades after the Birth of Evil. When Sect admitted to having an ulterior motive when convincing the wraiths to overthrow Pain and Evil, the wraiths were instantly split into two factions, those who supported Zakurias and those who supported Sect.
A war commenced between the two sides. Not long after it had begun, Sect appeared in Blinkrite, the central home and fortress of the wraiths, carrying a flag of truce. Zakurias met with Sect. Sect surrendered under the terms that he was free to leave the Lands of Meoldolen. Zakurias asked Sect why had stopped fighting but received no answer. This angered Zakurias but peace between wraiths was needed to ensure the survival of their race so, he exiled Sect. Sect accepted this and left without question.
Mor'em
Mor'em, the Lord of Space and Armor and, was a Divine Spirit who, much like Pain and Evil, wished to ascended to true Divinity. As legends tell, Mor'em may have been denied ascension due to Their domains being conflicting to the natural order the Counsel of the Spirit Realm had set. Mor'em had witnessed that which had happened to Pain and Evil and thought better of it. Mor'em instead imbued a suite of armor with his existence and had a "son" which would be the heir to Their power and goal. It is believed that the heir or a decedent there of would inherit that mission and the ability to see it through.
The Kingdom of the Fallen
Legends tell the tale of the Kingdom of the Fallen from the days when demon kind claimed Arkendrose for their home. The Fallen believed they and only they were truthful to their oaths and beholden to their values. Much like the Tyrillians who had conquered Arkendrose before, the Kingdom of the Fallen sought to do the same. Under King Vex, the armies of the Fallen fought all of Arkendrose. During this war it is believed that King Vex began to go mad eventually resulting in his ultimate defeat and destruction. His barrier site was lost to history until recently with the Rise of Sect.
Missing History of the WearVampires
Recorded history on the race of the WearVampires is limited at best. The Vampire Counsel keeps any knowledge of them hidden form Arkendrosians at all costs. Legends and whispers tell of a time where such beings had existed and even flourished in some remote parts of Akerndrose only to be crushed by "jealous" vampire covens and others who feared them. The truth is not known to the people of Arkendrose nor do they known when such an eradication could have taken place as no evidence of it has surfaced save for the peculiar case of Malfeareon who is believed to be the only living example of the fabled race.The Ishtikarr Supremacy
The final strike against Tyrillia at their capital of Tyralor was engineered by the Ishtikarr heroes Cresstious and Grathous. They took the old site of Tyrillor as their capital, re-naming it CrestGrath, a statement that the races of man had been victorious over the domination of the Tyrillians. With CrestGrath being the cultural and social center of the world the Ishtikarr, through their actions, placed themselves at the center of the emerging world. They ruled through warrior diplomats known as Crestites who were few in number but masters of war, combat, and diplomacy. The Ishtikarr remained strong and prominent for century upon century without ever attempting to overstep their power. Their restraint lent them an air of authority which preserved their power for generations.
The Ishtikarr started with two bodies of government, a Crown ruled by the decedents of one of its two heroes and a counsel headed by the decedents of the other. This would one day prove to be the catalyst for the collapse of the Ishtikarr.
The Disappearance of the Hudonsa
Much like the legend of the WearVampires, another race of people, the Hudonsa, were said to have been stamped out but this time there are more records of this time still available. Records can be found telling of the existence of an evolved human race, which would later be called Hudonsa, dating as far back as the early 8000s BA. Their appearance in human societies was taken by many as a curse and by some as a threat. As fears rose eventually the human city states of the time began to attempt genocide. Many of the Hudonsa fought back while others fled and hid. In the end the numbers were overwhelming for the Hudonsa and victory was impossible. Survival became their primary drive and so for centuries the Hudonsa disappeared from recorded history, but they survived.
The Rowan Expansion
The Rowan peoples were among the first to nationalize creating a city state powerful enough to rival the Kingdom of Lorace (later to be known as Old Lorace) to the North and the City State of Grerkly to the East. Though the Ishtikarr were considered and respected by most of the people of Arkendrose as its rulers, individual power spheres had long begun to rise as cities grew stronger and cultures advanced. The City State of Row would begin to flex its strength by conquering the great island and the nations and tribes that inhabited it in spite of resistance from the Ishtikarr.
Historians and story tellers alike believe it was this inaction that sparked off the slow decline of the Ishtikarr as the world's premier power. Rowan ambition held no bounds as they began to expand, consolidate and explained again eventually reaching South to the Byzantar, as far East as the Lands of the East Gate and as far West as modern day Beckhorone. As their expansion continued their government shifted and became an empire. Rowan's culture was also carried with these expansions and made prominent through much of the world.
The Nation of the West
The Nation of the West was a trade alliance similar to today's Eastern Alliance. It formed to fill the vacuum caused by the break down of Western Rowan authority. It was made up of the prior Rowan provinces to the Far South West, which would later be known as Beckhorone, the western territory known to many later as the Northern Empire, parts of Syconia and other smaller tribes, baronies and nation states. The Nation of the West, however, would not last long as the migration of the Corginites coupled with aggressors from the dark elf cities of the Far South West would see to its fall.
The Corginite Migrations
The Rowan's were not the only people to expand. The Corginites set sail traveling vast distances to raid or settle lands wherever possible. Though this great movement is considered a migration, Corginites maintained strong ties to the lands from which they came allowing them to maintain a cultural identity in spite of the extreme separation many of the new settled and conquered lands of the Corginites were from one another.
Eventually these migrations brought a fleet of ships to the far-flung lands of The Nation of the West which would lead to the trade alliance's fall.
The War of the West
It had been the hope of the Nation of the West that it would have time to build up its power and influence and become a major power within Arkendrose. The Nation of the West had the resources and the numbers to do so if only it had had more time to solidify and unite as a country. Not long after its construction, the Beckhorone region of the Nation of the West came under regular attacks from the various dark elf controlled regions to the South of West Coastaar. The Nation's counsel convened to discuss action but the bureaucratic process that had been established much based heavily on that of the Empire of Row and their masterful skill and centuries of experience was not present within the Nation of the West's leaders.
Response from the Nation of the West's leaders proved to be slow which allowed the smaller dark elf houses and city states to raid heavily and weaken the South before northern resources could be sent to aid. It was around this time that the encroaching Corginites would deliver a mighty blow. The Corginites raided the trading lanes and sacked port cities in rapid succession. This effectively crippled the Nation of the West's ability to respond with any effectiveness to aggressors throughout their vast territories. This emboldened lesser peoples and powers in the western side of Arkendrose to attempt to take what they could from the crumbling alliance.
With a lack of ability to respond effectively to aggressors on all fronts, the individual lands within the Nation of the West withdrew to protect what was left of their own holdings. This served to destroy any power the Nation of the West once held. Within a few years after the war, not a single banner of the Nation of the West could be found hanging anywhere.
The Syconian Migrations
After the collapse of the Nation of the West, the Corginites turned their attention on the North and West islands of Syconia. They quickly attacked and conquered them establishing a more permanent foothold in the West. From there, the Corginites raided inland to Syconia itself.
With the arrival of the Corginites, many Syconians fled East from the northern and western islands. As word spread of the coming threat, many Syconians living in the western portion of Syconia also began to move East. This Eastward migration brought the Syconians to fight the Ishtikarr for control of Syconia's eastern island and eventually brought raids and attempted settlements to the heartland of the Ishtikarr as well.
The Decline of the Ishtikarr
The greatest people who had ever lived were doomed by the shifting of power, rise The Empire of Row and migrations of peoples throughout Arkendrose and by their own legacy. For centuries the power of the Ishtikarr had been checked throughout the world. The Crestites did what they could to maintain order and influence but the rapid expansion of the Rowan peoples had shattered the illusion of might the Ishtikarr once held on to. There decline in influence of CrestGrath amplified the political divide between the Crestites and they Grathites.
Over the centuries since the conception of the Ishtikarr, its nation had undergone shifts in rule based on its two legendary lines going back to prehistoric time. The decedents of Crestious and Grathis both had their political victories in the past as the culture of the Ishtikarr and political opinion shifted. The followers of Crestious were the Crestites exerting the will and influence of the Ishtikarr throughout Arkendrose while the followers of Grathis were concerned with maintaining the bureaucracy and applying an even hand within the domain. For centuries the Ishtikaar was either ruled by a royal dynasty or an imperial one depending on which side of the political sphere its leaders followed and which legendary Ishtikarrian hero those leaders claimed linage from. Eventually as Ishtikarr fell slowly into decline, the political divide led to civil war.
The Empire of Sou'dom
Through a great dormant Gate came the Sou'domise to the Lands of the Ishtikarr. They came as refugees with stories of Oni who had overrun their lands and kingdoms of old. They came in peace but were ready to fight to survive. The tired Ishtikarr welcomed the new people and gifted them the derelict South West region of their nation. The Sou'domise built a great city there which expanded with each passing year as more refugees from the Old World passed through the great Gate into Arkendrose.
Soon the Sou'domise were numerous enough to establish themselves as a strong and proud nation within Arkendrose. They expanded out in all directions covering the lands gifted them by the Ishtikarr. They maintained trade with the rest of Arkendrose where possible as well but slowly their numbers grew to such heights that they would need to look elsewhere for more futile lands.
The Iptian Migration
Sometime in the distant past, the people known as the Iptians migrated West form lands unknown into the heart of Arkendrose. The people, tired and half starved, finally stopped their westward movements once the reached the lands south of Row and Grerkly. There they founded the Iptian Kingdom and eventually constructed great pyramids. Their civilization flourished for a time until it came into conflict with the Rowans. Row subjugated Iptia but allowed them live in peace and did not try to assimilate them too deeply into Rowan culture. The Iptians would survive until the Resurrection of Ahk'ha'ma.
The War of Bri / The First Dark Elf War
As the Soudomise became more powerful and more plentiful, they also became under constant attack by the dark elf houses to the South in the Lands of Bri. With a need to expand and a natural enemy to the south, The Empire of Soudom declared war on all the people of Bri. Through great knowledge and power, the spiritual leaders of the Soudomise rose a great land bridge from the depths of the sea that connected the two continents. This allowed the Empire to mobilize a massive army and march it South to invade the Lands of Bri.
Bri proved to have many of the features of the Old World with bamboo forests, great mountains, pristine rivers and valleys. (This would change during the Great Boulder Run) The war was no more than seven years long with constant fighting day and night. The dark elves would attack primarily at night and in small numbers and the Soudomise would attack during the days with great force. All above ground settlements were quickly destroyed allowing the Soudomise to slowly migrate south while the empire's armies hunted for the hidden towns of the dark elves. In time the lack of unification of the dark elf houses sewed their destruction.
The dark elf survivors of the war fled deeper and deeper south eventually crossing another narrow sea to the continent of East Coastaar. One Arch Mage, however, remained to curse the lands of Bri. The official word from the Empire of Soudom was that such a curse was never effective but history would later suggest otherwise.
Ishtarrian Civil Wars
Those claiming royal linage and those claiming to hold to the ideals of
empire with those maintaining the linage of the line of emperors would every few generations rally supporters to their claim and fight for control of the Ishtikarr and later, Ishtarr as the nation would late be called. These wars repeated for around 600 years slowly destroying the once great Nation of the Ishtikarr. All semblance of power and prosperity was slowly leached from the lands of the Ishtikarr over the centuries until the last victory in the war which saw Prince Kell Kayoff on the throne of Ishtarr.
Kell adopted a policy which named key figures of his opposition from among the Ishtarrian imperials as the King's Counsel. The newly crowned, King Kell began an aggressive policy campaign where he gained allies and financial supporters from outside of the kingdom.
The Slow Collapse of the Rowan Empire
The Rowan City State had expanded to control and assimilate a vast expanse of Arkendrose over time. At their height they expanded as far East as the barbarian lands of East Gate and as far West as the lands of Beckhorone. Yet cracks in their imperium began to form over time. Row lost its control on its far flung provinces to the West first. The noble families of those areas did their best to carry one where Row left off but they were ill prepared for the absence of Rowan influence proved difficult and the old provinces eventually turned into a simple hereditary monarchy.
Ideological struggles with the provinces around the White Mountain had been a constant thorn in the side of the Empire for some time which eventually led to them declaring their independence and fighting the Empire in a civil war. With the steadily collapsing western portion of the empire, Row itself began to lose its connection to its strongest region, East Gate to the far South East as the Corginite and Kiran expansions, among others, disrupted trade lanes and Rowan regions. Lands once apart of the Rowan Empire began to fall or simpley lose direct contact with Row itself.
Before too long the Empire lost the West entirely and all eastern territories save for East Gate. East Gate however remained loyal to the ideals of Row and its provincial capital was even named Pax-Rowana in honor of it. The lands of the Byzantar and the great island on which Row itself sat were, however, for all intent and purpose, the last of the Empire. Row as an empire held on for many years more before ultimately its weakened state would cause it to lose direct-political control over even the once fully Rowan Byzantar.
The Sons of Acra
Among the great migrations was also those which brought with them tales of something beyond the Doom Ridge which, before the arrival of peoples from beyond it, had marked the end of the world for most of the History of Arkendrose. With the arrival of the Iptians and then the Sons of Acra, it became impossible to deny the existance of something more than what had been previously believed. With their arrival came also the word of their god which had been previously known as Sacrum by those living in what was once believed to have been all of Arkendrose. The diety has three known names now, Sacrum, Sacra and Acra.
The Sons of Acra, as they were called, were a people who had migrated from beyond the Eastern Doom Ridge and eventually settled among the island cluster just North of mainland and East of the Byzantar. They called their new land, Simila. Similar became a nation in its own right under various dynasties.
The Kiran Migration
Eventually, the Kiran's also began their own migrations. It is important to note that Kira was home to many peoples and tribes. There were great city states and nations within the continent of Kira and these often came into conflict often which, in part led to various Kiran peoples to move East and then North away form Kira first to the Island of Las'sel'ase and then to southern Meoldolon. The Kiran's that migrated to Las'sel'ase did not attempt to do what the Corginites did when they migrated there; they did not war for it. Instead, they made peace with the Corginites and founded a port town on the West bank of the great island.
Maltoverone's War
Maltoverone was seemingly blessed with Divine foreknowledge which led him to acquire the Key's of Arkendrose and with them he opened the locks barring the way to the Heart of Arkendrose, he slew the Beast of Arkendrose and took, not the Heart, but the filtering artifacts around it, the Galaxies for himself and his generals. With all of this in place, Maltoverone launched his war on Arkendrose. Arkendrose was not ready for the storm that came and its nations quickly crumbled under the overwhelming might of Maltoverone and his allies.
The Great Boulder Run
To weaken the Gods, Maltoverone had their temples and shrines destroyed wherever his armies marched. Then, with his power combined with the Galixies, Maltivar, Mor'em's Armor, the Morrasett and the Hearth of Arkendrose itself, Maltoverone unleashed an apocolyptic event on Arkendrose which would later be known as The Great Boulder Run, so named after the rocks and boulders that ripped free of the ground and were flung high into the air only to crash back down crushing what was beneath them. The Empire of Saodom was among the heaviest hit by this event with its landscapes collapsing into a shattered plain.
Once Arkendrose was firmly under heel, the conqueror took his fight to the Realm of Heaven... but he was betrayed. The Shadow Dragon, the God of Chance, informed the Council of the Spirit Realm when Maltoverone was coming. Though weakened by Maltoverone's War and Great Boulder Run, most of the Gods of Arkendrose were waiting for Maltoverone when he arrived. The priests tell of a great battle that took place before the Gates of the Realms of Heaven. Ultimately Maltoverone lost and his body is said to have been dismembered, his armor and weapons missing. Maltoverone's armies fell apart shortly after with no God King left to lead them.
The short time of Maltoverone was over almost as soon as it had begun and the world fought to recover from the shock. It would take centuries before Arkendrose would recover enough to once again establish semblances of the powerful nations that would be later seen again.
The Kiran Wars
The Dragon War: Around the year 800 AA, the lands of Kira erupted into conflict. The nations that lived there were too diverse in culture and race and this led to the war that is now known as the Dragon War. Due to the ever expanding civilizations, the natural rivalries and conflicting cultures, The Kiran barbarians, various ork and goblin nations and the Dragons of Kira came to wage war on one another. The war lasted only a year finishing after the Kiran Barbarians won a decisive victory over the rest of Kira weakening the Ork and Goblin tribes and nations and forcing the dragon races of Kira into submission.
The result of this war set the stage for the slow rise of the Kiran barbarian kingdoms which would slowly began to dominate Kira.
The Kiran War: With the Kiran barbarian kingdoms united and becoming closer and closer together, the ork and goblin tribes and nations united once more against them. By 984 AA, war had broken out again within Kira and beyond. The Ork and Goblin peoples of Kira allied themselves to their brethren in the Lands of Armin North of the Zera region between Kira and the Byzantar and together they posed a great to the supremacy of the Kiran Barbarian. War raged, in earnest soon after.
The lack of central leadership of the Kiran Kingdoms as a whole made the war turn in the favor of the tribes and nations of goblin and ork kinds who were firmly led from Armin. The Kiran kings and queens called on aid from Lasselles and Meoldolon to help turn the tide. When that aid did arrive however, it was not the Kiran kings and queens they rallied behind but rather the Warrior Mace who, with his friend Dagger Arnoke of Valandia, had gained a reputation among the people as heroes in countless battles. As the war raged on, it was Mace that united the people and the kingdoms to victory. After the war, Mace's overwhelming support from the people and the far flung regions populated by Kiran Barbarians saw to it that Mace was crowned First King of a united Kira.
Celtica
After the Kiran War, Dagger Arnoke, Duke of Valandia, returned to his homeland of Celtica. After being part of a great victory in Kira which saw to the unification of Kira into, what would soon become, a great nation of Arkendrose, Arnoke wished to see the same thing happen for his people. The old King of Celtica was dying and Dagger was next in line for the throne. Arnoke did not waste time preparing Celtical for war and expansion however. In truth, work had started as soon as he returned. Banners were called. Armies were raised and the nation was ready for conquest by the time of the old king's death.In 990 AA, the new King Dagger Arnoke of Celtica, Duke of Valandia, led his people in a war against Row to the East. The border lands fell quickly but Row put up more of fight once the Celtican forces reached the mountains which guarded their heartland. The once great Empire by that point had been long since reduced to the City of Row and a few outlying regions. Its generalship was also lacking which led to the total defeat of its army once Celtican armies could get into position. Row was forced to surrender to Celtica shortly after becoming subjugated lands of the Kingdom of Celtica.
This was the only true war of conquest in more recent history for Celticans. Their expansion South West was one of settlement and was mostly peaceful. Celticans, mostly from the Falkirk Islands and some Rowans, embarked on a long voyage South West to the lightly populated North Central West Coastaar. There, they settled the lands that would become known as Southern Celtica.
Manbala
Manbala and Row: Manbala had been a large island within the misty waters East of Keta filled with creatures and peoples of legend since before recorded history. The Rowan's settled there along its hospitable beaches during the empire's expansion. Soon they came into conflict with the dwarves in the cavernous city which rest beneath what would later be known as Rod'ven'gul. Unfortunately, history does not record the events of this time well and what records do exist were written by the Rowans who at first subjugated them.
Manbala, though connected to the rest of Arkendrose by the established trade lane from Row, remained somehow isolated from the rest of the world. In a time long since the age of heroes during the Tyrany of Tyrillia, Manbala was in and of itself its own self-contained Age of Heroes.
The Great Forest of Manbala: More than half the island has been covered by a thick and tropical forest for as long as the oral histories can claim. Today, in spite of recent events, it remains so. This grand forest was home to various peoples and creatures, chief among them the Manbalan Elves and the Mer'Maks. The elves prevented the Rowans and other Manbalan tribal peoples form exploiting the forest's resources but were not adverse to partaking in trade in small doses. Still, they remained independent and the Rowan's were content to let them be so.
Cyclopse and Giants: Manbala as a land of heroes was also a land of giants and even cyclopes. On the North East portion of the island was a massive-cave network and hills which was their home. Rarely did they venture out of this region and the smaller races living on the island generally avoided them. There were, however, clashes on occasion throughout history between the great folk and the rest. Row in particular were afraid of them and built defenses at the Port to deter potential attacks.
Manbalan War: Sometime after the slow collapse of Row was well near its completion, the human remnants of the Rowans, the dwarves, elves, great folk and even a dragon came to blows against one another. The tensions created by the weakening of the once dominant Rowans erupted into all out war among Manbalan tribes. The war was destructive for most involved and was only stopped be the aforementioned heroes. James of (EDIT NEEDED), a decedent of a prominent Rowan line, gathered other "heroes" to his banner and brought all sides into submission uniting Manbala under one flag. With the end of that war, Manabala became a kingdom.
The Fallnore Chronicle
Dwarf, Elf War: The continent of Fallnore was among the largest in known Arkendros and was home to three vast nations which dominated all but the Falnore Peninsula. In the North stretching form the start of the Peninsula to the East coast of Falnore was the Kingdom of Seenitory a kingdom of elven kind. South West of Seenitory was the Kingdom of Daklavan, a land of dwaves, bobbits, halflings, gnomes and other such races and, it made up a large portion of the western shore of Falnore. In the South was the vast lands of Jar'gon which covered most of the rest of Falnore.
Daklavan and Seenitory had been rivals over the many centuries following the fall of Tyrillia. Before their domains were ruled by completely by single rulers, the various lords and ladies of both sides often warred with one another. Eventually, however, both the Seenitoryian elves and the Daklavani Dwarves forged two powerful kingdoms and their problems grew into a petty war and rivalry between the two. Most of the combat had was in the border regions as neither side really seemed committed to conquering the other but rather proving points of pride and valor.
The Fallnore War: This all ended when Jar'gon to the South exploited the situation and invaded both countries. Jar'gonians managed to take Castle Seenitory and imprisoned the king of Seenitory within its walls. Jar'gon also swept North West deep into Daklavan conquering land, cities and fortresses all the way to the banks of Dak'arl river while at the same time a seperate Jar'gonian army made its way North to conquer lands in the eastern regions of mainland Seenitory.
It was this sudden invasion of both countries that finally put and end to the age-old dwarf and elven conflicts in part because their greater enemy was a mix of many races themselves including dwarves and elves who fought side by side. Daklavan and Seenitory, with aid from King Mace of Kira and King Dagger Arnoke of Celtica to combat the new threat. The allies managed to reverse the losses taken and even pushed Jarg'on deeper South. As Jar'gon began to lose lands that were traditionally theirs, their king was forced to come to the negotiating table to sue for peace.
Daklavan and Seenitory maintained the lands they had conquered from Jar'gon and a city would be built, including a network of defences, for Daklavan and Seenitory which would serve as a symbol of peace, trade and a reminder of what had happened and that it "would not happen again." This city would be known as Calmar.
The Liberation of Syconia
After centuries of being under partial Corganite occupation and constant threat of further invasion, Kings Loyal the 1st and 2nd of Sycon were able to until Syconia and push liberate the mainland of Syconia but with the ascension of King Loyal the 3rd, things changed. King Loyal the 3rd was too timid to lead his people to liberation. With the looming threat of a Corginite invasion, Bazavier finally gained enough support from the nobles and people of Syconia to imprison the kind yet docile King of Sycon and raise army strong enough to content with the Corginites.
Seeing this build up in strength, the Corginite's halted their plans for invasion and instead began focusing on defense of the island fortresses of Jasone and Krag. Bazavier liberated Sycon Island which gained him the support of the Knights of Sycon. With that support, Bazavier was able to depose King Loyal the 3rd and declare himself Emperor of Sycon.
A great tower was errected on one of Sycoina's Corgan controlled islands blessed by the power of the Juggernaut, the Deity of Null-Magic and the Un-natural. Corgan used this tower to destroy western defensive structures and eventually they turned it on the Castle Sycon. The resulting destruction was a heavy blow to the overall strength of Sycon but this did not stop Emperor Bazavier's plans, it only changed them slightly.
Bazavier was then in need of allies and he found them in the lands to the South. With a temporary alliance in hand, the Empire of Sycon under Emperor Bazavier and the Northern Empire under General Tibbs's military command liberated the remaining Syconian islands of Corgan rule.
Recent History of Arkendrose
The Empire of Coastaar
First land conquered was the Fertile Plane and its people were subjugated and or enslaved. Naval ports were built around and along the Mezorbison River to help further migrations and expansion. Two great armies were raised, one to defend East Coastaar and one to exert the will of the Empire to the dark elves of West Coastaar. The island of the Seventh Brotherhood also boasted an army as its populations had long since been integrated into dark elf society. Soon after, West Coastaar bowed to House Derantu and joined the empire but the expansion did not stop there.
Coastaar launched an invasion of Bri fighting mainly in the lightly populated southern regions. They achieved early victories and claimed large swaths of territory which had been lost to them for hundreds of years. This sparked the Second Dark Elf War in earnest. The Soudomise, now known as the Empire of Bri, launched a counter offensive against Coastaar but their attempts were halted by the superior numbers Coastaar possessed. This brought in other allies, namely Celtica, to assist Bri in fighting off the threat from the South and it would leader serve as the grounds in which the Star Alliance of Nations was formed.
Boxcart: Vestres Derantu, Empress of Coastaar, stepped down from her throne to allow her Son, Dengar Derantu, to take over and exact her will in her stead. In the Dark Elf culture this would typically be considered immoral and simply wrong but the Empire of Coastaar was formed with a pact with the Seventh Brotherhood, a demonic tribe. It was the demon's advanced ability, knowledge and power that made the initial unification of the Empire of Coastaar and all dark elf peoples possible. The brotherhood and those bound to them, i.e. the Death Knights, brought with them the loyalty of the Octa People and enough military might to win battles in many theaters of war. This, however, meant that this deal was not a one way agreement. Vestres mothered, Dangar Derantu, a half demon and he had been raised and trained to push the Empire to new heights and success.
Part of Dengar's policy was that of a re-construction and organization of how the empire's military was built and deployed. The Doren Training Fortress was constructed as a place dedicated to the training of professional armies. A siege program was started within the empire which implemented a tree unique to East Coastaar in the construction of siege weapons. Dengar's program also allowed for the fluid rotation of soldiers throughout the empire to other areas of duty which bolstered the strength and appearance of strength in areas of conflict which effectively added to the fear the Coastaarian army placed in the hearts of their enemies.
To put this new system to the test, Dengar launched a full scale invasion of a small principality on the Falnore peninsula, Boxcart. The force was overwhelming and resistance was broken almost as soon as the one and only battle of the war started. Those who could fled into the fortress at the northern border of the Boxcart region and attempted to escape by creating a portal, however, it would later be learned that their attempts caused the near complete destruction of the region. Regardless of this, the invasion was a total success and served to prove the worth of Dengar's system to his doubters and rivals within the empire.
The Northern Empire: The Northern Empire was assimilated into the Empire of Coastaar as well and its most outspoken "male" leader was disposed of along with an army of his most trusted after being sent on a doomed mission all the way across Arkendrose to East Gate where it broke in a failed invasion and was destroyed. With all of these regions firmly under Derantu control, the Empire launched a full invasion of revenge against the Soudomise of Bri. This was the start of a war that would later result in the formation of the Star Alliance of Nations which rallied against Coastaar.
The Star Alliance of Nations
For years the people of Celtica and Bri had been friendly with one another. When Celtica expanded their territory and settled the region that would be known as Southern Celtica, they did so with the permission of Bri and became close trade allies. This relationship continued to improve and when the Empire of Coastaar invaded Southern Bri, Celtica came to Bri's defence.
When it became apparent that the Empire of Coastaar was a rapidly expanding and powerful nation that could easily come to threaten both the trade and physical security of friendly nations, King Dagger Arnoke of Celtica gathered the leaders of various-friendly nations and trade partners in a diplomatic meeting held in Surba, Bri and explained his plan for an alliance of nations. Most parties involved were in agreement and a formal alliance was founded. The Star Alliance of Nations was formed and their first deployment of force would be Southern Celtica when Emperor Dengar shifted his focus to West Coastaar.
West Coastaar Campaign: Unable to break the Empire's foothold on Southern Bri, the Star Alliance shifted their focus to West Coastaar where a large portion of the Coastaarian population was based. A Celtican led force of alliance soldiers moved South into imperial West Coastaar and attacked the region of Borghess in an attempt to bait the empire into responding. It appeared to work as two full armies of the Empire of Coastaar later arrived to liberate the region. The Star Alliance withdrew immediately and fell back to Celtican lands.
The plan had been that three armies from Celtica, Lasanda and neighboring Beckhorone be prepared for the coming imperial force and together perform a a pincer assault with hopes of delivering a decisive blow to the empire. However, when the Coastaarian forces approached, Beckhorone had vacated the field. This sudden change was a heavy blow to the alliance armies that were still present. Without the assistance of Beckhorone, Celtica and Lasanda did not have the force and plan needed to end the battle victorious. After light fighting the allies surrendered the field to Coastaar.
Emperor Denger met with King Dagger Arnoke to discuss a regional truce while Lasanda withdrew from Southern Celtica. In order to have peace in the region, Dengar demanded that Celtica construct and found the building of a great wall which would be manned by imperial soldiers to keep Celtica from having an approach for another land invasion of imperial West Coastaar again. The King of Celtica and Speaker of the Alliance agreed to the terms and set his people to construct the wall under imperial supervision.
As time went by and the wall came to completion, there was a shift of military attention by the Empire of Coastaar to other theaters. This provided Celtica with both the time to regroup with their allies and to plan a second invasion of imperial West Coastaar. This time, the Star Alliance turned out in force with armies from all over Arkendrose forming into one great host at Fort Narg North of the West Coastaar Wall. Celtica, once again, invaded imperial West Coastaar by overwhelming the small-wall garrison, destroying the wall's gates and marching South. Celtica, however, did not get as far this time as there was an imperial army much closer to the boarder this time. Celtica turned back immediately and withdrew past the wall to Fort Narg in Southern Celtica. The imperial troops mobilized and followed slowly.
The Battle of Fort Narg: Narg was not a large fortress by any means and its walls were not particularly well built. The fort had been made in preparation to rising tensions between Celticans and Coastaarians within the last decade but it had never been intended to house such a large fighting force. In truth, there was no way for so many soldiers to live within its walls. Reports from the battle claimed the tent city stretched deep into the hills behind the fort. When the Empire of Coastaar came into sight however, all Star Alliance forces withdrew behind the walls.
Coastaar, however, stopped their march just out of the range of alliance siege weapons and archers. They had imperial trebuchets and this marked the first recorded battle where they were deployed. The line of trebuchet were able to strike the walls of Fort Narg with impunity causing casualties and drastically weakening the structural integrity of the fort. As promised this time, Beckhorone arrived from the West and met the imperial lines on the flanks but the overall size of the imperial forces, though smaller than the total allied armies, allowed the empire to continue to load and fire their trebuchets at the walls.
Beckhorone boasted the best equipped infantry and heavy cavalry on the field but their numbers were not enough to contened with Coastaar for long without aid from the Star Alliance forces which still hid behind their crumbling walls. King Dagger Arnoke, understanding the frailty of the allied position, deployed archers beyond the walls to attempt to stop the trebuchets from fighting. At the same time, the alliance deployed cavalry units. Once Beckhorone was weakened too much by the heavy fighting to continue with the battle, they were forced to withdraw leaving the Star Alliance to fight further on their own.
Western Bri: Unable to break the Coastaarian assault and unable to stop the trebuchet bombardment, the alliance made a frantic decision to retreat and save their forces. The Speaker of the Alliance chose to have the alliance retreat with their full military strength East to West Bri where they took up defensive positions behind the walls of the provincial capital. The Empire of Coastaar followed slowly once again deploying just out of range of allied siege and archers yet this time they did not attack. The Empire only waited, partially besieging the city.
High Priests of the Apocalypse
Among the Cults of Ahk'ha'ma were a small sect who dedicated their existence on the resurrection of Ahk'ha'ma . Ahk'ha'ma, known as the God of Vampires, had been destroyed by the people of Arkendorse, as legend tells it, hundreds if not thousands of years ago. The Cult of Ahk'ha'ma selected from among their number several members who would form the High Priests of a secret order. These High Priests of the Apocalypse were so named as the cult believed they it would take an apocalyptic event to return Ahk'ha'ma to Arkendrose. With an obscure prophesy in hand, the Cult of Ahk'ha'ma rallied the faithful to their cause.
First, Row over-through their Celtican masters and took their nation back for themselves. Then, lands such as Jar'gon, Beckhorone, Lorace, Grerkly, Row, the Kingdom of the Fury Lands and others amassed in force and marched to Keta where they formed a ring around the great mountain known to the common folk as the Fury Hole. From this sudo-volcano, the High Priests began their ritual. The armies of the Star Alliance counter with all the force they could muster in time and a great battle ensued at the base of the mountain. Two special teams managed to slip past the battle lines and ascend the mountain but once they reached the summit they were too late and were not able to stop the Cult of Ahk'ha'ma
. Ahk'ha'ma
was resurrected and brought back to Arkendrose. The resulting shock-wave caused massive destruction to the mountain's peak and send a shock-wave of negative energy rippling throughout Arkendrose killing countless thousands.
The Alliance of the Holy Blood (New Blood Alliance)
Second Vampire War and the Formation of the Alliance of the Holy Blood: Just before enacting the apocalyptic ritual to bring back Ahk'ha'ma, several nations around Arkendrose mobilized to defend the Island of Keta from those who would stop the resurrection. They all carried a sable banner with a crimson blood drop emblazoned upon it in conjunction with their national banners and heraldry. This was the official formation of what would be called the New Blood Alliance.
Following the formation, the alliance sent great forces of assembled armies throughout Arkendrose to strike at the world in an apparent act of ancient revenge perpetrated by these nation's vampiric overlords. This sparked the Second Vampire War though the majority of the populations of New Blood nations were not vampire but rather a mix of other races. Vampires had, however, become the high ranking aristocracy within New Blood domains.
Invasion of East Coastaar: Accompanying the Arkendrose wide assaults was also a massive attack on East Coastaar, the heart of the Empire of Coastaar. The Empire, being as stretched as it typically was, still maintained two defensive armies in East Coastaar and were able to meet the alliance in open battle eventually causing enough casualties that New Blood withdrew finding nothing to be gained from protracted battle.
Kira, Byzantar Conflict: The Kingdom of Kira proved to be one of the Star Alliance's strongest nations and therefor biggest problems from the newly formed New Blood Alliance in the early years of the Second Vampire War. Kira, however, was the only nation within the Star Alliance of Nations to operate independently of the overall alliance militarily. Kira boasted one of the strongest military if not most well rounded with many upsides. Their heavy infantry were superior to most in Arkendrose and surely among the most dangerous. They were also one of the few nations of Arkendrose to boast flying units comprised of drakes, dragons and their barbarian riders. They also constructed their own unique siege weapons to reduce costs from purchasing the new black-powder weapons out of Chee.
The military might of Kira launched an independent invasion of the Byzantar. Marching up the High Road they pushed through the Order of Florence's southern defenses and moved on the nation's, and alliance, capital of Blood Moon. Knowing full well that they would likely lose a battle in the open, the Order of Florence withdrew their forces back behind the ring of mountains and walls that defended their ancient city and held the city firm against everything Kira could throw at them. Kira took heavy casualties during their siege of the city and were forced to withdraw from the Byzantar. Kira later made a second attempt but this attempt ended much the same as the first.
Meoldolon
The lands of Meoldolon had often been in conflict with one another over
the centuries. Their tribes consisted of Kiran barbarians, the wraiths
of Wron, the elves of Meridor, the Meoldolens and, Ral humans. Ral and
the Meoldolens were once closer together but over time the two people's
came into conflict over matters of trade and honor. From the beginning
the Meridorian elves seemed to despise the humans but not as much as the
destructive wraiths on their southern and northern borders but the
evles mainly kept themselves by force. Most of the ancient wars saw more than half of their battles decided on the fields of Scross which rest North of the White city in the center of Meoldolon.
Wron: The lands of the wraiths. Created from the Birth of Evil, the wraiths settled the North western peninsula of Meoldolon and its central West region just South of the Forest of Meridor. There, the wraiths mainly kept to themselves, slowly maintaining an equilibrium within their lands to maintain their populations and small but formidable military. Though they were secluded within their own lands, the wraiths of Wron did venture out in small number to every corner of Meoldolon staying active in affairs of the great island and attempting to manipulate the political situation to favor the individual wraith or Wron itself.
Ral: Ral's baronies were created after the Rowan's expanded to the Far East and established themselves in the region. The Rowans mixed with the native Meoldolon populations which on the coasts mainly consisted of fishing villiages at the time eventually building it into a powerful-coastal duchy even after Row's slow collapse.
Kingdom of Meoldolon: The Meoldolons were a collection of smaller tribes and houses mixed with Rowan families after their expansion. Over time, the Meoldolons began to solidify under one noble family which imposed its dominion over the central Meoldolon regions forming the Kingdom of Meoldolon. This rising and organized power would disrupt the delicate power balance of Meoldolon and later would lead once again to war.
Meridor: The forest of Meridor and Meridor itself at its center was home to an elven people. The elves had been native to Meoldolon for as long as anyone could remember. It is likely that they migrated there from Falnore and East Falnore but these details are lost to history. The Meridorians mainly kept to themselves but occasionally retaliated when anyone encroached upon their domain. Their greatest fear was Wron which bordered them both North and South. The wraiths of Wron fed off of life itself draining nutrients from the land to survive. Though this was not their fault, their very nature was considered an abomination by the Meridorians and a deep hatred for the wraiths was ingrained in their culture.
With Wron to the North and South, Meridor also bordered the new Kingdom of Meldolon and the neutral Fields of Scross which was home to only nomadic bands and carrion. The elves of Meridor trapped the edges of the forest and built tree top fortifications along it to keep would-be-invaders out.
Kul: Much later in the history of Meoldolon, there was a Kiran migration which brought barbarian settlers to the least populated region of Meoldolon, its South. These settlers built up the region of Kul and carried the banner of Kira though they were only loosely governed by them and were, for all intent and purpose, autonomous. These settlers posed little to no threat to their neighbors, the Kingdom of Meldolon to the North and often trade with them and Ral.
Ral Wars: As Rowan influence subsided and died in the Far East, a power vacuum was formed. Up until that point, much of Meoldolon had been Rowan provinces. With no governors maintaining order, various noble families began to take control. In the center of Meoldolon, one house managed to subjugate Meoldolon's heartland forming the Kingdom of Meoldolon. At the same time, Ral's baronies fought each other for dominance. At times, Ral also fought the Kingdom of Meoldolon as well but the Kingdom typically was able to maintain its grip over most of the heartland as the baronies of Ral were never fully united until they were.
During a long reprieve from war with the Kingdom of Meoldolon, one baron subjugated most of the Ral baronies and defeated his finally rival in a decisive battle uniting Ral under one banner creating the Duchy of Ral. With this new found unity, Ral was able to contend with the strength of the Kingdom of Meoldolon. At the start of the war, Ral managed to defeat the Meoldolon army and pushed them back away from the river occupying Meoldolon's southern most region yet continuing to push there was futile due to difficult terrain. Ral swung the bulk of their forces to the North and invaded Meoldolon over the Fields of Scross. This strategy would have placed the White City itself under siege if it were not for careful diplomacy with the elves of Meridor and separately the wraiths of Wron on behalf of Meoldolon.
As Ral's forces fought back a constantly retreating Meoldolon their lines thinned and their baggage train grew further and further away form their front. Meridor attacked Ral in the rear cutting Ral's main force off rom their supplies while Meoldolon stopped retreating and engaged Ral in pitched battle just beyond the Fields of Scross. Wron emerged from the South West and together Wron, Meoldolon and Meridor surrounded the Ral host forcing its surrender and subsequently the surrender of the Duchy of Ral as a whole.
Wron's War: Wron, having gained little after aiding Meoldolon against Ral, would retaliate many years later against the Kingdom of Meoldolon but only after their carefully weakened Meoldolon's hold on Ral and their relationship with Meridor. The idea was to isolate the kingdom from its once ally of Meridor and its client state of Ral. This would make up for Wron's fewer numbers allowing the quality of their military to give them the advantage in battle. The plan appeared to work when Wron attacked from the West striking a heavy blow against the Count of Loksly. The White City was slow to send aid hoping to wait out the Count's attempt at diplomacy with Meridor.
The King of Meoldolon could not wait long however, as Wron pushed through Loksly and laid siege to the White City itself. Finally however, Meridor did arrive to aid Meoldolon led by the Lady Ures' and the Count of Loksly. Seeing their allies arrive from the North, Meoldolon opened their gates and launched a counter attack against Wron. Though the battle was devastating for both sides, Meoldolon was victorious and Wron was forced to surrender the field and retreat back to Blinkrite ending the war.
Wron had always been a patient
problem that had one day erupted into a war against the old king of
Meoldolon who they believed was not next in-line for the throne.
United Kingdom of Meoldolon: Now, with all of Meoldolon reeling from the last war or still recovering from the war before that, the nobility of the subcontinent of Meoldolon came together to discuss a lasting peace. Most prominent among them was the Lord Zakurias
of Wron, the Lady Ure's of Meridor, The Duke of Ral and the King of Meoldolon. Together they agreed to a rotating crown which would grant power over the generations to the various leading houses of Meoldolon. The crown would go before an elector and a new King or Queen would be decided based on the result. No house could rule twice in a row. This was agreed upon by the majority of the nobles present and thus began an era of peace.
Three Nations Civil War: A few generations and rotations of rulers passed but one family seemed to maintain dominant power over Meoldolon and that was the original royal family who's relationship with Meridor had only strengthened over time. This close alliance tipped the balance of power in favor of the Meoldolons which angered the prideful Ral Duchy. Also slighted were the wraiths of Wron who believed they were being excluded from ruler-ship entirely out of fear. It was less than two hundred years before Meoldolon was once again at war only this time the war covered nearly the entire subcontinent.
Desperate to maintain peace the new Lord Ures', Zaniger Ures' brought the Meoldolon back to the peace table to discuss a Crown Tournament to change their kingdom's government
removing the heirs replacing them with a new royal family. Seeing logic in Ures's explanation, the ruling houses wished for peace and stability and agreed to the idea of the Lord Ures'. With an external royal family, Meoldolon's nobility would have no room to claim one side was gaining too much power over the other.
Meoldolon Crown Tournament: The Lord Ures' sent out invitations to the Meoldolon Crown Tournament and many would be kings and queens answered. The strongest among the participants, Lucifer Spite, won and was crowned King of Meoldolon. As Spite's first order as king, he named his half-brother Damian, Count of Meoldolon a previously non-existent title which effectively made him regent when Lucifer was not there or until such a time as an heir was born. Secondly, King Spite made the shocking decision to remove the Duke of Ral from power and named his friend Slim, a traveling warrior and merchant, as the new Duke of Ral. This degree was for a long time not a popular one among the people of Ral as they mostly loved their prior duke but in time Ral would come to respect their new lord. Wron and Meridor maintained their status as providential powers while the Lord Ures' was made counsel to the king.
The Eastern Alliance
The formation of the Star Alliance of Nations brought with it a unified body of countries complete with fixed trade agreements and regulations. Noting that this new Alliance would be very prosperous in trade and thus leave the nations of eastern Arkendrose behind, King Elden Stronghammer of East Gate embarked on an alliance-forging campaign.
King Elden decided to enforce his plan by sending a unit of his private-elite guard known as (forgot...) to poison the water supply for the capital city of Sham Sung (Spelling?). With this action, forward units of the East Gate army move into place to add pressure to the Lasandan Kingdom. It was around this time that fate would present King Elden with a golden opportunity. Protocol within the culture of Lasanda, which was similar in parts to that of the Soudomise and Kira alike, was in some ways oppressive to those in power heavily restricting their freedom of movement. The then King of Lasanda, King Tan'ka, had grown impatient with the isolation and managed to free himself of his own castle only to be captured by King Elden's private elite who were laying in wait just beyond the castle walls.
King Elden had King Tan'ka brought back to East Gate and imprisoned. There, King Elden pressured Tan'ka to submit to his "alliance" but, the King of Lasanda refused until King Dagger Arnoke of Celtica arrived to plead on Tan'ka's behalf. Seeing that there was no reasonable and effective solution to the problem at hand, Arnoke asked Tan'ka to surrender to Elden and allow for the annexation of Lasanda. In return the relationship between the newly forming Eastern Alliance and the Star Alliance of Nations would be positive one, reducing the number of potential enemies the Star already had. Tan'ka accepted making Lasanda a client state of East Gate and a partial cultural reform was implemented within the northern kingdom.
As the concept and ideals of the Eastern Alliance spread throughout the East, other nations joined such as Corgen and Meoldolen.
The Star and the East
Kira leaves the Star Alliance: Since the warrior Mace had become King of Kira, Kira had been loyal to Mace's friend, King Arnoke of Celtica and his ideals of an alliance of nations. However, Mace was a man of personal pride and he often led his armies himself against the enemies of the alliance and the enemies of Kira. While the rest of the Star Alliance of Nations formed the Star Alliance army, Kira waged war on their own and did not take part. This proved to be Mace's undoing as he lead Kira's strongest army against the infamous Air Claw Army of the Empire of Coastaar. There, the two sides clashed high above the ocean. King Mace himself led the charge.
Mace, however, had been "gifted" an artifact years prior of immense power. This artifact was believed to contain the soul of the King Tyrillian and with it Mace could take on some of the aspects of the King Tyrillian in battle. Knowing nothing of Tyrillian lore, Mace used the artifact, known as the Dragon Charm, to used the Tyrillian's breath weapon the Tyrilliam Beam but he did so against Sir Red, the Knight of Airclaw and general of the opposing army. Sir Red was believed to be one of the last living Tyrillian Slayers of old. Sir Red is reported to have blocked the beam with a Shield of Tyrillian Slaying and then struck King Mace down claiming vitory over Kira.
This ended Kira's military dominance in the field. Prior to that loss, Kira had never been defeated in open battle under King Mace. Mace also went missing after his defeat which saw to it that Kira was absent from any conflicts at that time then after. When Mace resurfaced a year later, he did so with a welp Tyrillian named Talon, the first Arkendrose had seen since the Fall of Tyrillia which was all but legend up until that point. Mace claimed that Talon was his heir and the people accepted, overjoyed at their hero king's return. That return, however, would not last. The one who had gifted him the Dragon Charm, Sect the First Wraith, called in his debt by forcing Mace into an artifact known only as "The Box" where he corrupted and perverted the King of Kira.
During Mace's absence, the young Talon was forced to take over. The Castle of Kira was rebuilt to house Talon as Talon would soon be too big to walk its halls. Once the construction was completed, Talon assumed full control over Kira and rejoined the nation to the efforts of the Star Alliance of Nations who up until that point were fighting a war on two or more fronts. Under Talon, Kira regained stability and some of its military strength. With Kira stable onc more, Talon joined in an offensive to the training fortress of Doren in West Coastaar. It was at this time that the old King Mace returned. Twisted and darkened, Mace used the "Dragon Charm" to turn the dragons on their riders crippling the Kiran army in West Coastaar. Kira retreated from the West Coastaar theater. This would mark the last Star Alliance campaign Kira took part in.
In the year that followed, Talon grew disgusted with the barbarian people of Kira preferring the cousins of his own kind, the other races of dragon and drake. To rectify his disdain, he saw to the completion of the "Yellow Totem Magic School" near the two Incarens in Southern Kira. He consolidated Kira by allowing the resettling of peoples in the East to mainland Kira. Following that he sold the Kul region to the Kingdom of Meoldolon and he sold the Island of las'sel'les to Corgen. Still in-spite all of these efforts, they were not enough.
Talon withdrew Kira from the Star Alliance completely and later he left Kira entirely taking with him the majority the surviving dragons and drakes. He settled a Kiran island and North of that the Island of Shim which had once been a pirate haven creating the Republic of Dragonia.
New Lord Administrator of the Eastern Alliance: Lord Elden Stronhammer, the King of East Gate and founder of the Eastern Alliance had reportedly grown ill, though this was never made public knowledge. The kings of East Gate were revered as demigods and a long lasting illness, let alone normal one, would not look favorably on the nation's stability. As a result, Elden sent Ambassador Archibold to General Sparks, the leader of the Nation of Corgen to request that Sparks become the new leader of the alliance in Elden's stead. General Sparks agreed.
General Sparks named himself the Lord Administrator of the Eastern Alliance and embarked on a series of reforms. These reforms united the nations of the East more equally. This gave each nation back their autonomy and focused the alliance toward trade as a means to compete against the Star Alliance of Nations.
Eastern Alliance and the War with the Holy Blood: When the Alliance of the Holy Blood formed, the East was not spared their wrath. The second largest and second most powerful nation of the New Blood Alliance was Jar'gon which shared a border with both East Seenitory and Corgen in the East. Jar'gon had invaded North Corgen at the start of the war and had fought battles against Corgen. Corgen had managed to push them back with help from East Gate and with the use of their Towers of the Juggernaut but were unable to claim a decisive victory over them. It was due to the wish for vengeance and the ever present New Blood threat that the Lord Administrator rallied the support of the Eastern Alliance against Corgen's enemy.
The Lord Administrator would then work with the Star Alliance, using their strength, to coordinate combined operations against the Holy Blood. At first the Eastern Alliance attempted to respond to conflicts in central Arkendrose but almost every time they made the attempt they did not manage to get there in time and, more often then not, the Star Alliance had already lost. This led to the Lord Administrator working out a plan with the Speaker of the Star Alliance of Nations to strike at the hearth of New Blood directly as Kira had attempted to do a few years prior.
Invasion of the Order of Florence and the Siege of Bloodmoon: The walled-city of Bloodmoon tucked safely behind its ring of mountains became the capital of the New Blood Aliance after the Aliance's creation. There, in the ancient Forum of the city, the three pillars of New Blood's alliance, the Lords, the Church and the Counsel, met and decided policy. This was the first major target of the Star and East Coalitions. Eastern Alliance and Star Alliance forces mobilized in their respective lands and launched a large-scale naval invasion of the Order of Florence with the primary goal being taking and holding the Alliance of the Holy Blood's capital.
Everything went well at first. The Star Alliance landed on the North West end of the Byzantar and fight their way to the city while the Eastern Alliance landed in central Byzantar sacking a regional capital and capturing Fort Plaunth. The siege of Bloodmoon took longer than expected as the city itself was self sufficient from the inside if need be. Within its ring of defences was farmland leading up to the massive urban center of the city allowing it to keep both defenders and citizens fed for extended periods of time. Meanwhile, the Order of Florence still maintained a strong military outside of Bloodmoon among the mountainous lands of the Byzantar. Out of Fort Drake, and the surrounding regions, consistent raids destroyed supply lines for both the besieging force and the Eastern Alliance forces at Plaunth.
Frustrated by the Star Alliance's inability to take the city and secure their supply lines, the Lord Administrator of the Eastern Alliance ordered a general withdrawal of all Eastern Alliance military in the region back to Plaunth and then eventually, their ships. Meanwhile, the Star Alliance had found a route through the mountains where a smaller and quicker force was able to shock the defenders and pull a sizable force from the outer defenses to counter what they believed to be a full-scale pivot of Star Alliance troops. With this opening being quickly reported back to the main command of the Star Alliance armies, a full scale bombardment of the walls and battering of the gates was called.
The overwhelming force and numerical superiority of the attackers proved to be too much for the Order's defense of their city and an evacuation was called out of their northern gate. When the Star Alliance armies finally made their way into the city they razed it to the ground leaving smoldering ruins. This act was likely more out of anger and rage than of any logical strategy as it hurt them in the end. The fires had quickly raged out of control burning much of the crops within the walls and ring of mountains and, with most of the population evacuated before the Star Alliance could fully push their way into the city, there was not a enough people who could farm the land that had not been burned. Adding that to the shattered supply lines and the Star Alliance was unable to hold the city for long. In the end, they too would withdraw to their ships leaving the Order of Florence to rebuild ultimately not having lost too much in the invasion.
First Combined Invasion of Jar'gon: Not a year after the failed invasion of the Order of Florence, a new coalition between the Star and Eastern Alliances was formed. This time the target was the Kingdom of Jar'gon in Falnore and General Sparks, the Lord Administrator of the Eastern Alliance, was leading the planning for the combined mission. This plan was for a combined invasion from the North at Calmar with all available forces in the region. The Eastern Alliance invaded from the North East earning easy victories against a light defense while the Star Alliance crossed the border into Jar'gon from the Gates of Calmar where they met fierce resistance. Unknown to the 2nd Star and East Coalition at the time, Jar'gon had been mobilizing out of view of Calmar for some time and were ready when the invasion began.
Star Alliance forces attempted to hold their ground while they waited for aid from the Eastern Alliance but this proved to take too much time as cracks in the Star lines began to form. By the time the Eastern Alliance had arrived it had been too late. The Star Alliance force, mainly made up of Seenitory and Daklavan armies, was reeling. What was worse is that the Jar'gon had also called for aid and that aid arrived shortly after the Eastern Alliance did cutting one of their armies off from the main body of their combined force and nearly destroyed it. After a long day of fighting, the King of Daklavan called for a general Coalition retreat to the ire of General Sparks of Corgen, the Lord Administrator of the Eastern Alliance. Sparks reportedly had been prepared to let all of his Corginites die in the fighting if it meant claiming victory yet with the Star Alliance in full retreat that left little other option than for the Eastern Alliance to do the same.
Mythgul Splits from Daklavan joining the Eastern Alliance: Following the embarrassing defeats at Bloodmoon and at northern Jar'gon, Mythgul declared their independence from the Kingdom of Daklavan and joined the Eastern Alliance. Daklavan, given their geographical location and ongoing war with the Kingdom of Jar'gon to the South, could do little to prevent the split which effectively cut Daklavan in half. Further more, the Star Alliance felt they could not retaliate against the Eastern Alliance as the East had been, up until that point, fighting along side the Star Alliance of Nations against their common enemy of New Blood. Thus, nothing happened but the Star Alliance grew weaker and the Eastern Alliance stronger.
Second Combined Invasion of Jar'gon: In spite of the Mythgul becoming its own nation by separating from Daklavan and joining the Eastern Alliance, the leadership of both alliances came together once more to form the 3rd Star East Coalition and plan for the second invasion of Jar'gon. This time, General Sparks wanted to deploy more soldiers from across both alliances to create overwhelming odds against the Kingdom of Jar'gon. The Star Alliance would once again mobilize at Calmar but this time the Eastern Alliance would invade from the South at South Falnore Forest.
To get the numbers required by the plan, the Star Alliance's northern nations had to deploy armies far to the South of Arkendrose and this took time. As the armies of the Star Alliance made their journey to Calmar, Jar'gon readied its defense strategy. The New Blood nation brought in an ally of its own, Mistmoor, and sent them South to supplement the small Jar'gonian army that was deployed to defend the region.
When the Eastern Alliance arrived their plan was to land their combined strength on the Southern shore of Jar'gon and make camp there pending the combined advance between coalition partners. The Eastern Alliance made landing without resistance an marched their cavalry then foot North into South Falnor Forest. Last to disembark from the ships was the siege weapons which included the Star Alliance's Arrow Storm Cannons which were modified to help fight the vampires of the Alliance of the Holy Blood. With the alliance navy at their backs, the E.A forces had no apparent reason to worry about their rear which was to be their fatal error.
From out of the ocean, Mistmoor's new legions of undead known as Minions emerged from beneath the waves a the rear of the Alliance column where the siege was. The Minions focused their attack on those weapons destroying as many as they could as quickly as they could. The East tried to retaliate but were set upon from within the forest by the bulk of Mistmoor's forces supported by a small army of Jar'gonians. Although the East's soldiers were better equipped than Mistoor's the sheer numbers the Mistmoorians brought to bare proved to be too much for the invaders to deal with quickly. This had the effect that relief for the siege engine crews was limited in number and response speed.
Soon a general retreat was called in order to save as many of the expensive siege weapons as possible and to provide the alliance with a chance to regroup. General Sparks of Corgen had expected the Star Alliance to commence the invasion as planned but the Star refused to commit to a full scale invasion before the bulk of their force had arrived. This allowed the Holy Blood forces to gain the upper hand quickly stopping any Star attempts of advancement. The second invasion of Jar'gon ended even quicker than had the first. General Sparks ordered the withdrawal of all Eastern Alliance forces in response and returned East.
Invasion of Trister: Likely part of the reason why the Star Alliance of Nations did not commit to the second invasion of Jar'gon as originally agreed is due to the Alliance of the Holy Blood's response to it. The Holy Blood mobilized seven nations of their alliance and sailed them to the main island of Celtica, a kingdom within the Star Alliance of Nations, and landed seven armies on its shores. Due to having sent the bulk of its fighting force South to Calmar to take part in the second invasion of Jar'gon, only about half of one of Celtica's armies was present to slow the initial invasion.
The battleground was the City of Trister, Celtica's capital and, at that time, the capital of the Star Alliance of Nations. Patrolling-alliance ships spotted the massive Holy Blood fleet as it sailed steadily toward Celtica and reported their findings immediately. Celtica mobilized what remained of its navy at home to hurry the advancing fleet employing mages to create a massive storm to hinder the enemy's approach. The storms and the naval action bought Celtica time to call for aid and to set up defenses.
Great ditches were dug along the beaches. Pitch and other flammable substances were placed within one of the rows of ditches. The ditches were made so that they would funnel the Holy Blood soldiers toward the Port Gates of the City where defenders could attempt to reduce the numbers advantage against them.
Due to having many vampires among the ranks of the Alliance of the Holy Blood, soldiers first landed as the Zunn disappeared behind the horizon. This served to cast heavy shadows over the beaches which further diluted the general visibility of the invaders. The first army to land was that of the Lord Director of the Holy Blood's Kingdom of Lorace. The Loracen army poured from their ships onto the beaches toward rows of Celtican archers supplemented by a mercenary company who were waiting for them. Legions from other armies joined their advance heavily outnumbering the defenders.
As the gap between the defenders and the ditches filled with invaders, the burning pits were lit a blaze effectively cutting the vanguard of the invasion off from the bulk of its force. The Celtican archers quickly retreated behind the city walls while Celtican cavalry and mercenaries charged forward to deal as heavy a blow against the invaders as possible. This first action crippled the forces of the invading vanguard and bought the city more time.
The Battle for Trister: In the following days, the Holy Blood invaders reorganized their forces and renewed their assault on the city. With news from the successes in Jar'gon in hand, the Holy Blood were confident in their advantage in spite of Celtica's initial victories at Trister. With the ditches cleared, the invasion continued. The city walls at the Port Gates were quickly overwhelmed by Holy Blood legions. The Celtican's did not put up a fierce resistance preferring to retreat further into the city to fight in the streets where numbers would mean less.
As the invasion continued, the Holy Blood pressed further and further into the city. Progress was quick at first as the first third of the city fell rapidly. However, progress slowed when Celtica received its first reinforcements. Forces from White Mountain and Shimabora made their way to the city from the Celtican ports in the West and soon joined their strength to the remaining strength of the defenders. At the height of the long battle, half the city had fallen to the Holy Blood. To stop the enemy advance, the Star Alliance managed to bring near four armies to bare against what amounted to six of the Holy Blood's.
Fighting was heaviest in the market district of Trister where one battle was particularly of note. At the New House Market Fortress, now SLIM's Market Fortress and a walled place of trade, the City States of Gerkely sent over five thousand Abassis warriors against it's defenders. The defenders, however, only amounted to a few hundred but managed to hold the market for near a full day before allied reinforcements could relieve them. This single battle within a battle market a slow turning point in the invasion which eventually saw the Holy Blood retreat from Celtican shores but not without great cost to the city, its defenders and its people.
Occuptation of East Jar'gon: Angered with the decisive defeat the Eastern Alliance had faced at South Falnor Forest and at the Star Alliance of Nations for their inaction, General Sparks ordered the Alliance fleet to East Jar'gon where they invaded and occupied much of the region including its providential capital, Tempest. During the occupation looting, pillaging and murder was common place and in some cases sanctioned by General Sparks himself. East Jar'gon bleed for the embarrassment that had befallen Sparks in South Falnor Forest.
It was during this time that the Lords
of the Holy Blood had the Lord Director, King Lyric of Lorace, step
down after his costly and failed invasion of Celtica. A new Lord
Director was chosen, the King of Jar'gon.
This new Lord Director primarily sought to rebuild the Alliance of the Holy Blood, which meant an end to all hostilities. However, to achieve this peace was needed or the very least a ceasing of open conflict. The Eastern Alliance had to leave East Jar'gon without a fight. The demanded price of this way high but one the new Lord Director felt necessary to pay.
Knights of Arkendrose and the Rise of Sect God of Pain and Evil
The Heart of Arkendrose: To some it had become clear that the First Wraith, Sect of Wron, posed a great threat to Arkendorse. Lucifer Spite believed strongly that Sect was the greatest threat facing the world. He believed he understood the solution and set out on a quest to recover the object of his thoughts, the Heart of Arkendrose.
The Knights of Arkendrose: Though not much is known about the events of the Quest for the Heart, what is known is that the Gods of the Council of the Spirit Realm sent representatives from the Halls on High to knight 29 warriors as Knights of Arkendrose. These Knights were responsible for protecting the World of Arkendrose from threats that would destroy it be they external or internal. Together the newly Knighted ascended the Mountain at the center of the Isle of Keta resisted by a large force from the Alliance of the Holy Blood. King Sir Lucifer Spite believed that the Heart would be found within the mountain. With the use of the "Keys of Arkendrose," which had been collected over the years by Slim, Duke of Ral, the way to the Heart was opened.
The Rampage of the Beast: What emerged from that mountain terrified and terrorized its way from Keta, to Kira and eventually to New Arcana. Though survivors are not sure what it was exactly, some say it was Lucifer himself while others claim it was a wraith or someone else entirely. When this beast's rampage ended, it disappeared leaving only Lucifer Spite behind. Lucifer rallied whoever would still listened him and told them that it was Sect that had caused the destructive and murderous rampage. He warmed them that Sect was about to attempt to ascend to divinity and that they must be stopped at all costs.
The Birth of Evil: The Knights of Arkendrose and others who heeded Lucifer's warning tacked the Heart of Arkendrose to a ruined temple in northern Wron known as the Birth of Evil. Although the Knights and their allies tried to stop Sect, on that day the temple's namesake became reality as Sect ascended using the Spirt of Pain and Evil to divinity. Shortly after, Sect and his army moved South-by-South East. The Knights and their allies followed arriving a half a day behind their enemy.
The Battle at the Chaos Gate: The Knights of Arkendrose and others who heeded Lucifer's warning, and who had been at the Birth of Evil, tracked and followed Sect to East Mythgul. Once they arrived to the location where the presence of the Heart of Arkendrose could be sensed they came upon a massive battle already in progress. An outnumbered army of Mythgul was attempting to defend the Chaos Gate from the Army of Sect. The Army Sect reportedly numbered over two hundred while the defenders numbered less than forty thousand.
Knowing the Mythgul would not be able to hold out against the superior numbers for long, the Knights of Arkendrose and their companions fought their way through to the Gate to thwart whatever plan it was that Sect had hatched. In the confusion of battle, several of the Knights managed to slip through the Chaos Gate after others did the same. The outcome of the the mission through the Chaos Gate is not known. If Sect was successful, the results of that success have yet to made themselves known.
The Return of the Fallen
The Return: Shortly after the ascension of Sect, a demon by the name of Aris Mord traveled to the Forest of Voy in the Northern Empire region of Coastaar. There, Mord revived the long since buried and forgotten King of the Fallen, Vex. It is speculated by the Colleges of Magic that the return of Aris Mord and the revival of Vex, King of the Fallen was in direct relation to the ascension of Sect. This theory would be put into question shortly after the appearance of Hell Spires throughout Arkendrose as their resident demon houses would fight and destroy anything that was not of demon kind including followers of Sect.
Under the direction of Aris Mord, the Kingdom of the Fallen began to form from a handful of Hell Spires and their noble houses. The first Spires to form the Kingdom of the Fallen formed its core while others resisted the rule of King Vex and his Counselor, Aris Mord. When a Spire and its House stood against the Kingdom of the Fallen both sides followed the Demon Codex. Should the King arrive at the Spire he could challenge the Lord or Lady of the Spire to honorable combat. The House had no choice but to accept in this circumstance according to the Codex and would do so. Should the House of the Spire lose the duel then their Lord or Lady would bend the knee. And so one spire fell after the other when King Vex could be brought to them for the honor challenge and with that the Kingdom grew.
Genocide: King Vex appeared to be manipulated by Aris Mord. Aris himself was the last Royal Counselor to the King and seemed to push the primary policy of the Kingdom of the Fallen, genocide. Air Mord's doctrine dictated that the Humanoid races were a corrupt pest incapable maintaining law, order, honor and code within their own peoples. According to Mord, only demon kind were capable of this as they followed the Demon Codex without fail.
Demons have made appearances in Arkendrose countless times but were rarely present in great number. After the arrival of the Hell Spires and their Kingdom of the Fallen, the Colleges of Magic searched the oldest tombs in their libraries to find any records of the existence of the Fallen throughout recorded history. It was there that they learned that there had once been a Kingdom of the Fallen but that it had destroyed by other Arkendrosian races over 9000 years before.
The Fall of Meoldolen: Aris Mord sent the armies of the Fallen to destroy the nations their Hell Spires rested in. In some cases, the Fallen would form a larger army and march collectively with several houses against the forces of various Arkendrosian Lands. The most notable of these massive campaigns is that of the Kingdom of Meoldolen.
Meoldolen was made up of several lands. Wron to the West and North, Ral to the North and East, Meridor in the forest separating the two halves of Wron in the West, Lockly and the White City in the center and finally the Kul to the South formed the Kingdom of Meoldolen. Following a civil war the Kingdom's regions called a tournament to name a new king or queen of Meoldolen. The victor of this Crown Tournament was a Hudonsa be the name of Lucifer Spite.
Lucifer and his allies claimed the nation's high seat at the White City after their victory. King Lucifer did not wait long before naming his own charges to position of nobility and power within Meoldolen. His old friend Slim was named Duke of Ral while his half brother Damian Spite was named Count of Meoldolen. With strength and will the nation once again knew peace; that is until the Kingdom of the Fallen arrived.
A large host from the Kingdom of the Fallen including the houses of Re'vak, Del'der'Markus and Tragamore cut deep into Meoldolen's bread basket laying waste to villages, towns and cities within the Southern reaches of the domains of Lockly and the White City. Kul and the Kiran Hills stood no chance against the Fallen and were cut off from the rest of Meoldolen within less than a month of the invasion. Lockly proper was next.
Nestled into the foothills beneath the mountain range of the White City, Lockly acted as a first line of defense before the kingdom's capital. These defenses did not hold long against the Kingdom of the Fallen. The White City itself however was saved at first with the arrival of the King of Meoldolen. King Lucifer Spite turned the tide of battle at first until Vex, King of the Fallen arrived to confront Lucifer personally. Vex defeated the King of Meoldolen in combat and the White City, the kingdom's capital, was promptly sacked.
During the ongoing war in Meoldolen, Ra'vak was slain in battle at Dunking. The victory came too little too late as the heartlands of Meoldolen were already shattered after the fall of Dhalgon leaving Ral, Wrong and Meridor standing in the way of Meoldolen's total destruction.
The lands of Wron and their Wraiths
were somehow not targeted by the Fallen leaving many to speculate
that they had made some sort of deal with them. Instead, the army of
the Fallen moved North West to the Forest of Meridor where they
confronted the elves.
Lord Zaniger Ures evacuated Meridor's settlements calling all of Meridor's people back to Fort Kinan. Lord Tragamore was given command of the Fallen force present during the Meridor campaign as Lord Del'der'Markus was called away to deal with another Fallen campaign elsewhere. Lord Tragamore moved northward through the forest passing through Meridor Proper with ease and moved on to Kinan where Lord Ures made his stand. The battle that ensued did not see heavy casualties on the side of the Fallen and casualties were manageable on the side of Meoldolen.
Lord Zaniger Ures evacuated the people who had sought refuge behind the walls of Kinan and, to Ures's surprise, Tragamore did not interfere instead choosing to focus on the elven soldiers of Meridor. Once the people of Meridor were safely evacuated from Kinan, Tragamore permited the surviving soldiers of Meridor to retreat with their people. This marked the fall of Meridor at the hands of the Fallen.
A group of champions from throughout the Alliances of the Star, East and neutral territories assaulted the singular and, lightly defended, Fallen Hell Spire in southern Meoldolen slaying its regent. The success of the attack is credited in part to the death of Lord Ra'vak, the Spire's House Lord earlier on in the war which left the Spire without strong leadership. The destruction of the Hell Spire had another effect on the war in Meoldolen; it removed the Kingdom of the Fallen's base within Meoldolen. This drew the Fall of Meodolen to a close as Airs Mord withdrew most Fallen presence in the region leaving only the Duchies of Wron and Ral standing.
Fall of Deomod Bwelling: Deomod Bwelling, known to many as the Crystal City, had been the home of the aquatic elven people for thousands of years. The massive city complex rose from the depths of the Falnor Ocean, its tallest spire peaked up approve the waves. For much of recorded history the aquatic elves spent most of their time in the seas and little of it on land. Still, there were occasional merchants from Deomod Bwelling that would visit Arkendrosian ports from time to time.
The city itself was home to four distinct groups within the aquatic peoples. The first was the sovereign royalists who ruled over the people, the second the merchant class, the third the Soldiers of Sie'moon and last the archivists who kept the histories and knowledge of the world. One day after the return of the Fallen, the depths of the city began to darken. Refugees began to rise up to higher levels within Deomod Bwelling; at first, the royalists chose to do so to prevent panic kept this quiet. However, the problem persisted and more and more levels of the city went black.
Level after level of Deomod Bwelling lost its luminescent light. The archivists were sent to investigate and, of those who returned, they reported that the light of the city was still glowing but that the light was being absorbed. Of the archivist who went lowest in the city depths, only one returned with a tale of complete darkness. Not even lamps or magically produced light shown in that inky blackness. The archivist was at first not believed but soon the darkening could no longer be denied.
As more and more of the lower levels succumbed to the darkness, the refugee problem grew and grew. The royalists sent out envoys throughout Arkendrose to ask for aid. The Kingdom of Kira and the Empire of Bri agreed to settle refugees in their lands.
The home of the Soldiers of Sie'moon was the first to fully succumb to darkness as theirs had been among the lower levels. Most of the Soldiers of Sie'moon managed to evacuate in time and collectively they were the first to leave Deomod Bwelling to the distain of the royalists who believed they should have stayed to fight. The Leaders of Sie'moon batted these expectations aside stating that you could not fight what you could not see. The decision to leave first by the Soldiers of Sie'moon would create a permanent divide between the royalists and Sie'moon in the years that followed the Fall.
The next levels to come under threat were those of the archivists and their Library of Past, Present and Future, one of the great libraries of Arkendrose. Most of the archivists refused to abandon their books. Those archivists have become lost to the darkness. As the archivist levels fell the evacuation of Deomod Bwelling was fully underway. Great Deomod Bwelling barges, massive Kiran ships and vessels from Bri and Chee surrounded the Diamond Spire of the city readily taking on refugees and their worldly possessions. When finally the last ship departed Deomod Bwelling, a demon from the Fallen mounted the Banner of the Kingdom of the Fallen to the point of the Diamond Spire. Deomod Bwelling was no longer the home of the Aquatic Elves.
Mass Migration of the Aquatic Elves: As Deomod Bwelling, the once home of the Aquatic Elven people, fell, the max exodus of her people began. Those loyal to the royalists sailed to the Empire of Bri founding the Kingdom of West Lake. Those loyal to the merchant class sailed to Kira and founded the Nation of East Lake. Finally, the Soldiers of Sie'moon traveled the oceans and sold their abilities to the highest bidder. The archivists were all be lost with only a few of them among the three surviving aquatic factions.
West Lake joined the Alliance of the Star while East Lake joined the Eastern Alliance soon after. The Soldiers of Sie'moon worked mainly in the Far East taking contracts to help in naval engagements in that region of Arkendrose.
The Silencing of Arkendrose
It was a quite Arkendrosian afternoon, all things considered. On The day of the Silencing, there were no major battles anywhere in Arkendrose. Most conflicts seemed to be in reprieve until the sky turned red-orange. It lasted only for a few moments but when the red-orange glow went away the skies returned to normal there was silence. A silence brought with it soon after panic and terror.
Magic had left the world and the gods became mortal. The priesthood of the various faiths scrambled to find their manifested gods and protect them. Rumors soon spread that Sect and Pyra remained divine during this time. These rumors were true when Sect manifested and attempt to hunt the now mortal Divines.
The red-orange glow proved to be more than just light. The Falnor and Coastaarian seas erupted with massive-tidal waves of death and destruction. They collided with cities and port towns on from the Daklavan coasts in the east to the Coastaarian coasts in the west. These cities and towns washed away into the ocean in what seemed like and instant. Hundreads of thousands of souls perished in the disaster.
Sect was only successful in killing one God during the Silencing. The deed was reported to have happened in a Similan palace (the information of the location needs to be verified) where the High Priest of Death, Damian Spite had been staying. Witnesses claim that Death had been contacted by Damain and offered sanctuary from Sect. When Death arrived, his High Priest attacked him. In the midst of the fighting, Damian's son, Anubis Spite joined the fight and struck the killing blow on the mortal God of Death.
To this day it is not known why but Count Damian Spite of Meoldolen, High Priest of Death killed his son immediately after to the horror of Anubis's brother Syn Spite. Sect manifested soon after welcoming Damian to the Divine. This would lead to further problems later on but the Silencing of Arkendrose came to a close soon after this event.
The Fall of Chee
When the Silencing of Arkendrose happened, the island-nation of Chee was the worst affected. The wave that struck the island shook it to its very core. The island's interior cracked and began to flood. After having been extensively mined for hundreds of years, the island was a maze of abandoned tunnels and mining shafts that covered nearly its entire subterranean area. While the flooding of the mines was a safety concern for miners, it was not the main problem.
When the great-tidal wave struck, the island the main impact was against the northern cliffs of the island saving the much of the population from direct harm. Fishermen and sailors lost their lives when their ships were shattered against the rocks and the ports of Chee flooded but most survived. What came after was what forced the once proud Kingdom of Chee to flee their home was the true problem. Through the fractured integrity of the rock, the Kingdom of the Fallen poured into the great mines of Chee rising level after level toward the surface.
The King Gee organized an evacuation of the entire population of some 400, 000 souls. King Gee and his ambassadors were in constant contact with the King of Daklavan during this time. Daklavan had also been greatly affected by the Silencing as one of their port regions was washed away into the sea. Daklavan offered the land left now empty of Daklavani to the refugees of Chee and Chee accepted.
During the evacuation, the Fallen made it to the surface and began to kill the human population indiscriminately. During the fighting and feeling of the island, some 100,000 people and soldiers of Chee lost their lives. The people of Chee later settled in Daklavan forming the City State of Chee.
Fall of Manbala
Sect and King James: The Kingdom of Manbala was once a proud Isle of Heroes but even heroes would not stand forever against the tide that came. The King of Manbala and his champions could not deny their nature. When the Council of the Spirit Realm, the Gods of Arkendrose, called on heroes to stop Sect the First Wraith from acquiring the Heart of Arkendrose, King James and his champions answered the call. In the fighting, King James fell and was taken by Darloth, High Priest of Sect. King James was then corrupted by The Box (The artifact that Sect used to create his army and many of his followers) and then after seen fighting in the Army of Sect against the people of Arkendrose.
King James left behind his daughter who her people affectionately called Queen Spark.
Lorace and the Long Night: The Council of the Holy Blood claims never to have made mistakes and perhaps that is why the Long Night did not last forever. The Council of the Holy Blood authorized a magic experiment, which would cast a semi-permanent eclipse over the land. While many vampires of the alliance felt this would make their lives easier as they would be able easily defeat their enemies it also came with heavy damage to the ecosystems of the areas affected.
In the Month of the Long Night, Lorace invaded Manbala. Lorace had been heavily damaged during the Battle for Trister so, the Long Night was an opportunity to recover both a portion of their strength and honor in the eyes of the Lords of the Holy Blood. Lorace arrived by ship to the Port of Starhaven. From there they plagued the port feasting on and turning its human residence. The newly crowned Queen of Manbala sent word to her allies of the Star to call for aid but none could be delivered quickly.
Feeling as though her choices were limited, the Queen agreed to meet with King Lyric in order to sue for peace. During the meeting, the Queen accepted a marriage pact, which would put a stop to the ruin of her people at the cost of Manbala's sovereignty. The people of Manabala and the Alliance of the Star have since criticized this decision and some even called the act treasonous. However, the attacks stopped and Manbala knew peace for a short time.
Re-settling of the Elves of Meridor: When Meridor fell in Meoldolen, the first location the Elves of Meridor settled was on the southern isle of Lasanda. However, this was only a temporary agreement and the people of Meridor would have to find a new home elsewhere. An offer from the Alliance of the Star came to resettle the refugees on Manbala far to the West of Lasanda. Once the proper transport could be arranged, the Meridorian elves left Lasanda for Manbala. The elves settled among the Manbalan elves who's numbers had been harmed in recent wars and invasions but this too would not last.
The Manbalan Exodus: The Manbalan Exodus began shortly after the Loracen infestation and the Long Night and continued during and after the Fallen Occupation. The Alliance of the Star resettled the Manbalan refugees in the region surrounding the new Alliance capital of New Arcana on the western shores of Bri.
Demon High Guard of the Kingdom of the Fallen: With the rise of the Kingdom of the Fallen, Manbala eventually became a target. Seen as weak, Manbala was the perfect foothold against the central powers of the Holy Blood and Star. King Vex of the Fallen's personal army, the Demon High Guard led by Sir Maris Dalkis, were sent to occupy the island nation. Maris Dalkis quickly defeated the Loracen garrison at the Port of StarHaven. Soon after, he took Redvale, the island capital. Within just a few days Manbala was firmly in the hands of the Fallen.
The occupation of Manbala by the Kingdom of the Fallen ended quickly. The reason for the Fallen's exit is still not known, only speculated on. Some archivists from the Magic Schools suggested that Sect and His New Council were slowly influencing the Fallen while others claim it was simply a matter of military priority. During the time of the occupation, counter offensives against the Fallen had proven fruitful in some regions. Several Hell Spires had been destroyed and with it their noble houses.
Rod'ven'gul: Whatever the cause, the Demon High Guard and other Fallen left the island leaving it un-occupied by foreign powers and in ruin. Most of the island's population had fled West during the previous two years leaving only a handful of families to work the now dilapidated Port of StarHaven. The City of RodVengul was also abandoned leaving only the Red Totem Magic School, Rod'ven'gul above it. Instead of resettling the island, the Alliance of the Holy Blood chose mainly to restore parts of the Port of StarHaven and to maintain Rod'ven'gul. The island has since been a neutral territory governed by none but local ministers.The Gram Collective and the Eastern Alliance
The Eastern Alliance was still recovering from the past year's disastrous campaigns against the Alliance of the Holy Blood when pirates became a large problem in the eastern seas. After the fall of Shim at the hands of the dragons of Kira years prior, the largest collection of pirates in Arkendrose were in the East. A pirate lord by the name of Admiral Gram gathered a large fleet of ships together and formed them into the Gram Collective.
From Gram's God, a massive city of a ship made up two of the three Gram's Galleons ever made and connected by gated causeways, Gram led his Collective in pirate raids up and down the Eastern Seas and into the seas controlled by the Star. As this problem became more pressing, the Lord Administrator of the Eastern Alliance organized a massive retaliation against the Collective. During the conflict, there were two major battles. The first of which the Eastern Alliance lost.
Battle of East Falnor Sea: The first of the two naval battles was located off the coast of North Corgen. An Eastern Alliance navy led by the E.A.S Pride clashed with ships of the Gram Collective led by the San Salvager. The San Salvager was not as large as the E.A.S Pride but proved non-the less to be a problem for the East. The E.A.S Pride could not overcome the San Salvager quickly enough allowing the Collective time to acquire reinforcements from the Morgate and its accompanying ships. After the arrival of the Morgate, the Eastern Alliance navy retreated from combat.
Battle of Lasanda Bay: After their defeat at North Corgen, the Eastern Alliance was determined not to lose another naval battle again. This time they called in their allies of East Lake, aquatic elves that could attack the Collective's ship hulls from underneath. Unfortunately, for the Eastern Alliance, Admiral Gram had the same idea and hired to Soldiers of Sie'moon to do the same to the Eastern Alliance ships. The ensuing battle was massively destructive to the point where it quickly brought both the Gram Collective and the Eastern Alliance to the peace table to tend the hostilities.Eastern Peace and the Renegades: A deal was struck between Admiral Gram and Lord Administrator General Sparks forging a peace between the Gram Collective and the Eastern Alliance. Not all captains of the Collective agreed with this "peace." Many of these captains broke away from the Gram Collective forming the Renegades, which continued to terrorize the region. After, the Eastern Alliance and the remaining Collective hunted down the Renegades destroying them whenever they found them.
The Kingdom of Sect
After the Ascension of Sect and the Silence of Arkendrose, the Army of Sect was not placed back in The Box. Instead, Darloth, the High Priest of Sect, brought them to the eastern shores of Syconia. The vast army demanded that the Empire of Sycon allow them to settle there under their own banners. At first Sycon resisted but it was futile. The immediate military strength in the region numbered under 30,000 while the Army of Sect was well over 200,000 strong. Even if the Empire of Sycon could have called all its banners, the ensuing war would have destroyed both sides.
Therefore, the Army of Sect were permitted to settle the mountainous region in East Syconia. They crowned one of the Corrupted of Sect, Mace of Kira, King Mace of the Kingdom of Sect. Relations between the newly formed Kingdom of Sect and the Empire of Sycon were shaky at best however, Darloth the High Priest of Sect got to work on smoothing over relations within the faiths of both nations. Darloth met regularly with the other High Priests and Priestesses of the faiths present in the Alliance of the Holy Blood. In time, this allowed for the acceptance of the Kingdom of Sect and both the Kingdom and the Empire began to grow.
The War for Bri
After the formation of the Kingdom of Sect and its return to stability, King Mace deployed near one-half of the Kingdom's total military strength to invade Bri and attack the Alliance of the Star's capital of New Arcana directly. Progress was slow at first as the city of New Arcana was well defended by military legions from all over the Star as well as a permanent garrison of Bri soldiers. The initial invasion was born from the western shores of the vast Zuri Province.
Bri
abandoned this region of Zuri Province long before the Kingdom of Sect's
arrival. The northwestern coast and lands of Zuri Province had been plagued by
the presence of a Demon Hell Spire and its noble house. This created an unprotected gap between the
northern walls in the Eda Plain which surrounded New Arcana and the regions
occupied by the Kingdom of the Fallen.
This gap is where King Mace landed his army. On the shore of the gap, King Mace set up
camp and ordered a hasty port built.
Lucifer the
Weapon of Sect: According to a report
from the Alliance of the Star, Lucifer Spite was corrupted by Sect and
Damian. A coalition of Star and Similans
fought to try to stop a plan that Sect had put into motion many years ago from coming
to fruition. This plan concerned Lucifer
the son of the prior host of Sect, Katon Spite of Tengoku.
- The Star Alliance Report:
The vampire Kestel Daycon informed soldiers of the Star, led by Maetsyn Onadae, that the King Lucifer all had known for the past decade was not the real Lucifer. Once Baron Malro Corali of Valahn heard these claims, he agreed to the statement. Of those prepared to undertake a mission to write the situation and free the true Luficer, Malro was the last to have seen him before the change took place. As reported by Kestel Daycon, Lucifer's true soul was given to Lord Damon Hosh years ago and replaced with the soul of the Shadow Dragon, an exiled god. This meant that the true body of Lucifer was occupied by a different soul and Lucifer's true soul was with Damon.
Kestel Daycon begged the Alliance of the Star, the Demon Slayers and the Kingdom of Simila for assistance in righting this wrong. First, the coalition had to find the body of the Shadow Dragon. The Shadow Dragon, at last report, was possibly be the deity of the Provinces of Mithania. Mithania was a near mythical realm deep within the crust of Arkendrose. The Star Alliance put their resources into motion to find an entrance to this realm should one exist. With Kestel's assistance, old scrolls were uncovered, which detailed the events of Maltoveron's War. The scrolls told of the exiling of the Shadow Dragon from Arkendrose by the Gods. The Shadow Dragon did not leave Arkendrose entirely however; he instead separated his divine soul from his body. The body escaped through a cavern system deep under the ruins of Old Saudom while the body was put into the care of the First Wraith Sect.
Near a millennium later, Lucifer Spite was born to Katon Spite, the Host of Sect. Katon had desired something different for his son but Lucifer was on a different path. Sect twisted the mind of Katon bringing Katon to confront his son. Katon abducted his son to the Island of Keta and placed him on an altar. Katon performed a ritual where he removed Lucifer's soul from his body and gave it to Lord Damon Hosh. The Shadow Dragon's soul was then placed into Lucifer's corporal body.
The King Lucifer Spite, King of Meoldolen and the Demon Slayers and Knight of Arkendrose, that all had known for years was in fact a fake. As the Divine Spirit of the Shadow Dragon rose up inside the body of Lucifer, it started to destroy things that were important to the true Lucifer and, by chance things that were not. All that remained of the original Lucifer was the imprint of memory of who he was before.
- The Plan as per Alliance of the Star Reports
The Coalition must travel to the Ruins of Old Saudom. Be wary as there have been Ischtikar reports of rebels in that area. Once there find the entrance to the Path of Shadow, the caverns the body of the Shadow Dragon used to escape exile. Bring an artifact that possesses a vast internal-holding space capable of holding souls, items and other such things. Fate Blade would be ideal for this purpose, which is in the possession of Lord Malro Coroli. Malro will lead his own allies as the coalition partner to the Star on this quest.
Once in the Provinces of Mithania, locate the body of the Shadow Dragon and entrap it within Fate Blade. Although the Divine Spirit is not currently one with its corporal body, the body is still a formidable foe. Pray the Gods are with you on this quest.
Return to the surface and hunt Lord Damon Hosh. At last report, Damon was located in the Zuri Province of Bri near the Gap. Retrieve the true soul of Lucifer Spite from Damon by any means necessary and place it within Fate Blade. Be wary as the Kingdom of Sect could learn of your intentions and try to stop you.
The final objectives are to find the body of Lucifer Spite and separate the Divine Spirit of the Shadow Dragon from the body of Lucifer. After combine the Spirit with the Body of the Shadow Dragon. The Gods should react immediately exiling the Shadow Dragon once more. After reunite the Soul of Lucifer Spite with his corporal body.
- The Outcome
The Coalition found the rebels of Xon of Naar at Old Saudom. The Coalition had little time do confront them and instead fought their way to the Path of Shadow. Inside the Path of Shadow, the Coalition was temporarily stopped by, the supposed, Son of the Shadow Dragon. The Coalition were able to get passed the Son but were not able to defeat him.
Once inside the Provinces of Mithania, the Coaltion sought out the Shadow Dragon. The task was not as difficult as expected. The body of the Shadow Dragon made itself known, likely moved to act by the attack on its son. During the confrontation, Sir Zervia Hok struck the Shadow Dragon several times with the power of the Book of Zunn Fire. These attacks ultimately weakened the body enough to be captured within Fate Blade.
The Coalition made their way to the Zuri Province of Bri and into the Gap in search of Lord Damon Hosh who had been rumored to have been seen in that location assisting the Kingdom of Sect. Once there, however, the Coalition came to blows with roaming patrols of Kingdom of Sect soldiers and abominations. These forces were under the Kingdom's general, Zar the Oblivion. Zar's personal legion, the Acolytes of Greed, saw to it that Fate Blade was removed for Baron Malro Coroli's possession. This critical failure caused a schism in the Coalition splitting it in two. The soldiers from the Alliance of the Star when one-way while the rest of the Coalition went with Baron Malro Coroli.
Both halves of the Coalition managed to find their way back to Fate Blade, which was in Gernal Zar's possession. The Coalition came back together to fight Zar. In the fighting, they managed to regain Fate Blade but the fight was lost. The Coalition, having what they needed, withdrew from the fighting. Shortly after the Coalition uncovered the location of Lord Damon Hosh. He had moved from Bri to the Byzantar in the Order of Florance.
The Coalition made the journey from Bri to the Byzantar then after in pursuit of Lord Damon Hosh. Once in the Byzantar, it was unnervingly easy to find Lord Damon. Damon put up little resistance only posting some undead in the way of the Coalition. The undead easily destroyed allowing the Coalition to work on their next task. They believed they needed to retrieve Lucifer Spite's true soul form the Damon himself. As the report stated, a ritual to the gods was worked to assist in the mission, which turned into a success then after. The report reads that this affair was far too easy and took only about four hours to complete. The true soul of Lucifer, the Divine Spirit of the Shadow Dragon and the corporal body of the Shadow Dragon were all contained within Fate Blade. The only remaining task was to hunt down the false Lucifer and reunited the Divine Spirit with its body and the true soul with its.
The Coalition found and confronted the false Lucifer the next day. The Divine Spirit resisted all attempts to remove it from the body of Lucifer. This forced the Coalition to turn to violence, which also proved to fail at first. The false Lucifer outfought every member of the Coalition at once pushing them back further and further until the Divine Spirit itself attacked them with a disintegrating smoke. The Coalition retreated and regrouped. Fann Mordigen, the uncle to Baron Dralnu Mordigen, performed a ritual to Reena, the goddess of love and nature. The ritual was successful enough to halt the false Lucifer's advance and to dissipate the deadly smoke long enough for the Coalition to counter attack. Baron Malro Coroli of Valahn was able to merge the Divine Spirit with its corporal body; the result was the instant re-ascension of the Shadow Dragon and his subsequent re-banishment by the Gods.
As the report reads, the Coalition should have seen the trap coming. It had been too easy to find what they had been looking for. It had been too easy to retrieve the true Lucifer Spite's soul. The realization came too late for once Lucifer's soul reunited with his body, his brother, the newly ascended God of Death, manifested and turned Lucifer against those who had come to save him. Lucifer had no choice. His free will, as had been done to Damian, was taken. Sect commanded him now and would use him as a weapon to further his goals.
The Battle
of the Gap:
Once word reached the Surba that an enemy army had landed on imperial shores, the Empire of Bri sent an army to intercept them. When the Bri army reached the land that would later be known as The Gap, they were met with an invading army of more than twice their size. Zar's army was assaulting the northern walls of New Arcana and had not brought much siege weapons with them. Instead, they utilized their new weapon, Lucifer Spite. To save the city, the Shogun in command of the Bri army ordered a charge.
Bri charged head long into Zar's forces. This had the effect of pulling Lucifer's focus away from destroying the walls and onto them. As the fighting commenced, Bri's mounted samurai focused on Lucifer while the rest of their soldiers did their best to hold their ground against the superior numbers of the Kingdom of Sect. The proud samurai fought well and hard wounding Lucifer. This forced Lucifer to withdraw from the engagement. The then heavily wounded mounted samurai returned to their lines to regroup.
Bri began to waver as Zar's army wheeled to meet them full on. The numbers and the presence of large beasts within the Zar's ranks proved to be too much for Bri to handle. Bri was forced from the field before nightfall. The day was won by the Kingdom of Sect but was not able to fully breach the walls of New Arcana due to the efforts of Bri.
In the months that followed, the Kingdom of Bri dominated the land between the Fallen territory and the walls of New Arcana. Periodically the Alliance of the Star would launch counter attacks against the Kingdom of Sect pushing them back but they were never able to claim a decisive victory due to the presence of Lucifer. Eventually the northern wall of New Arcana fell and the battlefield shifted to the Eda plain surrounding New Arcana.
The War for West Coastaar
Possibly
related to the demanded price of Corgen, the Holy Blood invaded the Empire of Coastaar in
West Coastaar. This brought about the
immediate end to all hostilities in the East and the Star Alliance of Nations
followed soon after.
The Alliance of the Holy Blood invaded Empire controlled West Coastaar and set themselves upon the region of Bacven. There they surrounded the region with their armies and performed a massive ritual. The ritual opened a passage to the Hells swallowing up the region's main population center including vast areas of its underground caverns and towns. The likely deaths that occurred in this act range from 50,000 to 150,000. The Empire of Coastaar retaliated swiftly throwing the bulk of their regional strength at the forces of the Alliance of the Holy Blood.
The counter offensive forced the Alliance behind the South Celtica Wall. The Holy Blood attempted to re-consolidate during their retreat while they worked out another plan to combat their advancing foes in the Empire of Coastaar. Around this time at Reote in the Ishtikar, a similar event occurred perpetrated by the Kingdom of Rigen. The Lord Director of the Alliance of the Holy Blood claimed no foreknowledge of the incident and promise the priest responsible would be apprehended and executed for his crime. The Alliance executed a Priest of Ignyon within the month.
Immediately following the destruction of Reote, Hell spawn began reinforcing the ranks of the Alliance of the Holy Blood. The subsequent battles and maneuvers that followed happened all along, and on both sides of, the South Celtica Wall. The fighting went back and forth until peace could be accorded.
The Creation of the New Council: The Will several of the Gods was felt through the actions of the High Priests and Priestesses. Darloth, the High Priest of Sect, worked closely with the High Priests and Priestesses of Obsidel, Ahk'ha'ma, Ignyon and Pyra united as their Gods had dictated. By Divine decree, a new Council of the Gods was formed and this one was headed by Sect, not Jena. It would take time for this new pantheon to be accepted by the people who worshiped and based their cultures and history on these Gods. The first major act toward uniting was to end the destructive War of West Coastaar.Peace in West Coastaar: Peace came only when the Empire's and the Alliance of the Holy Blood's High Temples united. The Faith dictated an end to the war as their Gods had decreed it. The secular rulers, nobility and generals of either side found it difficult to accept this at first as both sides had committed so much and lost so much to the war thus far. The Lord Director of the Alliance of the Holy Blood's reputation was shattered by this and he was forced to relinquish his position. A new Lord Director was chosen from among The Lords and peace was made possible.
The Empress of Coastaar was also reluctant to end the war. She too had lost much and her generals were furious with the change in direction. Still, after the Purification Order of the Faith of Traith, the spiritual health of the Empire was in need of new vigor. This new direction allowed for Sect to replace Traith as a dominant faith of the Empire. With an edict which named the Church of Sect as an official Faith of the Empire, hostilities were stopped between the Alliance of the Holy Blood and the Empire of Costaar.
It took time for peace to be made official. Incrementally, as the New Council gained a foothold in both the Alliance and the Empire, the Brotherhood of the Crescent, among other orders, served as a diplomatic arm reaching across to peoples of other Gods offering them their service and bringing their respective folk closer together. In time a union, or peace, formed between the Alliance and the Empire which allowed both side to focus on the goals of the New Council, the destruction of the Faithful of the Old.
The Armend Conflict
Initial Invasion of the Lands of Armend: The Barons of Nahl'istan and AEben, with the help of the Baron of Valahn, received the blessing of King Arxes of Similar to invade and subjugate the ancient lands of Armend...
The Kingdom of Kira negotiated with Silima prior to the the invasion and came to an agreement where the two nations would partition off regions of Armend together. United the Kingdom of Kira invaded from the Zera landing their army in the gap between the Zera Mountains and the Mountains of Armend in the west. Nahl'istan landed in the gap between the Zera Mountains and the Mountains of Armend on the eastern side. AEben landed their force in the north and marched south through the central valley in the Mountains of Armend.
Kira in the West: Lord Derik led the Kiran invasion force from the West. When Kira landed, they were immediately met with fierce resistance. The storied Kiran army's advance was stopped and Kira received heavy casualties. The narrow nature of the mountain pass allowed Armend shamans to bombard the advancing Kirans with impunity. Not willing to see his Royal Army destroyed in the Zera Mountains, Lord Derik withdrew to his ships.
Nahl'istan in the East: Baron Dralnu Mordigen and Solvo Ter'ak were both powerful necromancers, faithful of Traith, or Sunnis as the people of Similar call Him. While the core of Mordigen's army were human, the majority of his military strength was in his undead minions.
The Baron of Nahli'stan landed in the the east and from there moved through the mountains. Eventually they reached the central-southern region of Armend. There, are large battle was taking place. Mordigen joined his forces to it smashing the opposition. Mordingen's army proved to be too strong for the defenders of the eastern regions of the Lands of Armend. In spite of easy victories, Mordigen had to take time to gather information of the region, enemy position and, strength effectively slowing the Nahl'istan advance down significantly.
AEben in the North: Baron Solvo Ter'ak of AEben landed his force in the north and quickly took the farming region of the Lands of Armend. Ter'ak took the fortress to the west, the regional capital and moved south through the main mountain pass. There, in the heart of Armend, Ter'ak fought the greatest battle of the war. The battle lasted a couple of days with AEben begening to lose until the arrival of Nahl'istan. With fresh reinforcements, the tide turned in the battle. Then news came of the arrival of Tengoku in the north.
Tengoku: Tengoku landed an army for over 50,000 soldiers in the north of Armend claiming they had arrived to "keep the peace." Tengoku moved slowly south while they sent riders to demand Simila stand down and halt their war with the Lands of Armend. The presence of the Empire of Tengoku, a star alliance nation, gave Simila's barons a reason to pause and rethink their next actions.
Holy War against the Lands
of Armend - By Campaign Day
Day 1-2: On day 1 the Jihad numbered some 14,500 soldiers and undead while the Lands of Armend numbered aro8und 29,000. During the first two days of the war, Similan and Kiran forces moved into position.
Day 3: By Day 3 of the War for Armend, the Jihadist combined their force strength with that of the Kingdom of Kira bringing their fighting total up to 44,500 soldiers and undead while further forces arrived to support the Lands of Armend pushing their number up to 60,000. Lord Darik landed a Kiran army on at the mouth of the Narrow Valley the South West. The force disembarked and marched inland up the road eastward but were soon partially enveloped by a three way pincer.
The way from the West proved to be a trap with Armend units placed in the mountains on either side of the valley allowing them to fire down from difficult to reach positions. From the road east came the bulk of the opposing force made up mainly of orcish warriors and some trolls and ogres.
In the East, King Gore of Kira joins his force to Baron Solvo of AEben's. Together they are intercepted by longboats from Armend. Gore and Solvo make short work of the longboats and continue their approach to the Narrow Valley in the South East.
From the North, Baron Dralnu of Nahl'istan arrived at the northern port of Armend, Claw Port capturing it and Chitacura and quickly converted it to a primary camp for Simila.
Day 4: The battle at West Armend Pass commences for the better part of Day 4 as Lord Derik attempted to find a strategy to defeat the well prepared Armend force. As causalities rose and rose, Lord Derik called the retreat. The forces from Armend did not relent and battered the Kirans all the way back to their ships.
In the east, King Gore and Baron Solvo make their way westward through the Valley of Armend.
Baron Dralnu sent scouts south and west to collect information on military strength, defenses and possible enemy movements.
Day 5: Baron Dralnu of Nahl'istan's militia pillage the port. Dralnu assigned all of his living infantry units to defend and support his mages. Dralnu sent one archer legion and one cavalry unit with the Sons of Akra to Ex to deliver the Word of Arkra. Once the preliminary organization was complete,
Baron Dralnu then marched South from Similar to Aztor in the Lands of Armend.
King Gore and Baron Solvo continue west to the Cross Roads. As the Jihad marches west Chief Akar the Crow marched east to intercept them with between 20,000 and 29,000 warriors.
Lord Derik took his remaining force North to reform what they could and to wait for further orders.
Day 6: King Gore split from Baron Solvo's force to return to his ships in the bay while Orcs descended on Solvo from the Zera Mountains.
Baron Dralnu successfully took Aztor and Ex.
Day 7: Once Baron Dralnu received word of Baron Solvo's situation, he rushed his force south to support him.
The attack on Baron Solvo intensified as more and more soldiers from Armend entered the battle.
Day 8: The orcs that engaged Baron Solvo were identified as orcish clans from the Gold Mountains in Kira. Finding himself overwhelmed, Baron Solvo retreats his force successfully dealing heavy damage as he moved. The damage dealt to the Gold Mountain clans to knock them out of the war for the time being.
Baron Dralnu met the Crow's vanguard at the Narrow Valley and quickly routed them before nightfall. For the rest of the evening Dralnu regrouped and prepared his force to march further south.
Day 9-11: (Must be verified) The First and Second Battles of the Crossroads started in earnest by day 9 of the Conflict for Armend. The first Battle of the Crossroads started between Baron Solvo Ter'ak's force and the Armend defenders. The forces of Armend were well positioned and caused Solvo a heavy blow. An advance force from Baron Dralnu Mordigen relieved Solvo and allowed him to safely withdraw. There was a brief reprieve after but it did not last long as the Second Battle of the Cross Roads was about to begin.
Heavy fighting ensued where the Similans and undead fought hard against the Armend defenders. Both sides were near devisated by the time the full force of Baron Dralnu Mordigen of Nahl'istan arrived. The Armend defenders were also given reprieve however as a large and healthy force of Kiran orc clans out of the Gold Mountains arrived from the south. (What happened next?)
Day 12: Tengoku made landing in north west Armend and marched on Ex. The Sons of Akra and the small contingent of Nahl'istan soldiers had only been in Ex for 6 days but they did not give up the regional capital without a fight. Tengoku, however, outnumbered them significantly and the battle proved to be a one sided affair. Within less than two hours Ex was liberated and the surviving Jihadists were routed.
Day 13: Tengoku opened the Byzantar Gates at Ex after making landing in the Lands of Armend on its north west shore.
Day 14: After liberating Ex, Tengoku marched north east to Chitacura and Claw Port.
Day 15: Tengoku arrived at Chitacura and Claw Port last on the fifteenth day of the conflict. As Tengoku's ground force arrived at the port, further north at the mouth of Bay of Crey Tengoku ships engaged Similan ships.
Day 16: Dawn makes way to an escalated confrontation between two healthy forces, that of Baron Dralnu Mordigen of Nahl'istan and that of the Gold Mountain Clans. At the same time a great threat had risen within the Zera Mountains which proved to be problematic for all sides involved. A Greater Demon.
Peace: The situation of the war was grim within just over two weeks of it starting. Forces from faraway lands had been called to aid or intervene. While it appeared as though the initial invasion would be successful on the part of Simila, Simila could not hope to easily hold onto what it had conquered after fresh armies arrived in Armen in the coming days and weeks. To this end, and due to the presence of the greater demon, Baron Dralnu Mordigen of Nahl'istan called the available leaders to the Table of Peace to discuss a ceasing of aggression.
Baron Solvo Ter'ak of AEbin was unable to oppose this request due to their forces recovering at that time. By the time, the gathered parties agreed to cease aggression. Baron Dralnu had a brief meeting with the King of Armend. The two agreed to formal peace talks. Once the meeting at the Cross Roads was set, Baron Solvo of AEben returned to learn that he was to be part of the talks. Solvo was understandably displeased, but given the situation and the forces present, he had little choice but to take part.
The main belligerents made up the core of speakers involved while Tengoku presided over the peace talks as a neutral party. Baron Solvo Ter'ak, who had been initial instigator of the war, sat quietly and observed the proceedings*. A representative from the Empire of Tengoku moderated the peace negotiations. The King of Armend, various clan leaders from the Gold Mountains in Kira, the Sons of Acra and Baron Dralnu Mordigen negotiated for three full days and nights before coming to an agreement and, finally, peace.
The peace treaty
between Kingdoms held that the Kingdom of Simila would receive the
lands of the northern coast of Kira while Armend would also extend
their territories southeast to meet the inlets and bays of that
region. The treaty granted the Gold Mountain full dominion over the
Gold Mountain range. These lands did not belong to Armend or Simila.
The Empire of Tengoku's emissary urged for peace during the discussions but was drowned out by the more fanatical Sons of Acra and the deep seeded anger of the Children of Armend. The Children; orcs, goblins, trolls, ogres among them, held a long-standing hatred for the Barbarians of the Kingdom of Kira and their rage would not be silenced. Tengoku left before the peace treaty was finalized likely fearing the combined response if they had insisted on enforcing "peace." Although some 50,000 strong, Tengoku were, no match for the combined might of the necromancer barons of southern Simila and the united Children of Armend.
*To this day it is not clear why Baron Solvo Ter'ak agreed with the peace delegation. Scribes and the learned have speculated that it may have been due to some secret concessions within the nobility of Simila and its influential parties that sweetened the plot just enough for the Lich Baron. Solvo's baronial territory would expand that same year into the Kingdom of Kira.
Holy War with Kira
Transitioning from One War to the Next: Baron Solvo of AEben moved his force eastward to the coast while Baron Dralnu's forces remained in the pass further inland. The King of Armend withdrew into his city where he heled ritualistic rallies among the Children of Armend. Many from the Gold Mountain Clans had never seen their ancestral city of even the Ancient Lands of Armend. The King of Armend obliged them by welcoming them into the city and hosting them for a further three days and nights. Soon after the Children of Armend would march again to war.
Meanwhile the Sons of Acra and Baron Dralnu returned to Simila.
Deceleration of Holy War: The surviving Sons
of Acra flooded into the Grand Temple of Sacra and beseeched the High
Imam to change the target of holy war to that of the blasphemous
Kirans. They proclaimed that they spat at the teachings of Acra and
committed atrocities against Simians. They were traitors to Simila
and the Faith of Arca and his Divine Prophets and needed to be put to
the sword.
The High Imam was reluctant at first so the Sons of Acra took to the streets of AEben, Nahl'istan, Valahn and Ju'Sem. Within a week, their numbers swelled first with hundreds and then thousands who flocked to their cause. Soon their calls for continuing the Holy War could not be ignored. Finally, the High Imam came forth, spoke to the gathered masses, and claimed that the Divine Prophets of Sacra had spoken to him in a dream. Fate's Prophets would bring destruction down upon the enemies of the faith and the people of Simila.
The High Imam gave his blessing declaring the Holy War incomplete. After the High Imam made his speech to the gathered masses, King Arxes of Simila permitted the continued use of Similin forces, this time against the Kingdom of Kira. The decision was not easily made however and required many private meetings between the king, Baron Mordigen and the king's advisors. In the end however, Simila would prepare for the next phase of the war and would even commit soldiers from Valahn by order of the king to the cause.
Modern History
The Rise of the New Counsel
The ascension of Sect as a member of the Divine marked a shift in the history of Arkendrose. The Kingdom of the Fallen returned to Arkendrose, Sect created a weapon of war that could turn the tides of any line when deployed properly, aggressions between the Alliance of the Holy Blood and the Empire of Coastaar ended and several of the High Temples grew closer together. Dar'loth, the High Priest of Sect, worked tirelessly to spread the word of Sect and to unite many of the Faiths.
Change was not immediate. In time, however, the faiths of Ignyon, Ahk'ha'ma, Obsidel, The Shadow, Cron, Pyra and, Sect accepted the unity of their Gods and changes began. The work started with High Priest Dar'loth of Sect who worked with The Church of the Alliance of the Holy Blood and with the High Priestess of Obsidel to get the leaders of the Faiths together in agreement. With the Faith on Dar'loth's side, the secular world followed.
The War for West Coastaar ended as well as all other hostilities between the Alliance and Coastaar. This uneasy peace was actively enforced by the leaders of the Faith. In truth, the secular leaders needed fighting to stop so that they could recover. The Alliance of the Holy Blood has slowly drained is coffers over the past decade fighting; the sum of which was difficult to recuperate due to the diplomatic landscape and geographical location of member nations. The Empire of Coastaar's region of The Northern Empire suffered due to geographical location as well. Cut off often from the rest of Coastaar by the hostile Empire of Sycon and Kingdom of Beckhorone, trade with the rest of the Empire was difficult.
The unity of the Faiths created what is known as the New Counsel. The New Counsel seeks to overthrow the Counsel of the Spirit Realm which, as the oral histories tell us, has been the rule of Divinity since the beginning of time.
Holy War with Kira
Holy War or Conquest?: Although the Kingdom of Armend, the Gold Mountain Clans and the Kingdom of Simila agreed on war with Kira, the means of how they would executed it different. Simila worked alone and focused on the central coast of North Kira. There the Kingdom of Kira focused their defense and fighting was heaviest. With the benefit of strong fortifications, Kira held out at first but was eventually overpowered by the necromancy of Simila's southern baronies.
After three days and nights of heavy fighting, Kira retreated from the North. Baron Solvo of AEben perused the retreating Kirans. The Kirans sacrificed a few legions to secure their safe withdrawl leaving Solvo to turn back and secure the north alongside Baron Dralnu of Nahl'istan.
Kira called for aid from the Eastern Alliance and the Nation of West Lake was the first to answer. The Nation of Corgen, however, received pressure from the priesthood not to involve themselves in the war. The Kingdom of Eastgate and the Kingdom of Lasanda both offered their assistance but were too far away for immediate response. The Kingdom of Mithgul did not respond to the request for help. Even though not all alliance partners had answered Kira's call to aid, in time there would be fresh armies added to the fight.
The Kingdom of Kira
sued for peace as soon as East Lake supplemented Kiran forces. At
this time, the High Imam declared the holy war over and with it, the
Faith's backing. Representatives of the Crown of Simila sailed to
North Kira where they met with Barons Dralnu and Mortigen. The
outcome of the meeting was an agreement to expand the territory of
the southern baronies into northern Kira while withholding a portion
of the land on the mouth of a key bay in the region for the Crown.
Delegation of Peace and Northern Kira: King Arxes of Similar himself then made the voyage to northern Kira to meet first with his barons. Together they traveled south to the ruins of Fort Mace to delegate terms of peace with Kira. Notably absent were the King of Armend and the Chiefdens of the Gold Mountain Clans.
The King of Kira and the Grand Counsel of East Lake demanded peace and a return of occupied territories to Kira. Baron Solvo of AEben spoke against this demanding the spoils of his conquest under pain of death should anyone affront him. King Arxes let the baron speak. Baron Dralnu of Nahl'istan calmed the conversation down speaking with a level demeanor. Solvo himself supplemented Dralnu when the two explained the extent of their ability in the region and the reasons for the war with Kira.
Kira had turned coat and fled their coalition against Armend leaving Silima to suffer great loses at the hands of their enemies. This treachery needed to be punished and their God and Divine Prophets agreed. Land and coastline would be taken from Kira as punishment for their actions. King Arxes claimed that there would be no peace without a settlement in which both sides agreed.
Discussions continued for two days eventually ending with a simple non-aggression agreement between Kira and Simila. Simila would keep to the coastal region on the north less hostilities be renewed between both kingdoms. King Arxes agreed to the terms and the war was ended creating an uneasy peace. Kira was then free to focus on the Armend and Gold Mountains problem.
The Fall of New Arcana
Kingdom of Sect and Lucifer Spite: The Armies of the Kingdom of Sect had occupied north-western Bri for some time and had begun establishing permanent settlements. After one major clash at the walls of New Arcana, the Alliance of the Star's capital city, General Zar of The Kingdom of Sect withdrew his forces to his settlements and war camps to regroup. Zar acted again only when peace between the Empire of Coastaar and the Alliance of the Holy Blood was established. Within a month of the end of conflict between Coastaar and the Holy Blood, Coastaar's northern defenses in Southern Bri were bolstered.
Not long after, preparations for a Syconian invasion of the Ishtikarr were underway meaning Star armies would soon be too preoccupied elsewhere to respond in pass should the Kingdom of Sect renew their push on the alliance capital. When that push finally did come, the special weapon of Sect, Lucifer Spite, was held in reserve and used only to break up enemy formations. General Zar relocated Lucifer to the west flank where he shattered the defending legions.
The subsequent push broke the Star's left flank causing a route. Although formidable, the forces present at the battel on behalf of the alliance and Bri were not strong enough to content with Sect's weapon, Lucifer Spite. Zar used the weapon with precision, enabling his forces to turn the flank and slowly take the field. As alliance forces began to withdraw, Zar attempted to use Lucifer again to force a separation of New Arcana's defending army and the Empire of Bri's army. Seperating the two forces would have allowed Zar to surround and crush both the New Arcanan army and the citizens and dignitaries of the city.
This maneuver was thwarted by a long warrior who road into battle on the back of a white horse. The warrior had a slightly curved, black bladed sword in his right hand and his body was reported to have glowed purple. This warrior single handedly stopped Lucifer Spite from driving a wedge between the two allied armies. This allowed them to withdraw together to New Arcana were they began to evacuate the citizens.
With the Alliance of the Star's New Arcana army and the Empire of Bri's third army in his way, Zar was forced to return to applying pressure where he could. Zar would win the battle and take New Arcana but he would not get the total victory he had hopped for thanks to the interruption of the mounted warrior. The Kingdom of Sect did receive, however, support from the Coastaarian navy which blockaded the Port of New Arcana preventing both evacuation by sea and potential reinforcement from the West.
The Alliance worked tirelessly to evacuate its people overland to the east. Supply lines were still firmly intact between New Arcana and Surba which served to expedite the process and keep the defenders strong and in the fight. By month's end, the city was in the hands of General Zar and the Kingdom of Sect.
Peace and The Ishtikarr War
Empire of Sycon Invades the Kingdom of Ishtarr: With peace between the Empire of Coastaar and the Alliance of the Holy Blood, the Alliance halted all external campaigns for two decades allowing their nations to recuperate from the years of war that preceded the peace. The Lord Director during this period was the King of Jar'gon who worked to prevent hostilities against the lands of the Alliance of the Holy Blood. Although this was not a popular move among many of the Vampire Houses, especially those who descended more directly from the First Vampires, it was a necessary evil. The Alliance had taken too much damage in the thirteen long years of war and it needed to heal.
While the Lord Director struggled to rebuild the alliance, he combated a growing resentment against his rule. Peace was not wished by The Church but it was tolerated due to continued support from the Council of the Gift. Some lore keepers would claim the decision of the Council to be greatly influenced by its speaker and representative, King Ly'rik who's armies had been crushed during the Second Battle of Trister and who's lands had been sacked and raided following that crippling defeat.
Once Lorace and the rest of the alliance had recovered, support for the Lord Director's peace began to weaken. The voice of the High Priests of Sect and Ignyon (Ig-nee-on) continued to stoke the people's passion for war. The Vampire Houses still desired vengeance and soon they were demanding it. And thus, the Council of the Gift no longer could hold onto their position and the Lord Director was overruled. War would begin anew.
In the year 1034 AA, the alliance began to actively support the Empire of Coastaar and the Kingdom of Sect in their campaigns against Alliance of the Star. The Kingdom of the Ishtikar (Ish'tea'car) was then invaded by Syconia in the spring of 1041AA.
The war with Ishtikarr, or Ishstarr as some call it, moved swiftly at first. The defenses that had been established in Western Ishtikarr were not large enough to stop a large invading force but they served to both slow the invaders and to inform the rest of the kingdom of the army that marched steadily North East. Syconia wished primarily to take as much territory as possible before they had to fight a pitched battle. The goal was to avoid open battle until the Syconian army was in a position to lay siege to the Fortress of Pol'lahr.
The Fortress of Pol'lahr served as the main defense of Pol'lahria (the western province of the Ishtikarr). It also stood between Syconia and the capital of Ishtikarr, CrestGrath*. Having become more cautious in the years after the start of the Second Vampire War, Emperor Bazavier of Sycon sent only one army to invade the Ishtikarr. It was the task of another alliance member, the Kingdom of Rigen (Rye-gen) to occupy the Alliance of the Star kingdoms of White Mountain and Shimabora in the East of the Ishtikarrian continent. With White Mountian and Shimabora fighting to the South in Bri (B-rye), their ability to respond to calls for aid from their trade partner in the Kingdom of the Ishtikarr was limited. Rigen prevented it entirely by deploying forces to harass the boarder regions of both Kingdoms.
*It has come to the attention of the Lore Keepers of Rod'ven'gul that another town just beyond the Gate in the Forest of Voy shares the same name as the capital of the Ishtikarr. Upon further research, it was learned that the names of both settlements received their names for different reasons. The Town of CrestGrath through the Gate was named after the River Crest and the Creathorne town of Grath whereas the CrestGrath in Arkendrose was named after the Kingdom's founding heroes as told in the oral histories, Cresious and Grathis. In conclusion the two locations share no relation save for a cosmic circumstance.
The efforts of Rigen tied up both White Mountain and Shimabora long enough for Syconia to lay siege to the massive fortress of Pol'lahr. Ishtikarr's armies were once known as weak by the standards of the powers within Arkendrose but those days were now in the past. The Ishtikarrian army had received steady founding, supply, armor, weapons and training from their trade partners within the Alliance of the Star and the Eastern Alliance respectively. By the time of the invasion, the Ishtikarrian armies were modern and battle tested against the rebels of Xon.
Knowing this, Emperor Bazavier had called for the aid of Lord Diago of Beckhorone, and the King of the Islands of the Mists to send further aid while the siege was underway. While reinforcements sailed up from the South, Bazavier maintained the siege with the hope that his allies would arrive before a relief force from the Ishtikarr did. In this crucial moment when the aging King Kell needed his third army most, the Trade City of Pandole (Pan-dole) rose in rebellion killing its governor and declaring for the grandson of the famed Lord Newhouse.
Due to the rebellion on the Island of Pandole, the army that was so desperately needed never came. Faced with a near impossible situation, old king Kell marched South from his capital to face the invaders head on in Pol'lahria. Scouting reports and even the king's own seer had told him that Beckhorone and the soldiers of the Mists had landed and would reach the Fortress of Pol'lahr in less than a week. The king hoped to unite his strength to that of the Pol'lahrian army and together smash Syconia. Indeed such a success would likely have been enough to send the Mists and Beckhorone home without a fight and Kel could turn to dealing with the rebellion.
King Kell never made it to that battlefield however. While his army camped just a day's march from the Fortress of Pol'lahr, he was assassinated in his tent. The King's Seer may have even seen his death before it happened but she too was found dead at her divining table by her servants back in CrestGrath likely killed to stop her from reporting the danger. With the King dead, the army did not march the next morning. It instead remained camped for three days while the generals argued among themselves about what their next steps would be and even accusing one another of high treason and regicide.
On the third day, scouting reports brought news that the Army of the Mists would reach the siege soon while the Kingdom of Beckhorone was traveling North toward the capital. This put the Royal Army directly in the path of Beckhorone's steady march North. With the numbers and odds counted, possibly against the Royal Army, they chose to abandon the relief efforts in Pol'lahria and instead returned to the capital.
The Royal generals had expected that Beckhorone would follow them but they did not. Instead, Beckhorone stopped their march and set up camp where the Ishtikarrian army had previously been. With the Ishtikarr cliffs at the back of the Royal Army and Beckhorone in front of it, no relief could be sent to Pol'lahria without first offering battle.
Once all alliance armies were in place and or engaged, Emperor Bazavier offered terms of surrender to the defenders of Pol'lahria. If they threw down their weapons and opened their gates, no harm would come to the average soldier. Any nobles present would be taken into custody but would otherwise go unharmed. When the general of Ishtikarr's second army and defender of the fortress asked how he would know if the situation was as dire as was claimed, Emperor Bazavier permitted the general to send his own scouts out unmolested to see for himself. The Ishtikarrian general took the Emperor up on his offer and sent out riders to judge the situation for themselves.
When most returned a week later they all sung the same tale. The second army was alone and no help was coming. The general ordered the surrender of the Fortress of Pol'lahr the next morning. True to his word, no soldiers were harmed but their weapons and armor were taken and their officers and nobles put in chains. The Army of the Mists then took over the garrison of the fortress and the care of most of the prisoners while the Syconian and Beckhorone armies marched North to the capital.
At the capital the combined might of both Sycon and Beckhorone posed the greatest military threat the ancient city had seen since the days when Ishtikarr was the predominant power in Arkendrose. The city had not been under siege or sacked in hundreds of years. The older Imperial line who's senators were permitted during the King's reign to sit in council with him, usurped the throne declaring Ishtikarr an Empire once again and naming one of their own Emperor. When Emperor Bazavier of Sycon reached the city, the new Emperor of the Ishtikarr, Cresius the 13th, requested a parley and was granted one.
Cresius offered the surrender of the city and the Empire of Ishtikarr if he would be permitted to rule it as its Emperor. Emperor Bazavier agreed under the condition that Sycon remain in Ishtikar to ensure a peaceful transition into a potential member state of the Alliance of the Holy Blood. Syconia would also insure that Cresius and his senate remained loyal to the cause by replacing two councilors with Syconian lords. Cresius accepted and surrendered the city and with it the lands of the Ishtikarr.
Zera Provence and the Gold Mountains of Kira
Zera City: With the war in Armend, the Kingdom of Armend, the Kingdom of Simila and, the Gold Mountain Clans turned their attention on mainland Kira. While Simila enjoyed success in the North Kira region, Armend was not as quick to recover from the heavy losses sustained in the prior war. Still, if Armend were to reclaim ancestral lands of the Zera region they would have to use that time to push south to Zera City.
Armend mustered what strength they had and pushed south from the Zera Mountains toward Zera City. Kira's military in the region had also be heavily weakened by a failed invasion of Armend as well. Kira's western army focused on defending Zera City leaving the north open for Armend's approach. In truth, Kira did not have the numbers to split and send north to the Zera Mountains to prevent the invasion. Focusing their strength on the city was their best defense at least at that time.
Armend needed to
destroy the Kiran army in order to claim the region. It would not be
enough to defeat the army as it could always regroup and actively
contest the province. Definitive victory, however, would not come
easy. Although weakened, Kira's western army was still formidable
on home soil much the same way Armend had been in the Zera Mountain
pass. To combat this issue, the King of Armend called on the aid of
the free clans of western Kira. These ork clans, goblin tribes, troll
houses and ogre families, served to both supplement the assault on
the city and subvert Kira's local advantage.
Gold Mountains Conflict: After the Barbarian War and Dragon wars of Kira had come to a close and the Kingdom of Kira was formed, many orks, goblins and trolls (the Children of Armend) retreated to less occupied regions of Kira and or the Lands of Armend. Some of the Children retreated into the mountains such as the Gold Mountains. Resistance would be fiercest in the Gold Mountains against the rule of Kira's Barbarian kings.
During the reigns of Kings Mace and Talon, only the Gold Mountains and Lands of Armend were able to resist the Kingdom of Kira's dominion over the land. During those reigns, Kira ruled the skies on dragon back. However, with the Fall of King Mace and with the exodus of Talon, the skies were no longer a factor. King Gonf of Kira lost or sold its lands outside of its mainland such as Kul and Lasselles repatriating as many of its people as possible. With subsequent wars, Kira lost its prestige as their forces dwindled.
Now, after a disastrous invasion of Armend, the Kingdom of Kira was on the defensive. The push from Simila into north Kira disabled the main supply route from east to west leaving the long and less stable route around the Siena Mountains, which was often plagued by raids. The Kingdom of Armend embared on a heavy push south into the Zera Provence as well. Combined this placed the Gold Mountain clans in an optimal position to fully reclaim the region.
Gold Mountain warriors outnumbered the Kira defenders pushing them out of every outpost north of Gold Mountain*. The Kingdom of Kira would not easily allow the Gold Mountain mines to fall to their enemy and would soon be back in force after suing for peace with the Kingdom of Simila.
*The Gold Mountains are named after one mountain among them known as Gold Mountain. Gold Mountain and the mountains immediately surrounding it make up the main gold ore mining for all of the Kingdom of Kira.
New Empress of Coastaar
Mesorbison Crowns a new Queen: Deep in the heart of the Air Claw, the tallest mountain in Arkendrose, the capital of the Empire of Coastaar, Mesorbison, held the seat of the Empress who until now had been the daughter of the late, great Vestress Derantu. This changed when Vestress's granddaughter Chalithra Derantu usurped the throne killing her mother and taking her seat as Empress of Coastaar, Bri and the Northern Empire.
Most in the Empire seemed to welcome the change of ruler. Chalithra instituted strict reforms mainly in the secular areas of her Empire. These reforms seemed to be based on the policies of her uncle, Dengar Derantu which saw proper training and force strength rotations throughout the Empire. Such policies had not been continued during the rule of Chalithra's mother as subsequent military failures had shown.
The new empress's first major challenge was putting preventing a rebellion in West Coastaar. After the War for West Coastaar and the uneasy peace that followed, the people of the West were naturally angry about the decisions of the prior Empress and did not believe that Chalithra would be any different. The people had bled harshly by the Alliance of the Holy Blood in the previous years and how they would be no victory to claim for their sacrifice.
Chalithra moved rotated the standing-imperial armies out of the region and replaced them with three armies, two for keeping the peace and one for training at Fort Doron. Some legions were sent home while others were sent to East Coastaar. The bulk of the armies that had been located in West Coastaar however were sent to Southern Bri where they could do no harm to the empire. Chalithra then focused heavily on rebuilding West Coastaar and even gifted various House Matrons previously ravaged territories within imperial domains to appease them. Once the Empire of Coastaar was stable, Empress Chalithra would turn her attention to trade and renewed war efforts with the Empire of Bri.
Kingdom of Meoldolen: Turmoil and Stabilization
Duke of Wron Usurped: Usurped and imprisoned under the Wrony temple known as The Birth of Evil, the Duke of Wron was then replaced by Lord Kalignar. Lord Kalignar had been the leader of the Sectite faction within the wraith duchy of Meoldolen and had campaigned against the prior Duke to no avail. Finally, Kalignar hatched a plan to overthrow Kalignar, the details of which we are not privy too. What we do known is the official report that the previous duke was buried beneath the Birth of Evil.
Kalignar, now Duke
Kalignar of Wron, declared the Faith of Sect as the state religion as
his first act in power. This served his next motive, ending the war
in Meoldolen with the Kingdom of the Fallen.
End of War in Meoldolen: The Duchy of Wron had long gone ignored by the Kingdom of the Fallen's invasion of Meoldolen. Many within Meoldolen assumed that there had been some private agreement between the Fallen and the Wrony but none presented proof. The Kingdom of the Fallen had, without intervention from Wron, destroyed and conquered southern Meoldolen, Lockly and the White City, Meoldolen's capital. They had also marched passed the Duchy of Wron to the Barony of Meridor and defeated Baron Zaniger Ures forcing his people to flee the kingdom to nearby Lasanda. All that remained between the Kingdom of the Fallen and total conquest was the Duchies of Wron and Ral.
Several noble families had ruled Meoldolen since the end of the Wars of Scross. The peace named several families as royal lines as part of the declaration. War started anew when the Wrony line was passed over in favor of another from Lockly. The prevailing worry at the time was that Wron would lead the kingdom astray and thus the other noble families agreed to ascend another to the throne in place of the afore agreed upon line of succession. Many in Meoldolen feared the wraiths of Wron, which further served to fuel the decision.
The Duchy of Wron was defeated in its first attempt to claim the throne. The second attempt happened years later but was stopped by an idea from Baron Ures. Ures agreed to forsake his claim to the throne if the other noble families would do the same in favor of bringing in an outsider to serve as a new ruling dynasty. This way there would be no question of legitimacy moving forward and no reason that the kingdom be shattered as it had been so often over the past two centuries. One-by-one each noble family of the royal lines agreed.
To name the next King or Queen of Meoldolen, Meoldolen hosted a Crown Tournament. Lucifer Spite won the tournament and was crowned King Lucifer Spite, first of his name thereafter. King Lucifer elevated friends and family to positions of power within Meoldolen including the controversial elevation of his friend Slim to Duke of Ral. He also elevated his half-brother Damian to Count of Meoldolen and named him his heir. None of this would matter however. Meoldolen would soon come under siege by the Kingdom of the Fallen.
Duke Kalignar ended that war by crowning himself King of Meoldolen.
Duke of Wron Crowned King of Meoldolen: A Wrony delegation ascended the stair into the ruined capital of Meoldolen, the White City, where Lord Tragamore of the Fallen sat the throne. There, Duke Kalignar made a proposal that must have intrigued the Fallen general for in one month's time Fallen Royal Counselor Aris Mord arrived with the King of the Fallen, Vex, to hear the proposal for himself. Only those who were there that night know what was said in the meeting. The results, however, speak for themselves.
Duke Kalignar was crowned King of Meoldolen the following week. As his first act as King, Kalignar dissolved the Spite Dynasty's claim to the throne. King Lucifer may have been alive but he would not be returning to Meoldolen and clearly, Kalignar had no interest in Damian Spite or any of his children ascending the throne in the future. Kalignar seemed to plan on ruling for a thousand years or more. That left only one major issue, the Duchy of Ral.
Eastern Alliance in Name Only
Meoldolen Crowns a New King: For a time the Kingdom of Meoldolen was part of the Eastern Alliance. The Eastern Alliance was either unable to help or unwilling to when Meoldolen was invaded by the Kingdom of the Fallen. This can be attributed the absence of the King, Lucifer Spite as some have suggested but the more likely reason is the alliance's primary concern, trade.
The presence of the Kingdom of the Fallen in Meoldolen removed Meoldolen as a viable trade partner but it did not hinder existing trade lines. In fact, Eastern Alliance merchants throughout the war used the Duchy of Ral's ports and aid was sent by alliance nations, just not military aid. The Lord Admistrator of the Eastern Alliance, General Sparks, was primarily focused on the Kingdom of Jar'gon at the time.
With the ascension of King Kalignar to the throne, Meoldolen once again declared its neutrality. This effectively removed it from the Eastern Alliance yet its ports in Ral remained open for maritime trade.
Conflict between East Gate and Mithgul: King Elden of East Gate rose from his chambers to deliver a message to his servants and disciples. "My father, our lord Pyra the Great Flame has granted us; his faithful, a holy quest. Deep within the mountains of Mithgul stands a great Gate to another realm. This realm is kin to our Father of Fire Lord Pyra. My Knights shall embark on a holy quest to the gate and open the way for further pilgrimages to the lands beyond. Thus is the will of Pyra my father!" With these words, King Elden returned to his private rooms within Jakob Ladder, the seat of power of East Gate.
The king's royal counselor and Ambassador Archibald then took over from there directing the Knights and military to prepare for the "pilgrimage." This information comes to us from the Mithgulian ambassador who was present at that time. The ambassador attempted to explain to Archibald that the King of Mithgul would see such an act as an act of war but Archibald ignored the ambassador's plight. "Our divine king has spoken and we his followers obey," was his answer.
The gate or permanent portal was discovered some years past by the outside world during Sect's ascension to the divine. Now that the gate's existence was known outside of Mithgul, it became a point of interest for East Gate. The nature of the realm beyond was indeed akin to Prya, the God of Fire and Lord of Chaos. Mithgul had an army stationed at the location so a conflict was imminent should East Gate land on Mithgulian shores.
The Mithgulian ambassador returned to Mithgul and reported on what had happened at Jacob Ladder. In fact, she reported to everyone who would listen, not just the king. By the time reached the king, support for confronting East Gate was already strong. So strong in fact that the king could do little but mobilize his armies to prepare for a conflict with their allies to the north.
This tension between East Gate and Mithgul came at an exceptionally bad time for Mithgul. The Kingdom of the Fallen had a strong foothold in West Mithgul and had to be rooted out. With the peace between Meoldolen and The Fallen, Fallen activity had increased in the west. Now, with the East Gate potentially causing issues in mainland Mithgul, the kingdom's center was left thinly defended.
The Kingdom of Lassanda Isolated: Meoldolen made pace with the Kingdom of the Fallen, crowned a new king and then declared neutrality. This further separated Lasanda from the rest of the Eastern Alliance. Lasanda sheltered House Ures and the survivors of the Barony of Meridor, which served to maintain a certain level of tension between Lasanda and Meoldolen to the south. The only thing that kept Lasanda connected to the rest of the alliance was the trade route that Duke Slim of Ral still allowed to exist.
This relative isolation brought Lasanda closer to their former allies the Alliance of the Star. The Empire of Tengoku was the closet nation to Lasanda and by far their biggest trade partner. Tengoku emissaries were often seen at court in Lasanda. King Tanka was also getting older and seemingly more susceptible to foreign influence. To many within the Eastern Alliance it was only a matter of time before Lasanda left the East for the Star.
Faith in the East: Religion in the Eastern Alliance was not a big secular concern a few decades ago in early 1000 A.A. That had slowly begun to change after the ascension of Sect to the Divine. The faith grew in influence everywhere in Arkendrose, including even the historically resistant East. With the acceptation of East Gate, the Temples seemed as more of an afterthought or simply an addition to life yet it was slowly moving to the forefront becoming more influential.
In Lasanda the Temples served to help draw the kingdom closer to the Alliance of the Star while East Gate remained unpredictable and self-isolated. The Kingdom of Kira had weakened to a point where faith's influence was not felt while East Lake maintained its ties with Corgen. The Kingdom of Mithgul struggled with its conflicting Temples dividing its people. Often, small conflicts would break out within Mithgul, which were not be put down by the crown. The only thing that seemed to keep Mithgul united were common enemies.
The Nation of Corgen, who led the alliance, was a bazar case. Corgen saw everything happening to the alliance but Lord Administer Sparks did not intervene. Instead, Sparks maintained trade lines and secured his borders. All the while, the faith grew in power and influence within his nation. Corgen was concerned mainly with the potential threat once again growing in the Kingdom of Jar'gon to the west.
Renaissance of the Holy Blood
End of Suffering: And end of war had come and the lands of the Alliance of the Holy Blood saw a time of regrowth and prosperity. The War for West Coastaar had taken its toll on the Kingdom of Mistmoor and the Empire of Sycon. Neither were so harshly effected as the Kingdom of Beckhorone. Beckhorone had been sacked and their armies depleted to a shadow of their former self. With the war over, it was time to rebuild.
A Time to Rebuild and Thrive: Rebuilding in Beckhorone started slowly at first. King Diego did not trust the Empire of Coastaar not to break the truce after what the Alliance of the Holy Blood had done to them so many resources went to the armies instead of the devastated regions. Still, rebuilding did happen. The pace quickened once it became more plausible that Coastaar would not reignite the flames of war. The Empire of Sycon and the Kingdom of Mistmoor also began to rebuild. Mistmoor was the most heavily devastated of the two. Their king had dedicated everything his kingdom had to the past two years of war.
The Empire of Sycon's replaced its military losses with fresh levies from the counties and baronies within the empire. Emperor Bazavier saw it best to draw on the strength of his vessels as much as possible to keep them too weak to fight each other effectively. A major victory was also won when Bazavier himself oversaw the successful invasion of the Ishtikarr. As the Temples had said, when the Alliance of the Holy Blood and the Empire of Coastaar put their conflicts aside and focus on the greater enemies, victories in the name of the gods happen and happen they did.
The Ishtikarr became a puppet state and its western province saw an influx of Syconian settlers. New Temples of Ahk'ha'ma and Ignyon were erected in the Ishtikarr as well. Slowly the west recovered. The central Holy Blood lands were also provided respite and a time to recover as the Kingdom of Sect and the Empire of Coastaar renewed their attacks on the Empire of Bri.
The Alliance invasion of the Ishtikarr had also pulled the attention of the Holy Blood's enemies westward leaving the Kingdoms of Lorace and the Fury Lands as well as the Republic of Row and the City States of Grerkly time to recover. With the war in Armend over and the civil disputes between Houses Heltalani and Mindredence over, for now, the Order of Florence was able to reestablish secure trade routes and rebuild their armies.
The east held only
one Holy Blood nation, the Kingdom of Jar'gon. Jar'gon had been
the target of two coalition invasions by the Alliances of the Star
and East and both times, they had been able to throw off their
attackers. Jar'gon had suffered for it however. The Rape of East
Jar'gon took place after the second coalition invasion when the
Nation of Corgen's army occupied the duchies and baronies of the
region.
Jar'gon Reclaims Dominion over East Jar'gon!: For generations the lands of East Jar'gon had been forcibly devoid of their Jar'gonian soldiers. This created a lawless bad lands made even worse by the absence of Eastern Alliance soldiers as well. The nobility of East Jar'gon were powerless to stop rampaging marauders and thieves as they terrorized the land. Worse yet, the expansion of the Kingdom of the Fallen could not be checked by Jar'gonian forces for they were barred entry into the East by Corgen leaving the unarmed populous to fend for themselves.
The Nation of Corgen after its second-failed invasion of South Falnore in the heartland of the Kingdom of Jar'gon had returned east only to occupy East Jar'gon in what would be later known as the Rape of East Jar'gon. Through the careful negotiation of the Lord Director of the Alliance of the Holy Blood, although unpopular at the time, peace was secured. However, that peace had a heavy coast. Corgen ordered the King of Jar'gon to remove all military presence within East Jar'gon under threat of renewed hostility from the Eastern Alliance. The King of Jar'gon accepted the terms set by Corgen and removed its army from its eastern lands and the Eastern Alliance left soon after. In the years that followed, any attempt at returning to East Jar'gon with an army to secure the peace of Akuma would be met by immediate action from the Corgenite navy.
However, to the joy of countless thousands of East Jar'gonians and surely the millions of people throughout the Alliance of the Holy Blood, the people of Corgen rose up against their ruling class in a civil war. During this time of Corgenite instability, Jar'gon once more landed an army at Tempest, the regional capital of East Jar'gon. Immediately after their arrival, the army began securing order and re-establishing the dominion of the noble class as well as the Word of the Holy Blood.
The occupation of East Jar'gon and its subsequent end at the start of the War for West Coastaar combined with the lack of retaliation against Corgen had given rise to the belief that the then Lord Director of the Alliance of the Holy Blood and King of Jar'gon had made a deal with General Sparks of Corgen. As a result, his popularity waned over the following two decades until he was eventually replaced. While this was the catalyst that ultimately served to have the king removed from his position as Lord Director, it did allow Jar'gon the chance to also recover in the coming years as well. East Jar'gon was rebuilt and the kingdoms armies restored. Jar'gon itself partook in no open conflicts for a generation and instead began a renewed focused on shipbuilding and maritime trade.
The biggest barrier for the lands of the Holy Blood's regrowth and prosperity was that of their remote locations. The smaller nations in the central regions of the alliance had open and easy access to one another. The Western lands of Syconia, Beckhorone and Mistmoor had relatively easy access to each other as well but not to the central lands or Jar'gon. Jar'gon was the most isolated with the Kingdoms of Daklavan, Seenitory, the Fallen, the City State of Chee and the Empire of Coastaar between them and the West and North. The secure trade route took Jar'gon ships far to the south over a vast stretch of open ocean and under the southern coasts of East Coastaar. Journeys made in this manor were time consuming and dangerous. To combat this issue, Jar'gon improved the stability, reliability and armament of their ships. The same journey would be made but with more security which allowed Jar'gon's coffers to slowly refill as well.
Renaissance of the Empire of Coastaar
A Time to Rebuild and Thrive: The War for West Coastaar had been the single most damaging war to the Empire since the founding of it. Over 100,000 West Coastaar people and near to 50,000 Imperial soldiers lost their lives during the campaigns. The northern territories of imperial West Coastaar were devastated.
Although it was unpopular among armies stationed in West Coastaar and with the West Coastaarian noble houses, an end to the war came by imperial decree. The High Priestess of Obsidel accepted the word of Sect and His high priest, Dar'loth and agreed to support and end to hostilities between the Holy Blood and the Empire. With the support of the temples, the Empress of Coastaar was finally able to end the war.
The end of the War of West Coastaar was part of the catalyst for the removal of Empress Chalithra Derantu's mother from the imperial throne and her subsequent elevation. The decisions at the end of her mother's reign had been very unpopular, though necessary, which fueled her rise. As earlier stated in this history, a rebellion took place within West Coastaar because of her mother's policies. Chalithra was able to end the rebellion and secure order. From there the focus was on rebuilding what was lost and preparing to reignite the War with the Empire of Bri.
Through the reforms and reestablishing of old-imperial-military decrees, the Empire of Coastaar began to recover. Coastaar secured and maintained their trade lines. The presence of the Kingdom of Sect helped to reduce piracy in the region. Coastaar was able to recover and soon their strength returned to them. In matters of trade, the Empire signed a lucrative trade agreement with the Kingdom of Sect. The Kingdom of Sect then served as neutral ground in which Holy Blood and Imperial goods to be traded which furthered served to fuel the refinance of both the Alliance of the Holy Blood and the Empire of Coastaar.
A Time for Vengeance: Empress Chalithra Derantu removed the West Coastaar armies from West Coastaar and moved the bulk of their number to Southern Bri. The army stayed in Southern Bri, first only as security to the Empire's north central frontier. This would change however once two full armies were in place in the South allowing the Empire to renew its war on the Empire of Bri.
Generations prior, the Empire of Coastaar landed their armies on the southern shores of Bri and quickly overran the defenses there. The human Sawdomese Empire of Bri had grown complacent since conquering Bri from the Dark Elf houses and their garrisons were no match for a full invasion. Bri was, however, not weak and had many allies. Bri had mobilized its army and marched south to meet Coastaar head on. The Kingdom of Celtica and other also joining the defense of Bri. This initial start to the Second Dark Elf War was that which sparked the creation of the Alliance of the Star. Coastaar then was forced to abandon their push and instead focused on defending the land they had already re-conquered.
Since then, Bri had erected the massive Wall of Surba, which Coastaar answered with its own great wall creating a no-man's-land between both defensive barriers. No further progress was made, although attempts had transpired, on behalf of the Empire of Coastaar in the years that followed. That was until the Fall of New Arcana when the Kingdom of Sect finally delivered a decisive blow to the cities over 60,000 soldier strong defense.
Coastaarian generals then coordinated with General Zar of the Kingdom of Sect in the campaign that followed. Coastaar would actively apply pressure on Bri's defenses while the Kingdom of Sect worked on a plan to take down the Sky Dragon's Shield, which protected the Empire of Bri's campital Surba.
The Breaking of the Shield of Bri
Renewed Advances into the Empire of Bri: After the fall of New Arcana and the invasion of the Ishtikarr, the Empire of Coastaar advanced once more on the Empire of Bri. The way into Bri was now securely open from the South as Bri was unable to defend the Wall of Surba all the way to New Arcana. In truth, the defenses of Bri had begun to falter years prior when the Kingdom of Sect made its initial invasion from the open North West. With the end of New Arcana, the last bastion of western Star defense failed leaving the entire west open to Kingdom of Sect and Empire of Coastaar advance.
The Empire of Coastaar marched one army north through New Arcana and then east into contested Bri while one imperial army stayed behind to defend Coastaar's Southern Bri Wall. The Kingdom of Sect moved its main force into New Arcana and deployed smaller detachments to hurry Bri's regional defenses. Soon, the full might of the Kingdom of Sect would join the Empire of Coastaar and push hard against the remaining defensive lines of Bri.
Bri and Alliance of the Star Unable to Hold: Coastaar began its push into Bri secured territory. A tired Sawdamese army from Bri marched out to meet them. The Kingdom of West Lake supplemented the defense effort with forces of their own. Bri fought fiercely and West Lake did its best to match but they were better warriors within water rather than on land. In spite of staunch resistance, the arrival of an army from the Kingdom of Sect with Lucifer Spite at its head sent the Empire of Bri and Kingdom of West Lake into full retreat.
The Fall Begins: One-by-one the various Empire of Bri provinces fell. Bri called on the aid of the rest of the Alliance of the Star. The Kingdom of West Lake was already fully involved but their abilities on land were no match for the Empire of Coastaar. The Kingdom of Celtica sent what they could spare as did Tengoku but the total numbers were still not what would be needed to stop the Zar and Coastaar's march forward.
It was at this time that talks began where the Alliance of the Star member lands attempted to convince the Empire of Bri to evacuate its population to lands that are more defendable. The pride of Bri stood in the way at first until the loss of provincial territories became so great to ignore.
The Kingdom of Sect moved an army northeast to cut off fleeing Sawdomese people, which forced the majority south toward Surba. Those who could escape north to the Tower of Saudam did so. The rest either were cut down in the fighting or made it to Surba. Surba itself was becoming crowded and resources began to rapidly diminish. Surba may have been a week defended and fortified city, but it had its limits.
The Fall of Surba: The end was near for the Empire of Bri. The Empire finally ordered the evacuation of Bri. Where they would go was uncertain at first. More important was surviving long enough to leave. When the last of the Bri provinces fell so too did the Sky Dragon's Shield. Surba was no longer invulnerable.
Bri and its alliance partners Celtica and Tengoku held the line while West Lake evacuated the people. General Zar did not let up and neither did the Empire of Coastaar. They attacked with everything they had available to them and killed indiscriminately. As a result, the defenders fought even harder to hold back the onslaught. In the end, it was all Bri and its allies could do to save lives but the city would fall.
The Exodus of the Soudamese and the end of Bri: The Soudamese were not native to Arkendrose. They had come through a great gate hidden somewhere in southern Ishtikarr. From there they settled their new empire. Their growing people led to conflicts with the Dark Elf Houses of Bri, which eventually transformed into all-out war. That would resulted in the expulsion of the Dark Elves of Bri to East Coastaar. Bri became the new home of the Saudemese people then after. That was, until the Fall of Surba.
When Surba fell, the Soudamese fled the continent. Many went North West to the lands their prior emperor had purchased back from the Ishtikarr while others traveled east to Tre'mor and beyond. The Empire of Bri was no more.
War with King Mobian of Ba'kar
Lords,
Church and Counsel:
Three bodies rule The Alliance of the Holy Blood collectively. The
Lords represent secular rule of which all persons of the nobility are
members. The Church represents the Faith of which all men women of
the cloth of the various accepted temples are members. Lastly, the
Counsel of the Gift represents the Gift, Arkendrosian Vampirism, and
is its upmost authority. The Counsel is a private order whose only
public member is king Lyric of Lorance.
Tension and War: When the Alliance of the Holy Blood formed over 50 years ago, King Mobian refused the call of the Faith preferring to remain neutral. In spite of all diplomatic attempts made by the Lords and overtures made by the Church, King Mobian has refused to follow the Faith to the banners of the Holy Blood. The Council has remained passive on this account as well seeing it as a matter for the Church and the Lords. With the aid of the Holy Blood's new allies in the Empire of Coastaar, plans are in motion to liberate the enslaved people of Mobian's kingdom. "They shall be free of the blasphemy that is neutrality and stand with the Lords and Church under the Holy Blood Banner!" The Lord Director and King of Jar'gon is reported to have said before a gathering of the Lords, the Church and the people at Blood Moon in the Byzantar.
This, of course, was before the Lords removed the King of Jar'gon as Lord Director. What we do know is that since the end, and perhaps before, of the invasion of the Ishtikarr, the Empire of Sycon has been preparing for an invasion of the Ba'kar. The Kingdom of Beckhorone has chosen to aid only with its navy. The Kingdom of Mistmoor has declined to aid in the war effort completely siting a need to rebuild even though it had been many years since the devastating War for West Coastaar.
In spite of the lack luster support from the Alliance of the Holy Blood, the Empire of Sycon is expected to go forward with its invasion of the Ba'kar with the support of the Church. The main obstacle between Syconia and war with the Ba'kar is the Kingdom of the Fallen, which occupy many small islands between the two lands. Since Royal Counselor Aris Mord of the Fallen accepted the dominion of Sect the Kingdom of the Fallen had halted their wars with the Empire of Coastaar and the lands of the Holy Blood. Where they would stand in this war is of yet uncertain.