The Kingdom: History and Time Line
Posted 7th November 2008 at 05:30 PM by Pour
The Kingdom
The greatest political power on the continent of Othyr, comprised mainly of the regal human race of Nors, is actually a nation descended from slaves. In the Age of Autumn in the Second Cycle, elves turned from mentors to masters, deciding humans were a hopeless cause and that only through subjugation would they find their place. For centuries the oppression of the Sylvan Reign lasted, even as the elves selectively bred their pets and servants to form a statuesque race of nearly perfect humans. In there eugenics a dangerous line was crossed, for they inadvertently created the sum of all men, Nor, who rose against his elven masters to unite the human slave race and bring down the elven empire.
Nor founded his own Kingdom, fashioned on the principles of strength by unification and trust and honor among men. The great capital of Norfeld was built upon the ruins of the elven capital of Glorian and there Nor ruled for sixty-three golden years.
When his mortal coil was nearly spent, he ascended into the timeless halls of Valoria to act as divine patriarch.
The Nors, also called Heartlanders and Citizens, continued their quest for prosperity and unity, rising to dominance amidst a sea of city-states and fragmented tribes. And all of it was done without the use of magic, for the arcane arts of their old masters were banned in favor of accomplishment through grit, divine zeal, intelligence, ingenuity and passion. The high and mighty race of elves were made low, they themselves turned to slaves, and other non-humans shunned. Of the violent and warlike dark races, such as goblins and orcs, who tested and defied man, a quick example was made. A grand genocide sent all lingering non-humans fleeing, known as The Purge.
It wasn’t long after this extermination that The Kingdom decided it was best to assimilate all the cultures of humanity so as to preserve the colorful tapestry of human existence and enrich the empire’s own. This agenda grew into a driving force in Nors mentality, the need to unite all men, willing or unwilling. Their ultimate goal became the creation of a Utopian society combining
all human cultures and populated by a master race containing all the bloodlines of men.
Time Line
Birth of Nor, 0 KR, Beginning of the 3rd Cycle.
The first day of the Kingdom Calendar marks the birth of the slave boy Nor, who would become the legendary revolutionary and god king who led the slave race of men to victory over their elven overlords.
The Long Night, 16 KR.
Just 16, Nor broke free of the magic binding which kept his slave shelf locked in order to save his love Rubina from the hands of the lustful elf lord Moondasl. Nor’s shelf mates spread across Fortress Sunaul, killing the elves as they slept. Nor himself confronted the lord in single combat, suicide for a normal boy, or even a gladiator grown, but in his moment of need true divinity shined and he overcame the lord and his arcana to save the woman that would become his wife and empress.
Setting of the Elves, 36 KR.
Long battles were fought across 20 years, the liberated fortresses and gladiator
pits of man against the arcane towers of elves. Grit and determination, pain and sacrifice, humanity slowly overcame their masters. Nor spearheaded the uprisings, present at every battle, his growing godhood countering whatever strange and deadly magic the elves conjured. Finally, at the Battle of Glorian, the last of the elf kings, Gloriandel, was slain in an epic duel with Nor that would forever more be legend and holy verse for the Nors people.
The Kingdom Founded, 37 KR.
Within the year, the free men of the Heartlands joined together to form a new nation, one free of magic and fighting pits, one built by men and for men. Elves were cast down as slaves and all other races, who had stood idly by as man was enslaved, cast out. Nor was risen as God King and Rubina
Empress to guide the people.
Norfeld Built on the Ruins of Glorian, 40 KR.
On the shattered elven capital, Kingdomers decided to construct their own. For decades men sweat and toiled, as did their elven slaves, to build the grand city stone by stone, great citadels and sprawling guild districts and arching bridges soaring like rainbows.
Nor’s Ascension, 100 KR.
After 63 years as resplendent ruler of the Kingdom, now a thriving city-state with high and hopeful plans for the future, Nor dove into the gray glooms of the netherworld and collected his great love’s soul. Together they rose to Valoria, Nor’s chosen plane, where he would reign for all time as eternal liberator, founder, father and spirit of the Kingdom.
The Forts Completed, 212 KR.
The Kingdom was far from an idyllic field, for many dark and war-hungry races lurked in the Black Forest and the Dormud Mountains. After generations of skirmishes, invasions and all out wars, the reigning King Ksiad ordered the construction of an ambitious ring of forts, completed after almost seventy years of harrowed construction. With forts came roads, troops, defensible outposts, security in the region. The dark races were driven back.
The Purge, 256 KR.
With the spurned dark races massing for a great joint invasion, the Kingdom counterattacked, and in a frightening blitz managed to nearly wipe the world clean of the dark races of orcs, goblins, ogres and other foul brood. Those survivors fled to the east, the south and the north. Their lot was to be hunted in the Heartland and the growing realm of the empire from then on.
West War I, 314 KR.
There came an epiphany to King Sigula, fostered by a growing sentiment that the Kingdom was losing its purpose in the face of such boundless prosperity. The Kingdom must share their boons with other cultures of men, spread the word of Nor, and seek the unification of all human civilizations. Only then could man truly prosper. Thus the first West War was initiatived, so it was said, to liberate the growing coastal power of Pricilli from its dangerous neighbors, which included the drow, the vampires, the dwarves of Citadel, the mad priests of the temple-city Tho-Siggot, and perhaps most troublesome of all the only surviving remnant of old elven power on the plateaus of Meresoa. An unwelcomed army attempted to pass through the Ultus Mountains at its only navigable point, the Citadel, to rescue a kingdom that did not want their help from races whom they lived in peace with up until this point. The result was quite the opposite of Kingdom aspirations, the forming of a Western Alliance to jointly force the Kingdom out of their lands. After only a year, the ill-prepared army was forced to retreat, having never guessed their enemies would be so varied or powerful.
Suoul Falls, 426 KR.
Not all were so resilient as the West, and when the Kingdom came with an army demanding the ancient Suoul civilization join their empire, the jungle people could hardly resist. Though many fought bravely to ensure their people’s autonomy, even practicing blood sacrifices to demons and dark fey, nothing could prevent the imperial army from colonizing. In the process, they killed or drove off many of the dark races who’d spent the last two hundred years or so rebuilding their numbers. Goblins fled further south, only to be enslaved by the eager Azerbadians, and the orc were forced north, eventually conquering the kobold city of Ikactyl and renaming it Mongrel.
Dameron Founded, 439.
In a new strategy to win the West, the Kingdom sent out surveyors, prospectors and eager pioneers to tame what was dubbed a “frontier”, in actuality a relatively small, unclaimed series of islands and marshes along the major western waters. Almost overnight, Kingdomers were building barge homes, bridges and raftways. Though challenged by trolls, snakemen and even the thieving priests of Thosiggot looking for sacrifices and attendants, a foothold was formed, Dameron, fastest growing city in the whole of the empire, much to the West’s dismay.
West War II, 620 KR.
Dameron had grown into a veritable City of Bridges, Kingdomers having once again beaten back the darkness and found prosperity. As Dameron began to expand its naval influence in the western
waters, a small skirmish with drow dhows off the shores of the Mabland ignited a conflict which quickly drew every political power in the region into a ten-year war. The Kingdom was better prepared, having a base within the west and ample gold and gems from the abundant Suoul lands, fronting many thousands of seasoned troops, seige weapons, ships and exotic Suoul regiments enough to push the west to the brink of defeat. They’d even cowed the Vampires by supplying thousands of unwitting colonists to settle the Saspien Vale like a human garden. It was only when the Mab, sorceress-queen of the drow, used the Damning to unleash the armies of Hell against Kingdom invaders, defeating them and at once consuming her soul to an eternal torment. Dameron was left a depressed shadow of its former self, barely keeping afloat. Old evils of the swamp began creeping back to their homeland, but instead of being shunned the Damerons welcomed them, seeking aid and guidance. The city twisted into something much darker than before.
The East Falls, 636 KR.
After a crushing defeat in the west, the demoralized Kingdom was nearly bankrupt.
They launched another campaign, desperate for food and resources, things needed to simply keep the empire running. The last of their surviving armies were sent into the dense forests and lush coasts, taking from the ample, lush Umbalaa. They found a deeply spiritual people there, entrenched in animal and ghost worship, who saw the pale invaders as emissaries of Chad’nos, Bringer of the 4th World. They believed the Kingdom had come to better their lives and create a heaven on earth, as did the Kingdomers, but what resulted was a quick and brutal stripping of gold, jewels, lumber and game. Colonial outposts were established at key points and the Umbala people forced to join reeducation programs sponsored by the Church of Nor in order to bring them fully under the imperial wing. There was resistance, of course, by ferocious beast totem warriors and forbidding witchdoctors, but it all came too late. They were forced into the darkest depths of the Umbalat whilst the empire slowly consumed their ancestral lands. Resistance would later come from the upriver country of Jiwar, the land of Um kings, led by the infamous Wolf of Jiwar. However even these added harrowings did little to impede the Kingdom.
Veluvia Founded, 799 KR.
The empire, once again on solid political, social and economic footing, saught to expand their influence into the next logical realm, the overland of Myaton. However, the treacherous peaks and mysterious Veil prevented any sort of effective military pressure. Raptoran flocks native to the region were also steeped in too many unknown factors, having always been a rarely-seen and even more rarely-heard race. The Kingdom decided the wisest course of reconnaissance and political footholding would be to establish a colony not in the Overland, knowing they could never be as blatant as they had been in Dameron again, but instead a settlement in the far, unclaimed north. They build a road, The High Road, beginning in Norfeld itself and winding up into Myaton, along the treacherous Veil and the many mountain passes, and into the barren tundra of the Roam. The Kingdom sent young regiments eager to make their fortune off the “Jewel of the North” and took with them whatever colonists willing to go with them. So few answered the call, despite the heavy propaganda, that the Kingdom offered an endured servitude for lower criminals, which ended up comprising nearly half the population. Many other kinds of entrepreneurs, missionaries, and escapees of the past also joined the initial settlement, which was named after a kind raptoran of the Lordanna flock who warned the ill-fated troop they were walking into an ambush of dark flocks. Her name was Veluvia. However Veluvia was never of real interest to the Kingdom, despite the furs and scrimshaw it produced, but the High Road was, seeing the slow formation of three Kingdom towns and outposts along its length.
The West Falls, 835 KR.
When twice before showings of military strength proved ineffectual against the combined front of the Western Alliance, the Kingdom tried a different tactic, bribery. Imperial generals postulated victory could be attained if simultaneous attacks were launched from Dameron and the north of the province. However, the only way to effectively launch a northern incursion was if the Citadel was open, the "gate" into the guarded vale country. The dwarves of Citadel were always among the staunchest opposition to the Kingdom, but even they had a kink, a jealous second sister in the royal line, a would-be queen named Moraig willing to lend herself to the Kingdom if they could claim her the throne. It wasn’t long after that, as Dameron’s army launched from the south, the queen of Citadel was murdered and replaced and Kingdom forces allowed passage from the north. The result was a bitter loss as the Western Alliance was crushed.
The Pricilli and all their rich culture were assimilated into the empire and ruled over by a duke from the Kingdom, cousins of the king. The drow were driven deep beneath the earth, while the dwarves were turned to slaves beneath their new queen for the empire was always in need of weapons and armor. The vampires were left to their own devices in their cursed lands, content with the offering made to them two hundred
years prior. Tho-Siggot was similarly left to their own mad devices, having no real aspirations beyond their strange worship. And of the elves of Meresoa, who had survived all this time despite the Kingdom’s breaking of elves, they were captured and to be made the personal servants of the king himself in Norfeld. However their king and people were able to perform a mass suicide before such a fate could befall them.
THE DEMON WAR, Beginning of the Age of Spring (4th Cycle).
For the Kingdom’s part, they had very little to do with the Demon War, despite their estranged settelment Veluvia being at the very heart of it. Whilst the empire continued combating the annoyances of rebellions and internal conflict between the monarchy and the church, a group of northern heroes managed to join together and defeat the Seven Demon Lords, culminating in a battle with the anti-madonna Shalraza, who carried the demon-dragon god within her. Her defeat liberated the northlands, united many of its factions, and inspired the new
nation of Atha. Its heroes went on to lead clans, cities and peoples of their own, together forming a great Northern
Alliance, much to the Kingdom’s dismay.
Sons of Nor Revival, 2 AS.
Disagreements with church and state became dangerous insurrection as the Church of Nor, tired of the irresponsible government deviating from the true mission of the Kingdom as set down by Nor’s example, began a widespread movement across the empire, gathering thousands upon thousands of similarly disgruntled citizens in a religious and political movement known as The Revival. Revivalists, also known as Sons of Nor, wanted the Kingdom to return to its true mission and end the schemes of warmongering, money-grubbing beaurocrats. While not a direct rebellion against King Deucalion, it did call into question all of his advisers, loyal nobles, politicans and policies. Before the King could squelch such insolence, the movement became a wildfire, and in every corner of the empire citizens began dressing in red armor, representing their hunger for change and their willingness to shed blood to achieve it.
Yathnoc Converts, 11 AS.
The Sons of Nor had become an engine for change whose authority was quickly overshadowing even the King’s, but when the red dragon elder Yathnoc openly submitted to the will of the church and converted to Norism (along with dozens of lesser red dragons), the sublty was over. Primus Endymion Norson, head of the church, initiator of the Revival, and cousin to the king, blessed the conversion before an awestruck Norfeld. The Sons came from all corners of the empire to witness this marvel of faith. And when all assembled, and with many great dragons in their ranks, it was easy enough to usurp total control. The helpless
King Deucalion, prisoner in his own castle, was spirited out of the city by his last loyal subjects. In his absence, Endymion began a farse of a diliberation on how best to lead the country. The thousands of Sons cried out as one for the Primus to lead the Kingdom back on the righteous path, though he refused to make his final move until the King could be found.
Imperial Dragoons formed, 13 AS.
Many of the people were terrified by the presence of dragons in the empire, much less living in and around the capital. To ease troubled minds, and sway whatever military might still holding loyalty to the king, Endymion formed the Imperial Dragoons, dragon-riding knights selected from the best of every fort to be the elite guardians of the Kingdom and bringers of Nor’s justice upon the sinfulworld. Man and dragon together in service of the empire quickly became every little Nors boy’s greatest aspiration
and dazzled the greater populace. Citizens began developing a new sense of pride and identity, wondered by what else Endymion might offer them. Imperial dragoons became the symbol of the new Kingdom, the Nors return to more epic origins.
Kingdom becomes a Theocracy, 15 AS.
King Deucalion resurfaced two years after his escape with an army of loyalists, mainly forces drawn from the Pricilla, Umbalat and Suoul provinces, but against the might of Norfeld, the Sons, Imperial Dragoons and red dragons, it was a quick and pointless conflict. The King was slain, labeled a traitor to his own people, and Endymion finally had the closure needed to assume full control of the Kingdom as Heirarch Endymion. The provincial armies, however, were almost entirely spent, and new freedom movements quickly surfaced.
Endymion Anointed Heirarch, 17 AS, Present Day.
Despite Endymion’s overall dominion, many of the noble lines and long-established power brokers were opposed to the changes in policy after nearly a thousand years. A secret, two year war raged throughout the empire, fought mostly by assassins and inquisitors, between those Loyalists of Endymion and the Patriots of the old order. In the end, Endymion proved triumphant. He kept much of the old structure of duke, margraves, counts, barons and the like, but replaced or converted each person of power so the whole of the empire was loyal to him.
Thus begins the Reign of the Heirarch.
The greatest political power on the continent of Othyr, comprised mainly of the regal human race of Nors, is actually a nation descended from slaves. In the Age of Autumn in the Second Cycle, elves turned from mentors to masters, deciding humans were a hopeless cause and that only through subjugation would they find their place. For centuries the oppression of the Sylvan Reign lasted, even as the elves selectively bred their pets and servants to form a statuesque race of nearly perfect humans. In there eugenics a dangerous line was crossed, for they inadvertently created the sum of all men, Nor, who rose against his elven masters to unite the human slave race and bring down the elven empire.
Nor founded his own Kingdom, fashioned on the principles of strength by unification and trust and honor among men. The great capital of Norfeld was built upon the ruins of the elven capital of Glorian and there Nor ruled for sixty-three golden years.
When his mortal coil was nearly spent, he ascended into the timeless halls of Valoria to act as divine patriarch.
The Nors, also called Heartlanders and Citizens, continued their quest for prosperity and unity, rising to dominance amidst a sea of city-states and fragmented tribes. And all of it was done without the use of magic, for the arcane arts of their old masters were banned in favor of accomplishment through grit, divine zeal, intelligence, ingenuity and passion. The high and mighty race of elves were made low, they themselves turned to slaves, and other non-humans shunned. Of the violent and warlike dark races, such as goblins and orcs, who tested and defied man, a quick example was made. A grand genocide sent all lingering non-humans fleeing, known as The Purge.
It wasn’t long after this extermination that The Kingdom decided it was best to assimilate all the cultures of humanity so as to preserve the colorful tapestry of human existence and enrich the empire’s own. This agenda grew into a driving force in Nors mentality, the need to unite all men, willing or unwilling. Their ultimate goal became the creation of a Utopian society combining
all human cultures and populated by a master race containing all the bloodlines of men.
Time Line
Birth of Nor, 0 KR, Beginning of the 3rd Cycle.
The first day of the Kingdom Calendar marks the birth of the slave boy Nor, who would become the legendary revolutionary and god king who led the slave race of men to victory over their elven overlords.
The Long Night, 16 KR.
Just 16, Nor broke free of the magic binding which kept his slave shelf locked in order to save his love Rubina from the hands of the lustful elf lord Moondasl. Nor’s shelf mates spread across Fortress Sunaul, killing the elves as they slept. Nor himself confronted the lord in single combat, suicide for a normal boy, or even a gladiator grown, but in his moment of need true divinity shined and he overcame the lord and his arcana to save the woman that would become his wife and empress.
Setting of the Elves, 36 KR.
Long battles were fought across 20 years, the liberated fortresses and gladiator
pits of man against the arcane towers of elves. Grit and determination, pain and sacrifice, humanity slowly overcame their masters. Nor spearheaded the uprisings, present at every battle, his growing godhood countering whatever strange and deadly magic the elves conjured. Finally, at the Battle of Glorian, the last of the elf kings, Gloriandel, was slain in an epic duel with Nor that would forever more be legend and holy verse for the Nors people.
The Kingdom Founded, 37 KR.
Within the year, the free men of the Heartlands joined together to form a new nation, one free of magic and fighting pits, one built by men and for men. Elves were cast down as slaves and all other races, who had stood idly by as man was enslaved, cast out. Nor was risen as God King and Rubina
Empress to guide the people.
Norfeld Built on the Ruins of Glorian, 40 KR.
On the shattered elven capital, Kingdomers decided to construct their own. For decades men sweat and toiled, as did their elven slaves, to build the grand city stone by stone, great citadels and sprawling guild districts and arching bridges soaring like rainbows.
Nor’s Ascension, 100 KR.
After 63 years as resplendent ruler of the Kingdom, now a thriving city-state with high and hopeful plans for the future, Nor dove into the gray glooms of the netherworld and collected his great love’s soul. Together they rose to Valoria, Nor’s chosen plane, where he would reign for all time as eternal liberator, founder, father and spirit of the Kingdom.
The Forts Completed, 212 KR.
The Kingdom was far from an idyllic field, for many dark and war-hungry races lurked in the Black Forest and the Dormud Mountains. After generations of skirmishes, invasions and all out wars, the reigning King Ksiad ordered the construction of an ambitious ring of forts, completed after almost seventy years of harrowed construction. With forts came roads, troops, defensible outposts, security in the region. The dark races were driven back.
The Purge, 256 KR.
With the spurned dark races massing for a great joint invasion, the Kingdom counterattacked, and in a frightening blitz managed to nearly wipe the world clean of the dark races of orcs, goblins, ogres and other foul brood. Those survivors fled to the east, the south and the north. Their lot was to be hunted in the Heartland and the growing realm of the empire from then on.
West War I, 314 KR.
There came an epiphany to King Sigula, fostered by a growing sentiment that the Kingdom was losing its purpose in the face of such boundless prosperity. The Kingdom must share their boons with other cultures of men, spread the word of Nor, and seek the unification of all human civilizations. Only then could man truly prosper. Thus the first West War was initiatived, so it was said, to liberate the growing coastal power of Pricilli from its dangerous neighbors, which included the drow, the vampires, the dwarves of Citadel, the mad priests of the temple-city Tho-Siggot, and perhaps most troublesome of all the only surviving remnant of old elven power on the plateaus of Meresoa. An unwelcomed army attempted to pass through the Ultus Mountains at its only navigable point, the Citadel, to rescue a kingdom that did not want their help from races whom they lived in peace with up until this point. The result was quite the opposite of Kingdom aspirations, the forming of a Western Alliance to jointly force the Kingdom out of their lands. After only a year, the ill-prepared army was forced to retreat, having never guessed their enemies would be so varied or powerful.
Suoul Falls, 426 KR.
Not all were so resilient as the West, and when the Kingdom came with an army demanding the ancient Suoul civilization join their empire, the jungle people could hardly resist. Though many fought bravely to ensure their people’s autonomy, even practicing blood sacrifices to demons and dark fey, nothing could prevent the imperial army from colonizing. In the process, they killed or drove off many of the dark races who’d spent the last two hundred years or so rebuilding their numbers. Goblins fled further south, only to be enslaved by the eager Azerbadians, and the orc were forced north, eventually conquering the kobold city of Ikactyl and renaming it Mongrel.
Dameron Founded, 439.
In a new strategy to win the West, the Kingdom sent out surveyors, prospectors and eager pioneers to tame what was dubbed a “frontier”, in actuality a relatively small, unclaimed series of islands and marshes along the major western waters. Almost overnight, Kingdomers were building barge homes, bridges and raftways. Though challenged by trolls, snakemen and even the thieving priests of Thosiggot looking for sacrifices and attendants, a foothold was formed, Dameron, fastest growing city in the whole of the empire, much to the West’s dismay.
West War II, 620 KR.
Dameron had grown into a veritable City of Bridges, Kingdomers having once again beaten back the darkness and found prosperity. As Dameron began to expand its naval influence in the western
waters, a small skirmish with drow dhows off the shores of the Mabland ignited a conflict which quickly drew every political power in the region into a ten-year war. The Kingdom was better prepared, having a base within the west and ample gold and gems from the abundant Suoul lands, fronting many thousands of seasoned troops, seige weapons, ships and exotic Suoul regiments enough to push the west to the brink of defeat. They’d even cowed the Vampires by supplying thousands of unwitting colonists to settle the Saspien Vale like a human garden. It was only when the Mab, sorceress-queen of the drow, used the Damning to unleash the armies of Hell against Kingdom invaders, defeating them and at once consuming her soul to an eternal torment. Dameron was left a depressed shadow of its former self, barely keeping afloat. Old evils of the swamp began creeping back to their homeland, but instead of being shunned the Damerons welcomed them, seeking aid and guidance. The city twisted into something much darker than before.
The East Falls, 636 KR.
After a crushing defeat in the west, the demoralized Kingdom was nearly bankrupt.
They launched another campaign, desperate for food and resources, things needed to simply keep the empire running. The last of their surviving armies were sent into the dense forests and lush coasts, taking from the ample, lush Umbalaa. They found a deeply spiritual people there, entrenched in animal and ghost worship, who saw the pale invaders as emissaries of Chad’nos, Bringer of the 4th World. They believed the Kingdom had come to better their lives and create a heaven on earth, as did the Kingdomers, but what resulted was a quick and brutal stripping of gold, jewels, lumber and game. Colonial outposts were established at key points and the Umbala people forced to join reeducation programs sponsored by the Church of Nor in order to bring them fully under the imperial wing. There was resistance, of course, by ferocious beast totem warriors and forbidding witchdoctors, but it all came too late. They were forced into the darkest depths of the Umbalat whilst the empire slowly consumed their ancestral lands. Resistance would later come from the upriver country of Jiwar, the land of Um kings, led by the infamous Wolf of Jiwar. However even these added harrowings did little to impede the Kingdom.
Veluvia Founded, 799 KR.
The empire, once again on solid political, social and economic footing, saught to expand their influence into the next logical realm, the overland of Myaton. However, the treacherous peaks and mysterious Veil prevented any sort of effective military pressure. Raptoran flocks native to the region were also steeped in too many unknown factors, having always been a rarely-seen and even more rarely-heard race. The Kingdom decided the wisest course of reconnaissance and political footholding would be to establish a colony not in the Overland, knowing they could never be as blatant as they had been in Dameron again, but instead a settlement in the far, unclaimed north. They build a road, The High Road, beginning in Norfeld itself and winding up into Myaton, along the treacherous Veil and the many mountain passes, and into the barren tundra of the Roam. The Kingdom sent young regiments eager to make their fortune off the “Jewel of the North” and took with them whatever colonists willing to go with them. So few answered the call, despite the heavy propaganda, that the Kingdom offered an endured servitude for lower criminals, which ended up comprising nearly half the population. Many other kinds of entrepreneurs, missionaries, and escapees of the past also joined the initial settlement, which was named after a kind raptoran of the Lordanna flock who warned the ill-fated troop they were walking into an ambush of dark flocks. Her name was Veluvia. However Veluvia was never of real interest to the Kingdom, despite the furs and scrimshaw it produced, but the High Road was, seeing the slow formation of three Kingdom towns and outposts along its length.
The West Falls, 835 KR.
When twice before showings of military strength proved ineffectual against the combined front of the Western Alliance, the Kingdom tried a different tactic, bribery. Imperial generals postulated victory could be attained if simultaneous attacks were launched from Dameron and the north of the province. However, the only way to effectively launch a northern incursion was if the Citadel was open, the "gate" into the guarded vale country. The dwarves of Citadel were always among the staunchest opposition to the Kingdom, but even they had a kink, a jealous second sister in the royal line, a would-be queen named Moraig willing to lend herself to the Kingdom if they could claim her the throne. It wasn’t long after that, as Dameron’s army launched from the south, the queen of Citadel was murdered and replaced and Kingdom forces allowed passage from the north. The result was a bitter loss as the Western Alliance was crushed.
The Pricilli and all their rich culture were assimilated into the empire and ruled over by a duke from the Kingdom, cousins of the king. The drow were driven deep beneath the earth, while the dwarves were turned to slaves beneath their new queen for the empire was always in need of weapons and armor. The vampires were left to their own devices in their cursed lands, content with the offering made to them two hundred
years prior. Tho-Siggot was similarly left to their own mad devices, having no real aspirations beyond their strange worship. And of the elves of Meresoa, who had survived all this time despite the Kingdom’s breaking of elves, they were captured and to be made the personal servants of the king himself in Norfeld. However their king and people were able to perform a mass suicide before such a fate could befall them.
THE DEMON WAR, Beginning of the Age of Spring (4th Cycle).
For the Kingdom’s part, they had very little to do with the Demon War, despite their estranged settelment Veluvia being at the very heart of it. Whilst the empire continued combating the annoyances of rebellions and internal conflict between the monarchy and the church, a group of northern heroes managed to join together and defeat the Seven Demon Lords, culminating in a battle with the anti-madonna Shalraza, who carried the demon-dragon god within her. Her defeat liberated the northlands, united many of its factions, and inspired the new
nation of Atha. Its heroes went on to lead clans, cities and peoples of their own, together forming a great Northern
Alliance, much to the Kingdom’s dismay.
Sons of Nor Revival, 2 AS.
Disagreements with church and state became dangerous insurrection as the Church of Nor, tired of the irresponsible government deviating from the true mission of the Kingdom as set down by Nor’s example, began a widespread movement across the empire, gathering thousands upon thousands of similarly disgruntled citizens in a religious and political movement known as The Revival. Revivalists, also known as Sons of Nor, wanted the Kingdom to return to its true mission and end the schemes of warmongering, money-grubbing beaurocrats. While not a direct rebellion against King Deucalion, it did call into question all of his advisers, loyal nobles, politicans and policies. Before the King could squelch such insolence, the movement became a wildfire, and in every corner of the empire citizens began dressing in red armor, representing their hunger for change and their willingness to shed blood to achieve it.
Yathnoc Converts, 11 AS.
The Sons of Nor had become an engine for change whose authority was quickly overshadowing even the King’s, but when the red dragon elder Yathnoc openly submitted to the will of the church and converted to Norism (along with dozens of lesser red dragons), the sublty was over. Primus Endymion Norson, head of the church, initiator of the Revival, and cousin to the king, blessed the conversion before an awestruck Norfeld. The Sons came from all corners of the empire to witness this marvel of faith. And when all assembled, and with many great dragons in their ranks, it was easy enough to usurp total control. The helpless
King Deucalion, prisoner in his own castle, was spirited out of the city by his last loyal subjects. In his absence, Endymion began a farse of a diliberation on how best to lead the country. The thousands of Sons cried out as one for the Primus to lead the Kingdom back on the righteous path, though he refused to make his final move until the King could be found.
Imperial Dragoons formed, 13 AS.
Many of the people were terrified by the presence of dragons in the empire, much less living in and around the capital. To ease troubled minds, and sway whatever military might still holding loyalty to the king, Endymion formed the Imperial Dragoons, dragon-riding knights selected from the best of every fort to be the elite guardians of the Kingdom and bringers of Nor’s justice upon the sinfulworld. Man and dragon together in service of the empire quickly became every little Nors boy’s greatest aspiration
and dazzled the greater populace. Citizens began developing a new sense of pride and identity, wondered by what else Endymion might offer them. Imperial dragoons became the symbol of the new Kingdom, the Nors return to more epic origins.
Kingdom becomes a Theocracy, 15 AS.
King Deucalion resurfaced two years after his escape with an army of loyalists, mainly forces drawn from the Pricilla, Umbalat and Suoul provinces, but against the might of Norfeld, the Sons, Imperial Dragoons and red dragons, it was a quick and pointless conflict. The King was slain, labeled a traitor to his own people, and Endymion finally had the closure needed to assume full control of the Kingdom as Heirarch Endymion. The provincial armies, however, were almost entirely spent, and new freedom movements quickly surfaced.
Endymion Anointed Heirarch, 17 AS, Present Day.
Despite Endymion’s overall dominion, many of the noble lines and long-established power brokers were opposed to the changes in policy after nearly a thousand years. A secret, two year war raged throughout the empire, fought mostly by assassins and inquisitors, between those Loyalists of Endymion and the Patriots of the old order. In the end, Endymion proved triumphant. He kept much of the old structure of duke, margraves, counts, barons and the like, but replaced or converted each person of power so the whole of the empire was loyal to him.
Thus begins the Reign of the Heirarch.
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