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Message: <blockquote data-quote="Silver Moon" data-source="post: 462188" data-attributes="member: 8530">History of the Castle: Approximately 1,800 years ago, during the era known as the Reign of Giants, the Giant King Hachou-Chu-Kwen commissioned that a massive palace be built.   The Dwarven Clans of Ming and Yang-Ton carved the stone and constructed the massive structure near the ruins of an ancient dwarven temple.  This castle became known as the Summer Palace of the Giants.  The next era of history was the Reign of Dragons.  During this time a dragon named Cryomantipelica used the palace as his headquarters, ruling for over a century.  This was followed by the Reign of Mongols, who made this castle their headquarters.   Approximately 800 years ago the Mongols were driven out by Varalla, a lich queen, who then ruled for the following century.   She was then defeated by  the Zhentarim, a group of evil mages and priests who ruled for two centuries, a time known as the Reign of Evil Wizards.  The Zhentarim renamed the castle Darkhold.  During each of these eras there were farmlands surrounding the castle for approximately twenty miles.  These farms and fields were worked by human tenant farmers beholden to whoever was the castle’s current ruler.  These peasant farmers lived in a dozen villages, each with a population of up to 400.   While none of the masters had ever shown any kindness to these villagers, the Zhentarim were particularly cruel to them.  Peasants were arbitrarily killed for any action that displeased any of the Zhentarim.   This led to a gradual exodus, as families began to quietly move away for their own safety.   Eventually the Zhentarim noticed this population decline in the villages.  As the peasants were needed to provide them food it was decided that more severe measures were needed to keep these people confined and obedient.    Using a combination of magic and curses the Zhentarim modified the peasants’ bodies, making them physically dependent upon the Zhentarim.   The peasants now became reliant on receiving an annual “recharge” of this unique magic, otherwise they would become weak and be in a constant state of agony.   The offspring of the peasants inherited these same genetic modifications from their parents.The Zhentarim ruled in the Orient for two centuries.   Unrest in their original homeland eventually forced them to abandon their holdings in the Orient, as their resources were needed by the original Zhentarim factions.  The dark wizards abandoned Darkhold, but anticipated that they might some day return.  When the Zhentarim departed they made no provisions regarding the peasants, whose bodies soon began to deteriorate.  The weakened and tortured peasants became physically unable to work the land and nearly all of the farms were abandoned.</blockquote>

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