The History of Droaam: Untamed Barrens to a Unified Nation
For the last millennium, children of the Five Nations have known the fate awaiting the naughty: they’ll be sent to the Barrens, where ogres will use them for footstools until the trolls eat them for dinner.
When Galifar was established, the province of Breland was granted dominion over all lands south of the Byeshk Mountains and west of the Seawall, extending to the waters of the Thunder Sea. This bold claim considerably extended the territory held by the preceding nation of Wroat—but it was nothing more than a claim. The Brelish people had no need of the lands to the west, nor did they want them. The Barrens—their name for everything west of the Graywall Mountains—were known to hold foul swamps and barren plains, an untamed region filled with all manner of deadly monsters. Explorers to Breland’s newly acquired territory soon confirmed these tales. The plains were filled with goblins and hungry gnolls. The mountains were home to harpies whose songs could lead the unwary into deep chasms, where trolls slept on piles of bones. The Barrens had nothing the Brelish believed worth fighting for, and so it was left alone. Occasionally, questing knights or bold templars would cross the Graywall to battle giants and slay ogres, but the region was largely ignored.
Over centuries, the Brelish slowly expanded west toward the Graywall. Castle Arakhain became a favored royal residence in the eighth century, bringing new prosperity to Shavalant. However, the ensuing wave of western settlers was met by fierce raiders crossing the gap between the Graywall Mountains and Silver Lake. Bloodied settlers brought back tales of bellowing minotaurs, orcs, ogres, and goblins lurking in every shadow. An attack at Castle Arakhain led to the brief Westward War, the might of Galifar driving the raiders back across the Graywall and obliterating many of the marauding bands. The fortress Orcbone was established as the gate between the people of Breland and the monsters of the Barrens, and the king founded the Westwind Riders to patrol the border. The Riders held the line throughout the ninth century, and Brelish settlers even staked claims along the Graywall. This period peaked with the founding of the fortress-town of Stubborn in the foothills (now known as Stonejaw). Then the Last War changed everything.
An Ancient Land
The land known as the Barrens is far older than Galifar or Wroat. While less fertile than the fields of Breland or Aundair, this region holds rich mineral deposits. Some believe it was the original homeland of the goblinoids, a theory supported by a significant number of Dhakaani ruins along and below the mountain ranges, as well as below the Great Crag itself. In the Graywall Mountains, a set of thousand-foot statues commemorate the six kings who came together to form the ancient Empire of Dhakaan. But while this region may have once been important to the dar, it was utterly devastated in the mysterious war that caused their collapse, compounded by the return of forces long held at bay by the empire. Vicious gnolls swarmed south from the Towering Wood. Fierce orcs emerged from the western swamp. Trolls and ogres came down from the mountains. Goblinoids turned on each other, and centuries of chaos and bloodshed followed. By the time it was done, all that remained of Dhakaan was ruins. Hobgoblins and bugbears had been eradicated in the region, and goblins were scattered and divided. The region was dominated by anarchy from then on—some believe this merely follows the natural instincts of the region’s inhabitants. There were a few bastions of civilization—the Venomous Demesne, the hidden village of Lost—but the people of these communities had no interest in expanding their culture; they were either fortified, hidden from the outside world, or both. Across the rest of the Barrens, history was marked by the rise and fall of countless mighty chibs. Chib is a Goblin term sometimes translated as “chieftain,” but it literally means “boss” or “big person”—and in the Barrens, the chib was often just the biggest creature around. Typically a band would form around an ogre, ettin, or troll—a creature powerful enough to assert their will over goblins, kobolds, or lesser creatures of their own kind. But while powerful, these creatures lacked the ambition or drive to build anything that could last. Occasionally a more intelligent leader—a minotaur warlord, a charismatic oni—would build a greater force, perhaps even establish a dynasty that would last a generation or two before being overwhelmed by the relentless, brutal tide.The War Begins
As the Last War began, the harpies held the Byeshk Mountains, where their flights endlessly feuded. Cazhaak Draal was in the hands of the medusas that claimed it centuries earlier. Wise creatures knew to avoid the Watching Woods, home to worgs and worse. In the plains, the strongest leader was the minotaur warlord Rhesh Toraa; around her keep, countless minor chibs fought one another more frequently than they struck the settlers. The first days of the Last War led to a reduction of forces in the west of Breland; while it was a violent, unstable region, there were few settlers across the Graywall needing protection. Not all of the Westwind Riders were Brelish, and with Wroaan’s coronation, soldiers returned to serve their home nations, and Wroaan needed all the troops she could muster. She reduced the Westwind Riders to a minimal force—enough to patrol between the fortresses of Orcbone and Stubborn, but little more. Many Aundairians had been part of the Westwind Riders, and on receiving their reports, Spy Master ir’Galanatyr saw an opportunity. The Royal Eyes of Aundair worked with Rhesh Toraa and other chibs in the Barrens, providing equipment and training to support attacks against Graywall settlers and raids across the gap. With forces tied up to the east, it was up to the commanders of Orcbone and Stubborn to protect the west. But ultimately, the provocateurs from Aundair and Karrnath found the Barrens raiders undisciplined and impossible to unify, never posing the dire threat Breland’s enemies had hoped for.The Daughters Arrive
The fortress-town of Stubborn survived decades of raids and skirmishes, as the chibs of the Barrens had no patience for sieges and no weapons for breaking strong walls. Many lesser settlements and claims were overrun and lost, but Stubborn repelled countless attacks by goblins and minotaurs. However, it was utterly unprepared for the force that struck it in the last decade of the war. A typical band of raiders might include a single troll or a handful of ogres, but in 986 YK, the soldiers of Stubborn found themselves facing phalanxes of armored trolls fighting with deadly skill, and squads of ogres acting with discipline and coordination. Stubborn’s defenders leapt off the walls in pursuit of harpies’ songs, and the walls were shattered by hurled stones. Survivors were herded into the plains to face the leaders of the army; this was the first recorded encounter with the assembled Daughters of Sora Kell. “Tell your rulers there’s a new power in the west,” Sora Katra told the people of Stubborn. “What you’ve called the Barrens, we now name Droaam. The land beyond the Graywall and below the Byeshk belongs to our people. Withdraw yours quickly and respect our claim; next time, there will be no survivors.” Once news of the fall of Stubborn reached Orcbone, the Westwind Riders traveled west in full force. But Sora Katra was true to her word; there were no survivors, nor any records of the last battle of the Westward Riders. A retaliatory strike from Droaam—merely a fraction of the forces at Stubborn—inflicted terrible damage on Orcbone itself. King Boranel swiftly deployed all the soldiers he could spare to this new front, reinforcing and fortifying Orcbone. In 987 YK, he formally ordered all Brelish citizens to withdraw from the lands west of Graywall, but he refused to acknowledge the sovereignty of the Daughters, and over the next decade, clashes continued.Building a Nation
To the people to the east of the Graywall Mountains, it seemed that the Daughters of Sora Kell appeared out of nowhere—and it felt much the same to the chibs of the Barrens. But evidence suggests that it was the culmination of years, or even decades, of planning. How long did it take to train the trolls and ogres now known as Maenya’s Fist? How did the Daughters acquire the armor and weapons wielded by this force? Some say that Sora Maenya assembled her troops in a forgotten Dhakaani fortress deep below the Byeshk Mountains, and that she oversaw the forging of their weapons in this ancient foundry. Sora Maenya calls the soldiers of Maenya’s Fist her children, and some scholars believe this might be literally true; both her war trolls and skullcrusher ogres are smarter and more capable than their common cousins. But how long would such an endeavor take? Melian Mit Davandi of the Library of Korranberg has advanced the theory that demiplanes may have been involved—that Maenya’s lair in Khyber could exist outside of the normal flow of time, allowing the schemes of the Daughters to be both a recent development and the work of generations. Sora Teraza approached the Queen of Stone and the lords of the Venomous Demesne in 985 YK, and the Daughters brokered the services of fully half of the Znir Pact mercenaries in this time. No one knows just how long the Daughters spent in preparation—but 986 YK is when they made their presence known. Leading up to the attack on Stubborn, the Daughters spoke with—and dominated—the greatest powers of the Barrens. The chibs of the plains only understood force, and the Daughters displayed it; the scattered bands of raiders were forced to submit, and those who refused to bow to the Daughters of Sora Kell were executed in gruesome ways. In 987 YK the Daughters of Sora Kell summoned the region’s most powerful leaders to the ruins now known as the Great Crag. There, Sora Katra presented the blueprint for the new nation, appointing warlords and specifying their responsibilities and regions. Work began on the greatest cities of this new nation: Graywall, the Great Crag, and the port city of Vralkek. The old fortress of Stubborn was repurposed and renamed Stonejaw. While some of the raider bands were left to follow their old ways, many were absorbed into the new nation. Thousands of goblins and kobolds were freed from their oppressive chibs and given opportunities in the new cities. This new order was maintained by gnoll peacekeepers of the Znir Pact. When that proved insufficient—when a chib refused to release their captive subjects or defied the Daughters—Maenya’s Fist would descend to destroy them. The message was simple: Change was coming. You could find your place in Droaam, or you could choose obliteration. The Daughters’ ambitious plans were strengthened by an alliance with House Tharashk. For Tharashk, this provided access to the rich mineral resources of Droaam and the services of monstrous mercenaries, which opened an entirely new path for the house. For the Daughters, it tied them to a force with a legitimate voice and influence in the East. Tharashk agents convinced the Twelve to open up trade to Droaam—at least to the new city of Graywall. The house helped to organize laborers and build the new cities. Through Tharashk, the denizens of Droaam began to appear throughout the Five Nations, though tensions continued in the vicinity of Orcbone. Gargoyles and harpy couriers found a niche in Sharn. Ogre laborers could be found in Fairhaven and Wroat. In Sharn, the Gargoyle replaced the Bat in the Race of Eight Winds. Today, many citizens of the Five Nations are still uncomfortable around these creatures, but their presence is slowly becoming less remarkable.Purpose
The Enclave of the Valley sought to learn more about the neighboring nation of Droaam, and collected accounts of their Soli, rumors of settlements worldwide, and the first-hand account of a shifter named Kindle.
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