The Dawn of Gothenkind
200,000 years ago...
Our world is believed to have had but two sapient species prior to the arrival of Celene: Man and Vess'Ka. Along with them came early stabs at civilization. Attempts which led to warring both amongst themselves and across the two species. Where the Vess'ka had strength and the protection of an insectiod carapace, the humans had numbers. They always had the numbers.
Our records only detail some minor dealings between these two peoples, and then only in the west. However, it was quick to determine that the warring tribes were well on their way towards mutually assured destruction before the coming of the gods changed all that.
The Coming of the Gods
50,000 Years Ago...
It is said to have descended from the heavens, cradled on a giant billowing cloud both dark and full of light. It settled into the center of the region in Hariel Majour now known as The Blight. It was the ancestral home of the gods.
Until the arrival of Celene, the humans worshipped the old spirits. The spirits of nature. The Vess'ka, well the Vess'ka worship few, if any gods, and in fact other insects venerate (if not worship) them.
What transpired directly after Mount Celene touched down upon the lands is largely unknown, and any exact timeline of this era is difficult to reconstruct, at best. However, we do have some records that indicate something akin to a timeline for the gods' activity...
For several hundred years, it seems, the mountain remained dormant. Then, just as suddenly as it arrived, it expelled its first visitors, The Titans.
"Titan" is the term that collectively refers to both dragons and giants, along with their direct kin. We know that these beings were not the gods themselves, and we suspect them to have been an advance expeditionary force, sent to examine the lands of Gothenya. And for several millennea, the titans spread across the world, establishing their own civilizations and interacting with humanity firsthand. As for the Vess'ka, the insect-like creatures wanted nothing to do with these new arrivals, and burrowed back into the subterranean holes from which they originally emerged, back at the dawn of time.
The Age of the Titans lasted for at least five thousand years (and possibly as many as nearly ten thousand). During this time, they enslaved the vast majority of mankind, forcing the indentured species to build their monolithic keeps and habitats. The cities of the titans were built primarily by human hands.
Eventually, the gods responded.
Perhaps their mission was simply over, or more likely it was that the titans overstepped their bounds. In any case, the gods expelled their next wave of visitors from Celene, somewhere around 40,000 years ago.
These agents came in the form of vast armies of fey beings, including the Solti and Kelti elves, along with the goblin races. These sevants of the gods infiltrated the settlements of the titans and rallied the enslaved humans to rise up against their captors. And with them, the liberators brought a new "technology" to aid man... magic.
In a fraction of the time it took the titans to spread across the face of the world, they were forced to retreat to the north, lest they be destroyed by the arcane agents of the gods. Only a small fraction of the titans survived exile. Many were destroyed on the spot by powerful fey magic and the vast, overwhelming forces of the combined humanoid armies. Many more perished on the treacherous trek across the sea to the Ultima Thule.
To this day, the number of surviving titans is essentially unknown. They may harbor plentiful numbers in the frozen lands, or more likely, they may be on the verge of extinction.
The Age of Lumeria
40,000 Years Ago...
Once the seal had been broken, there was nothing to do to repair it. Magic had been released into the world, originating from Mount Celene and flowing across the globe. Instead of fighting this fact, the servants of the gods embraced this change. They set about assisting man in developing the first modern civilizations, ones which were aided and strengthened through the arcane arts.
The Solti were the primary agents of dissemination, bringing ritual and language to humanity. This led to the development of the "Common Tongue" used essentially throughout the world to this very day (though widely different from the idiomatic version spoken in this early era).
With the release of magical energy (called the Eret Si'Nu) into the atmosphere, the flora and fuana of the world were effected on a molecular level. This led to vast and rapid mutations amongst many plants and animals, especially in the north of Hariel Majour. Here, near the heart of "the holy mountain" of Celene, the first of several mutant races emerged, and are first documented in this age (though it is likely that they existed prior to Lumeria).
The most well known of the mutant races include both orcs and halflings. Orcs (often called Urtlan) come from mutated human stock, whereas halflings (often called Pikel) are believed to be the result of the union between man and some of the smaller fey servants of the gods (such as the gnome).
The cooperation and development between the servitor races of the gods and humanity led to two significant things.
First, the gods became "known to man," and in turn, man began to worship the gods, by name, in return for certain boons. At this juncture, the primary six gods became known as The Zenithal, and at their apex sat Yaruess, the "Lord of Life."
Second, the seeds for the world's first empire were planted in the human city of Methanok, situated in the area of Hariel Minuta today known as The Wastes of Veric. During the course of the Lumerian Age, Methanok grew to encapsulate all of Hariel Minuta, as well as The Throat, and a good portion of Hariel Majour. Why the heart of the empire was not strategically close to Mount Celene is up for conjecture, but some theorize that this was done purposely, so that the successive emperors could plan their expansion, well beyond the "prying eyes" of the gods who enabled it.
Eventually, as with the titans, this overreaching on the part of the emperors (specifically the final emperor, Razen Diatrassi) would be the cause of Methanok's downfall, and the end of the Age of Lumeria.
The Fall of Methanok
At its height, the capital city of Methanok was the center of progress and wealth within the empire, and in fact, the world. It had a grand fleet of ships capable, for the first time, of sailing across the world, which led to the discovery of Golthien. The emperors began referring to themselves as god emperors, and proclaimed that carried the divine right of the cosmos within them. The final ruler, Emperor Razen Diatrassi, in his hubris, declared that he no longer needed the assistance and guidance of the Zenithal. He alone would lead his people to greatness, as they prepared to conquer the newly discovered eastern world.
In response to this slight, the gods sent one of their own (ironically, Pyruss, "Lord of Peace, Calm and Solitude") to treat with Diatrassi. Instead of rightfully fearing this visit from his betters, Diatrassi found in Pyruss an opportunity to prove his might once and for all. So it was that there, on the steps of the royal palace, the emperor personally slew a god.
Diatrassi's mighty sword, ironically forged by Solti smiths and given to him as a gift from the gods, cleaved Pyruss' head from his body in but a single swing. The emperor could now add "god killer" to his growing list of titles. And while this did not prove to the people that the gods were mere mortals as they were, it did secure in their minds that Diatrassi was, in fact, a god himself. For, "only a god can kill a god."
Though he expected some form of retaliation, the emperor could never have expected what was coming.
For him and his people. Some refer to what follows as "The First Cataclysm", while others simply call it "The Doom of Methanok." At first, the god emperor actually believed he might have instilled fear in the gods, as their initial response was a clear lack of one. Diatrassi's eho grew in spades. He set about a campaign to conquer all the remaining territoriesin the west not already under his control. This included Celene itself. However, it was at the tiny independent city of Meeros Tilva that his ego would catch up with him.
Justice may have been delayed, but when it came, it came quick. Methanok marched upon Meeros Tilva, bringing entirely more might than necessary for the job. However, this was the final settlement in all of Hariel Minuta left to conquer, a hold-out that brazenly defied the will of the god emperor, so an example, one so loud it could be heard across the world, needed to be made. Diatrassi led the invading vanguard himself.
This is where history gets a bit fuzzy. It seems that the moment Diatrassi entered the city proper, a grand event transpired. Records indicate that a bright flash of light hit the grounds, followed by an impenetrable darkness that lasted twenty minutes. When it cleared, there was nothing. No Meeros Tilva. No invading army. Just scorched, blasted land where the city once stood.
Word immediately spread through the empire, speeded upon wings most certainly divine in origin. Every possible successor came forth, as Diatrassi had no heirs, nor a plan for this contingency (so certain he was that he'd live forever). Overnight, the empire tore itself apart. It's demise may have, in fact, been aided by the gods, as a great plague also hit the majority of the vassal states of Methanok right about that same time.
In the end, only a handful of ruins now remain where once the world's mightiest empire stood.
The Age of Destiny
13,000 Years Ago...
Humanity wasn't entirely wiped out by the gods, however, and it didn't take long before nascent communities began to crop up all over the western lands once more. These new civilizations were staunchly gods-fearing, and overtly based upon the tenets and teachings of the Zenithal. The lesson, it seemed, had been learned.
During this period various cultures rose and fell, and it isn't until towards the relative end of the age that some recognizable settlements arise.
The Founding of Wyeth
Roughly 3,000 years ago a somewhat prosperous settlement took the step to expand itself through laregely non-violent conquest.
Until this point, the lands of the midwest were ruled as a collection of minor kingdoms in a loose confederacy. They pooled their resources to form a combined army of sorts, culminating in a revered order of knighthood known as The Spear. The Spear was commanded by a rotating selection of generals, each representing a different kingdom or township within the confederacy.
In approximately 1550 D.E. (Destiny Era), the commander of the Spear was a man named Sabern Wyeth, who also was the lord of the self-named, rapidly growing city. During his tenute, he'd been tasked with routing the barbarian hordes to the north, as they'd become more brazen of late with their raids upon the region known as The Thaw. Upon the end of the most successful campaign, one which ended with a decisive victory against the barbarians that left their horde leader slain, Sabern was informed he must relinquish his command to his closest rival, the lord of the (likewise) growing city of Nerithal.
Sabern knew he'd lose everything he gained mere moments after releasing his hold over The Spear. Further, he knew of Godric Nerithal and his ambitions to rule beyond his scope. So Sabern beat him to the punch. He used his power to send word to his allies that he intended to dissolve the confederacy and combine the lands under his own banner. Those with him would stand to gain in power and would be granted lands and titles within Sabern's new kingdom. His reach was long in part due to the ships he had access to, as he'd nurtured a long-standing relationship with his immediate neighbor, the free-city (and expansive seaport) of Angleport.
By the time word made the rounds, it was clear that Sabern had the ability and numbers to take what he wanted by force. Many joined his cause, in what seemed to be a "no-brainer." The conquest that followed was relatively bloodless, with over 50% of the confederate city-states and townships putting in their lot with Sabern. Only a small contingent stood against him...
This group happened to have Godric Nerithal at its head. The only blood to flow during this conquest happened across the verdant plains of The Thaw, ironically where Sabern had made his final stand against the barbarian hordes mere a few summers past.
After a campaign that lasted just over a year, The Confederacy of Northern Hariel transitioned into the Kingdom of Wyeth, when the final resistance bent the knee to their new king.
In keeping with the religious tenets of the realm, Sabern Wyeth shared his rule with the High Prefect of the Faith Zenithal, who happened to be based cloeby in Angleport. This way, the church would always have sway over the state, and the gods would be forever appeased.
The seat of power in the west was positioned in Sabern's fortress within the city of Wyeth, called The Aranost. The garrison city of Markhan was established between Wyeth and Angleport, marking the greatest trifecta of power in the known world.
The War For The West
The first major threat to the nascent throne of Wyeth came, unexpectedly, from Nerithal in approximately 1,200 D.E. when the (then) current king, Markhan Wyeth III went head-to-head with the young Ivo Nerithal, who'd secretly mustered an impressive army of dissidents within Markhan's own kingdom. What was at first expected to be but a small skirmish ended up blossoming into full-scale war. A war that lasted nearly 100 years.
A defining moment in the conflict was the unexpected and incredible sacking of the capital and the destruction of the "impenetrable" fortress of Aranost. In what seemed to be an "all is lost" moment, the king retreated to his namesake garrison city of Markhan (which later became the new capital city), where his forces regrouped and staged a desperate counter-strike. So it was, on the fields of Lygold (in the modern day Freemantle) King Wyeth personally baited the overconfident Nerithal "usurper king." The foolish youth took the bait, not seeing the trap he was falling into.
The battle that ensued was so bloody that Lygold was since renamed "The Sodden Fields" or "The Fields of Red."
Through superior tactics, Wyeth fractured and routed Nerithal's lines. He then marched on Nerithal's capital, leveling it to the ground. The usurper sued for peace shortly after.
As a condition of their surrender, the nation of Nerithal was dissolved, however the crown allowed the scattered holdings of Nerithal (those who chafed at the notion of outside rule) to become "self-ruled," thus forming what we know today as The Freemantle. Future kings have oft come to regret that decision, but it has kept infighting and attempts on the crown to a minimum. It seems giving the fractured states their autonomy was exactly what the realm needed for lasting peace. At least for a time...
The Great Pilgrimages
Roughly 2,500 Years Ago...
Though the first great pilgrimage to Mount Celene was undertaken in 10552 D.E., and many more took place since, these expeditions to the holy mountain didn't truly capture the publics' imagination until around 1,000 D.E., when they came with the full support of the crown.
The (then) current king, Ulmar Wyeth, was possibly the most devout to the Faith Zenithal that the kingdom has ever seen. He was swayed by the words of the High Prefect who informed him that northern bandits, along with urtlan raiders from The Blight had violently beset many of the caravans headed to Celene. Without nary a second thought, Ulmar reassigned the fabled Knights of the Spear to escort the pilgrims through the dangerous lands of the north. For not only did the holy mountain stand at the center of the savage Blight, but one must first pass through the dread (and mutant filled) Dullwood on their journey there.
A large detachment from The Spear was relocated to the newly constructed keep of Narfell, situated at the southern tip of the Dullwood. All future (sanctioned) pilgrimages would pass through the keep's land, where they would accrue their own personal guides and protectors in the form of the knights. Along with Narfell, the realm saw the construction of the "King's Highway," a patrolled road that ran between all the major holdings of the kingdom.
It was a busy and bustling time for the realm, and many boom towns sprung up practically overnight to accomodate the vast numbers of pilgrims now emboldened to make the trek to the holiest of holy sites.
For the first time, the faithful were able to directly commune with their gods, safe in the knowledge that no harm would befall them along the way. Word soon began to spread about the "power" contained in and flowing out of Mount Celene. Priests who made the pilgrimage returned changed. Stronger..."better." They were somehow graced by more than just the word of the gods.
It didn't take long for people to realize that these priests were now able to affect actual "miracles." Feats of magical prowess, imbued unto them by the grace of the gods of Celene. But what of the font of magic itself? What of Mount Celene?
The Sundering
2,000 Years Ago... In 496 D.E.
Hundreds of years passed with no sign of the religious pilgrimages losing steam or significance. Word began to spread of the Eret Si'Nu (or "The Potential"), a magical force permeating the very atmosphere. A living force of arcane power, emanating from the holy mountain itself. It seems this "mana of the gods" was the true source of the priestly miracles sweeping the realm at this time. The priests of the Zenithal were too brazen with their holy boons. Others began to covet the power they wielded.
The Sanguine Order
It is widely believed that magic, of the tangible variety which exists today, began with Celene. Before the holy mountain, there were only charlatans and shamans, those who pulled their Art from the spirits of nature. If they pulled it from anyplace at all.
But with this Eret Si'Nu entwined in the very air we breathe, true magic was quick to follow. It began small, with hedge mages cropping up in small towns across the realm. These mages began to talk and learn from each other. Their talents slowly, but steadily spread.
They even began to form colleges of magic, where young adepts with potential could learn from masters of the Art. The Faith Zenthal began to see this spread of the arcane arts as troublesome at best, sacreligious at worst. But as long as the various Orders of the Magi stayed far enough away, they were (somewhat) content to let them fester.
But now with this "divine" proof that the font of magic was most pure at the source, the magi wanted in. They began their own pilgrimages to Mount Celene. This led to many conflicts between men of faith and men of the Art, but thankfully the majority of these were non-violent. It wouldn't remain this way...
Tensions steadily rose between the two factions over the several hundred years leading up to that fateful day, the 4th of Taluss in 496 D.E...
At the beginning of spring, a large and secret army comprised of many orders of the magi (secretly headed by Arch Magister Meilor, arcane council to the king of Wyeth), along with legions of hired sell-swords, marched on Celene, determined to take the mountain from the Zenithal who jealously guarded it.
This assault ran in direct violation of the spiritual tenets of virtually every known religion (even those in opposition to the Faith Zenithal), and for the first time in history, those of wildly differing faiths banded together to fight a holy war against a common enemy.
A few initial skirmishes evolved into all-out war, with The Spear facing off against the army of sell-swords (who vastly outnumbered them... at first), while mage fought priest, both using their fantastical boons (courtesy of the Eret Si'Nu, or the gods) as weapons of war.
The war to come would last for over 100 years, making it the longest battle to ever occur on western soil.
Though small in numerical scope (at least when it came to the participants), no previous war had ever matched this conflict in the scale of sheer firepower and destruction.
Great swaths of the Blight and the Dullwood were scorched and leveled. Reinforcements swiftly came to support both sides, and were eliminated just as quickly.
Many of the greatest war clerics and magicians fell, with certain lines, orders, and devotions essentially wiped from the very face of the planet. Towards the closing of the war, it seemed that those of faith were winning.
Finally, on the 4th of Taluss, the vanguard of the magi broke through the ranks of the Zenithal. These were the feared "blood mages" of the Sanguine Order, the most vile of defilers who pulled their arcane power from the very life essence of the land itself, leaving destruction in their wake.
Blood magic is the most unholy of the arcane arts, as it literally draws in the life surrounding it as it manipulates the Eret Si'Nu. It kills in order to create. Even amongst the magi, the blood mages are reviled. And the most notorious amongst the blood mages were the members of the Sanguine Order.
The archmages of the Sanguine Order used the last of their great magic, ripping the life from a great swath of soldiers around them, both friend and foe. They focused a blast of necrotic energy, not at their enemy forces, but rather at Mount Celene itself.
The blast ripped an enormous rent in the side of the mountain, and the resulting shockwave rocked the entire continent... perhaps the entire world.
Suddenly, the gods, who were in constant communion with their high priests, suddenly fell silent. It seemed the blast damaged Celene to such a degree that perhaps the gods themselves were injured... or killed.
The magi should have had the upper hand at this moment, with the opposing priests now unable to command any divine magic to combat them. However, the eldritch blast that ripped through Celene tasked them too greatly and their numbers were now too small. A well-timed batallion of reinforcements from Wyeth scattered the mages and their remaining mercenaries.
The war was over, and with nary a winner on either side.
The Arcane Scouring
With the armies of the magi routed, the forces of Wyeth were able to put back the pieces and regroup, at least slightly.
In direct response to the cataclysm now known as The Sundering, the persecution of all magic wielding peoples began in earnest across the full expanse of the realm. The Faith Zenithal sought vengeance for the loss of the gods (as it was still unknown why they could no longer commune with their holy masters... Were they dead? Comatose? Or were they merely angry at their followers for failing them?).
The scouring of the arcane lasted several hundred years. However, before it could reach true genocide, the remaining alliance of mages cast out the evil Blood Mages (who in turn crossed the World Sea to Golthien) and made their great exodus south, eventually settling in Hariel Minuta.
Here, in the realm beyond the kingdom of Wyeth, they founded the "magical" kingdom of Varuum (insinuating itself with the neighboring freeholds).
The magical death pogroms (today, a thing of the past) left a lasting bias in Hariel Majour... particularly in the North. Gothens of a magical bent are wise to show a level of caution when displaying their arcane talents, as prejudices still abide.
The Age of Will
1,400 Years Ago...
The silence of the gods ended the age in which man directly served at their whim. And with no celestial power to transmit to the people, the influence of the church rapidly waned. For most, this was an unparalleled tragedy. But for some, it was an opportunity...
"The Reformation"
The king of Wyeth in the years after the Scouring was a less than pious man named Bertram Wyeth. Bertram chafed under the yoke of the church and its High Prefect. He wanted power concentrated only upon himself. Ironically, it was only through the church that the "divine right" of kings was upheld, allowing an unbroken line of Wyeths to automatically take the throne, generation after generation.
But Bertram cared not for such trifles. He saw an opportunity in the people's loss of faith in their religious masters. Putting the blame for the Sundering squarely on the shoulders of the Faith Zenithal (largely in how they conducted their "war" against their arcane enemy), protesting that the crown's hands were tied, and that had the king been allowed to handle the war effort properly, without having to bow to the faith, things would have turned out quite differently.
The kingdom attempted to give the people a scapegoat in the blood mages, but that really only assuaged half their desire for vengeance. There was still plenty left to aim at the faith itself. In shockingly short time (coming in fact right after the crown commissioned an order of arcane mages called Hex Chain , for the sole purpose of policing magic in the north), Bertram managed to expel the church from the capital of Markhan, where the High Prefect had moved into (in order to be closer to the instruments of rule), and sublimated the power of the church in Angleport.
In fact, so neutered was the Faith Zenithal, that they had to move their high holy church from Angleport to Jomor, at the opposite end of the continent.
This new "Reformation" went hand-in-hand with this new age, an "Age of Will," where man was free to do as he pleased, without oversight from some heavenly host bent on dominating their lives. Now gothenkind would shape their own destinies...
The Modern World
1 A.W. and Beyond...
The Goings and Comings of the Gods
With the end of the Age of Destiny, we entered the Age of Will, marked by the ongiong silence of the gods. Their overall lack of direct communion could reflect several possibilities. Either they won't contact gothenkind, or they can't contact gothenkind. In either case, the end result is the same: priestly magic, courtesy of divine patrons, left the world for a time. Bit only for a time.
Theories of the gods demise were shattered slowly by the (literal) dreams of the faithful. After the first several hundred years of the new age, suddenly and without warning, those who profess to be devout to a particular deity began to experience a strange form of celestial contact. They became privy to the actual unconscious dreams of the gods.
It took quite some time for the world to catch up with those who experienced these dream fugues, as many were still inclined to think the gods were deceased. However, eventually enough gothens were "touched" by these powerful dream messages that they could no longer be ignored. The people found they could even interact with the dreams, planting suggestions in their gods' heads via something akin to prayer. Suddenly, divine magic re-entered the world.
Though not nearly as powerful as the "miracles" performed in the Age of Destiny, divine magic has returned to those who are gifted with visions of their spiritual masters. One does not choose to become a divine "interpreter" any longer. The path chooses them. Certainly, the faith has regained many a lost follower since the revelation of the "sleepers" (as the gods are now sometimes referred to), but for one to be able to cast spells through their celestial patrons, one must first be chosen (in some unknown manner) to receive the dreams that alone enable them.
This has led to many charlatans as well as many new prophets walking the lands. Those who purport to understand the will of the gods. Those who can give practical examples of their (limited) return. Needless to say, but as of late, the dreamland beyond the veil of our daytime reality has grown dramatically as an area of study for those inclined towards the arcane arts.
The Secular Throne and The Usurper King
After casting out the Faith Zenithal from the halls of power, the Kingdom of Wyeth slowly became more divided than ever. Various vassal states either openly or secretly condemned the actions of Bertram Wyeth. Actions that were upheld by his successive heirs. Ironically, the Bertram's desire to rule without answering to the church, while still claiming the divine right of kings, eventually led to the first (and thus far only) break in the Wyeth royal lineage with regards to the crown.
And so it was, with the passing of the crown to Neral Wyeth ("The Green") in 1220 AW, that the kingdom was challenged once more from within.
A conglomerate of local lords, led by the ruler of Lyssia, lord Palant Halbion, staged a siege of Markhan and even managed to cut off supplies from Angleport. It soon became clear the magnitude of dissent throughout the realm. Forces from a majority of vassal states were represented in the enormous beseiging army.
The offending vassals all joined in because the crown declined to hear even a single word regarding the possibility of an elected king, rather than a "divinely appointed" one. That, coupled with the reality that Neral Wyeth was grossly underqualified to rule the nation (and that he had no queen nor heir of his own), led to the direct assualt on the capital.
Markhan fell without even a single drop of blood being shed. Neral was deposed, personally abdicating his throne to Palant Halbion, who was appointed in his stead. For the first time in history, Wyeth was ruled by an "outsider."
Far from being a tyrant, however, Palant ruled with an even hand and was quite popular with the local lords. Even those who initially opposed the uprising. This popularity lasted for a time, until (of course) when those who helped him sieze the throne came asking for political favors. Pslant, for all his positive traits, was not a true politician... he could not be swayed by the machinations of his vassals.
Palant ruled for a long thirty years, and though he produced a suitable heir, Palant submitted himself and his son to the will of the people. There would be an election for each successive king. It would never come to be...
The 1st Usurper War
The Baron Aldwin Rocha, a man who was instrumental in Halbion's successful taking of the throne, quickly became dissatisfied with his own personal gains in this "renewed kingdom." Feeling that his son should have been a bigger contender in the (by his expectations, rigged) election (amongst other things), the Baron began to seed discontent and ill rumor about the usurper king.
Apparently, when one lives by the sword, they can die by it just as easily. Rocha and his sycophants worked their foul magic (and indeed their smear campaign was aided by foul incantations), and by the time the elections came about, the process had essentially run amok. Palant was left with, in his mind, little choice, as there was so much corruption in the electoral pool. He installed his own son, Edric Halbion, as the next king of Wyeth.
With that decision, a short dynasty was born, with the crown under Halbion rule for several generations. The last of the Halbion kings was Palant II in 1321 A.W.
Though broken and nearly forgotten, the Wyeth line was far from dead, and the young prince Jothan Wyeth was biding his time as a general within the ancient Order of the Spear.
Palant II was not a popular ruler, and was considered somewhat of a tyrant. Jothan, however, was extremely popular. Much of his fame came from the campaign at Narfell.
Shortly after the Sundering, the Spear lost its mighty keep to invading goblinoid hordes from the Blight, forcing the knights back to their capital. Since then, there have been several attempts to retake the keep. None ever got closer than Jothan Wyeth. He also managed to free an entire legion of captured Wyethian soldiers being held within Narfell's boundaries.
As greater discontent with the Halbion line began to fester throughout the realm, many fostered a desire to return to the "old ways." To them, Jothan Wyeth was a gift from the gods.
Add to this mix rumors of a Lentokki army rising in the east, dead set on retaking the western realm, and you get a nation in dire need of a strong military leader. And Palant II had never even stepped foot on a battlefield.
The realm "needed" Jothan Wyeth. Or so they told themselves, as they marshaled to back his attempt at the crown. It seemed war, once again, was on the table.
"The Restoration"
Once he'd ammassed a sympathetic force of bannermen large enough to mount an offensive, Jothan marched on the capital. It was 1324 A.W. The war that followed lasted nearly four years and cost the realm many young lives. However, in the end, Jothan Wyeth took back the crown in 1328 A.W.
Palant II was deposed, but allowed to leave with his life. He was joined by several of his retainers and his family, as they returned to Lyssia. There, the local lord unexpectedly put Palant on trial and beheaded him for the "treasonous" act of losing the war.
Somehow, several of the remaining Halbions escaped before they too could suffer Palant's fate.
The World Today
Our Year, 1442 A.W...
The west has been somewhat calm over the last hundred years, and since the Usurper War. The vassal states were allowed to retain a degree of their freedom, and a number of them, mostly farming towns, united under the "Democracy of Wheat."Though still accountable to the realm, these states maintain a certain level of autonamy, provided they continue to pay taxes and provide soldiers for the war effort.
Throughout the world, the gods still only commune via dream-state, providing boons to their faithful in strange and often unexpected ways.
In the south, the nation of Varuum continues to thrive as a mecca for invention and arcane discovery. It is also said that, somewhere safe and hidden, a young Halbion princess bides her time, waiting to reclaim her family's "ill-gotten" throne. It is said she may even have the support of secret allies within Wyeth, rumored along with powerful benefactors to the east...
But in the east, all is not well. The nation of Lentokk has grown into a power suitable for expansion and conquest. They've taken the majority of Golthien west of the great wastes (a desert actually created as a side-effect of their constant use of defiling magic), with one of the only hold-outs being the city-state of Glointhal. It is said that when Glointhal falls (and it's really just a matter of time), the west will fall next.
Modern Rumors and Tidings... Our Year 1442 A.W.
In a time of strife and upheaval, ancient myths and legends give way to a new, harsh reality. Our people, the Gothen people, have survived much in the way of famine, war and tectonic political shifts. We are now at a dangerous precipice, with the prospect of full-scale war brewing across the entirety of the west.
In the lands of Hariel Majour, the kingdom of Wyeth, the greatest power the world has ever known, prepares for an invasion from both the eastern lands of Golthien, as well as from within. The exiled god kings of Lentokk have forged an alliance with several of the crown's own vassal states, now in open rebellion aganist it.
At the vanguard of this internal revolution is the feared Baron Rocha, who controls an expansive army from his city-state of Cornelia. Once but a small holding on the eastern edge of Hariel Majour, Rocha now holds sway over frightening numbers, including many of those loyal to the merchant princes of Angleport, the "greatest city in all the world,". These opulent trade titans represent the greatest collection of wealth in the entire west... more than enough to finance a protracted war.
But Wyeth has the hearts and minds of the common people... or does it? Forget not that but a mere century past, the kingdom was held by another ruler, a popular king outside the dynastic line of Wyeths who had held the throne for nearly two millennia. This usurper king, Palant Halbion, who ruled peacefully for nigh thirty years, was eventually overthrown by Jothan Wyeth, a "true" son of Wyeth, but only with the help of a narrow majority of the kingdom's oft-feuding vassal states. The bloody war that saw King Halbion dethroned was known as "The Usurper War." The era that followed known as "The Restoration of the Crown."
Many of the vassals secretly (or not so secretly) desired outside rule, as the (previous) Wyeth line had become "corrupt," and wasn't it a Wyeth who cast the Church of Yareuss and The Faith Zenithal out of the capital city of Markhan? Now, rumors have begun to spread of one Essendra Halbion, great grandaughter daughter of the late Lord Palent, currently exiled to the southern lands of Varuum in Hariel Minuta. They say she's amassed a great following and has the support of Rocha, as well as others most powerful...
It seems this "Queen in Exile" is not the only former resident of Wyeth who seeks a return to their homeland.
After the terrible cataclysm known as The Sundering, which effectively ended direct communion between the gods and gothenkind, the peoples of the west searched for a scapegoat. And they found one in the arcane conclave of mages known as The Sanguine Order. These "blood mages," and in fact all major practitioners of magic in the north lands, were quickly and widely persecuted, with the majoroty fleeing far south to avoid death and dismemberment at the hands of an angry populace backed in large part by the crown itself.
That was over two thousand years ago, but old wounds heal slowly. A vast number of the exiled arcanists established the great and magical nation of Varuum, ruled by its Grand Hassirs from their "enlightened" capital of Varuumae Corona, just south of The Throat, on the southern contient of Hariel Minuta.
Of the remaining mages, wizards, and warlocks, the most daring (and desperate) braved the treacherous World Sea and fled east, to the continent of Golthien, where they discovered the peaceful nation of Lentokk, and quickly conquered it... with the aid of much dark and defiling magic.
The Sanguine Order abandoned its old moniker and absorbed the Lentokki people into its own ranks. They became the modern nation of Lentokk, establishing themselves as "god kings" over their conquered subjects and making the Lentokki peoples a force to be reckoned with.
Today, the winds of change sweep across the eastern seaboard of the twin Hariels, carrying along word of invasion at the hands of the outcast Lentokki. It seems the powerful god kings have a common cause with both Rocha and Halbion. The three powers combined might just be enough to topple the greatest kingdom, nay the greatest empire, the world has ever seen...
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