History of Ipath

The first Dormunean Empire spanned the entire continent. Lasting over four hundred years, and taking in all major species of Ipath, the Dormunean Emperor Lysandor ruled with an iron fist, forging a reputation as a ruthless but efficient leader. Not until his long and unnaturally delayed death did the Empire start to falter.

In the wake of the Elven alliance's support for Human rebellion and resistance, the Empire clamps down, and starts to send troops into the southern forests. Seizing this momentum, Emperor Galrus orders invasions into Londor as well, and secures the western bank of the Millsea Depths. Londor offers a conditional surrender, which is rejected, and they're conquered. Narton pulls back to the northern settlements, defending from the Orcs to the west while Xartha holds off the Empire from the South. Dormune briefly captures Khorheim for a twelve year period, from 1352 to 1364, but the Xarthan regroup and march out to retake it. Eventually, a coalition of Humans, Elves, and Halflings join forces in 1664 to storm the gates of the Imperial Capital and assassinate the sitting Emperor, Halthius. This group takes devastating casualties, but succeeds, breaking the occupation by forcing the Empire to call it's forces back to the homeland to defend the seat of the Emperor.

Almost a year after the founding of the Northern Alliance, Ryelan and Talerian representatives meet at the border to create an alliance of their own, fearing that Dormune will be able to isolate and dominate them one by one if they don't work together.

The bloodiest battle of a thousand year long war, no easy feat, took place on the southern shores of the Millsea Depths, on the border between Dormune and Taleria. Taleria, seeking to end the war finally as it had so many times before, plans one more attempt at sailing across the depths to land on the shores of the Imperial capital with a force of Talerian knights and Ryelan mages. Somehow, word of this plan reaches the Emperor, Yothran. He, fed up of the stalemate that he and his predecessors have been unable to break, personally leads a force of Imperial soldiers to the staging site with a contingent of pyromantic sorcerers meant to set their ships ablaze before they can leave shore. When the two forces meet, both sides realize that the other has more strength than previously realized, and it turns into the determining factor of the war. After years of battles and skirmishes on the borders, neither side able to take and hold territory for long, this is the first time that both sides bring full force to bear, and what ensues is a catastrophe for both sides. Yothran is slain, both sides take monumental casualties, and those survivors that tried to flee aboard the ships were burned alive as the Dormunean sorcerers set the ships alight. Technically, the Southern Alliance "won" the day, as the Emperor's second in command ordered a fighting retreat on the morning of the third day of fighting, but both sides were depleted and their moral shattered. The following week a ceasefire was called for, ending a four hundred year conflict and the third attempt at a continental Dormunean Empire at a stalemate.