Kalamaran Empire
Slowly the Kalamaran people migrated from the cradle of civilization to the wetlands of the Alubelok Swamp. There they settled and became an agricultural society. They Lived primarily on the wild rice they found, but eventually, the Kalamarans learned how to drain the wetlands and cultivate rice and other crops. Their crops fared well in the warm, wet climate and the weather allowed two full growing seasons. They supplemented their diet with meat from the abundant supply of wild cattle and deer that roamed the open plains and forests. As the deer population became sparse, and the Kalamaran numbers grew, they began domesticating wild cattle. They also learned to capture and break the wild mustangs that were indigenous to the area.
When the Kalamarans explored the Ka'Asa Mountains, they encountered a settlement of dwarves who were engaged in mining an area rich in copper and tin. The dwarves were smelting these two metals together, to make bronze. Kalamar's ruler, King Ali Inakas, who believed in peaceful coexistence, made a trade agreement with the dwarves. He traded foodstuffs and other products, including gold that had been panned from the rivers, to the dwarves in exchange for their bronze.
The bronze proved to be an ideal material for weapons and armor. The metal proved stronger than anything they had ever used. King Ali's two sons, Rulakan and Fulakar, realized that these new bronze items, together with their newly created horse-mounted troops, produced an army superior to any other. However, Rulakan and Fulakar could not convince King Ali to conquer the surrounding lands; they orchestrated a successful coup and assassinated their father. Together, they assumed the throne and began the most successful military campaign in the history of Tellene.
Armed with their bronze weapons, protected by their bronze armor, and with the use of their charging cavalry, they easily crushed any force that dared oppose them. As they spread to the south they reached the Obakasek Jungle. Peopled entirely by savage humanoids, the Obakasek quickly earned the reputation of being unconquerable.
After more than five years of vicious fighting, known as the Jungle Wars, Rulakan and Fulakar were convinced that the Obakasek could not be conquered. To guard against humanoid incursions, they built forts along the jungle's edge. Unfortunately, the brothers severely underestimated the sheer numbers of humanoids and several of the outposts were overrun. It is widely rumored that Rulakan had to make a pact with Lamas, the Lurker in the Void, to gain the service of devils, thus ensuring that the southern border remained intact.
After securing the south, the brothers spied on the countries to the north. Fulakar learned the exact locations of his neighbors' armies and their numbers. Armed with this knowledge, Fulakar set off on a nonstop march northward and beyond.
Fulakar, a brilliant strategist by the age of nineteen, moved northward up the western edge of the Ka'Asas almost unhindered. All able-bodied captives were impressed into his army and used as front-line troops. Those captives that could not fight were left behind in hastily constructed outposts and border towns. Fulakar rewarded many of his original warriors by appointing them governors at these new outposts and keeps.
As Fulakar marched northward, every opponent was either destroyed or absorbed. Often, when his advancing army reached a nation's border, it would find large numbers of soldiers waiting to surrender. Only when they arrived at the lands surrounding Lake Jorakk were they turned away.
There they fought the harsh winter of the frozen north and tribes of Fhokki barbarians. Ignorant of the consequences of beginning a fall campaign in such a climate, their troops were decimated by sub-zero temperatures and heavy snow. The barbarians used the weather to both conceal their numbers and carry out guerrilla-style raids. Rather than directly confronting Fulakar's far superior numbers, the barbarians would quickly strike the Kalamaran's flank, usually during the height of a snowstorm. Often they would only destroy the Kalamaran supplies and then flee into the blizzard, the storm quickly covering their tracks.
During that first winter, there were ten Kalamarans lost to the elements for every one that died in combat. They were forced to retreat. The following spring, Fulakar himself almost died from a bout of pneumonia. Upon recovery, he declared the north a wasteland and worthless to the Empire. Fulakar set up a border to defend against barbarian incursions and focused his attention on the western lands.
Fulakar met little resistance as he spread west to the Legasa Peaks. After only nine years, Fulakar had conquered almost the entirety of his known world. His only set back came when he crossed the Legasa Peaks and invaded Brandobia. There he met heavy resistance, and fought to a draw in the famous Battle of Coniper Gap. After the battle, both sides were decimated. Realizing that he needed to return to Kalamar for fresh troops and supplies, Fulakar sued for peace. The Brandobians retained all lands west. of the Legasas, but conceded P'Bapar Pass and the Legasa Peaks to the Kalamarans,With Fulakar off fighting in the north and the west, and Rulakan keeping the south secure, Kalamar itself was actually being ruled by Rulakan's wife, Lelana. Lelana was a very charismatic woman and used magic, which she learned from her husband, to make herself appear even more beautiful than she already was. When Fulakar triumphantly returned to Kalamar, he found his brother, Rulakan, suffering from a mysterious disease and Lelana in full control of the country! Fulakar blamed Lelana's magic for his brother's illness and when Rulakan died less than twelve months later, Fulakar vowed to avenge his brother's death. He was planning a military coup to overthrow Lelana, but he vanished without a trace a week later.
Having lost its strong military leadership, the Vast Empire quickly began to deteriorate. The south was overrun by humanoids and they advanced as far north as the southern edge of the Rolutel Forest. There they were turned away by Rulakan's son, Kolokar, leading the Kalamaran troops in his first battle.
Kolokar realized that the empire was falling apart. He removed his now senile mother, Lelana, from the throne and he and his wife ruled. He assembled what army he could and went to secure the north. There, Kolokar found Fhokki and Dejy tribes slowly advancing. The barbarians had met little resistance and had taken control of the land north of the Shynako Hills. With the vast majority of his troops being green, Kolokar was in no position to war with the seasoned barbarians. He hastily opted for peace treaties with the Fhokki and Dejy chieftains, conceding the land that had already been lost. He then ordered construction of a great battlement now known as Kolokar's Barrier. Kolokar set up outposts along the border to oversee construction and fortify his barrier.
Kolokar then moved to secure the west. Surprisingly, the west had remained almost intact. Since the Eastern Brandobian Empire had been all but wiped out during Fulakar's conquest, there was little in the way of organized resistance. Some of the petty nobles had declared themselves supreme and seceded from the kingdom. But, after a series of quick and decisive battles, the lords were removed and the northwest was reunited. Foreseeing his inability to control such an enormous Kingdom, Kolokar divided the land into smaller kingdoms and duchies that were to pay fealty directly to Kalamar.
Kolokar's victory was short-lived because of his inability to keep peace between the dependencies. He imposed stricter and stricter laws and exercised several successful military campaigns in a vain effort to maintain order. In the end, Kolokar's preoccupation with the northwest proved to be his undoing. While away in the new kingdoms on a peacekeeping military mission, the two most powerful noble houses, Eramis and Pilitala, conspired to remove him from power. They captured and imprisoned Kolokar's family and declared themselves in charge. In a fury, Kolokar raced back from the west, intending to regain control of the government and rescue his family. While racing back, Kolokar was thrown from his mount and died with a broken neck.
The two noble houses each declared their own senior member as the new Emperor, and the land was thrown into a bloody civil war.
During the next seventy years, commonly known as the Age of Great Anguish, the Empire crumbled into fragmented kingdoms ruled by lesser lords with each monarch attempting to assume the Imperial throne. The commoners suffered the most in this civil war. At first, they were forced to turn over all their crops to feed their lord's mercenaries. Later, their crops, fields and homes were either raided or burned by passing armies. The land fell into decay. Starvation, disease and pestilence ran rampant.
One petty lord from the south, Prince Thedorus, claimed to be a direct- descendant of Emperor Kolokar and a member of the royal House of Inakas. Thedorus had a small army of loyal troops, including many dwarves from the Ka'Asa Mountains. It is said that Thedorus had the support of the dwarven king of the Ka'Asas, who revealed to him the secret of steel. With weaponry made of this superior metal, plus an excellent commander, Rovak Fen'doral (a paladin, who rode a silver dragon, Vevisalakale, into battle), Thedorus defeated the other southern lords and reunited the main Kingdom of Kalamar.
With the aid of his former champion Rovak Fen'doral (see sidebar on p. 39) and Vevisalakale, King Thedorus I was able to vanquish the remaining lords and reunite the Empire. Thedorus I reigned for fifty-seven years, controlling all the land from the Legasas to the KaAsas. During his reign, the humanoids and barbarians were defeated and the old Kalamaran borders were re-established. Great roads and magnificent cities were built. Trade flourished and the highways were free from robbers and bandits. The land prospered and famine, pestilence and hunger were all but a distant memory. There seemed to be no evil left in the lands. At the age of eighty-nine, Thedorus I, the most popular emperor in the history of Tellene, died peacefully in his sleep.
Thedorus' son, Lakali, was found brutally murdered the day before his coronation. All evidence indicated that it was a demonic assassination as no natural beast could possibly have caused such wounds. Within hours of the news, Vilik, the senior member of the noble House of Bakar seized the throne and butchered Thedorus' remaining children and grandchildren. However, the crown, the rest of the Imperial trappings and the Sword of Kings were never found.
Within a week, Vilik crowned himself Emperor Vilik I. The land was instantly thrown into civil war. The next several years, known as the Time of Misfortune, were marked by a return to conditions not unlike those of the Age of Great Anguish.
It became apparent to Vilik that he did not have the funds nor power base to control the Vast Empire, so he divided it into smaller territories. He placed allies and members of the royal family (Bakar) into these new positions of power. The rulers followed Vilik's laws and paid him a portion of their taxes out of fear of his wrath. Vilik vowed that if a tithing was late as much as one day, the ruler in power would be killed, as well as all of his top aides. Over the next three centuries, the once great Empire slowly deteriorated to less than half its original size. During the last 200 years, incompetent, insane or drunken emperors dominated the Bakar dynasty. These feeble rulers allowed dependent duchies to openly defy the Crown and eventually the western and northern lands began to declare independence.
Today, the Empire is ruled by His Most August Supremacy, Kabori 1, of the royal House of Bakar. Kabori rules with an iron fist and strong military leadership. By far the most capable of all the Bakar emperors, he has vowed to return the Vast Empire to her former glory.