by Midjourney
Many years ago, the ancestors of the modern
Reanaarians were a tribe of hunters who followed the
migration of wild game. Eventually, groups of gnolls and
ogres moved into the area and began to prey upon the
peaceful Reanaarians. When the humanoids felt strong
enough. they launched an all-out assault.
The Reanaarians fled the lowlands of what is now
modern day Kalamar and traveled up the slopes of the
P'Rorul Peaks. For weeks, the monsters pursued, feasting
upon the fallen. They forced the harried Reanaarians into
a pass through the mountains. Finally, the Reanaarese rear
guard caused an avalanche to cut off the humanoid pursuit.
The Reanaarian tribes found themselves stuck between the
now-impassable mountains and the harsh, rocky seacoast of
Reanaaria Bay.
The Reanaarians adapted to their new home by
learning to fish the many small streams with nets. They also
learned to build rafts and small watercraft to navigate the
streams and shallow coastal waters. They supplemented
their seafood diet with meat from the sheep and goats that
inhabited the rocky hills of the eastern P'Roruls.
The Reanaarians lived in relative seclusion until they
encountered a small tribe of gnomes living in the
mountains to the north. The gnomes taught the
Reanaarians the art of tier farming and helped them
develop an irrigation system to grow crops along the
mountainside. The gnomes designed many varieties of
outlandish watercraft to help the Reanaarians navigate the
deeper waters of the Bay. These contraptions typically sank
on their maiden voyage.
Life continued uninterrupted until a group of elves
who were sailing the world stopped at the curious little
coastal city. The Reanaarians were amazed at what they
saw—a massive, multi-sail vessel, manned by strange
peoples. The elves, touched by these simple good-hearted
folk, taught them the arts of shipbuilding, sailing and stellar
navigation. The Reanaarians were already adept small craft
sailors and learned quickly. After a short (by elven
standards) 25-year visit, the elves left to continue on their
worldly travels. They left behind a great deal of knowledge
and many half-elves, too.
The Reanaarians became great sailors and eventually
colonized much of the bay area. Their only setbacks were
huge sea monsters that swallowed up smaller ships, and
giant squids or armies of sea-humanoids that assaulted the
larger ships. The Reanaarians soon constructed massive war
ships armed with ballistae and manned with marines. They
reinforced the hulls of these battleships to absorb massive
blows from below the surface. These ships were bulky and
slow, but they could better handle the denizens of the sea
and were soon the ships-of-choice of merchants. Extensive
trading took place between the numerous colonies.
The waterborne trade soon encountered a new threat -
pirates. These Reanaarese pirates had streamlined sailing
vessels, which could catch and assault the large, lumbering
trade ships that were built to stop attacks from below the
surface, not above. The pirates populated many of the
small offshore islands in the bay.
When the unsuspecting elves first returned ro the bay
area, they assumed the pirates were peaceful. This made it
particularly easy for the pirates to board the elvish vessels
and take the crew completely by surprise. Because the elves
had more wealth on board, they soon became favorite
targets for the pirates. As the news of pirates spread, the
elves rarely visited the area, and those that did were often
able to play the role of the sheep and turn the tables on the
unsuspecting pirates.
Today, the colonies are small city-states. Each city is
governed by a single ruler or king. The kings were originally
tribal leaders or successful merchants, the latter with
dwarves coming down from the mountains and trading
gems and metals for lumber, clothing and food. The land
holds little strategic value, so peace usually dominates the
area. The northern regions are an exception in that they have some agricultural and strategic value and thus are
subject to invasion. Most of the violence takes the form of
disputes between the various kings. The majority of cities
ally with two or three of the neighboring towns and villages
and band together in times of danger.
