The Uborean Dynasty
Culture
Public Agenda
Assets
History
The history of the Uborean Dynasty is not well known to many, and is fraught with myths and falsehoods. In about 1300 BA the last kingdom of the dragons known only as Zaelruth ruled over the majority of Great Western Unclaimed expanse with an Iron fist. Their reign stretched from the Jungle of predators to the south slopes of the northern Grafgamou mountains, and all creatures beneath them had to either hide or be enslaved. Such was the fate of the goblinoid species, and kobolds. THey were enslaved beneath the terrible tyrants of Zaelruth, and were routinely used for targets, food, or labor. During this time for whatever reason the dragons grew jealous of the giants of the Myrar Tundra and Grafgamou Mountains. They believed that these giants hid treasures in these lands and wanted it for themselves. They began to rally their troops, the goblinoids, and kobolds were outfitted for war and they were led by their masters to the north to overthrow the giants.
The giants were ill prepared for the dragons onslaught and were viciously massacred by the dragons. The few giants left over remained in hiding far away from the gaze of the dragons or moved east towards the lands of the adamantine tips (modern day Iron Republic). The victorious goblinoids and kobolds were not give time to rest on their laurels, they were immediately set to work mining, cutting lumber and performing basic labor.
This continued until 1400 BA where the history gets hazy. The slaves started to grow restless and were spurred on by an unknown party. The three prevailing theories are: they were trained and spurred on by a group of metallic dragons, they were contacted by a cloud giant who helped organize them, and a leader emerged from the slaves to lead them in a rebellion against their former masters. Whatever the case the war against the dragons started in 1397 BA where the slaves of the Myrar tundra rebelled against their masters to the south. The war was hard fought and seemed unwinnable as any rebellion by the other slaves of the kingdom were quickly crushed. The slave rebellion however continued with no chance of winning. THen in 1285 BA when defeat seemed on the horizon the pushing assault by the Zaelruth kingdom slowed. The news came to the rebellion leaders the metallic dragons have staged a coup and fractured away from the Zaelruth kingdom. This two front war proved disastrous for the Zaelruth kingdom and the tide started to turn. The rebellion was able to push the dragons completely from the north. More slaves once afraid to oppose the dragons stood up in defiance and started their own rebellions, and in 776 BA the Zaelruth kingdom fell.
The slaves of the Myrar tundra stood triumphant and proud, but this period of unity did not last. They began to bicker and squabble amongst over who shall lead, in what form their nation shall be shaped, economic ideals, expansion, diplomacy, and many others. They could not come to an agreement so the groups split off into many tribes, and all hope for unification seemed lost.
The tribes of the Myrar Tundra began to turn inward and isolate themselves from the rest of Eluth. Fights over resources and land became commonplace and only those tribes that remained nomadic seemed free of this bloodshed. As time goes on the tribes that attempt to settle slowly wipe each other out and by 1200 AA only the nomadic tribes remain. These tribes continue to wander now being completely used to the dangers of the Tundra and its harsh conditions.
In 1324 AA the Pale Moon Tribe, and the Silver Raven Tribe were due to meet up to trade resources and information on the caribou herds. However the Silver Raven tribe failed to meet up. The Pale Moon Tribe Chief concerned by this ordered his hunters to search for any signs of the missing tribe. After weeks of waiting the Pale Moon hunters returned with grim tidings. The Silver Raven Tribe was found slaughtered, and even with the Silver Raven Tribe’s Best hunters present no bodies of any assailants were found.
The Pale Moon tribe chieftain now alarmed sent messenger ravens to the leaders of all other tribes calling for a meeting at the foot of the Grafgamou Mountains in 2/14/1325AA. There most were in attendance however noticeably the Blue Spider Tribe, and the powerful White Arrow tribe were missing. The Pale moon Tribe Chief spoke saying that the Silver Raven Tribe had been slaughtered, with no signs of any assailants.
Many tribe chiefs expressed worry and alarm at the news of the slaughter but still others brushed it off saying such was the way of the Tundra and the death of a tribe was nothing new. These tribes furthermore were annoyed at the summoning by the Pale Moon tribe and excused themselves from the meeting. The remaining tribes decided that while it is alarming unless more information is known the slaughter should be kept in mind but ultimately ignored. However, the chief of the Arctic Star Tribe Ragnval Ubor proposed a temporary solution. His tribe will set up a temporary camp here staffed with a few hunters, a scribe, and a flock of messenger ravens. If any new information comes, a message can be sent to the camp where, the scribe if sufficient information has been gathered can send out a message to summon the chiefs, but if in 15 years no new information is gained the camp shall be closed and the slaughter of the Silver Raven Tribe shall be ruled an act of nature. The remaining tribes agreed as the permanent location could also be used to help any survivors find their way to another tribe. The meeting disbanded and the tribes went their separate ways.
The loss of the Silver Raven tribe was slowly forgotten as time went on and it seemed no new information would ever be found. Years passed as the Arctic Star Tribe’s temporary camp remained quiet. That was until 8/19/1336AA when the scribe on duty was about to turn in for the night. A call came from the gates as the hunters said a lone tribesman was at the gate. The scribe let the tribesman in and a lone kobold woman entered the camp. She told the scribe what had occurred. She was part of the White Arrow tribe as a daughter of a leather worker. The tribe had just woken up after completing preparations for the meeting with the other tribes. HEr father had sent into the forest to gather some old man’s beard lichen to be used for fire starting and wound dressing. While gathering she heard screams coming from the camp, she ran back seeing smoke on the horizon but was stopped cold seeing the back of a strange zombie like warrior. She held back a scream as she silently got down into the underbrush and waited until it had moved on. The kobold girl quietly snuck to the edge of the tribe’s camp where she saw the wholesale slaughter of her people. There was an army of these zombie-like warriors effortlessly cutting down the hunters of her tribe. The yurts of the White Arrows were burned with tribespeople still inside, while others were consumed by those cursed creatures. Then she saw her chief, the strongest being she knew, being completely toyed with by the largest of these creatures. This creature which she assumed to be the leader, clad in traditional tundra armor, shrugged off each blow of the chief’s greataxe, taking blows that could fell a tree with an emotionless unflinching face.
The exhausted chief dropped to one knee attempting to catch his breath, but was picked up by the leader and shown the destruction of his tribe. He became enraged and attempted to break free but was run through with the longsword of the monstrous leader. The once proud chief of the white arrows was dropped to the ground where he lay unmoving. The horrible leader of the army started speaking in a strange language and to the horror of the kobold girl the bodies of her old chief, and tribe started to transform and contort in front of her. They became sickly as they slowly became like the monsters that had slaughtered them. WIth a clap the creature finished his speech and her tribespeople rose up and joined the army of the dead. A great roar was heard from this thing that changed her people and the army moved out. The kobold girl laid on the ground for days terrified of moving as she didnt want to be caught by those beings. She finally after almost a week got up and started to wander attempting to find anyone that she could relay what she had seen.
The scribe, realizing what he had been told and the danger such an army posed immediately sent ravens to all of the tribes he could, requesting immediate meetings. After years of searching for answers on 10/24/1336AA the tribes convened at the temporary camp and were given the answer to what had slaughtered the Silver Raven tribe.
The other tribes expecting a large gathering were surprised when they arrived at the camp. Only 60% of the tribes who showed up last time were in attendance. Chief Ubor knew the circumstances were dire and came to the realization that these tribes that were missing were likely too victims of this army. These creatures which came to be known as draugr were slaughtering the people of the tundra and would likely not stop with the extinction of the tundra people. They would likely move southward in an undead tide consuming the entire continent of Eluth turning the continent into a land of undead. Chief Ubor made a plea to the other tribes
“We must unify, for if we remain divided the draugr and this ‘deathlord’ will consume not just us, and our home but the entire continent. We have already lost dozens of tribes, the powerful White Arrows, the gregarious Silver Ravens, the crafty Blue Spiders, and even the industrious Grey Scars. How long before the Iron suns, the Ancient Spirits, or the Arctic Stars are added to this list? I know I can not sit by while my fellow tundramen live in danger of this tide of death. We must join together as one and prepare for the coming storm. None of us can stand against them alone and only together as a united dynasty of tribes may we turn back the Deathlord and his Drauger army. For the future of the Tundra, and for the Future of Eluth.”
With these words he cemented his fate as the Father of the Uborean Dynasty. Chief Ubor had gained the support of numerous tribes with his words and though some tribes refused the majority joined together to face down the Draugr Deathlord and his army of death.
The new Coalition of tribes set to work under the guidance of Chief Ubor turning the temporary camp into a permanent fortress. The best craftsmen of the tribe got to work building and blueprinting the fortress while the strongest hunters and fighters got to work training the new soldiers. Hunters would go out to gather food only in small groups and if any draugr were spotted they were not to engage under any circumstances. Slowly contact was lost with the dissenting tribes as they were either swallowed up by the draugr army or fell due to nature. The fortress of Kaldakinn was finally completed in 7/9/1345 AA where chief Ubor commanded the chiefs of the tribes to convene.
Chief Ubor asked the tribes to permanently station their tribes at Kaldakinn in order to keep them safe. He also asked them to make sure the soldiers were ready at any time for an invasion by the draugr, finally he asked for each tribe to send their 3 best hunters with him to an ancient giant city far to the north in the land called Gunnsteinar. The chiefs agreed and he left the fortress of Kaldakinn to journey to Gunnsteinar. What Chief Ubor found at Gunnsteinar remains unknown to this day. He and his soldiers he brought with to Gunnsteinar refused to talk about it.
Chief Ubor remained away for 5 years leaving the chiefs of the tribes back at Kaldakinn to worry about his safety, Many began to panic but they were always calmed by the words of the other tribal chiefs. On 12/3/1350 AA Chief Ubor and his soldiers returned to Kaldakinn with the secrets of rune fighting, and a single sword which Chief Ubor said would be the salvation of the Tundra. This marks the beginning of the War for the Tundra
The newly returned soldiers quickly went to work teaching the secrets of rune fighting to their fellow soldiers while Chief Ubor met with the chiefs to prepare for the war. They sent out war parties to find any draugr raiding parties. The tundramen knew they would have to cut into their forces to stand any chance and the best way to do that was to stop any new draugr from being raised. The new runic fighting style proved a boon for the people of the tundra. The draugr were unable to quickly react to the new powers of the soldiers, and the tribes seemed to be winning.
The momentum of the tribes started to slow however once the draugr became accustomed to the rune fighting of the tribes. They started pushing back hard with battles being won handedly by the raiding parties and if the deathlord was present a decisive victory for the draugr was soon to follow. The tribes were starting to stagger and even with the rune fighting that they had learned they could not push back the tide of draugr.
20 years passed as the war seemed to be a death march for the tribesmen. Every gain they would make would be countered by the draugr who were closing in on the Kaldakinn. On 10/9/1373 Chief Ubor called his soldiers back. He and the chief elders knew there was only one chance for victory and that was to cut off the head of this army once and for all. They had to kill the Deathlord or as he was named Thrain
.Chief Ubor knew that Thrain would soon arrive and that his people would have little time to prepare. He trained the archers on the wall and worked with the soldiers to build strategies that could help turn the tide. These strategies were put to the test on 10/21/1373 when Thrain and his army appeared marching on Kaldakinn, and the siege began. Over the next 12 days Chief Ubor and his army worked to repel the siege made by the draugr. Wave after wave was thrown at the wall of Kaldakinn but everytime the tribal warriors drove them off, but each crash of the draugr was paid for in the blood of the tribesmen. Food was getting low and casualties were piling up, but no respite could be gained by the defenders or by Chief Ubor. He was there each day leading his army in front of the gates with his magic sword he called “Salvation”, and every day he would begin telling his men
“Let none reach this gate, the future of the tundra and the continent rest on our victory; should we fall there will be none left to stop this black tide from consuming the lands. I shall be there with you as your shield. As long as I remain standing we will not retreat and they shall not reach this gate”.
On the 13th day, 11/6/1373, of the siege the soldiers stand on their last legs. Rations are nearly depleted, entire tribes have been wiped out, and Chief Ubor stands injured and tired in front of the gates to Kaldakinn. A blizzard stirs as the tribals wait for the draugr to begin their assault. With a thunderous roar from the wall of white in front of them they hear Thrain’s call to charge. The Deathlord himself had come to deliver the death blow the the fortress of Kaldakinn and thus the Tribes of the Tundra.
Chief Ubor Shouted for as many reinforcements from the fortress as the tribes could muster. There will be no other assaults on them this will be the final battle. From the blizzard before them came a rush of death and black; the assault has begun. The draugr crashed against the shields of the tribesmen. The crunching of bones and the clashing of steel could barely be heard over the roaring of the blizzard. While the tribesmen fought valiantly Chief Ubor knew they would be overwhelmed. He stood among the battle fighting but for every draugr felled a new one would rise to take its place. He shouted from the frey “Thrain, let us face each other for the first and final time. We will end this now!”. A roar from in the blizzard answered him and the draugr paused in their fighting. What once was a ceaseless onslaught of blood and steel drew back, and from their ranks stepped the hulking form of Thrain tearing a still twitching body of a tribal warrior from his blade.
Chief Ubor charged at Thrain, salvation in his hand and rage in his face. Every attack that Chief Ubor made was effortlessly parrier, and punished. His tribal warriors could only watch as he was chipped at. Chief Ubor let out a yell and slashed at Thrain, this one was mot parried and salvation hit its mark.
When once blades had bounced off of Thrain, salvation drew blood as the old once dead skin of Thrain let out a black ichor. Thrain bellowed in rage and swung down hard at the chief. Chief Ubor dodged out of the way as he began to fight with new found vigor, while Thrain fought with something he had not felt in millenia: fear. The duel continued back and forth each fighter desperate to make sure they were victorious. But then a blade was not parried and it drove through its opponents torso. Thrain had hit his mark and his blade embedded itself into the chest of Chief Ubor. Thrain howled in victory as chief Ubor was lifted up on Thrain’s sword to show the army of Draugr. However his moment of victory was snatched away as Chief Ubor with his remaining life slashed with salvation at Thrain and removed from the head of the Deathlord.
The head of Thrain rolled across the ground as the pale blue light of his eyes, once fueled by hatred and greed, grew dim and vanished. His body no longer cursed by undeath slowly started to become dust, as the years of staved off decay and natural decomposition flooded into his body all at once. His sword and armor disintegrated in to rust and tarnish, all that Thrain was, blew away into the wind. With that his army once massive and as unstoppable as an avalanche met the same fate they were diminished into the dust that they should have been many years ago. The blizzard died down and subsided and all that remained as proof of the horrid siege was the blood on the snow, and the body of the proud Chief Ubor, hero of the Tundra.
The total casualties of that battle were immense. There only remained 6 tribes from the dozens that once stood before: The Frozen Wing Tribe, The Lost Lake Tribe, The Frost Spear Tribe, The Iron Spirit Tribe, The Arctic Star Tribe, and The Pale Moon Tribe. The elders of these tribes as well took the body of Chief Ubor and brought him to a secluded area for his body to be given back to the land that he saved. They returned stating that the tribes shall remain separate tribes but be united under one dynasty, the Uborean Dynasty.
Time passes and many of the members of the Dynasty start to settle down and look towards the affairs of the outside world. Kaldakinn is expanded and grows, and the trading port town of Leikskalar is built. Though despite these permanent settlements being created the Uboreans never seem to be able to shake their nomadic tendencies and find no reason to build more.
Even 500 years later the dynasty remains the strong Northern Bastion of life and survival it has always been. Though the sacrifice of Chief Ubor and the horror of The War for the Tundra remain unknown to the nations of the southern lands, the dynasty never forgets what he did for his people and the future he secured. In both towns of the Dynasty a statue of a lone hobgoblin holding a sword a loft can be seen. This memorial to Chief Ubor stands proud so the people of the Dynasty may always be reminded of the ideals and valor that the Chief hoped would be found in his people all these years later.
After the Death of Head Eldar Yngvar the Dynasty searched for a new sucessor. However with the return of the Draugr, the Assault of Fafnir and the war with the Iron Republic, a large faction of those who believed that it should become a monarchy under the decendants of Chief Ubor formed. A group of adventures were able to locate the last decendant of Chief Ubor, and he was brought before the council. After proving his worth he was crowned the King of The North, given the last name Ubor, and personnaly lead the army against the Draugr and the Iron Republic.