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View Full Version : My World: History Overview



Prophaniti
2008-08-13, 08:50 PM
Just another chunk of my personal campaign setting. Posting it here mostly because it allows me to write it all up and work on it while I'm at work:smallwink:. Of course, if anyone has any input, I'd love to hear it.

So, here's the rundown of the history of the world of Nethar! (of is a funny word)

Ancient HistoryNethar created. Toran and Veluth fight. Gorath created and placed in the sky above Nethar. Toran and Veluth slay each other. Intelligent life is created on Nethar in many forms, and subsequently corrupted, some forms more than others.(see My World: Gods)

An uncertain length of time passes. Life grows and flourishes. Tribes grow, fight, are wiped out, survive, and move about the world.

A man named Alric begins appearing among the intelligent races, teaching them the secrets of Arcane Magic. He is universally revered as the First Wizard. Eventually he disappears, no one knows where he went and he is never heard from again.

A new empire begins rising, called Akavar, consisting mostly of Elves and Humans. They are lead by the best wizards among them, and heavily rely on Arcane Magic to run and expand their holdings, and improve the lives of their people. Technological development comes to a virtual standstill, as wizards are very common and the use of Arcane runes and writing causes magical effects to be made permanent where necessary. (See My World: Magic)
The nation expands, mostly through peaceful means, to eventually control most of the known world.
A long time passes (I'm thinking something like 5k to 10k years).

The Dragon WarEralig, god of Hatred and Conflict, convinces the dragons (the most powerful intelligent race) that the mighty nation of Akavar is a threat, and will eventually try to wipe them out. Dragons are very magically powerful, though they generally eshew the delicate intricacies of the Arcane language in favor of their more intuitive Innate power. Eralig convinces them that the wizards of Akavar will destroy them, in order to make their mastery of the world complete. The dragons, very prideful creatures, and filled with contempt for the 'lesser' races, heed Eralig, and set plans in motion to wage war with Akavar.

The dragons are mighty indeed compared to other races, but very few in number. They gather at a great council and decide to create a new race from themselves, to serve as the footsoldiers and numbers they need to win, while the dragons themselves will serve as commanders. So, the Kath are created, though their draconic name is much longer. Their form is a cross of the humaniods they will fight, and the dragons that created them. They are gifted with great strength and fortitude, ideal soldiers and fighters, and have an innate resistance to magic, just as their creators and masters do. Their loyalty was ensured both when they were created, and cultural indoctrination as they grew.

For 500 years the dragons built their forces in secret. When they struck, they struck hard. Cities where laid waste, their magically reinforces buildings torn to pieces by mighty dragons while their people were slaughtered by Kath soldiers. The dragons spared no one and nothing, tearing huge swaths of destruction into the heart of Akavar. It was more than a week after the initial strike that the stunned nation was able to mount a credible defense. As soon as the mighty wizards of Akavar organized themselves and met the dragons, the war became much less one sided. Now, dragons and Kath fell nearly as often as elven and human wizards and troops.

For many years the war raged on, cities falling, dragons dieing. One last battel was fought at the greatest city of Akavar, with nearly all of the remaining draconic forces drawn up for a final strike. The battle was fierce, a culmination of the hatred built up on both sides over the years. In the end, both sides were nearly wiped out, and all their leaders killed. Barely a few dozen dragons remained alive, retreating to their mountain homes. The remaining Kath were abandoned by their masters, and driven out of civilized lands to scrape their living out in the wilderness. Of the wizards, too, only a handful remained. The power of both the dragons and Akavar was forever shattered.

AftermathTwo factions formed of the surviving wizards. One, consisting primarily of elves, believed that they should withdraw from the world, hide themselves and build up their strength again. The other felt that they should not abandon the people, and wanted to rebuild immediately. They were unable to reconcile, and splintered. The elven faction did as they said they would, retreating into the hardest-to-reach places they could find and hiding themselves with their magic. There they persist to this day, now known as Gray Elves, and have become even more reclusive as they attempt to recreate the glory of Akavar in their isolated havens.

The other faction started to rebuild on the ruins of the capital, creating a great library and academy of the Arcane. The full glory of Akavar was not to live again here, either. It eventually became common knowledge among the people of the shattered kingdom that the dragons had attacked because of their wizard lords. Anarchy reigned in much of the former nations, and a few wizards were even captured, put on mock trials, and executed. The wizards of the academy held off against the mob, but from this period they developed a sense of isolationism almost as strong as the Gray Elves. The people, in turn, developed a deep sense of distrust and disdain for wizards, which has faded somewhat in modern times but can still be felt.

A very long time goes by, nearly twice as long as Akavar stood, and that great nation fades to a distant legend among most folk, though a few reminders dot the land. Towers with no visible entrances, bridges made out of unknown material, buildings that have stood since before anyone can remember, and no chisel can mar their surface. Such things are rare, but present throughout all the lands Akavar once covered. Wars are still fought in this time, new nations rise and fall. The wizards of the academy largely keep to themselves, as do the Gray Elves. Magic once again becomes common only among those with the Innate gift, and among clergy. Unfortunately, Innate magic cannot be made permanent, so many of the applications it saw during the Age of Akavar are impractical now. Technological invention and innovation are revived during this time.

Also, during this time, the dragons continue to decline. Most of the survivors are killed by bands of humanoids, the memories of the Dragon War imprinted on succeeding generations. Those who still survive are simply not enough to continue their proud race, and their numbers slip ever lower.

The Kath also dwindle. Without the magics of the dragons to sustain them, births become far less frequent. Stillbirths are common, and living children become highly prized and protected. Some of the Kath retreat further into the wilderness, hoping to lose themselves in the hidden places of the world, while others return to what they know, and become mercenaries. Hiring a company of Kath to fight for you become, if not common, known and feared. Though they often charge prices in food and goods that bankrupt most kings, a troop of these superb soldiers all but guarantees a victory, and many desperate rulers turn to them in their hour of need. Still, their numbers continue to dwindle, and companies for hire become harder and harder to find.

NowWhich brings us to the modern day, the time my campaign is set. There are four great nations covering the land that was once ruled by one. Smaller kingdoms persist here and there, and who knows what lies across the Great Sea, or beyond the Desert of Gorath's Fury. None who have attempted to cross either have returned to tell of it. The wizards of the academy still keep their doors shut, only occasionally going out to find the brightest children to recruit and train. Gray Elves venture out of their sanctuaries so seldom that the sight of one is the talk of a city for months. Other elves live among the humans of three of the nations, their houses built side by side and their cultures mingeling until they are indestinguishable.

Technology has advanced to the point of reliable windmills and waterwheels, iron plows and steel for weapons and armor. The richest might have a basic mechanical clock in a place of pride in their homes. Gunpowder is still unknown, save as a scholarly curiosity. Some nations are less advanced than others.

Dragons are believed extinct, there has been no confirmed sighting in nearly 2,000 years. Kath are still found here and there, but are nearly finished and have become unpredictable and dangerous, seeing their doom has unhinged them, some say.

Whew! That should do it for a first draft. Next up will probably be Nations and People, explaining more about the modern times of the setting.