A (brief) Summary of the History of Evisath

[Ithril]

FORWARD
This has become quite a project, and I'm working on incorporating a timeline to make the chronology of the events more understandable. If anyone has any suggestions or comments, I welcome them. Please let me know in the OOC thread. If there are enough I may start a new thread for them.

Some of this has been blatantly stolen from the history of Conan's Hyboria, written by Robert E, Howard. Much of the latter history is stolen from various accounts of other empires and kingdoms throughout our history. Hopefully my additions and changes have made them obscure and entertaining enough to hide the similarities and make them seem reasonably unique.

This is a work in progress, please excuse the source notes that are still in this rough draft, and consider all dates subject to significant change.

I

[Ithril]

Known history begins with the waning of the Pre-Infestation civilization, dominated by the kingdoms or city-states of Asthëoth, Eöthrin, Gaelthrin, Paelrin, Zaelrin, and Raëoth. These peoples spoke a similar language, arguing a common origin. There were other kingdoms, equally civilized, but inhabited by different races, Many human, but sometimes strange and apparently older races. The barbarians of that age were the Vost, who lived along the edges of the great forests and the slopes of the ranges of highlands that defined and restricted the frozen wastes and glaciers that dominated lands further Nordt (north), the Shauroth who roamed the edges of the great deserts and savannahs in the Sount (south), and the Nunna, and Annish who were in the valleys of the great rivers, and the strings of lakes that divided the Erizt (east) from the Wenzt (west).

Most of the world as of yet was unexplored by men, and the several kingdoms of that time occupied mostly fertile lands between the frozen lands of the Nordt, the wild savannahs of the Sount, and the dangerous lowlands in the Erizt. Aside from this, there were also significant kingdoms ruled by elves, dwarves, and other strange races. These kingdoms occupied lands less congenial to humans; dwarves in the mountainous regions, elves in the thick untamed forests, and so on.

Gaelthrin was the Nordternmost of the kingdoms of Eövrisath (For that is what the peoples of that time called the land). Zaerin, whose people were more culturally primitive than their kindred kingdoms, was the kingdom farthest to the Sount and Erizt. Beyond it to the Sount lay the drier plains that heralded the deserts beyond, and to the Erizt the bogs and swamps that eventually coalesce into several bodies of water, some salten, some sweet. Among the more hospitable places in these forlorn wastes live the scattered nomadic savages and tribes of Shauroth, Nunna, and Annish who were cannibalistic.

Beyond these, along the shores of the many inland seas was another strange ancient culture, unrelated to the Eövrisath kingdoms and wholly inhuman, which tribes of Annish or Nunna would occasionally fall prey to. It is thought they may have been some aquatic race, or to at least have had their origin in those primordial seas. So too in the remote Wenzt of the world was another similarly alien and ruthless bestial race called the Kûrneses.

The Eövrisath civilizations were crumbling; their armies were composed largely of barbarian mercenaries. Shauroth, Nunna, and Vost were their generals, their statesmen, often their kings. Of the squabbling of the kingdoms, and the wars between Eöthrin, Gaelthrin, and Paelrin, as well as the conquests by which the Shauroth established a claim among the lands of the other kingdoms of the region, there are more legends than accurate history.

The Kûrneses were far older than the human races, even older, possibly than the elves. They had masteries of magic, as well as many sciences and arts that are now lost. They worshipped strange and obscene gods, and in their lands they erected great colossal statues and idols of carven stone. They were fond of keeping slaves, and they were cruel and haughty. However, much like the other human races of Eövrisath, they were also falling to ruin, the golden ages of their empire and technology had long passed though their prowess in the mysticism was still potent. When they could no longer subjugate the other races, they used their magic to resolve their needs, bringing the malevolent and disfigured race of Reocs into Eövrisath. They are a loathsome race of humanoids with red eyes and grey-green skin covered with coarse hair. Reocs are misshapen with a slightly stooped posture, and a snout instead of a nose. But the Kûrneses could not control these creatures. They began to escape, and soon the wilds were thick with their evil kind. They often plundered the human villages, killing all whom they would encounter. They are ever vile, and poisoning the lands wherever they wander.

The barbarian tribes were decimated from their meager and savage lives in the fringes of habitable lands. They were driven further into the wilds, or to raid the human kingdoms out of desperation. Many of the Vost were driven further Nordt into the edges of the frozen wastes where they encountered other races of humanoids that had grown to immense proportion. The Gaelthrin were likewise driven further to the Erizt, displacing the Annish tribes. The Eöthrin were devastated, as invasions, either from the alien Reocs, or the unnumbered barbarians broke their cities. Refugees from the Eöthrin escaped where they could to take refuge, mostly among the Paelrin and Asthëoth, but even so far as the Zaelrin, and the Raëoth. Most of these refugees only found slavery and servitude in these new lands.

Such was the world when the whole of Eövrisath convulsed with a great calamity. The old proto-continent of Eövrisath was beginning to shift and break to form new landmasses. Much of the arid desert lands in the Sount-Wenzt gave way and sank suddenly into a great sea. The empire of the Kûrneses was fractured, and fully half of it was overcome in a great deluge. The great barrier between the warmer lands of the Sount and the Nordtern frozen lands expanded as a string of volcanoes broke from the frozen Nordt. Great earthquakes shook the shining cities to their foundations everywhere. Whole nations were obliterated. In the farther Erizt, the low swamplands and broken seas encountered new and powerful sources to their waters which flooded the nearby swamps and bogs covering the ruins of crumbling cities, and connecting the many smaller lakes into larger seas, and farther to the Sount a small ocean. The foul aquatic humanoids gained power as the seas they inhabited consumed more territory. These races were not content with the new territories the waters brought them, but continued to terrorize the lands, and to war among each other for dominance. From these now flooding jungles and swamps swarmed savages and beasts, apes and ape-men of every description. As the cannibalistic Annish, who were just beginning to learn the arts of civilization and the Vosh were forced to migrate to the Nordt, their tribes clashed in violent confrontations. The two races were once again reduced to the elemental savagery they had begun to leave as they competed for the same resources of food, and shelter. The Vost reverted to the skills in working stone as their ancestors once did, but they lost nothing of the artistic skills they expressed in their creations. The Annish were not so refined in artistic expression. They were a cruder race, and though they fell back to working stone, and their previous cannibalistic tendencies, they advanced still in weapons mastery. They were the more practical, and more prolific of the two races. They left no ivory carvings, or painted pottery as the Vost would. Both races left weapons of flint in plenty.

The titans of the Nordt were not spared either. Their frozen realm was now becoming uninhabitable. Many of the towering plateaus that they occupied were thrown down by the volcanic activity that was reshaping the world. Those who survived were forced to seek new homes farther into the Nordt, and also to the Erizt and the Wenzt as they needed. Some found suitable places in isolated great peaks that remained frozen in spite of the eruptions. Forced now into different and isolated pockets, their single primitive species began to fracture and adapt to their new environs much like the other primitive tribes.

Of the ancient city-state kingdoms little remains. The Wenztern world is seen to be a wild country of jungles and lakes and torrential rivers fed still by the diminishing glacial fields of the distant Nordt. Among the forest-covered hills of the NordtWenzt exist wandering bands of ape-men, without fire, implements, tools or even human speech. They are the descendants of the Gaelthrin, sunk back into the squalling chaos of jungle-bestiality from which ages ago their ancestors so laboriously crawled. To the SountWenzt dwell scattered clans whose speech is of the most primitive form, yet they still retain the name of Asthëoth. It is their only link with their former stage. Now merely a term to distinguish them from the true beasts with which they contend for life and food. Neither the squalid Asthëoth nor the apish Gaelthrin have any contact with other tribes or peoples.

Far to the Erizt, the Eöthrin, leveled almost to a bestial plane themselves by the brutishness of their slavery to the Paelrin, were able to take advantage of the chaos after the great calamity. They rose and destroyed he Paelrin. They are savages stalking among the ruins of a wrecked civilization. The survivors of Paelrin, who have escaped the fury of their slaves, have come Sountward. They fall upon that mysterious kingdom of Shauroth in the Sount and overthrow it, substituting their own culture, modified by contact with the older one. Some few bands of the Shauroth, however, escaped this purge, fleeing far to the Wenzt, they discovered the ruins of a strange civilization; the Kûrneses, now wholly abandoned. Though ages had passed, remnants of the older nation seemed to have survived. The Shauroth adapted these things into their own culture, even adapting the Kûrneses as new gods, replacing gods who had fallen from favor, and mixing the rest into the pantheon of their savage gods. In these lands, the Shauroth would begin to unravel the mystic arts and the secrets of magic.

The lands of the Zaelrin now stand desolate and forsaken. The forces of the strange races who dwelt in the seas in the Erizt overtook the Zaelrin. They overran the land and cities even as the ever rising tide of the new seas inevitably advanced. The Raëoth, dwelling in lands farther from the sea, and in the highland foothills of a low mountain range, were spared the floods that destroyed the Zaelrin as well as the violent eruptions that destroyed lands further Nordt. Slowly, in spite of the savagery and brutality around them, the Raëoth culture continued to advance and grow. They were now the most advanced and civilized (though considerably less advanced than the current age) of the human cultures. The distant Shauroth would be considered savage in comparison. The threat of the Reocs continued unabated, raiding and pillaging all lands, tribes, clans, and peoples with equal brutality wherever they were found.

[Ithril]

This is an account of those peoples that survived the first calamity, and the scouring of the Reocs. A little more is known of this age because of the advent of written records but there is still much that has been lost to Crothos (the god of time).

The tribes of the Raëoth, much spared from the worst of the tragedies of the first calamity were now freed from much of the external conflicts that defined their existence until this time. In the space of a few hundred years, the villages and tribes of the Raëoth has culminated in a broad empire of city-states, encompassing much of the land that lay between the seas in the Erizt, the desert lands in the Sount, and the low mountain ranges to their Nordt, though they did not occupy the valleys between that range, and the greater range that define the frozen lands of the utter Nordt. Raëoth continued to rule their extensive territories as a hegemony of loosely allied city states, each holding dominion over a limited territory. Their arts and culture flourished, reaching greater achievements than any other culture of the time. Among their cities rose many grand temples to their gods, and theaters carved in marble. In addition to a pantheon of deities, most cities also had at least one patron deity who was believed to watch over and protect the city. These loosely allied city-states were mostly peaceful among each other. Though conflicts were rare, when they did occur they were brutal.

The Raëoth territories would eventually be united by a foreign born Einir king whose conquests would reach the distant Sountern lands of the Paelrin.

In the Nordtern valley, between the highlands claimed by the Raëoth, and the Eriztern ranges of the Aldamisder mountains, two new races of peoples have arisen; the Bor, and the Einir. They are bright of eye, with golden hair and powerful in stature, unlike the Raëoth to the Sount. They are the final amalgam of melding the Vost and the Annish with the savage apish creatures who roamed the far Nordt mountainous Aldamisder lands. These new races are similar in many ways, now being cousin races, but they are clearly distinct from each other as well. They still exist largely as small groups of clans and tribal families. Fifteen hundred years in the north country have made the Bor a tall, tawny-haired, grey-eyed race, vigorous and warlike, and already exhibiting a well-defined artistry and poetism of nature. Their counterparts, the Einir are not typically so tall. They have green eyes, and flaxen hair. Both races still live mostly by the hunt, but the southern tribes have been raising cattle for some centuries.

Wenzt of those lands occupied by those two still savage races, separated by a spur of the Aldamisder mountains the tribes of peoples once known as the Asthëoth and the Gaelthrin have degenerated almost to a bestial status. For centuries, they resisted time, neither advancing nor declining too much further. Their previous existence and cultures have been entirely obliterated, and now they know nothing except the continual conflict and the challenges of their environment. After nearly 600 years, both races have now wholly merged, and lost any resemblance to their forbears, becoming the race of the Erdritch. Finally the ties that bound them to their savage past begin to break, and they have formed myriad of small chiefdoms throughout the lands, gradually codifying a new culture. Bands of raiders from these tribes occasionally set to raiding the edges of the another new race, the C'rlyh.

In the distant Wenzt, the refugees of the Shauroth discovered the ruined and abandoned cities of the Kûrneses, and they established their own cities in those lands, and they called themselves the C'rlyh. Even now, some few individuals of that wicked race remained, for they were a long lived race. And this was their final destruction. But the Shauroth didn't wholly dispose of the Kûrneses' advancements. Instead weaving the previous regions inhabitants into legend and myth creating a new and diverse pantheon. With the abandoned knowledge of the Kûrneses, they soon rivaled the Raëoth far to the Erizt and they would establish the first true empire after the first calamity. The C'rlyh empire was the most powerful empire in the world for over 2,000 years. The C'rlyh Empire created art in many forms, including large, carved stone statues, bass relief panoramas cut into cliffs or adorning the walls of their cities, temples and strongholds. Though the empire of the C'rlyh had great advantages from the Kûrneses' mystical technologies, constant military conquest eventually destroyed the reserves of their power, and the empire fell to ruin.

The Paelrin who originally occupied lower plateaus in territories Sount and Wenzt of the Raëoth, were driven farther to the Sount by the first calamity. In these lands dwelt primitives, the Khesian peoples, who consisted of smaller familial tribes, never numbering more than a few dozens. This foreign people used a language uncouth to the Paelrin, and any concept of rulership or authority was alien to them. Though the lands were mostly arid savannah, there was a series of lowlands and marshes along the sea coast that the Paelrin were able to exploit to raise crops, and they settled in these areas. As their settlements flourished, they came into more common contact with the Khesian, who began to rely on them for sustenance during times of drought or other hardship, eventually forming a symbiotic relationship between the two cultures.
They also began to explore the sea to the Wenzt. It was about this time that a new ruler of the Paelrin appeared who established the first Paelrin Dynasty. Under his rule, the Paelrin made great advances in architecture, astronomy and the domestication of beasts for meat. Though there were no sources for iron, they were able to alloy copper into a bronze that was of similar strength. This also marked the beginning of the Paelrin practice of building great temples to deify their rulers after their death. The kingdom of the Paelrin became wealthy and powerful under the rulership of the Paelrin dynasties, and they took tribute from many various and sundry lands that occupied the continent to the south, as well as occupied islands in the Wenztern seas. The empire now occupied all of the lands from these islands in the Wenztern seas through the barren deserts to the coastal areas of the hostile Eriztern waters. The Paelrin dominion was eventually subdued for a time by invaders from the Raëoth, and their ancient religions became corrupt and depraved. Eventually human sacrifice became common, first as a punishment for criminal offence, but as the population and needs of the society grew, it became more common as a method to appease the ancient gods and deified rulers.

It was in this time, nearly 3,000 years since the First Calamity that the continents of Evorisath were once again shaken and moved. This would set them very nearly into the present day arrangement, though small shifts continued to occur for several centuries. The lands of the C'rlyh were split by two new mountain ranges. The Wenztern seas expanded as the lands between the C'rlyh empire were split from the more Eriztern parts of the continent and a great torrent of water filled the gaps, which reached nearly to the Aldamisder ranges creating the Seas of Lendë, Lunnos and Ghohrar-Dzim. The plateaued highlands occupied by the Raëoth were pushed higher, and most of the peoples in those places were doomed, but there were several kingdoms along the Wenztern edge of those lands that were spared both the deluge that occurred to the Wenzt, and the upheavals in the Erizt.
The lands of the Paelrin began to sink into the sea, and a great multitude of refugees were forced to escape to the Erizt. While yet farther to the Erizt, the many seas were finally united into a great ocean, that would remain unexplored for many ages.
The Bor and the Einir who occupied the most the Nordt-Eriztern mountains, were spared the worst of the calamity, but those closer to the Raëoth were destroyed by the deluge that combined the seas in the Erizt. Most of them would now occupy a mountainous peninsula, well isolated from the rest of the continent, though some tribes would remain along the mountains that rim the Wenztern edges of the Nordtern parts of Evisath Sea.
Likewise the Erdritch tribes would be fortunate. The more treacherous of the territories they claimed were destabilized by these convulsions, and though many tribes were obliterated in the ensuing landslides, those that survived discovered the mountains had been brought low, and many more pastoral lands remained instead.

[Ithril]

In the deserts of Kheshrin and the Blighted lands lie ancient mysteries of magic and sorcery that have remained unsolved for thousands of years. Among the desolate wastes rise dark cities of mystery and evil where cults to obscene gods still demand sacrifices of blood, and wizards perform abhorrent research. Demons stalk the darkened and narrow lanes of the cities that are surrounded by wastelands guarded by dragons and other inexplicable terrors.
This book will survey the desolate Blighted Lands that bake under the suns, the dark jungles of Zhoul, Bhutai, and K'thuthmaug where the black lotus grows, the volcanic mountain ranges guarded by Nyarwasaggua and other dragons, as well as Kheshrin, the fertile lowlands near Lunnos (the Sea of Lúnya), a source of rare spices treasured throughout Evisath.

THE FIRST EPOCH
The beginnings of the race now known as the Kheshrin have their true roots in the distant dim legends of the First Epoch, before the great calamities. In those days, the realm of men was divided into ## more civilized races. These peoples had clawed themselves out of savagery to build cities, and establish law; though there were many who did not.
The savagery of that age however, was not entirely limited to the uncivilized. Wars were common among the factions of men who had mastered fire, and the forge, and agriculture. And the victors of these wars plundered the fallen, taking whatever they would, including prisoners which they exploited.
In this way, the Eöthrin cities fell to attrition from both within, and from threats and dangers beyond the borders of their civilized lands. And when the Paelrin recognized the weakness of their brother tribe, they took advantage, enslaving the broken refugees who survived the destruction of their homes. The Paelrin were merciless overlords, and drove the Eöthrin peoples back to the brink of savagery.
At the end of the First Epoch, a catastrophe shook the lands of Eovrisath. The great cities of men were thrown down, as the land convulsed and contorted. The Eöthrin seized this opportunity to overthrow their captors, who had grown slovenly, even as their cruelty grew. Those Paelrin who survived the double calamity of the natural disaster, and the disaster of their own design were driven Sount to new and unexplored lands. The Paelrin were not wholly unmade by these misfortunes, however, and in these unexplored lands they discovered another race, just now escaping the darkness of savagery.
In the distant savannas and scrub-lands of the far Sount, the Shauroth suffered the same calamities the other races further Nordt had also experienced. Their cities were broken, and their priestly government was discredited because they could not explain why the gods brought this calamity to them. Their fledgling society wasn't able to endure the changes wrought by the calamity, and in a few years, the people began to succumb to famines and disease.
When the Paelrin discovered this new race, they had already reclaimed the strength they once had, and it was a warrior race that fell upon the Shauroth, conquering the lands without resistance. Few of the Shauroth, escaped in ragged bands to the Wenzt into that dark land of the Kûrneses.

THE SECOND EPOCH
The lands the Shauroth occupied were along the Nordtern edges of a great and arid savanna grassland that yielded to a trackless desert. The Shauroth had never explored deeply into these forlorn lands, believing them to be uninhabited, indeed incapable of supporting life at all. The savanna lands stretched along the more temperate lands from the Erizt to the Wenzt, defining a transition from the temperate Nordtern lands to the tropical and desert Sount lands. The lands of the Shauroth were closer to the Wenztern ocean, and so they only explored along those shores where they found lowlands with abundant rainfall and fertile soil.
In the arid grasslands to the Erizt and Sount dwelt the primitive Khesian peoples, who consisted of smaller familial tribes, never numbering more than a few dozens. As the harsh desert conditions continued to eliminate the wild game and other resources that sustained them, the Khesian tribes explored farther Wenzt, discovering the new kingdoms of the Paelrin.
This foreign people used a language uncouth to the Paelrin, and any concept of rulership or authority was alien to them. The two cultures eventually began to meld. The Khesian becoming a class of laborers to support a Paelrin upper class. As the centuries passed, the two cultures eventually merged, and the two peoples became a new race.
The Paelrin also began to explore the sea to the Wenzt. It was about this time that a new ruler of the Paelrin appeared who established the first Paelrin Dynasty. Under the rule of this new dynasty, the Paelrin made great advances in architecture, astronomy, magic, and the domestication of beasts. Though there were no sources for iron, they were able to alloy copper into a bronze that was of incredible strength. This also marked the beginning of the Paelrin practice of building great temples to deify their rulers after their death. The kingdom of the Paelrin became wealthy and powerful under the rulership of the Paelrin dynasties, and they took tribute from many various and sundry lands that occupied the continent to the south, as well as occupied islands in the Wenztern seas. The empire now occupied all of the lands from these islands in the Wenztern seas through the barren deserts to the coastal areas of the hostile Eriztern waters. The Paelrin dominion was eventually subdued for a time by invaders from the Raëoth, and their ancient religions became corrupt and depraved in the efforts to throw off the Raëoth oppressors. Eventually human sacrifice became common, first as a punishment for criminal offense, but as the population and needs of the society grew, it became more common as a method to appease the ancient gods and deified rulers.
However, when the Raëoth dynasty was finally overcome, and the Paelrin were once again free, these ghastly religions continued to grow in fervor and depravity. The Paelrin was now a great empire, spanning the continent from the Wenztern ocean to the perilous Eriztern seas, and far Sount into the desert lands. Once again the world of Eovrisath convulsed, and whole continents were moved setting the lands roughly into the forms they have today. The fertile lands of the Paelrin, dense with cities was plunged wholly into the Wenztern ocean, while the lands that isolated the bodies of water in the Erizt violently sank to form a new ocean.

HISTORY
At the end of the Second Calamity, much of the territory occupied by the Pealrin was lost to the great Wenztern ocean. The small seas and lowlands of the far Erizt were now flooded by a new ocean. In certain places, the calamity also raised new ranges of mountains. In spite of this, several remote communities and towns in the wild savannas still stood. With the final dynasties of the Paelrin wholly destroyed, by the catastrophe, these communities reverted to city-kingdoms, which contended with each other for the few resources that remained. They were not ruled by god-kings, but rather by councils of sorcerers and wizards. They called themselves by many names, but they are now generally referred to as the Kheshrin, and sometimes as the Zhemekh, as these were the two greatest empires of the region.
The savannas were now subject to more moderate weather, but the arid lands remained difficult to cultivate. Soon enough alliances and rivalries divided the lands among factions of wizards, all vying for ultimate control of the lands and limited resources. The old gods were still worshiped, but the god-kings of the previous dynasties were blotted out, and their bloodthirsty influence on the religions of the day were gone. A golden age of magic dawned on the Khesh, as the wizards were now free from the strictures the god-kings used to control them.
The mountain ranges that grew in the calamity eventually became valuable sources of stone and metals, and the Khesh used them to expand their cities and began once more to build great monuments and massive citadels and temples of stone aided by the powers unlocked through the studies of magic.
These lawless wizards opened new portals to strange and diabolical dimensions and planes, unleashing all manner of terrors upon the lands to make war against each other without consideration for the consequences of their wars. Some of these forces were beyond the reckoning of the foolish sorcerers who brought them forth, and remained after, becoming incarnate deities of death and chaos themselves; worshiped under fear and threat for the very existence of the people trapped under their dreadful power. Kingdoms and empires rose and fell in the region of the Kheshrin like sheaves of wheat as their battles raged throughout the lands. Whenever a powerful sorcerer arose, he was either destroyed by another more powerful wizard, or by some design of his own making.
These constant wars and pursuit of greater more devastating magics culminated in the final destruction of the fair and fertile lands of Kheshrin. Volcanoes thrust up through the mountains bordering the Nordt and Sountern boundaries of the kingdoms, belching foul vapors that choked and burned. The lands between became barren as waves of magical fire swept across them, consuming anything with life in it. Only a very few cities survived under the protections of infernal powers that the consuming fires could not breech. Aside from a small remnant along the Weztern coastal areas, and the few colonies that remain in the Blighted Lands, the people of the Kheshrin were effectively destroyed.
(to be continued)

[Ithril]

The History of
The Duchy of Yakkairosh

Prehistory
Very little is known of the lands that are now known as the Duchy of Yakkairosh in the first ages, before the great calamities. It is assumed that they were not widely occupied by any human races, though it is possible that some fell humanoid race, or some demi-human races were common to these lands, but the ancient stones that might remember will not release their secrets.

From the Book of Epochs
The Second Age

"The tribes of the Raëoth, much spared from the worst of the tragedies of the first calamity were now freed from much of the external conflicts that defined their existence until this time. In the space of a few hundred years, the villages and tribes of the Raëoth has culminated in a broad empire of city-states, encompassing much of the land that lay between the seas in the Erizt, the desert lands in the Sount, and the low mountain ranges to their Nordt, though they did not occupy the valleys between that range, and the greater range that define the frozen lands of the utter Nordt. Raëoth continued to rule their extensive territories as a hegemony of loosely allied city states, each holding dominion over a limited territory. Their arts and culture flourished, reaching greater achievements than any other culture of the time. Among their cities rose many grand temples to their gods, and theaters carved in marble. In addition to a pantheon of deities, most cities also had at least one patron deity who was believed to watch over and protect the city. These loosely allied city-states were mostly peaceful among each other. Though conflicts were rare, when they did occur they were brutal.

In the Nordtern valley, between the highlands claimed by the Raëoth, and the Eriztern ranges of the Aldamisder mountains, two new races of peoples have arisen; the Bor, and the Einir. They are bright of eye, with golden hair and powerful in stature, unlike the Raëoth to the Sount. They are the final amalgam of melding the Vost and the Annish with the savage apish creatures who roamed the far Nordt mountainous Aldamisder lands. These new races are similar in many ways, now being cousin races, but they are clearly distinct from each other as well. The Bor were better adapted to the more Nordtern ranges, and higher slopes of the mountains, while the Einir, smaller than their Bor counterparts, settled farther Sount, or in the more temperate canyons and lowlands, where they were able to domesticate feed animals, sheep, and pigs, and eventually cattle."

During the Second Age, the mighty Aldamisder mountains rose to a great height, dividing the Sount lands from the uninhabitable frozen wastes beyond in the Nordt, and the terrors that lurk there. They ran in lines of immense jagged unbroken chains from the Nordt-Erizt to the Sount-Wenzt. Along the Sountern edge of this range the mountainous slopes gave way to highlands which form a wide valley before they too rise up to another parallel ridge called the Terian Mountains. Unlike the Nordtern heights, the Sountern slopes of the Terian range fell away more sharply, reaching a broad steppe-land. These plateaus generally ran parallel to those ranges of mountains that insulated them from the brutal Nordtern tundra. The lowest iterations of these plateaus were carved with valleys and gorges which in their turn gave way to a series of small seas, beyond which the Hellochthrio mountains climb in the Erizt. This range of mountains was unstable, often beset by tremors and other earthly convulsions, and the seas at their feet were treacherous.

The steppe-lands were fertile, thick with primordial forests of ancient trees, and wide fields of lush heath and grasses. Through these lands ran countless rivers fed by the snow-capped peaks of the Terian Mountains. These rivers wind and join, sometimes getting trapped by the rising bluffs that defined the edges of the world. Eventually they find their course to fall in more or less spectacular cataracts to continue their journey to the seas in the far Erizt. These were the realms claimed by the Raëoth. The Nordtern reaches of the Raëoth empire was cradled in the foothills of the Terian Mountains, and to the Nordt-Erizt rose the Irion mountains, while in the Sount-Wenzt, the Arintisian range defined it's borders.

NOTE: Some Raëoth in the Wenzt remain pure, but many in the Erizt become mixed with the Einir, so you have 3 races: the pure Raëoth, the pure Einir, and the mixed Einir/Raëoth. The peoples of the Yakkairosh region are of this later mixed stock. Conweena is of the Bor, a wholly different race (though related closely to the Einir) This region, inhabited by the (Einir/Raëoth) settle the region now occupied and called the Yakkairosh Duchy by a race from the farther Wenzt, and empire and race of the C'rlyh.

The Legends of
The Duchy of Yakkairosh

The Thulas of the Kyirvani

When the last calamity brought the empires of the Second Age low, the children of the Kyirvani began to settle the new lands they found themselves in. With much of their past civilization lost to them, they began an oral tradition of their history which are known as the Thulas of the Kyirvani. They are highly stylized poetic verse with many complicated meters and mnemonics designed more for ease of memory than for accuracy. This seminal history of these people has become canonized liturgy of the native religion of the Kyirvani. It was first recorded in a written form 5 centuries ago by Karic Corrian, a High Priest of Urtil. As such they are only generally summarized here.

Two of the most important Thulas relate the stories of Kyirnvar Vel-Khan, and his High Priest who were appointed by The Great Tree Egruthad to escort their peoples through a cataclysm, and several invasions to establish a new kingdom, after which the two became lost somehow. The legends also claim that they will return once more to free the Kyirvani people and establish a great empire. Other Thulas fundamental to the Kyirvani record their laws, rites, ceremonies, history after Kyirnvar Vel-Khan, songs of important events, and the lineage of the more significant families and people who were pivotal to the history of Kyirnheim. There are many Thulas, and the details of their stories will be added as they are needed.

The Age of Trials
The reign of Kyirnvar Vel-Khan has become legendary as a golden age of the Kyirvani today among the peoples that inhabit the Duchy of Yakkairosh. After Kyirnvar Vel-Khan, the Rathahs, or tribal chieftains began squabbling among themselves, and the constant attrition from other humanoid races continued. As a result, the Kyirvani never looked beyond their own short term problems. They never advanced to the point where they could establish a broader kingdom. According to legend, Kyirnvar Vel-Khan will someday return to Kyirnheim to reunite the tribes, and restore them to another golden age.

Through the ensuing centuries, the Kyirvani became nomadic, establishing villages for the season, moving on to other regions as the changing seasons or need dictated. Some of the more powerful Rathahs (tribal family rulers) were able to establish permanent settlements that became the cities that defined the Kyirnheim territory. They favored broad fields and the lush river planes that are common in the land, and the largest of these small towns developed near a bay, and trade with other foreign nations began to take place regularly.

In time, many wicked creatures and other servants of Núril began to infest forests and highlands of Kyirnheim. Even today, most villages have stories of nearby ruins where goblins or other foul creatures lurk. These threats encouraged the nomadic practices of the Kyirvani peoples.

Because of these dangers, the coastal trading towns were more successful, and travel between inland settlements was less secure. Only the most intrepid trading merchants would consider expeditions in such dangerous territories, and so villages tended to remain more isolated and less exposed than those who lived where trade as more common.

The Kyirvani people were not wholly forgotten by Egruthad, however. As the evil humanoid races plagued the forests, Egruthad sent elves and other allies to seek out the evil, and keep those forces at bay. In the mountains, dwarves discovered rich deposits of minerals as well, and they drove evil from the mountains they claimed. However beneficial these intelligent races were, they remained distant and insulated from the Kyirvani settlements.

The Age of Trade/Opening of Kyirnheim
Kyirnheim became a well-known trading port, especially Korvágr, it's chief city, because of it's position on a bay formed where several rivers meet the ocean. Soon, a lucrative trade in furs, weapons, wine and other spirits began to flourish. As the trades grew, so too did the population, and the variety of goods that were produced by the Kyirvani, as well as their military and political potential.

The lucrative trade economy, however was not without it's own perils. Pirates soon found the coastal towns a sweet fruit, and raids were common, and brutal. If the raiding buccaneers were not satisfied with the spoils they could pillage, they would kidnap victims for their slave trade.

Though the Kyirvani had never exhibited any martial ambitions, concerns began to grow among some foreign nations, despite their amicable trading relationships. The deep forests beyond the coastal areas were unexplored, and rumors of what could be hidden there began to grow. Not only that, but what might happen should the Kyirvani become united under an inimical leader, or worse yet, a hostile foreign power? Furthermore, the pirates, emboldened by their lucrative raids may establish a more permanent base in the area, if they haven't already. At any rate, trade with the Kyirvani had become far too risky because of these possibilities.

The Daeol (now C'thons) Empire would not allow the matter to be settled by chance, and sent a moderate force of soldiers to Korvágr. They easily conquered and occupied the city, Renaming it in the Daeol (now C'thons) manner as Kairosh claiming all of Kyirnheim, now as Yakkairosh, to be a dependency for Daeol (C'thons). To the Soundt, the Principality of Salishum, who enjoyed several treaties with Daeol (C'thons) did nothing.

Most of the more remote villages and towns of Yakkairosh (Kyirnheim) were wholly unaffected by these events. Daeol (C'thons) took minimal efforts to secure Yakkairosh (Kyirnheim). A small keep and siege-gate were built in Kairosh (Korvágr) to house the permanent garrison. Tax was levied on the trade and commerce that took place in Kairosh (Korvágr), but as trade increased, these taxes were offset by the new markets that were available. Other towns and villages were mostly left to their own affairs. Most significant to the people of Kairosh (Korvágr) however, was the sudden decrease in pirate raids.

The occupation of Kairosh (Korvágr) was not completely accepted among the Kyirvani people, however. The initial efforts to secure involved deposing the ruling Rathah. Naturally this was not without conflict, but eventually he was imprisoned in the keep (but he was treated well as a gesture of goodwill). When it became clear that his freedom was never going to be restored, his family attempted a rebellion, but it was unsuccessful. Minor rebellions and uprisings however continued to occur, but with each failure, they became less common. Once the Daeol (C'thons) unshakeable authority was established, more people from Daeol (C'thons) sailed to Yakkairosh (Kyirnheim) to live in the new wild frontier to seek new fortunes.

There were advantages for the Kyirvani people as well. The new empire established a more stable currency which also facilitated easier and more lucrative trade. Goods were now traded among even more distant lands, and new techniques and methods to produce goods were introduced to the Kyirvani people.

There are few other events to speak of until Duke Morchauk Eldred arrived in Kairosh (Korvágr) and established his Duchy, which immediately precipitated another rebellion, but this too was put down without much difficulty. The Rathah of Kairosh (Korvágr) was allowed freedom within the compound of the keep that Duke Morchauk Eldred built, and was appointed as a relations adviser for the Duke to act in the interest of the Kyirvani until his death. The Duke began luring other landless nobles from C'thons with the intention of eliminating threats from uncivilized humanoids and other wretched creatures that menace the people with their aid. Several of these C'thons lords were cruel or brutal, stealing land and displacing the Kyirvani people who lived there. This caused the deposition of many once powerful Kyirvani leaders. Baron K'thosen was one of these, establishing his Barony in Youlgraeve. Occasionally these political changes would incite uprisings, but that grew less common as the Duke began enacting laws to protect the Kyirvani people. The peace that ensued attracted many good and just lords as well; and in this way, Ballinford was also established as an independent kingdom under a similar sponsorship of the C'thons empire.

There were other more direct advantages as well. As the population began to increase in the cities, and began to explore unsettled areas, many of the threats that lurked among the untamed lands were confronted and driven out. This also allowed greater access to farmlands and other resources, and in turn a greater abundance of food. The culture however went mostly unaltered. Though the C'thons introduced new deities, religions, and customs to the Kyirvani, worship of their traditional gods was not forbidden. Old and sometimes violent Rathah rivalries became moot, and living conditions in the less settled lands became safer as the humanoid tribes dwindled. Aside from a few exceptions, these were the general conditions of the lands of Yakkairosh (Kyirnheim) for many years under the rule of Duke Morchauk Eldred.

The Current Land of Yakkairosh (Kyirnheim)
About 25 years ago, Duke Morchauk Eldred was on a hunting expedition with his entourage when there was an accident. The Duke was gravely wounded, and though he survived, he was unable to continue as the Lord of Yakkairosh (Kyirnheim). He passed his authority to his son, Duke Morchar Eldred and this of course, immediately caused another coup attempt. Duke Morchar, however was expecting this, and the coup was unsuccessful. That was the last serious test of the Dukes authority, though there are always some houses that accept his authority only reluctantly.

In the years since his ascension to the throne, the Duke has made many changes to the Duchy. Among these is a written code of law that has become the basis of law in all settled areas and cities of Yakkairosh (Kyirnheim). He has helped to develop infrastructure in many of the towns and villages throughout the land, including helping to establish and construct mills, roads, walls, and other needed works for the security of the people, and to improve their lives. The Duke was able to establish an organized army for both national defense, and local defense for towns and cities. These forces are mixed, treating native born, and C'thons-born forces as equals, though most of the higher ranks are still of C'thons blood simply because of their advantages in training and past experience. This equal treatment has been seen as proof of the Dukes honorable intentions in unifying these two peoples, and has helped to ease racial tensions, though those tensions will likely never be wholly resolved.

That is the current situation in the lands of Yakkairosh (Kyirnheim). This fledgling dominion is becoming a strong Duchy in it's own right, independent of the C'thons empire. The flourishing trade relations and robust military has brought great respect to the land of Yakkairosh (Kyirnheim) from most other kingdoms, and those trade relations continue to grow. There are many still unexplored and unsettles areas in Yakkairosh (Kyirnheim), and the racial tensions that underlie the merging cultures stew and linger, occasionally coming to the surface in some unforeseen, though minor confrontation.
(to be continued)