Official Lore

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The Sundering
In the year 1032, the Dark Elven Prince Mordaine, unleashed a horrific spell upon the face of Etheria.

Attempting to summon a powerful Daemon Lord, Mordaine actually weakened the fabric between Etheria and the Realm of Daemons.

The spell backfired and the world was wracked by earthquakes, tidal waves and monstrous storms.

Worst of all... the Four Horsemen entered Etheria.

Recorded History
The first recorded history of Etheria was written by the Elves of the Northern Tundra.

In later years they came to be known as the High Elves.

The founding of the Citadel of Ehlariel by the Ice Queen Ehlanna marked the beginning of these records and is referred to as the Year 1.

Prehistory
Little is known of Etheria before the Elves began keeping historical records.

It is certain that an Empire, known as the Dragonlords existed in the west, but having no form of writing, their history was passed down orally and has been lost.

Many scholars believe that during this period Etheria was in fact ruled by Dragons.

Lord Bane
Lord Bane was one of the Four Horsemen who entered Etheria during the Sundering. He is known as the Dark Horseman of Death.

Bane fled to the north, beyond the Northern Tundra, almost to the Sea of Ice. These lands became known as the Realms of Death.

Every few centuries, Lord Bane will raise an army and march south. Usually it is left to the High Elves and the Sirian Knights to turn him back.

Lord Sartek
Lord Sartek was one of the Four Horsemen who entered Etheria during the Sundering. He is known as the Dark Horseman of War.

Sartek travelled north, corrupting creatures as he travelled, creating Griffons, Gnolls and Harpies to name but a few.

Finally Sartek settled in the far northeast - in a land that came to be known as the Realms of War.

Minotaurs
When Sartek, the Lord of War, settled in the northeast he corrupted the local human tribes, turning them into Minotaurs.

The Minotaurs became the servants of Sartek - creatures made in his own image. They were brutal and violent, which pleased Sartek to no end.

Regular tournaments were held to please Sartek, and the victors became his personal servants, known as the K'Varr.

Lord Antharg
Lord Antharg was one of the Four Horsemen who entered Etheria during the Sundering. He is known as the Dark Horseman of Plague.

Antharg travelled to the pestilent jungles and swamps of the southeast - they became known as the Realms of Plague.

Lord Antharg unleashed terrible diseases upon the creatures of these lands, creating all sorts of warped and twisted monstrosities.

Lord Melkor
Lord Melkor was one of the Four Horsemen who entered Etheria during the Sundering. He is known as the Dark Horseman of Famine.

Melkor, the most patient of the four, retired to the western desert - it became known as the Realm of Famine.

Attended by his insect-like servants, Melkor has been content to bide his time and watch his domain expand by a few inches every year.

Ancient Agaria
In ancient times Agaria, the land of the Knights, was settled by five tribes of Humans migrating north.

There were the K'Irin (the Tribe of the Unicorn), the K'Elenak (the Tribe of the Oak), the K'Ildan (the Tribe of the Weasel), the K'Bar (the Tribe of the Golden Crown) and the K'Eira (the Tribe of the Axe).

Eventually, as their civilization grew, they became the Agarian Knights.

The Sirians
The Sirians are the least numerous but also the most famous of the Agarian Knights.

They settled the east of Agaria in an area rumored to be inhabited by Unicorns.

They traded extensively with the Dwarves of Khaz Agar - their capital of Marthos was even constructed by the Dwarves.

Most of the great Agarian heroes have been Sirians.

Elenian Knights
The Elenians live in the dense forests on the western edge of Agaria.

Elenian Knights are masters of the Bow.

Time and again the Selentine Empire has attempted to invade Agaria, but every single time they have been stopped by the Elenian bowmen.

Theiran Knights
The Theirans settled the rugged northern lands of Agaria. They are a tough people who hunt Trolls for sport.

Theiran Knights favor the Axe - a Theiran Axe is a huge weapon that few warriors can even lift.

They are a gruff people and many say that Dwarven blood flows in their veins.

Bartonian Knights
The Bartonian Knights are the most numerous of the Agarian Knights.

Being in the center of Agaria, the Bartonians fight few wars except against the other knightly orders.

For this reason, they stand on ceremony and chivalry above all else.

Most people who are not Bartonian are often exhausted by the pageantry of this land.

Gildine Knights
The treacherous Gildine Knights inhabit southern Agaria.

The Sundering caused a great upheaval in these lands and great rifts were formed revealing veins of gold.

This has made the Gildines very wealthy - they may not be the greatest warriors in Agaria, but they certainly control its purse-strings.

Code of War
The various knightly orders of Agaria have spent so long fighting amongst themselves that they have developed a Code of War.

This code is highly structured and formalized. It details the exact ways in which the Knightly Orders must do battle.

All of the orders (except the treacherous Gildines) stick to this code rigidly.

Marthos
In the year 1450, Marthos the Explorer travelled from Agaria into the Lysean Empire.

When he returned home 20 years later, he brought with him much knowledge of civilization, government and trade.

He founded the capital city of the Sirians (later named Marthos after him) and he began serious trade with the Dwarves.

Queen Ehlanna
Queen Ehlanna was the first regent of the High Elves.

She founded the Citadel of Ice, Ehlariel and began the recording of history.

Ehlanna's son, Lunarion, became the first Moon King.

In the year 383, both Ehlanna and her son were killed at sea in a terrible storm.

King Lunarion
Lunarion was the eldest son of Ehlanna, the Ice Queen.

In the year 321, Lunarion founded a new city upon an island he named after himself. He also proclaimed himself the first Moon King.

In the year 383, both Lunarion and his mother were killed at sea in a terrible storm.

Mourning
Following the death of Queen Ehlanna and King Lunarion, the Elves entered a period known as the Years of Mourning.

Because the Elves live such long lives, this lasted 500 years, and during that time the Elven people became introspective, ignoring the rest of the world.

They were woken from this terrible reverie in the year 914 when the Orkish Chieftain, Gornak Elfeater, attacked and overran Ylarie.

King Keldurin
After his death at sea in 383, the Moon King Lunarion was succeeded by his grandson, King Keldurin the Scholar.

Keldurin proclaimed a period of mourning which lasted 500 years.

Keldurin was finally slain by his sister's grandson, Prince Mordaine, in an event that heralded the Elven Civil War.

Queen Ehlanna II
After her death at sea in 383, the Ice Queen Ehlanna was succeeded by her great grandaughter, also called Ehlanna.

Queen Ehlanna II was the grandmother of Prince Mordaine, the first Dark Elf, and the one who caused the Sundering.

Ehlanna II, and her brother the Moon King Keldurin, ruled the Elven lands for 500 years during the Years of Mourning.

Gornak
Gornak Elfeater, half Orc and half Troll, led the Orc tribes to pillage the Elven lands in the year 914.

Gornak razed the citadels of Ylarie, Obarin and Sylvallyn before his progress was halted by a group of mages led by Prince Mordaine.

Gornak's entire force was buried under snow and ice from a spell that took all the might of the Elven mages to cast.

The Moonguard
After Gornak Elfeater's attack in 914, and King Keldurin's mysterious death in 922, the new Moonking Inarion formed a group of warriors called the Moonguard.

It was the task of these elite warriors to protect the Elven lands from invaders.

The Moonguard were all masters of the bow, able to fire multiple arrows with a single shot.

The Iceguard
After creating the Moonguard in 923, King Inarion travelled to the mainland where he helped Queen Ehlanna II found the Iceguard.

The Iceguard were tasked with protecting the royal families of the Elves.

The Iceguard are all masters of the spear. They wear special cloaks to protect themselves against the cold.

Summoning
Prince Mordaine was the first Summoner. He discovered how to call forth creatures from another plane of existence.

When he approached the White Council with his knowledge and offered to help protect the Elven homelands, they turned him away.

Mordaine was bitter of this rejection, and he vowed to rule the council.

Thus began the Elven Civil War, where Mordaine and his followers attempted to seize the Elven thrones.

The Dark Path
In the lands of the Selentine Empire, there is a strange cult known as the Dark Path.

The members of this cult worship Daemons - many of them are Summoners or professional Assassins.

It is widely rumored that the Dark Elves are involved with this cult. Few members ever leave the Dark Path and live to tell about it though.

Civil War
The Elven Civil War lasted from 930 to 942, and many Elves were slain.

Prince Mordaine led the rebellion. His intentions were good - he really only wished to defend his homeland and he was frustrated by the pacifistic White Council of Elves.

In the end Prince Mordaine was captured and both he and his followers were sent into exile by Mordaine's cousin King Inarion.

Exile
The year 943 marked the beginning of the Years of the Seven Fleets.

Firstly Mordaine and his followers were put onto ships and sent into exile. They became known as the Dark Elves.

Secondly, tired of war, many Elves left their homelands looking for peace. They became known as the Wood Elves.

Inarion's Death
Seeing his nations torn apart during the Years of the Seven Fleets was too much for King Inarion. He grew ill and passed away.

His son Ghalad succeeded him as Moon King in 956.

King Ghalad ruled for many hundreds of years. He was a wise and just ruler and guided his people well.

Seven Nations
By the year 960, after the Civil War, the Elves were split into 7 nations. A period followed called the Years of Rebuilding.

There were 2 nations of High Elves in the north.

There were 2 nations of Wood Elves in Solhaven and Silvermyr.

There were 3 small nations of Dark Elves in Yrm, Duimenwood and Mordanion.

Dark Elven Raids
After the Dark Elves were exiled and had built their new kingdoms, they began to raid the lands of the High Elves once more.

The Moonguard beat them back each time, but the raids never stopped.

Eventually they began to use Daemons in their attacks - creatures summoned by their leader, Prince Mordaine.

Mordanion
Just as the Moonking Lunarion had named an island after himself many years ago, the Dark Elven Prince Mordaine also named an island after himself.

He named his home Mordanion. After his exile, he spent many years there studying the arts of Summoning.

The Sundering took place on Mordanion, and today it is known as the Sundered Isle.

Sorrow
After almost destroying the world in 1032 with The Sundering, the Elves enter a period known as the Years of Sorrow.

Ever so slowly their mighty citadels were rebuilt.

Some were left forever in ruin though, for the Elves were fewer now and would never again know the glory they once brought to the world.

Elves and Dwarves
The Elves and Dwarves first met in 1321 under friendly circumstances as Dwarves were migrating across the Northern Tundra.

However, due to a foul Dark Elven plot this soon turned to war.

The resulting wars were not costly to either side, but began a long feud between Elves and Dwarves.

Years of Death
After a long period of peace in the northern lands, Lord Bane approached the Citadel of Ice in 1913 and called for the Elves to surrender.

When they refused, Bane went away and raised up the long-dead army of Gornak Elfeater.

In 1914, this foul force of creatures began assaulting the High Elves, exactly 1000 years after Gornak's original attack.

Thyatis
Thyatis was the first High Mage of the Elves.

He gathered the mages together in 1918 to put an end to the assaults of Lord Bane upon the citadel of Ice.

In 2016, one century later, Thyatis was killed while single-handedly turning back another attack by Bane.

The Oath
Having been saved at sea by the Elves, the Dwarven King Korin VI swore an oath of friendship with the Elves.

Not all of Korin's advisors agreed with this however, and Korin was murdered while, taking a bath, by his nephew Menios.

Jealous of the wealth of the Elves, King Menios, launched a surprise attack against Lunarion. It failed, and the retribution of the Elves was brutal - the Dwarves were decimated.

Drak-Dum
Drak-Dum has been the ancestral home of the Dwarves since time immemorial.

In 1850 however, the Dwarves were chased from their home by Sartek's minions, the Gnolls.

It took almost 2000 years for them to reclaim it, but the Dwarves are a persistent folk!

13 Citadels
After the Sundering, many new caverns opened up beneath Etheria.

Some of these caverns led out from the Dwarves' home of Drak-Dum, and so they set out to explore this vast underworld.

Eventually the Dwarves founded 13 magnificent underground citadels before their civilization went into decline.

Khaz Elenak
In 1126 the Dwarves founded the citadel of Khaz Elenak in the mountains near a tribe of humans called the K'Elenak.

The throne room was built behind a waterfall, and legend states that it was the most amazing piece of architecture ever built by the Dwarves.

Khaz Elenak is one of the few surviving Dwarven citadels today.

Khaz-Tarn
The Citadel of Khaz-Tarn was founded in the Giantridge Mountains by the Dwarves in 1034. It was the second citadel founded after the Sundering.

Around Khaz-Tarn the Dwarves found a creature known as the Griffin.

In later years, Khaz Tarn became famous for the handlers who would capture Griffin eggs and train the young as mounts.

Zhur
Having found tunnels leading under Ilean Bay, Dwarven explorers eventually made their way to the Isle of Zhur.

Here they founded the Citadel of Zhur in 1101, deep within a volcano.

In 2850, Zhur was sacked by the High Elves and left deserted.

Great Plague
In 1290, nervous at the proximity of the Dwarves in their new citadel, Khaz-Barak, Lord Antharg sent disease ridden creatures into the citadel.

The Lord of Plague was cruel indeed - the disease spread quickly and decimated the Dwarven population.

Even to this day 2 in every 3 Dwarven children are born with the disease and die.

Dark Dwarves
The Dark Dwarves can trace their ancestry back to groups of Dwarves migrating away from the Great Plague in 1321.

To avoid skirmishes with the High Elves, these Dwarves travelled north through the Realms of Death.

While passing through, they were corrupted by Lord Bane himself.

Malbec
The land of Malbec was originally settled by a tribe of humans in 810. The tribe was the K'Malbec, or Tribe of the Whale.

After the Sundering in 1032, the lands of Malbec were swamped with water and uninhabitable.

The K'Malbec moved inland and founded a new society that would one day grow into the Lysean Empire.

Lyseas
Lyseas was the Chief of the K'Malbec tribe who led his people inland after the Sundering.

Lyseas opened up trade with the Dark Elves of the Doomwood and founded a city that he named Lysea, after himself.

Eventually Lyseas' grandson went on to begin building an Empire from this city.

Lysean Empire
At its height, the Lysean Empire stretched from the Lysean peninsula, right up to the Agarian lands in the north.

After the Orkish Jihad however, the Lysean Empire crumbled. Even its capital was left in ruins.

Many smaller kingdoms such as Colis Tarn and the Borderlands sprang up in its wake, but none ever rivalled Lysea.

Orkish Jihad
When he could not produce an heir, Lyseas XVI ordered an Orkish fertility symbol, the Horn of Kor, stolen.

Unfortunately the Orcs mobilized to take it back. Never before and never again have the Orcs attacked in such numbers.

The resulting war, known as the Orkish Jihad, tore apart the Lysean Empire and left it in ruins.

House Lysene
House Lysene was a political house in the Lysean Empire. They claimed descent from the original Emperor Lyseas I.

The Lysenes were very powerful when the Empire was young, but they became corrupt and weak in later years.

The final Emperor, Lyseas XVI was a weak impotent fool who could not produce an heir.

House Cerberine
House Cerberine was a political house in the Lysean Empire.

They arguably made the best Emperors. Although expansion was always slow under the Cerberines, they improved the quality of life.

It is often said that the Lysenes started a Kingdom, the Quintines started an Empire, but the Cerberines started a Civilzation.

House Quintine
House Quintine was a political house in the Lysean Empire.

The Quintine were closely allied with the Dark Elves of the Doomwood, and many felt that they were often little more than puppets.

Quintine Emperors often seized the throne after mysterious assassinations!

The K'Irin
The K'Irin, the Tribe of the Unicorn, were a nomadic group who settled in the east of Agaria and later came to be known known as the Sirians.

They were a wise folk, and traded extensively with the Dwarves of Khaz Agar.

Marthos the explorer was from the K'Irin and is widely thoght to have brought civilization to Agaria.

The K'Elenak
The K'Elenak, the Tribe of the Oak, were a nomadic group who settled in the west of Agaria and later came to be known known as the Elenians.

The K'Elenak fashioned their might bows from Oak trees, and it is still a custom today for all Elenians to be able to use a bow.

The K'Ildan
The K'Ildan, the Tribe of the Weasel, were a nomadic group who settled in the southern lands of Agaria and later came to be known known as the Gildines.

Just like the K'Ildan before them, Gildine Knights are widely rumored to be treacherous..

The K'Bar
The K'Bar, the Tribe of the Golden Crown, were a nomadic group who settled in central Agaria and later came to be known known as the Bartonians.

The Bartonians are the most numerous of the Agarian Knights, possibly because they do not share any borders with the Orcs..

The K'Eira
The K'Eira, the Tribe of the Axe, were a nomadic group who settled in the north of Agaria and later came to be known known as the Theirans.

The K'Eira, like their descendants the Theirans, were very fierce warriors, often wielding an axe in both hands.

Daros
Located in the very center of the Plains of Blood, Daros is a center of trade for all the various barbaric tribes of the area.

Daros is protected by the Bloodpact - an agreement by all the tribes that no blood shall be spilled within the city walls. Offenders are taken out and stoned.

Daros is ruled by King Arokk - a huge monstrosity from the beast tribe, half-man and half-bull.

Plains of Blood
The dry and dusty Plains of Blood are home to many barbaric tribes.

These tribes are constantly at war with one another - territorial disputes abound - but sometimes they fight just for the sheer love of combat.

The K'Ogari, the beast tribe, are the most violent of all.

Al-Diraq
The Diraqine Empire has ruled most of the western lands of Etheria for over 1000 years.

Originally founded by groups of barbarians moving north, the Empire has grown into a center of culture and learning that has far surpassed its eastern neighbors.

The Emperor himself is regarded with almost godlike adoration.

Piracy
The Dragons' maze has been a haven to pirates for many years.

When the Diraqine Empire legitimized and imperially sanctioned piracy, the number of pirates grew enormously.

This hurt relations with eastern merchants, but due to the rare and exotic items available in Al-Diraq, many still make the journey.

Dismemberment
After his defeat at the hand of the Sirians in the Banewars, Lord Bane eventually returned to Etheria.

His first action was to launch an attack on Sartek, who had betrayed him during the Banewars.

Like Bane, Sartek could not be killed, so Bane cut him into 99 pieces and distributed him throughout Etheria.

Banewars
In the year 3459, Lord Bane began marching south from the Realms of Death.

He completely overran the High Elves and Wood Elves in the north until the Sirian Knights rallied the other Agarians, Selentines and Arioc Barbarians to drive Bane back.

Bane was cut down and his physical form was banished from Etheria for 99 years.