Known History
Many of the names of the lands conquered by Sargos are Sargosian terms that described the people or the region. The people of southern Mydlothnyr wore green cloaks, and thus the land was called “Viridia,” Sargosian for Green.
These works are the product of Aroditus, a former slave to Sargon Brutos Anagosi. Aroditus is respected for his dry and candid perspectives. Originally from Tullisaba, Aroditus was mistrusted by Anagosi’s court, but the Sargon was rarely without his favorite historian and chronicler. Although he survived two successions, he was executed by Vilneus Carnifex Sero, the last Sargon of the Empire, in 1170 CA.
The Rise of Sargos
Although the Count of Alensary (CA), the official calendar of the western world, was not implemented until hundreds of years later, it considers the first year of its count as the founding of the nation of Sargos. The nation was thus named sometime after the death of Sargon himself, which is estimated to be in the year 22. While exact dates are not pristine, these estimates are considered reasonably sound by most scholars.
What no scholar disputes is the fact that Sargos was the first true nation of the mainland, and its founding launched the Age of Empires.
The Formation of Sargos
A joining of disparate tribes and people under a common cause, a single banner, and a complex system of rulership, were hallmarks of the ascendancy of Sargos. Although many can argue that this had been done in Kalistan, Amon (Tullisaba), and by many accounts even Thendare, few can deny the efficiency, and capacity to execute a vision, as Sargos.
Sargon himself had no heirs. If he had, a traditional monarchy would have developed, and Sargos might never have achieved the greatness in store for it. With his death, the three kings of Estix, Garion, and Sindor briefly ruled as a council. But ambition and infighting almost doomed the young nation as power struggles threatend the tenuous alliance.
In 30 CA, Malaius of Garion, and Hestor of Estix, joined forces against Aurelion of Sindor. Aurelion was the nephew of Sargon, and considered the biggest political rival to the others on the council. Aurelion, old yet seasoned, defeated Malaius and Hestor at the Battle of Arcaenum. Aurelion combined superior infantry maneuvers with specialized mages to divide his enemies. Malaius and Garion surrendered, and instead of having them executed, Aurelion installed them on his first council.
Aurelion gave himself the title of “Sargon,” which went on to become the honorific title of all the kings, and eventually emperors, of Sargos. He instituted a shared powers government, wherein the old chieftains of the lands would serve on a council as Patrons. And the free people of the land could elect a representative democratically in a council of Commons.
Combined, these two groups would form a Senate. The Sargon controlled the armies, and the Senate controlled the coin, and the election of the Sargon, which would be a lifetime appointment.
The Kilomite Wars (45 to 67 CA)
Sargon Marcus Kassitor led the lucrative campaigns to bring the wealthy island people of Kilom as the first Sargosian province. Sargos, while initially overmatched by the Kilomite Navy, once again deployed specialized mages to turn the war in their favor. Their use of Hydromancers to churn the seas, and Aeromancers to propel their sails, revolutionized naval warfare.
Unarna, patron goddess of Ulum, was incorporated into the dominant religion of Sargos, joining Ultor of Sindor, Avenal of Garion, and Elberick of Estix.
Ullum served as a wealthy port, and seat of trade, for the Sargosian Empire, securing rare goods from far eastern lands.
The Almatian and Rivan Campaigns (72 to 85 CA)
Sargon Lasito Orcalum set an ambitious campaign to consolidate control of the Sea of Contest, further hedging out and isolating the Amonites of Tulisaba. Fresh with Kilomite naval innovations and supported by Sargosian magics, Orcalum laid siege to the rich city of Aurumos and the Almation tribes.
Rivas, keenly aware of the growing might of Sargos, agreed to be incorporated into the Empire as a province, rather than prosecute a costly war. In exchange, Rivas would pay annual taxes to Sargos, allow for a provincial governor to serve on council with the Rivan King, and Rivas would occupy a seat in the Sargosian Senate; it’s Senator appointed by the Rivan ruling family. The Rivan religion, Domseras, was unmolested by Sargos.
The March of Lucas and Valia (87 to 109 CA)
Lucas Tyrantor and Valia Desangis were generals of equal repute, and as Sargon Orcalum was nearing his end, both vied for the attention of the Senate. Valia pressed a campaign into the heart of Thendare, seeking to take the Turris Argentis, a tower of gleaming silver that housed, by some accounts, untold fortunes and powerful magic. Lucas kept to the coasts of the Adimar, establishing outposts, and sieging Eigus.
The Thendarens were a collection of autonomous city states, and Lucas had a reasonably easy time taking hold after hold, as the Thendarens let age old animosities keep them from banding together. Valia, however, found that the people of the Athicles region were sworn defenders of the Turris Argentis, and their magics, and favor of their gods proved more than a match for her forces.
While Lucas was successful, and Valia suffered a humiliating defeat, the journey home saw Lucas’ fleets destroyed by storms. Through savvy political maneuvers, Valia’s supporters successfully declared Lucas’ destruction a sign from Unarna, and Valia became the first woman Sargon in 111 CA.
The Campaigns of Edor (130 to 400 CA)
The push to take the lands of Edor stretched almost 300 years, and over 40 Sargons came and went in this time. Sargos was rich in trade, and unanswered militarily in the regions they held. The Amonites of Tulisaba were quiet, and save the occassional rebel uprising, silver, wheat, and exotics flowed to Arcaenum unabated.
The military campaigns in Edor also sent scores of slaves and precious resources into Sargos. Arcaenum, Ulum, and Aurumos became opulent seats of power. The installed Sargosian governors, over decades, each in turn gained a sense of entitlement, and began feeling more and more emboldened. Their support for the military in Edor was fickle, and they began courting the generals afield for their own political purposes.
The seed of the corruption that would eat away at the heart of Sargos had begun to germinate.
136 CA: Battle of Medim’s Pass
Sargosian armies are routed by the mages of Venefica, halting their push into the ancestral lands of Alendra. This defeat would lead to the establishment of the Lictors, an order of Sargosian knights trained to counter powerful sorcerers.
162 CA: Fall of Savis
The mages of Venefica, effectively countered by the Order of Lictors, fell to Sargos, leaving the rich city of Savis in Accipitera open for siege.
203 CA: Battle of the Valgar
Sargosian armies were slaughtered to the man in the dark forests of the Valgar in the rough northlands known for the bear worshipping warriors: the Ursan. The defeat was so clear that stories of it disrupted faith in the Sargosian armies, causing minor revolts to break out. Sargon Akaidus ruthlessly put these down, and began the brutal practice of impaling usurpers along the Sargosian roads. By 209, the revolts had ended entirely.
238 to 400 CA: The Capture of Western Edor
Abandoning the northern lands of Mercedor, Sargos put all its focus on western Edor. But while the tribes and peoples were as divided as old Thendare, their knowledge of the land, and their faith in their gods proved formidable. The people of Culis were skirmishers who refused to engage Sargos in open fields, and would instead lay ambushes, or strike their camps at night with assassins.
The green cloaks of Viridia united their tribes into a large army, and while formidable in numbers, and united in a nascent national identity, proved too inexperienced to be a match for Sargos. While it took over 150 years, Sargos finally brought all of western Edor to heel with the fall of the great walled city of Murus.
The Pax Aeterna (456 to 659 CA)
Sargon Crassix Rito Alensus was a luminary of his age. With a massive and sprawling empire he began instituting a series of reforms to manage the empire into the next age. His programs aimed to root out corruption, increase education of the masses, and authorize provinces to train and form their own armies under Sargosian rules and requirements.
One of the principle causes of unrest were the disparate religions and gods that had filtered in to the Empire.
To manage this, Sargon Alensus instituted a new Calendar for the Empire, and named the months of the year after the prominent gods of the conquered lands. The four main gods of Sargos held the most important months (equinoxes and solstices), and he named the first month of the year after himself.
The “conquered” gods were organized into one religion. At the time they were called the “Parvadei”, or the “small gods.” He installed a head of this church, and it gained political recognition. While this curtailed persecution to a large part, many of the old world purists struggled against this change. In time, the Parvadei became known as “The Nine,” despite their number being far higher in the inception of the Parvadei.
Some two hundred years later, the old gods of Sargos saw their influence waning as the Parvadei grew stronger and more accepted. By 653 CA, following the example set by Sargon Alensus, Sargon Malleus Kell reorganized the Sargosian gods under a new religion: The Keepers of the Gates. As Sargon Kell named himself High Pontiff of the religion, the Empire fell into an existential crisis as riots and revolts brought the Pax Aeterna to an ignoble end.
The Undying War (662 to 694 CA)
At the height of the religious unrest, Sargon Malleus Kell was assassinated. Evidence pointed to Amonite cultists, which in turn inspired both the new formed Keepers of the Gates to declare a Holy Crusade in retribution. Malleus, in death, became an object of worship. His hammer was carried as a banner and holy relic. This would be the moment that Sargos finally brought their age old enemy under their boots.
Although Sargos and Tullsiba had come to blows on the mainland, and at sea, Sargos had never successfully landed on Tullsiba. In fact, Tullsiba did not engage in trade, and was completely isolated from the known world.
In a series of daring naval encounters, the bulk of the Sargosian armies landed ashore along the coast of Abishar in 673 CA, and constructed Fort Malleus. But this tenuous hold would be kept at horrific cost. Once on Tullsiba shores it became clear that the followers of Amon had mastered profane and terrible magics. For twenty years Sargos held Fort Malleus against wave after wave of undead hordes.
The number of undead at the command of the Amonites was unimaginable. The Order of Lictors proved a powerful asset in the war, as did the Sanctus Malleus, a group of religious flagellants from the Keepers of the Gates. By 694 CA it was clear that there would be no hope for victory, and Sargos abandoned their war effort.
The Amonites did not launch any counter invasions, and after Sargos fled, seemed to return back to their age old sleep, isolated from the world.
Historians, after the Day of Rending, have conjectured that the assassination of Malleus was an internal act, and the Amonites likely had nothing to do with it.
The Sack of Aurisinia (723 CA)
Thane Wullf of the Ursans led his warbands across Venefica and along the coast of the Sea of Huzor built a fleet of warships, and rowed into the heart of Aurisinia. His men slaughtered the citizens, and made off with an immeasurable fortune. Sargos had been breached. Aurisinia, one of the five major cities of the Empire, had been laid low.
The High King of Mydlothnyr (852 to 921 CA)
Gareth Rikard of Grynwr led a revolt against the Sargosian hold of Caer Dalvis. He, and his seven men, slew the twenty soldiers in a pitched battle. No one knows what compelled this young man of barely sixteen to raise such a rebellion, but his name, and deeds, spread like wildfire across West Edor.
Sensing weakness with the fall of Aurisinia, the region chieftains began to flock to Gareth Rikard, and within four years, they had routed Sargos off their ancestral lands. The tribes of Myd and of Loth united in one land, and under one king, High King Gareth Rikard.
His rule inspired songs, ballads, poems, and his trusted circle of knights and mages became legends unto themselves. Mydlothnyr had been born a new nation.
High King Rikard had a vision granted him by Annwn, his goddess, and she bade him find the lair of Igwylff the Red, the ancient scourge of Edor, and recover her cauldron so she could heal the world of illness. Rikard never returned from this quest, nor his companions. Civil war soon erupted as his son, Aenaeris Rikard was deemed too young to be King, and his mother, of Accipitera, was untrusted as a foreigner. The line of Rikard fled south past Virdia, awaiting their patriarch’s return.
But in the tumult, Sargon Caius Orcalum arrived with three legions and quickly returned Mydlothnyr to Sargosian rule, ending the age of Rikard by 921 CA.
The King of Shaden Kneels to Sargos (1165 CA)
After centuries holding the line against the goblin hoards of the Uffern, King Gargeros IV of Shaden beseeches Sargos for support, and agrees to abdicate the throne to a Sargosian governor in exchange for military support.
Tomes of theories and speculation surround this pivotal event. They range from King Gargeros being mind addled and tricked into succumbing to Sargos, to plots involving crones of the Vagande seeking to usurp the king with a more ancient line. Most, however, concede that the people of the lands of Shaden were desperate after years of blood and terror, and simply begged for aid.
Sargos inducted the lands of Shaden into the empire, and to their word sent four legions to rebuff the encroaching goblins of the Uffern.
With Shaden joining, the holds of the Sargosian Empire grew larger than they ever had before, now holding the bulk of Adoran. Sargos had achieved an empire that spanned across all oceans, and upon which the sun would forever shine.
The following accounts are collected from the epistles and Ducal reports since the fall of Sargos. Although these events are fairly recent, much of the fall of Sargos is speculation. No one was there on the Day of Rending, at least none that live and can tell the tale.
The Fall of Sargos
The decline of Sargos was slow and by inches, but its fall happened all at once.
The breadth of the empire was such that corruption was both inevitable and assumed. The governors, or Princeps, of the far reaches of the empire, were rarely held to account in Arcaenum. This built up resentment in the subjugated regions, and more and more the Sargosian barracks in these provinces were filled with local conscripts; their loyalty to the fatherland slim at best.
In its last years, this corruption was made manifest and clear by the last Sargon: Vilneus Carnifex Sero. Sargon Sero was cruel beyond compare, and had risen through the ranks of the Lictors as its most keen eyed Inquisitor.
A popular saying goes: Had Sargos not had the Day of Rending, it was bound for a Day of Reckoning.
The Day of Rending
Nearly seventy-five years ago the Empire of Sargos fell. Likely forever. The accounting of this day cannot be truly known, as none live who ere there. But on the morning of Elberikon the 21st, 1172, the people of Arcaenum, jewel of the Empire, awoke and gathered for a day of festival. At some time before noon, the world shook. The land of Kilom was wrecked by massive waves, splintering it asunder, sinking Ulum into the sea. The northern coasts of Tullisaba, and the city of Avaris, were wracked by storms. And the entire peninsula of Venero, along with the capital of Arcaenum, were gone from the world.
Over a million people resided in Arcaenum, some five hundred thousand more along the fertile peninsula, along with the revelers who had come far and wide, all gone, all at once; their very souls unreachable by the most powerful necromancers.
Those near the region were stricken blind and deaf, and all that could be gleaned was that there was a flash of light, and an earth breaking boom, and the world around them shook as if its very foundations had broken free.
What remains of the region is known now as “The Tear.” The waters sheethe and churn. Eldritch storms brew in a tumultous malestrom. All that remains of the peninsula is blackened rocks as they melt into the sea.
The greatest art, writings, and treasures the world over, gone.
As word spread of the mystifying event, priests began calling it a sign from the gods. Sargos incurred the wrath of the immortals. But the wrath would not be limited to Arcaenum, nor Sargos alone.
The Ichor
The Ichor was a disease of horrific calamity. Black liquid would pool in the eyes, and seep from the pores, and be expelled in coughing fits. Victims would drown in it within weeks in a slow and agonizing death.
The Ichor spread faster than word of the Rending, for the two were inflicted on the world hard upon each other. Many believe the two events were related, so profound were their impact on the world.
Anywhere that Sargos had kept grain stores become sites for epidemic, leaving only the most rural, and fringe elements of the empire free of illness at first. But even this proved only a delay as accounts of the Ichor’s touch come from as far away as Caltova, and Anthuwin.
By 1184, whole peoples, tribes, and regions had been annhilated.
On the 27th of Ultorim, 1185, Annwn, Fey Sovereign goddess of the wilds and the harvest, appeared in the Matria region, and healed all who swore to protect the land. There was an eruption of similar miracles of other gods: some true, some invented.
But this return to faith to gods of the Parvadei was inexorable as the Keepers of the Gates began to quickly lose favor in light of the twin catastrophes of the Rending, and the Ichor.
After the Fall
Sargos ruled its provinces in a system of land ownership. Governors could parce out land to reward loyal local chieftains and petty lords, or leave it unmolested in exchange for order and taxation. The Governors controlled the grain, and the Sargosian Legions in the territory. Each Governor also had a cadre of Lictors on hand to regulate magic from the locals. The taxes and grains they levied were sent, largely, to Arcaenum, or to Aurumos.
This system existed in some territories for almost a thousand years. The Governor’s manor, and the estates of their proxies, become centers of authority, food, wealth, and military power. While all were citizens of Sargos, regional identity still existed, and in some regions, encouraged.
With the end of a centralized Sargosian rule, and the terror of the Ichor, the various provinces were forced to navigate treacherous and unfamiliar waters.
Sargosian Legions became warbands led by power hungry, or opportunistic Princeps. Regional Governors held on to power, or brokered support from remaining Legions, or Lictors to keep it. Some regions saw locals overthrow lightly held forts, upending old ways.
An empire, once anchored in a homogenized language, culture, and lordship, had become a fractured patchwork of small regions governed by those with the sharpest steel, or the most dangerous of magics.
What emerged, after years of horror, disease, famine, and chaos, was a fundamental shift in self-governance. Regional identities became important, and intolerance for outsiders and foreigners became a shield to ward away disease and warbands.
Furthermore, the system of labor, where slaves were plentiful, was impacted by the Ichor. Manpower became a scarcity. Which in turn led to famine.
Aurumos and the Valley of Blood
Aurumos, Golden City, the third, and only, remaining jewel of the Sargosian Empire, was saddled between the mouth of the Meredesang, between the regions of Culis and Almatia. All trade from the Sea of Contest moved north through the city, and all trade from the mainlands moved south through the city. It stood at the confluence of the world. It was in the vicinity of Aurumos, on the Isle of Bardsey, that the last untouched vestige of Sargos resided: The Colleges of Magic. This left Aurumos, and its region, as the last bastion of Sargos.
The governor of the province sought to establish authority in the ensuing chaos, and sent word to the provincial governors that their taxes would produce the regions and mages needed to restor order and combat the Ichor. Some complied. But while the coffers of Aurumos remained flush with silver, they had not the resources to fulfill their promises.
The land owners of the valley were comprised of Viridian and Cullis natives, old Almatian lines, Sargosian governors and nobles, and even some tribes from Accipitera. They rose against the provincial governor in a political coup and dispatched him without incident.
But the governor’s action had provoked the various warlords from across the empire. Not only had Aurumos failed its promises, it was known to be teeming with wealth, resources from across the world, and perhaps more importantly, the symbolic inheritor of Sargossian rule.
Bands of free companies, reformed former legions, influential Princeps, and petty lords, all formed coalitions to sack the golden city.
From 1181 until 1211, the lands of Culis and Almatia were besieged by land and by sea. Even fleets from Rivas, largely intact after the fall of Sargos, made a play to take the seat for themselves. But the regional land owners, combined with the formidable might of the Colleges of Magic, kept the city from falling. It was two decades of unheard of bloodshed, with the blood of dozens of armies, tribes, and free companies from all over Edor and Adoran. This earned it the name “The Blood Vale,” which has been embraced by the regional lords.
The victors decided to make a symbolic break from Sargos, renaming the city Portasang (The Port of Blood in old Accipitera). Each lord of the Blood Vale, or Duke, would serve on a council akin to the old Sargosian Senate of lords. They in turn would elect a Grand Duke to preside over the vale, but reserved the right to remove them from power through the same electoral process.
Aurisus and The Dominion
The events of the Day of Rending are woven into the tenants of a new, and powerful movement in the world: the Aurisians. They hold that Aurisus was a god made flesh, who came to the world to usher in an age of peace, spiritual awakening, and to end the old order. Aurisus taught that all the gods were nothing more than powerful demons, orchestrating the collection of mortal souls.
He had amassed a small but loyal following, and he had begun to be noticed by the Keepers of the Gates, as well as the Parvadei. Even inquistors of the Domseras thought his sermons blasphemous and dangerous.
He was captured, and persecuted by the Keepers of the Gates. Accounts of merchants who left Arcaenum just before the festival claim that Aurisus was to be sacrificed that morning in the Temple of Mons Ardis, in the heart of the city.
His followers claim that his sacrifice restored him to his divinity, and the destruction of Sargos was the punishment for their lack of faith. This claim, in the tumult that ensued immediately after the Day of Rending, carried weight with the common folk.
The Aurisians, flush with massive troves of converts, immediately began taking control of what remained of Estix, and Garion. A new government was formed, one devoted to Aurisus, one that outlawed slavery. The former governors and land owners were stripped of their wealth and holdings. The freed slaves were ushered into the Aurisians, given purpose, and fueled with vision.
They carved out a brutal society; one where the church is the highest authority, and one without wealth or nobles. All would be provided. All would have sustenance. All would have a purpose.
All mages were sequestered and re-educated to serve Aurisus and Aurisus alone. Those who could not come to serve him in life would be sent to serve him in the afterlife.
The rise of the Aurisians, and the formation of what would become the Dominion, was fast, bloody, and cruel. The Dominion is an inhospitable place. Outsiders are not welcome unless they are loyal converts. And rumors persist of a gathering army to carry the word and wisdom of Aurisus across the world.
Regional Identities
After the tribulations of the Rending, the Ichor, and widespread famine; the former provinces began to coalesce around regional identities. From 1180 until the modern day (1374), kingdoms, principalities, and fiefdoms began to rapidly develop. In most cases this manifested into a feudal society, one based on military strength, not unlike old Sargos.
While many lands still practice the concept of people being bound to the land as serfs, the Ichor made these serfs valuable. Labor was not easy to come by. And the devastation of the Ichor saw whole regions and cities laid low.
Mydlothnyr
The lands of the two great tribes of Myd and Loth became known as Mydlothnyr, or “Lands of Myd and Loth.” While the region is developing an identity predicated on the old stories of the High King Rikard, it is still largely a region of small feudal holds. Many of these holds band together just as easily as they feud against each other, and no central leadership has materialized.
Alendor
Accipitera and Venefica are undergoing a unification into their own kingdom: Alendor. Alendra’s tomb is still prominent in the city of Savis, and her name and legends united the region during the dark times of the Ichor and the Rending. The region had produced some of the most talented wizards ever known, and it is the birth place of the Inner Pillar magic; largely considered the most dominant practice of magic. Of all the reborn regions, Alendor is best situated to become a dominant force in the restoration of the world.
Rivas
Of all the former provinces, Rivas was the least disrupted by the Rending, at least politically. The royal families of Rivas have maintained their stewardship since they agreed to enter Sargos as a province in 85 CA.
Shaden
Shaden teeters on the brink of annhilation. With support from Sargos gone, and ravaged by the Ichor, it is doubtful they will survive the next rising of the Uffern. It is rife with political unrest as the Gargeros line abdicated their crown, and the power vacuum has created chaos with disputed claims.
Ulnastyr
The Thanes of the Ursan people have become enboldened by the fall of Sargos. They had begun to actively raid the coasts of Alendor, and the mainland of Mydlothnyr, but withdrew once their marauders had brought the Ichor back home. The pestilence struck them hard in their homeland and their warbands have only recently begun to venture back out.
Thendare
The city states of Donaius were quick to establish themselves as a cohesive remnant of Sargos after the fall, even so far as to name Eigus as the new seat of the empire. Flush with purpose they set upon Rivas, demanding continued fealty. Prince Xander Tsokalius launched a fleet of five ships, but the three year war ended in decisive defeat at the hands of Rivas. But Atalya, daughter of Xander, has maintained a loose kingdom and continues to keep a tenuous hegemony over the region.
Athicles
Athicles has thrived since the fall as an exporter of trained mercenaries. Their free companies have been employed across the old world, even as far off as the Hyrhonn. An autocracy of military control, Athicles is a rugged land, but is still teeming with silver. They remain the guardians of the mysterious Turris Argentis. Though not a conquering people, their prowess and constant wartime footing has kept other kingdoms in check in the region.
Anthuwin
A wildland, never under the thumb of Sargos, Anthuwin is a sprawling savanna. Beastmen rule over these lands, predominantly Centaurs, although the Mngwa people are prevalent in the eastern reach. While the Centaurs are nomadic huntsmen, they have a few permanent settlements. The Mngwa make their home in Sadid, the City of Wonders.
Vistalvin
In the heart of Vistalvin rises the Whispering Spire, the mountain that sings. It is a lush and fertile land, and home to the Eldan folk. Initially, Sargosian incursions into Vistalvin were frequent, and their take of slaves profound, but it never became a province of Sargos proper. When the Whispering Spire was declared a holy site to Avenal, the Eldan became associated with her, and from that gained some level of reverence from the Keepers of the Gates.
The Scar Lands
After the Day of Rending, the lands of Sindor and Estix became known as the Scar Lands. Earthquakes, volcanic eruptions, and tidal waves wreaked havoc. This devastation reached as far inland as the remnants of old Almatia. Today, these are hinterlands that stretch between the newly formed Dominion and the Blood Vale. Ruins of cities, temples, and the souls of an entirely annhilated peoples litter these dark and foreboding reaches.
Venenium
Venenium was to be the new seat for a push into Caltova and Kalistan by Sargos. It took decades to carve out the region and push back Caltovan Minotaur Beastmen. But when Shaden joined Sargos, the Princeps of the field Legions deemed it a better home for their Eastward Campaigns. Venenium is now a small remnant of old Sargos, long detached from the mainland, and long unsupported.
Caltova
Lush with verdant jungles, Caltova is a mysterious land ruled over with alien lizardlike beastmen, Minotaurs, and secretive mystery cults in service to dark gods. It is home to all manner of exotics and riches, unspoiled by Sargos. The rarest poisons and venoms come from Caltova, and has survived for centuries against the never ending hoards of the Uffern.
The Uffern
Uffern means “Dark Seed” in Shadek, and this place has been the source of goblin and troll armies that every few generations come pouring into Tarkanis, Mystabor, and Caltova. Their numbers uncounted. Their organization unknown. The dark armies of the Uffern know only hunger and conquest, and the time for their rampage is nigh.
Bodas
Home of the Beastmen known as the Nemedians, Bodas is a bleak and beautiful reach of rolling tundras, impressive crags, glacier fed lakes and alpines. Their raids into Materis and Grynwyr are common, and Ulnastyran Thanes adorn their helms with Nemedian horns gained through great hunts. Should Bodak ever unify in war, the whole of Edor would tremble.
Lewria
Secluded and well guarded, Lewria is known as the Emerald Shore of Edor, and home to the Everking, Valenthar Eluminor, High Kind of the Sidhe people. Sidhe craftsmanship is without equal, and their navy, while small, is fast, and a terror on the seas. Even Sargos at its height would not dare invade the shores of Lewria, and the few warbands that have dared to do so have only a lifetime of eslavement for their efforts, or a swift death at best.
Mystabor
A massive black forest, Mystabor’s ancient and deep woodlands are home to a reclusive kingdom of Sidhe. The Sargosians named these people the Curva, an homage to their long curved blades. Mystabor has long warred with The Uffern, fended off Sargos, and even skirmished with the Obsilvans of Shaden throughout its existence. It has never been conquered, and stands alone in Adoran; unallied. Prior to the Day of Rending, they had made trade alliances with Kilom, and even had emissaries in residence in Ulum.
Principalities of Hyrhonn
Molendi and Avaria straddle the West and East of the Hyrhonn Valley, and at its center is the towering Eisenberg, the entrance to the ancient underworld citadels of the Thorfor Dwarves. The Principalities of Hyrhonn are a loose confederacy of minor kingdoms, and is known for its invention and innovation. Arthgen, Faelord of Science, has long called the valley is home, and his influence is indelible. Spyglasses, Windlass Crossbows, and Blackpowder are some of the most recent scientific contributions from the region.
Amon
The Land of Tullisaba is known as Amon in the lands once ruled over by Sargos. Until recently, no one from Amon had set foot on the mainlands. But in 1228, the united forces of Rivas and the Blood Vale managed to conquer the Amonite city of Avaris, and slay one of the immortal Adonai. The locals of Avaris considered the invaders as liberators, and many Amonites have fled their ancestral home to come to the Blood Vale and beyond. They tell of monstrous Adonai Immortals that have the power to turn the living into vessels for the long dead, and rule with unspeakable terror and cruelty.
Kalistan
The dominion of the immortal Jade Queen, Kalistan is a land that resides on the border of the Fae Realm. It is a land of mystery, and rarely allows visitors. Exotic and beautiful, Kalistan boasts a deep command of elemental magics, and an equally innovative scientific culture. Some say they rival the scholars of Hyrhonn.
The Horn
The Horn is the home to the Knights of the Horn, a monastic order of Knights devoted to the god Ioris. Petitioners come from the world over to join their honored and celebrated ranks, but few have the temerity of soul, not the humility of spirit, to earn entry. As rumors have spread of new lands found across the Widow’s Sea, The Horn has become the last port of supply for wayward explorers and daring navigators.
