Etrallian History

See also: Folk Tales

Etrallian history is commonly divided into four periods or eras. Etrallian history is rich and is diverse as each culture contained within it, but the only history with significant record is that of Etrallian humanoids. As such, human history largely dominates history books and the stories of the continent's history.

While Etrallian history has been recorded as long as real human history, it has diverged significantly. The appearance of magic has greatly hindered the development of technology, and humans have long been close to the bottom of the food chain, leading to fewer significant developments.

The First Era (The First Creation)
History is measured from the first recorded instance of humanoids on Etrallia. Elves, gnomes, dwarves, and orcs claim to have been created some ten thousand years ago by Sylvia. After becoming aware of their own strength, the Orcs rebelled and introduced evil into the world. Many dwarves sided with the orcs, and together they created monstrosities like trolls, ogres, goblins, and werewolves. An Elven hero arose from Sylvia's creation, said to be the manifestation of her wrath against those who rebelled against her. Calling himself Vankor, the hero ascended into godhood and alongside his Vanklings is said to be dealing justice to those who do evil. Worship of Vankor began in this first era along with worship of Sylvia, and they continue to the present day.

The first era is all very distant history, with fact and fiction almost indiscernible from one another. Very little literature survives from the time, and that which does is primitive and primarily religious. Though it is hard to tell, it is not believed that Vankling and Sylvia's early worshipers held any animosity toward one another in this time.

The first era ended at the beginning of human history.

The Second Era (The second Creation)
Upon realizing that creation would inevitably split itself into good and evil (The elves and the Orcs of the first era), Sylvia and Vankor banded together to try again. According to legend the two gods made love and gave birth to man, a creature who toed the line between good and evil, possessing both the capacity to wrong and right. The first men are believed to have come from northern Midland and migrated across all of Etrallia. It is believed that the snowy wastelands to the north were settled in the second era, and that the area was more hospitable. This area is where most humans lived at the time, with Elves occupying modern day Yothesh and the dwarves and orcs settled in modern Whent. Midland was a melting pot of various races and cultures.

The second era was marked by violence and hatred. The many races of Etrallia did not get along well, and were banded together in small clans, each worshiping their own god in their own way. It would be incredibly common to suffer a violent death at the hands of another humanoid in the second era.

Across thousands of years, people slowly began to live and work together. In the late second era, the first towns and cities were established. The city of Elry was established and became the first large-scale settlement to incorporate humanoids of any race. This mingling angered Vankor, who punished humans in an event called The Desecration, wherein large tracts of human settlements were destroyed and the land where they stood was made uninhabitable.This land became the northern wastelands, which are now snow-covered, impassable, and unlivable. To stop Vankor from destroying the continent, Sylvia merged herself with the planet. In the process, she lost her individuality and in large part her power. Because she had become one with the earth, Vankor would no longer harm the planet as he would be hurting his lover. As a result of this merging, called the Grand Consolidation, magic was introduced to the world.

The Third Era (The birth of magic)
The different aspects of Sylvia's personality manifested themselves as magic after the Grand Consolidation. Sylvia, being a flawed and finite being (though still a deity), had negative and positive aspects to her personality. Her compassion and love became the magic that clerics draw from, while her hate and greed became dark magic. Powerful and magical pseudo-deities were born out of these pockets of Sylvia's personality and ebgan to teach magic to the people of Etrallia. Elves were immediately perceptive as they were the closest creation to their mother, Sylvia, while dwarves and orcs, who shunned her, were less perceptive. At this time the Disciples of Sylvia formed, a religion that swore to remember Sylvia's sacrifice and to care for the planet that their mother had merged herself with.

The thousands of years that the third era lasted were characterized by the growing power of magic. Mages, sorceres, clerics, and wizards became increasingly common throughout the land. Organized human violence came to an all time high in this ear. New wars were fought every few years over magical hotspots, powerful mages, or caches of magical treasure. In the latter half of the third era, modern geography began to take shape. The cities in modern Yothesh banded together in an alliance, called the Free States, united under one ruler at the Greatspire. Humans formed a small kingdom called Midland that encompassed Elry and the Oaken field Citadel. Dozens of free states and cities gained autonomy across Etrallia, most notably Midland, The Free States, the Tribedom of Whent, the Actons, and the Fords. The Actons held out on their own for a few hundred years, but eventually merged with the free cities, leading to the creation of the Free States of Yothesh, or simply Yothesh. Midland took many surrounding cities and areas with and without violence, eventually amassing a large tract of land for itself. The Tribedom of Whent took the Fords by force, enslaving their people and forcing them to carve a grandiose city into the bones of a dragon in central modern day Whent. The Tribedom was then united under a Chieftain and became the Chiefdom of Whent.

With magic firmly established on the continent and borders being drawn in earnest for the first time, the stage for the fourth era was set.

The Fourth Era (Politics, War, and the Modern Age)
Scholars generally agree that the Fourth Era began with the breaking of the free states of Yothesh. Each of the five states (Acton, Sep, The Mountains, The Greenlands, and the Rolling Hills) abandoned the centralized government of the Greatspire and became autonomous political entities. The role of politics began to play a greater role in the world beginning at this time. Cities began to have elected officials, and the power of kings began to diminish.

Politics became increasingly powerful and popular in Midland and Yothesh, while the western lands, Whent, and Oclus used war as their primary negotiation tactic. Oclus began its centuries long battle for independence from Midland in the early stages of the fourth era, and the Whesh tribes began to conquer any territory they could in the western lands.

While Whent's hold on the western half of Etrallia was tenuous at first, its grasp tightened quickly. It was not long before the Chiefseat presided over the Whesh tribes, and many surrounding cities. The western half of Etrallia at this point consisted of the countries of Whent, The Fords, and Runswick, which had declared Independence from Midland without a fight.

The first Mariatic War
In the 4e.97, General Marias Tyr of the Whesh army imposed martial law and killed the presiding Chieftain. This began a long chain of Whesh aggression that would become a defining characteristic of the Chiefdom. With this death came the tradition of Hericide, the tradition stating that the murderer of the Chieftain becomes the new Chieftain of Whent. After assuming Chiefhood, Marias began attempting to conquer Runswick and The Fords. He was wildly successful in his campaign, marching as far north as Hadric's Crater and as far southeast as the Bay of Bards (now the Bay of Whent). Whesh control of these territories was, however, shortlived. After Marias' death from an intense fever, his underlings split up the kingdom and failed to control it, leading to Runsman and Fordian independence once again.

The War of the Forest

In 4e.152, Haley of the Fords, an unnaturally beautiful concubine to the Chieftain of Whent, was taken from the Chiefseat by a knight named Heralt who served King Yohn III of Midland. Outraged, the Chieftan marched on the Kirkfall forest and burned the city of Kirkfall to the ground. The war lasted four months and ended in a Whesh retreat at the hands of King Yohn III and the Greater Jarls of Oclus. After the war, Yohn took Haley for himself. Though a minor conflict compared to the Mariatic Wars, the War of the Forests is an important piece of history to those who live in Kirkfall and a common tale to tell children.

The second Mariatic War
While Whent remained aggressive, a truly strong Chieftain did not appear again till Marias of Baring, named for the Great Marias Tyr. Marias II consolidated power and trained his armies ferociously. Under Marias II's regiment, one Whesh warrior was worth twenty elsewhere. By 4e.392 Marias II had unleashed an unstoppable force upon the Western Lands, conquering The Fords by storm and Runswick with ease. The grasp on these territories was much stronger this time, with his successor, Aidan the Bloodmonger, holding tightly onto the new Whesh Chiefdom and declaring war on Midland and Yothesh. He eventually made peace with Rick Steele, once King of Midland and halted his advance at the Kirkforest in Midland. He was killed by Anna Forgedawn, who abdicated the Chiefseat immediately, leaving it vacant for a merchant called The Sneakworm to take. Sneakworm's politcal connections and coin granted him the throne, but they did not keep it for him. After thirty years of his rule, his youngest bodyguard, a warlord called Svartblood, murdered Sneakworm and took the Seat. He reinitiated the war with the surrounding countries.

The Modern War

It is not known what scholars will call the war to come. It is increasingly apparent, though, that Svartblood aims to take Midland and Yothesh under his grasp. in 4e.441 he began enslaving the people of The Fords and prepared for an all out war fought with his own men, his slaves, and countless mercenaries against the weakening Kingdom of Midland and the dangerously isolationist coalition of the Free States of Yothesh.

Oclander Rebellion
In 4e.445, the Oclanders declared independence once and for all by burning down the official Midland embassy on the island and sacrificing all non-humans on Oclus to the Enosichthon. This show of aggression was somewhat predictable, but certainly unprecedented. Oclanders had been fighting for independence for years, but no Midlanders expected the mass-murder of innocent inhabitants that non-humans suffered on Oclus.