EMURIAN PRE-HISTORY
As penned by the school of Dyllarian History at the Stonegate Academy.
The following is a brief outline of the history of Emuria as seen from a human perspective. From 601 forward, the histories of Dyllaria and Emuria have been tied together, and are joined as the History of the Kingdom of Stonegate.
501
Gandris the Wise, a wizard of notable skill, enters Emuria from the east.
502
Gandris settles in the Valley of Stars and works a treaty with the Stone Deep Dwarves. Construction begins on a tower at the mouth of the valley. It is built by Dwarven stone masons, and with the aid of the wizard’s magic it is completed by the end of the year. Some strange magic causes the tower to glow dimly at night, and the Dwarves begin calling it the Moon Tower.
505
The alarming amount of Trunian Wild Elves frequenting the Moon Tower causes the Dwarves to disassociate themselves with Gandris. The Trunians also begin bringing primitive humans from the east with them to study with the wizard.
511
Karani nomads under the leadership of a chieftain named Rengek invade the Trun Forest and incite the wrath of the Wild Elves. The Karani are defeated handily at Shining Grove and nearly massacred. Rengek is among the few that manage to flee with their lives.
516
The Dwarves of Stone Deep begin to build Hammerhandt Citadel on the shores of Great Sky Lake.
522
Hammerhandt Citadel is completed. Only the beauty of the nearby lake rivals its exquisite craftsmanship.
524
A half-elven explorer from the east named Grodun lives among the Karani for a while. Members of his party teach them how to make better weapons. Before the end of the year Grodun heads south into the Forest of Myst and is never heard from again.
530
Rengek, now much older and wiser, leads Karani war parties back into the Trun Forest. Their purpose is revenge and they set fire to the wood in many places. The Wild Elves attack and kill Rengek, but the casualties are high and their homes are left in smoldering ruins. The Karani that survive the campaign tell wild stories of Elven ghosts and walking dead at the final battle. The battle is known as the Battle of the Dead.
541
The Trun Forest comes to be known as the Whispering Wood by visitors because of the Elven ghosts that reportedly haunt it. The Wild Elves continue to call it the Trun Forest.
549
Primitive humans from the east begin to inhabit the Whispering Wood. These humans call themselves Emuri.
564
The first Cyclopes move from the mountains, south into the Gandiel Vale.
567
Due to a growing influx of migrants into Emuria from the east, Gandris closes the doors of the Moon Tower to outsiders.
570
A few tribes of the Karani encounter the Tarandok Drae along the shores of the southern Khala River. The plains people believe the Tarandok to be half-spider and attack them as hideous and vile creations. The spider riders annihilate the tactically crude Barbarians at Old Ford. Legends about the spider riders spread rapidly among the Karani.
576
A powerful Emuri Shaman from the east moves into the Whispering Wood and begins teaching the ways of magic. The Wild Elves and Emuri there call him The Great Shaman. His name is Llowananji.
584
Cornelius enters Emuria from the north and settles in the Doon River Valley.
586
A few short miles from their original settlement, Cornelius and his followers construct a fort. Later in the year they begin construction on a keep at the same site. While excavating in the area the builders find a rich vein of iron. Cornelius declares the site to be known as Ironholm.
591
In a series of short but effective campaigns against the Karani, Cornelius defeats the plainsmen and straps several of the scattered tribes under his control. Those who do not flee eastward are trained as soldiers in Cornelius’s army.
592
Cornelius proclaims himself Lord of Ironholm. He unifies the various scattered petty landowners and creates a system of government based around his leadership. Any who wish to maintain their autonomy are crushed by his newly unleashed military might. After dominating his own region, Lord Cornelius extends his power to the west and south. He establishes the town of Corliss to the northwest of his capitol city. The town is based around a salt mine that soon becomes famous for its harsh working conditions and high death toll.
594
Lord Cornelius proclaims himself Emperor of the Emurian Empire. He unveils his Iron Codes and publicly pledges to unify all of the people of the region against the military conquest of outsiders. He mainly cites Dyllarians as the primary aggressors against Emuria. His holdings extend even further eastward and south to the Khala River. The town of Prinnith is established south of Ironholm at the western edge of the Sheroc Pass.
596
Freeport is established as an independent town on the Khala River at the southern border of the Empire. Emperor Cornelius requires and receives a monthly tribute in exchange for the city’s semi-autonomy. A town is established on the eastern edge of the Silgolian Wood. Originally established as an Imperial outpost, the town is named Vargus. Imperial foresters begin Lumbering operations in the Whispering Wood. After some initial resistance from the Wild Elves there, The Emperor orders Imperial Forces to the location. After a few battles in which the Wild Elves are hopelessly outmatched, they submit to the Empire’s superior strength and sink deeper into the forest. Meanwhile, in Prinnith, Provincial Governor Joahann Loamann is found guilty of breaking Imperial Law by rejecting the Iron Codes as oppressive and instituting his own laws. For his efforts Loamann’s government is destroyed and he is taken in chains to the Corlissian Salt Mines. The members of his house are Obliterated, and most of them perish permanently as a result.
597
The newly founded town of Ashton is the site of a petty rebellion led by a Dyllarian who calls himself Lord Oakmore. A trading post east of Freeport becomes the town of Veridian. This small town exists in the shadow of the larger and much more important town of Freeport, and soon after its establishment the Lord of Veridian all but swears fealty to Freeport.
598
Imperial forces attack the Cyclopes of the Gandiel Valley after several incidents in which the Gandielians are found guilty of attacking Imperial caravans and border guards. The battle is extremely one-sided as the Imperial Army is simply too much for the out-classed Gandielian forces. By the end of the year the Cyclopes are on the run and all but beaten. The growing strength and popularity of the Ashton rebellion pushes the Empire to action. Several attempts are made to recover the town and its surrounding area for the Empire, but all of them meet with stout resistance and little success. Lord Oakmore is captured, but is rescued by a group of freedom fighters led by Lady Daleth and the Lord’s half brother, Xavier.
599
Fighting in Ashton continues as the rebellion gains more momentum. Lord Oakmore acquires the hold of River’s End on the Western fringe of Dyllaria by way of an alliance with its recently deceased lord, Gili Rockcrusher. One of Oakmore’s first acts is to free River’s End from the torments of a particularly powerful Lord of Chaos known as Vinlar. The Chaos Lord is removed to his home plane by force, and the town is very pleased that he is gone. Shortly afterward, Lord Oakmore lays claim to all of the lands between Ashton and River’s End, including the Karani Plains, and declares this realm to be called Oakwood. The plainsmen have little desire to be ruled by anyone but their own chieftains, and Oakwood’s control of this region is tentative at best. By the end of the year, Alarain Oakmore is titled as Count Oakmore within the Kingdom of Stonegate. His lands become the known as the County of Oakwood.
In Ashton, a group of heroes known as the Black Jackals recover an artifact from the Well of Chaos. These selfless individuals are led by the combined wisdom of the two adventurers Loren DeArman and Baern Dragonfang. After grueling tests of will and combat, the group is able to recover the Chalice of Order. This powerful cup can be used to create a shield across all of Emuria that will prevent Chaos beings from rifting into the region from their home plane, and will also prevent the opening of portals to and from the Elemental Plane of Chaos. This shield will last for 100 years, and is a major hindrance to Chaos in the region.
In the Gandiel region, the remaining Cyclopes begin rebuilding in the wake of their lost war with the Empire. Countless Gandielians have died, but with the help of many sympathetic Emurians, the culture is not lost. Among those that offer the most significant help are Galena and Aegiryn Beylstar, the leaders of the Berylstar Gypsies.
600
Ashton becomes a Barony of Stonegate, and its leader is Baron Loren DeArman. The town weathers many strange happenings, the most significant being the founding of Coronus as the second Imperial town to be established east of the Yip-Nar Jag. In a seemingly unrelated incident, an assassin named Zanatose attacks Lumberton Shire’s Baron, Ezeakial Zeldarious, who is visiting Ashton with a retinue of Knights and Lords. Tried in Baron DeAraman’s noble court, Zanatose is found guilty of assault on a noble and Banished from the lands of Stonegate forever. Meanwhile, beings from the Elemental Plane of Darkness begin to show interest in the Ashton region.
Count Oakmore is summoned west to his homeland as the bastard son of the royal house of the Erlunn Elven Kingdom. The entire house has been annihilated in the Horde Wars affecting Dyllaria, and The Count is the last legitimate heir to the throne. He relinquishes his title of Count and becomes Prince Alarain Erlunn. Countess Ellonia Quillen, the former leader of the Green Mountain Drae in Dyllaria, becomes the new Countess of the realm.
In Coronus, Aegiryn Berylstar initially holds the position of Magistrate, but he resigns the post and it is taken up by the powerful battle mage known as Ryric. Magistrate Ryric deals with many troubles, including the death of the Imperial Governor. There seems to be foul play involved, but none of it is ever proven. In addition, the town is beset by Dark Dwarves who are in league with a Lich. The Lich seeks to change the flow of time by using an artifact that takes the entire town back in time. Several local adventurers, as well as many from the Kingdoms of Evandarr and Stonegate assist the local authorities in defeating the Lich and returning the town to its rightful place in time.
601
Together with other members of the Black Jackals, Baron DeArman leads an assault on ex-Imperial forces to rescue Lord Joahann Loamann, the former lord of Prinnith. The Black Jackals liberate Lord Loamann, and he returns to Prinnith determined to regain control of the city.
In a somewhat mysterious occurrence, the Emperor Cornelius dies while taking his regular bath in the Imperial Palace. The Empire almost immediately breaks apart as several of the petty noblemen vie for leadership. Chaos reigns and the Imperial Army breaks into factions supporting one lord or another. By the end of the year The Empire is utterly destroyed, and all of its former states have become independent.
In Prinnith, Joahann Loamann steps to the front of the Prinnith liberation movement, and reclaims his former title as Lord of that state. He almost immediately swears fealty to Stonegate. Citing the lack of true control of the Karani Plains and the distance between River’s End and Ashton, the eastern section of Oakwood becomes part of the County of The Green. To compensate the loss in land, Oakwood absorbs the towns of Coronus and Prinnith. Joahann Loamann is given the new title as Count of Oakwood, and Baron Loren DeArman is appointed as his Viscount at the same time. Baern Dragonfang becomes the new Baron of Ashton.