| Year | Event |
| 2445 | Fleeing the continent of Ular, 24 noble dark elf families land on the eastern coast of Nala and head into the Silent Forest. |
| 2447 | After a less than amicable dispute, the families split up. 18 of the Houses stay and found Llur'gel, while the remaining 6 families chose to follow the vision of Jy'ak T'orgh, and go deeper into the immense forest. |
| 2448 | Almost 3 years after they arrived on Nala, the 6 families settle down near Dragon Mountain and the building of Menzo begins. |
| 2458 | A young, but very skilled priest named Da'kar of House Argith is named the first High Priest of a newly finished Temple. |
| 2555 | The biggest red dragon any dark has ever seen lands on top of what is now called Dragon Mountain. For 60 days, it is seen entering and leaving a cave at the top of the mountain, then it disappeared, not to be seen again. Several of the leading High Priests and their best men went up to explore the cave, but nothing was found. |
| 2711 | To the south, Ched Cinlu is founded by a fraction of dark elves who has left Llur'gel behind. |
| 2733 | Jy'ak T'orgh dies of old age. Pyrzi T'orgh becomes new High Priest of House T'orgh. |
| 2998 | First encounter with drows on Naja by an expedition in the caves below the Green Peaks. |
| 3076 | Pyrzi T'orgh dies and his eldest son, Razza T'orgh becomes High Priest of House T'orgh. |
| 3077 | Razza T'orgh is killed by the Council for heretical thoughts. Q'aro T'orgh becomes new High Priest of House T'orgh. |
| 3421 | Q'aro T'orgh dies and Mezro T'orgh becomes the new High Priest of House T'orgh |
| 3467 | Council expanded to 11 Houses. |
| 3499 | First and last dark elf-drow war starts, as Menzo, led by House Argith, sends a small army below the Green Peaks and wage war on the drows. |
| 3537 | The war between the dark elves of Menzo and the drows ends, with great loses on both sides. The Council decides that as long as the drow stay down below, they are to be left alone. |
| 3599 | Mezro T'orgh dies, and G'azz T'orgh becomes new High Priest of House T'orgh. |
| 3733 | Exactly 1000 years after his death, the ghost of Jy'ak T'orgh is seen walking the halls of the Temple, |
| 3815 | HP Venar T'orgh takes charge of House T'orgh |
| 3980 | A large army of humans lands on the shores of the Red Lake. |
| 3981 | Colonists follow the army, and start building New Laketown, clearing the forest around the lake. |
| 3999 | The combined might of Menzo descends on the settles of Red Lake, and more than 8.000 humans are slaughtered on the borders of the lake, coloring the waters red. |
| 4102 | A coalition of most noble Houses of Menzo begin an aggressive and rapid expansion northwards with House T'orgh in charge. |
| 4117 | Menzo's expansion stretches all the way to the Hills of Blood, the Black Hills and 30 miles west of Blackwell. A truce is made with the humans who have not been subjugated. |
| 4169 | Venar T'orgh convinces the Council to break the truce and to let the coalition attack Blackwell. |
| 4170 | Blackwell falls and is sacked, but at great cost. The humans, horrified by the sacking of Blackwell revolt. King John of Laketown leads the human army. |
| 4172 | The dark elves are soundly beaten and expelled from the human lands. House T'orgh loses a lot of men and status. |
| 4178 | King John wins the battle in the Forest of Death and unites Ra'kar under his rule, forging the Iron Empire |
| 4401 | Collapse of the Iron Empire |
| 4553 | Current year |
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onsdag den 3. april 2013
Menzo and T'orgh Timeline
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mandag den 15. oktober 2012
lørdag den 21. juli 2012
The Iron Empire
The Iron Empire was a human Empire on the peninsula of Ra'kar, which came to be as a result of the expansionist of the dark elf city Menzo.
At that time, Ra'kar was made up by many small kingdoms, baronies and city-states. While they were certainly organized, there was little of alliances and such. In short, they were absolutely not prepared for the level of organization that the dark elves brought with them.
Using orcs and goblins as canon-fodder, ogres and even giants as shock-troops, the dark elven armies swept in over the human lands, conquering one kingdom at the time. It took some time though, especially after the general population learned how whole cities that aided the armies had been put to the stake and to the torch. After that, there was no question that this was merely not another conqueror coming to rule them. The dark elves meant to break them, to enslave them, and keep them firmly under their steel boots as slaves.
But it was to no avail. After more than 100 years of fighting for every square inch of their lands, the humans had been soundly beaten and broken. The dark elves ruled the Silent Forest, and the human lands as far as the Hills of Blood, the Black Hills and all the way east, just south of Blackwell.
A truce was established in 4117, with the dark elven council of Menzo legitimized as the lawful ruler of their realm. Some sages speculate that the dark elves agreed only because there was some infight amongst their nobles, or (and?) because their ressources were stretched thin, but we will never know. The truce (later named the Dark Truce) was made, and for a while, Ra'kar once again knew peace. The people who still lived under the dark elven yoke probably didn't know peace, but there was no war, at least.
Then in 4169, all hell broke loose again. Apparently for no reason, the dark elves decided to take up their campaign again, and attacked Blackwell and Castle Durgard with more or less all they had. For almost a year, they kept coming, and while the Castle did not fall, the city did. And when the castle didn't want to surrender, they put Blackwell to the torch and killed every single inhabitant. While such things had happened several times before - they even had a name for it: Dark Elf Justice - it had never been seen on such a scale. More than 20.000 people were slaughtered for no good reason other than punishment.
That event triggered something in the good folks of Ra'kar. Sure, there had been resistance before, and some dreamed of fighting back, liberating the poor souls living on dark elven lands, but until know, it had been whispers and secret dreams. But the sacking and subsequent execution of Blackwell all changed that.
In the north, King John of Laketown was one of those who were horrified and appalled, and at the same time had some means of striking back. New to the throne of Laketown, he none the less swore a solemn oath to rid the human lands of the dark elves.
He gathered his army, who grew by the day with free people from all over that wanted to help, and then started his campaign against the dark elves. Now the humans had an army of a size that had never been seen before in Ra'kar. Town by town was liberated, the dark elves beaten at each step. Maybe King John was an extraordinary strategist, or maybe the dark elves had other problems to deal with, we do not know. We do know that in two short years, the dark elves lost all they had spend more than 100 years in taking, and in 4172, the last dark elf was seen heading into the Silent Forest.
After that, King John named himself Emperor John I, and went on to unite all of Ra'kar, from coast to coast, after the battle of the Forest of Death in 4178. He doned an iron crown, saying being emperor was not about gold and riches, but about the people.
Emperor John lived to be an old man, he died in 4242, and left a host of sons and grandsons to take care of his empire. Unfortunately none of them was up for the task, and slowly, the Iron Empire became more about hoarding riches for the rich than being there for it's people.
In 4401, King John IV, ninth emperor of the Iron Empire died at the hands of his servants, as the revolution started. The Empire dissolved and returned being a collection of independent city-states.
søndag den 15. juli 2012
Ra'kar
Ra'kar is the westernmost bit of the continent of Nala, located only a couple of hundred miles east of the continent of Ular.
Noble Houses of Menzo
his former concubine Kiera that pulls all the strings. For generations, House Hume has also produced some of the finest dark elf fighters and rangers and not only are they skilled one on one, but they operate at a fearsome level when in groups, commanded by the many Hume captains, all coached by Q'lor and their Weapons Master G'lor. Around 150 dark elves serve House Hume, with the nobles making up about 25 of them. House Hume has about 1600 orcs and goblins serving them.
powerful priests, especially compared to the size of the House. But House Naerth is very different. Normally the rule of women is not allowed, but for some reason, Asmodeus has never reacted to High Priestess Binael taking power from her former husband that she (allegedly) killed with a dagger through his skull while making love to him. So for now, she rules. A little more than 70 dark elves serve House Naerth, and 25 of them are of noble blood. House Naerth has about 650 orcs and goblins serving them.
jealous eyes follow High Priest Jarl, who runs House Vrinn. While some are jealous of House Vrinns success, most despice them for the same. House Vrinn has enjoyed an enormous boost due doing what no one has done before. Trading on a large scale with humans. While not forbidden, it is certainly commonly frowned upon, and for some, it is still a sin. House Vrinn also has access to a lot of mercenaries and often employs other races for certain jobs. They also facilitate if other Houses need mercenary contacts. Almost 110 dark elves serve this dark elf House, and close to 15 of them are nobles of the family. House Vrinn has about 1450 orcs and goblins serving them.
but also with humans, in order to acquire even more lore from other races. Around 80 dark elves follow House Xiltyn, and 15 of them are nobles. House Xiltyn has about 800 orcs and goblins serving them.
an uncanny ability to always chose the winning side in any given dispute or conflict. Failing that, he has at his beck and call some of the best assassins within thousands of miles, his sons, grandsons and
great-grandsons. Only 30 dark elves serve the House of Dhalmass, but 25 of them are nobles. House Dhalmass has about 250 orcs and goblins serving them.
J'luk and his family has annihilated no less than seven other families in their quest for power. Allegedly of course. When will they stop, is the question every noble above them ask themselves. Others hate them, such as High Priest Venar of House T'orgh, who took it as a personal
slight, when House Argith and the Council let House Mizzrym jump ahead of House T'orgh in the ladder of power of Menzo. Mizzrym has more than 110 dark elves serving the House, and 25 of them are nobles. House Mizzryn has more than 1200 orcs and goblins serving them.
Menzo. House T'orgh used to be much more influencial, in fact, it was third House of Menzo at some point, but some bad choices over the last couple of hundred years has seen House T'orgh slip down the ranks, and is now close to losing it's seat on the Council. Yet if Venar has proven one thing over the 700 year he has ruled his House, it is that he never gives up. More than 110 dark elves still serve House T'orgh, although the numbers have been dropping over the years. House T'orgh is a vast family, and has more than 35 nobles. House T'orgh has about 600 orcs and goblins serving them.
tirsdag den 5. juni 2012
Elves, Dark Elves and Drow
The History of the Elves
After seeing the work Moradin had done on the dwarves, Corellon just had to "have" his own race. Designed to live in the forests Corellon had already created, the elves were very much made in his image, or rather as he saw himself. Slender and elegant yet powerful, wise yet carefree, the elves were perfect creatures to inhabit the forests of Era.
Corellon's passions were nature and magic. He wanted to instill the same passions into his creations, but something went wrong. Instead of all elves having both equally, some became very in tune with nature while having a slight interest in magic, while the others became intrinsically linked with magic while having next to no interest in nature. While the two kind of elves still to this day cohabit, the difference between the two types of elves have become more pronounced as time has passed, and today, many of them live separately.
When Corellon created the elves, he inadvertently set in motion the events that would create the Sibling Wars and thus influencing the entire history of Era. The elves were so perfect that his twin brother Asmodeus could not help love them just as much. At least at first. That love soon changed to hatred, to jealousy for not being the one who had created such magnificent beings. After all, Asmodeus was the god when it came to magic, hell, he had even taught Corellon how to make the creatures. Luckily, Asmodeus also saw that the elves could be improved upon. After all, they did resemble his weaker and younger brother a bit too much. They should have been made more focused, more ambitious, more powerful, just like Asmodeus.
So Asmodeus created the dark elves. Just as he and Corellon were alike, it made sense that their creatures would be alike. At least on the outside. For where the elves were carefree and easy-going, the dark elves were ambitious and ruthless. While the elves were perfect hunters, the dark elves were the perfect predators. And just as Asmodeus had certain issues with Corellon, the dark elves certainly had some issues with the elves. In order to gain the upper hand, Asmodeus made sure that the dark elf females were just as capable as the males. That way, the race would have more potential, more power. Little did the god realize that his decision would prove the downfall of the race.
But at some point, the contests turned sour, both races would do anything to win, to perform better, and thus the rivalry grew bitter and brutal.
For years it went on like that, but in the year 937, The First Elven War broke out. Prince D'rak of the Dark Elves was brutally murdered while visiting King Elas Moonshadow. The elves claimed innocence and ignorance, but the Dark Elves to it as an act of war, and marshaled their forces. For 4 years, the two elven races waged war on each other, filling the forests of Ular and Nala with blood. This was not a battle for territory or for borders. This was a battle of races, to exterminate the other. After 4 years, right after losing their king in the Battle of Sharks, the dark elves sued for peace, and the elves were only happy to give it to them. The war had taken a told on both sides, and with their very low birthrate, there was no way they could keep up, had they continued.
For more than 45 years, the dark elves worked very hard to make up for their part in the attempted genocide. They had accepted that the elves had nothing to do with Prince D'rak's death, and their new king, Prince D'rak brother, spearheaded a new era of brotherhood between the races.
But it was all a lie.
In 987, Prince D'rak had convinced the Moonshadows to let him host King Elas' 400th year birthday. But, just as the charade that had been ongoing for the last 40 years, it was all part of an elaborate ploy for revenge and retribution. In one swift stroke, the dark elves eliminated the entire elven royal family that had been ruling over the elves since the race was created.
War began anew, and since the dark elves had known this was coming for many years, they were much better prepared. The elves died in great numbers, and many elven cities were completely razed, leaving only scorched earth behind.
For seven years, the elves fought just to survive, and had the war gone on for long, it would surely have been the doom of them. Both Corellon and Asmodeus had taken a very active part in the war, and the devastation to the forests was enormous. However, Corellon alone could not turn the tide of the war.
But Moradin could...
The All-Father simply ordered both of his sons to stop the madness, threatening to rally the other gods and make war on both them and their elven races. That stopped the war, and a peace, also known as The Last Truce, was brokered in 994.
After the war, there was no longer any relations between the two races. Gone was the competition, gone the rivalry. Left was only a desire to expunge the other race from Era.
For years, both elven races nursed that feeling, making alliances with the other races. Then after the Divine Pact was created and the gods had retreated from Era and the dwarves had removed themselves underground, tensions grew and grew, until the inevitable happened.
In 1157, the dark elves, now allied with the humans worshiping Bane, began a much larger campaign, this time not only to eradicate the elves, but to control and rule all of Era. For almost 150 years, the entire Era was at war. There was no place to hide, and no one that could stay out of the war, perhaps except the halflings. Unimaginable horrors were created, and more people than one can imagine died to sword or magic.
At the end, the humans of Bane and the dark elves won and the Ebon Empire was born. The Banites and the dark elves assumed dominion of most of Ular and Nala. All elves were placed in gigantic work-camps or became slaves.
After about 150 years, there was no longer any doubt who had control of the Ebon Empire - the Banites. While a lot of dark elves were perfectly happy with being left alone in their dark woods, there was a significant fraction that believed that they should rule everything, not some mere humans. These dissenters were also extremely disappointed with Asmodeus. He had after all told them to exterminate the elves, but then changed his mind when the war was won. For them, having those that was once their brothers in work-camps was not enough. They wanted them gone. Amongst those of that pushed the hardest for such a radical solution was Tierna K'ral and her sisters. Powerful priests from a noble bloodline, the three sisters finally got enough of trying to get things their way.
In 1443, they led a large fraction of dark elves away from their homes in the dark forests of Era, and below ground. They renounced Asmodeus for being too weak, claimed that the male leadership of the dark elves had failed, that only females could be decisive enough and fled underground, where they founded a matriarchy based on the worship of the Raven Queen, around death.
They are now called drows, an ancient elven word for death.
Playing an Elf
While the average elf doesn't mind most of the other civilized races, he absolutely loathes both the dark elves and the drow. They are to be killed on sight, no questions asked. The horrors inflicted upon his race by those go far beyond any kind of possible redemption. Even mention of those two races can make any normally balanced and merry-going elf turn into a somber and brooding shadow of his former self. The scars left upon the elven race have not yet healed. Far from it. Elves are likewise not fond of worshipers of Bane but the biggest part of the hatred is aimed at the dark elves and the drow.
The Wood Elves are a fairly recluse people. After being almost totally decimated by the dark elves and later the work-camps of the Ebon Empire, most elven communities exist deep in the woods, far away from the humans and the other races that they do not trust. Those few that for some reason are a part of that world, still feel that distrust, at least to some degree. They most certainly feel sorry for the hardship their race has endured.
The High Elf's focus is usually magic. While he does have a certain affinity with nature, he is much more likely to live in villages, towns and cities. The High Elves have even fewer communities than the Wood Elves, and they are all closely kept secrets. No non-elf has been allowed to enter a High Elf community for at least 500 years. At least not let to tell about it afterwards. Maybe there are none?
The High Elves suffered the same fate as the Wood Elves, but where the Wood Elves talk about it a lot and feel very sorry for their race, the High Elves have taken another approach. The Sibling War and it's aftermath is simply not mentioned, at least to outsiders. But make no mistake, their hatred for dark elves and drow know no bounds, and in their own circles, the leaders are surely still plotting revenge against their dark-skinned brothers.
lørdag den 26. maj 2012
Era
A rough outline of the campaign world, called Era. Era is more or less the size of Earth, with similar temperatures and fauna.
As can be seen, Era consists of 6 continents/areas, Ular, Nala, Canoristi, Gihunia, Zabenem and Regosi. Ular is where it all started. The arrival of the gods, the birth of the races, the Sibling War etc. All the other continents were not populated by the civilized races until later.
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