Winterfall Campaign: History

Ancient Melgador and The Ryn'em
Ancient Ryn'em empire did not believe in the gods at all. Their empire emerges almost out of nowhere in ancient times in the land of Atlas and the Silver Coast, eventually Tandersun, Dehn, The Pass, Cedia and the Ebonwood. But other races and cultures had settled those lands first.

In Atlas there were several small human settlements with towns and some palisade walled cities known only as the Human Kingdoms. Due to their proximity to the mountain, they dealt with many beasts and frequent behemoth attacks. Meanwhile in the Silver Coast were several small elvish settlements with coastal towns, far from the dangerous mountains.

Tandersun and Dehn were settled by the Daedic, a group of nomadic/horse riding human tribes. They are known to have few small settlements and some farming. Through war with the neighboring settlements, they developed some early farming and forging techniques. They were famous for raiding the Klayguns and the Human Kingdoms.

Cedia was settled by the orcs from the Isles where they learned to survive without the horses of the isles. They don't stray too far north in fear of the vicious beasts and behemoths. They have small well protected towns to keep the people safe. They excel in sword warfare and beast hunting, and begin to forge strong weapons and stronger warriors. In the winters, they often came in contact with the Daedic as they try to travel south. Sometimes there was peace, other times there was war. They were a kingdom lead by the strongest orc, and their clan leaders or other orcs would fight to death for leadership. Most orc followed the strongest orc.

The mountainous area connecting the north and the south known as The Pass, was settled by several human kingdoms known as the Klayguns in addition to the dwarves who established their kingdoms under the great mountains of Winterfall.

You all have heard the story of the Ryn'em Empire that emerged from the several kingdoms and rapidly expanded to the areas of Atlas and Silver Coast. They were much more civilized and developed technology much faster than any other civilization. They soon aligned with the dwarves under the mountains of Atlas, a they begin to build new cities and roads and map out the continent of Melgador. It was not long before the Daedic and Klaygun people were assimilated into Ryn'em Civilization whether they liked it or not.

You've been told about the capital Great Avieland, how it was unlike anything seen before.

The Ryn'em continued to expand outwards, and began to trade with the elves of the Ebonwod who seem peaceful enough. In the west, they came in contact with the Cecardian Orcs and they begin to trade and share technology with the orcs.

It was at this time that the greatest amount of technology, knowledge, and magic were available to the people. The Ryn'em language was almost entirely adopted by the less developed cultures which early on, lead to the acceptance of the Common language. As the knowledge spread, more and more people began to relinquish the idea of praying to higher beings and began to rely on themselves instead of their Gods. However, because the Ryn'em leaders allowed their conquered people to pray to their own gods, Melgador remained a divided land lacking unity and cohesion.

But even now the Ryn'em Empire was still not complete. War was waged against the Cecardian Orcs who either lost terribly or grew smart enough to realize that they would lose, and sided with the Empire. However still in the frozen north, beasts and behemoths lurked so for some time, the Nords were left alone until the Ryn'em found a more efficient method of transportation. Eventually the whole Ryn'em Legion was marched through the claustrophobic tunnels of the dwarves through the great mountains and into the North where they waged war for years. However the frozen north and its frozen people were too much for the Ryn'em and their quest to conquer all of Melgador came to an end.

Ryn'em Empire continued to advance and build and the Gods begin to worry as they lose power. They released humanoid devils on the land to force the Ryn'em into submission, and although the Ryn'em destroy the monsters, it is not until after they wreak havoc on the empire and kill many of the other cultures. The other races are terrified and start to pray to the gods for mercy except the Ryn'em who insist they could in fact defeat the Gods. The Sentry, who is believed to be the Keeper of the Gods fabricates an even more terrifying beast and releases it in Great Avieland. A single Ryn'em survivor, a young man calls upon a collection of Wards who were taught Ryn'em ways to bring back to their respective settlements. Legend tells that Remus and his Heroes were able to defeat the Destroyer of Worlds, banishing it to another plane, however the consequences of Ryn'em challenging the Gods were devastating and left the land fractured and in disarray.

Heroes of Winterfall:
Jude Winter – Human Kingdoms

Thorin Spire – Human Kingdoms – Atlas

Balgruf the Terrible – Nordic Kingdoms  – Valkar

Gorruk Bloodfist – Orcish Kingdom – Cedia

Ailmer – Elvish Kingdoms – Silver Coast

Orin Stoneface – Dwarven Kingdoms – Stoneface Pass

Taira Alokin – Daedic Tribes – Dehn

Anec Noj – Daedic Tribes – Tandersun

Melnir Greanleaf – Elvish Tribes – Ebonwood

Lord Barryn – Klaygun Tribes – Ice Plains

All that remained of the Ryn'em were ruins, an empty history, lost forever. In its place however, was a new kingdom. One led by the nine disciples of Remus, named after their fallen general Jude Winter. It was named the Kingdom of Winterfall.

Pantheons:
Old Gods – Astria, Corsa, Dikenna, Olena, Makius, Tempstrada (Nords, Daedic, Klayguns)

New Pantheon – Ibus, Astria, Olena, Makius, Ryheus, Tempstrada, Corsa, Dikenna, Kagrelak (Human and Elvish Kingdoms)

Eastern Gods – Basva, Valari (Ythereans and Etnali)

Orcish – Kraeglek

The Holds of Winterfall

Holds and Symbols

Atlas - Griffin

Valkar - Bear

Silver Coast - Owl

Stoneface Pass - Great Horned Goat

- Whithorn - Ram

Dehn - Boar

Tandersun - Horse

Cedia - Wolf

Ice Plains - Hawk/Falcon

Ebonwood - Cat/Panther

The First Age
In the years following the expulsion of the Daemar from Melgador, the many chieftains, lords, kings, and other leaders agreed that the land would be more safe if the land could unite, however none of the remaining disciples of Remus would agree to lead the land alone. Thus the new land was to be divided into nine holds, each led by a disciple of Remus. Thorin Spire of Atlas, Balgruf the Terrible of Valkar, and Gorruk Bloodfist of Cedia were three of Remus's Generals in his army. The other leaders were Ailmer of The Silver Coast, Orin Stoneface of The Stoneface Pass, Gorruk Bloodfist of Cedia, Taira Alokin of Dehn, Anec Noj of Tandersun, Melnir Greenleaf of The Ebonwood, and Lord Barryn of The Ice Plains.

In the year 47,  thousands of men from across the continent traveled to meet with the nine remaining disciples of Remus at the ruins of the Palace of Zyteus. If was here that the people of Melgador pledged fealty to the new lords of Winterfall.

The first lords of Winterfall set a standard for all future leaders of the world. Each province held a great number of different races and each lord was able to keep peace and public favor for as long as they reigned. Many lords were able to organize the people of their hold and increase efficiency and proficiency tenfold.

While the nine lords swore allegiance to each other and the people of Winterfall, in reality, it was a land divided. While each lord may have made improvements, they did not truly work together to do so. Each hold was consumed by their own business and hardly communicated with far away holds. Each hold trained their own soldiers in their own armies who's only goal was to protect their own land. Rarely would holds get involved with neighboring hold's issues. The only common nuisance between the holds were the powerful behemoths that inhabited Melgador. While each were incredibly different in size, appearance, strengths, and weaknesses, they were an enemy nearly every hold had to deal with.

In Atlas, Thorin Spire started the Order of Ryheus, in 49 based off the Knights of Remus. These paladins pledged their lives to Ryheus the God of Justice and Order. They vowed to rid Melgador of all evil, dedicating their existence to hunting down all remaining Daemar. The order expanded, having a military base on the mountain of Winterfall. Here they prayed to their god and maintained the balance of justice throughout Winterfall. In the year 78, a missionary traveled from Atlas to Valador and set up a small monastery. This would turn out to be the birthplace of a new religious group.

Lord Barryn took the challenge to expand into the empty Ice Plains of the north. In a single year, with help from Cedia and Valkar, a military base was quickly setup to train and amass an army to fight off the terrible behemoths. As this was the harshest area of Melgador, it contained some of the fiercest behemoths. It was the ultimate goal to break the frozen surface of the land and dig deep into underground caverns told to be filled with all types of ores. In the year 51, Lord Barryn called other Lords to send help to fight the terrible behemoth The Frozen Man-Basher. The Circle of the Crystal Crown and Order of Ryheus both sent troops to help the armies of Cedia and Valkar, however it was no use. The Frozen Man-Basher was way too large for even their amassed army, and although they were able to seriously injure the monster, they were unable to clear its lair, a main site of precious ores they had set their eyes on. The army was recalled back to their many outposts in the year 55 because the army could no longer stand the fighting after losing the troops of Valkar. At this time many paladins and rangers returned to Atlas and the armies of Cedia and the Ice Plains were left to fend for themselves. For many years expansion into the Ice Plains was halted because of the lack of forces.

Melnir Greenleaf began a guild of elite rangers known as the Circle of the Crystal Crown, based out of the Ebonwood. This new guild would continue to serve under the lord of the Ebonwood for centuries to come. Over the years these rangers would perfect the skill of archery, hunting, and acrobatics.

In Cedia, Gorruk Bloodfist united the orcish strongholds and other cities of western Winterfall under the name Cedia. Unlike their relatives to the west, living on the Isles, the orcs of Cedia lived more peaceful lives. Although they still loved to fight, there was no constant warring amongst the united tribes and villages. Also unlike the rulers of the Isles, the future lord of Cedia would be selected by the predecessor. In order to fight the behemoths, the orcs warriors trained day and night, making them fierce warriors who were known for tolerating an immense amount of pain. There was even an elite status warriors could achieve, only becoming one of the Amok after proving their ability to ignore pain entirely. Gorruk Bloodfist was incredibly committed to dominating battle in the Ice Plains to show the fierceness of his troops. His army successfully defended the military outposts and workers from several behemoths.

In the north, several prominent nord leaders of Valkar pledged to Lord Balgruf and in turn were accepted into the formal Hold of Valkar. One leader, Harlka chose to oppose Lord Balgruf, insisting that he was a stronger fighter and would lead Valkar better than Balgruf could. In the year 53, while Balgruf away with most of his army, the major city of Seaford was attacked by the sea monster Hydrakar, and they were unable to defend themselves. Many of the people living there died, and the beast was only driven back to the ocean after Harlka's small but significant force showed up to help. Feeling unsafe, several families began to doubt Lord Balgruf's leadership and allowed Harlka to crown himself lord of Varstead and murder Lord Balgruf's wife Rota and daughter Agnola. Hearing this, Lord Balgruf was enraged and immediately marched his army back to Valkar where he promptly put an end to the false Lord Harlka and any of his followers who would not pledge fealty to him. Many nords chose to die rather than be dishonorable. Balgruf went on to grant his son leadership of Harlka's city Brestone to the east. After bringing his wife and children with him, he would turn the city into a major military power, successfully defending it from several behemoth attacks.

Lord Ailmer of the Silver Coast was able to designate farming land so the land would increase productivity. The silver mines in the north also contributed to the wealth of the hold. The silver coast became quite wealthy, and traded a lot with all other holds. While they did not have a significant army, the hold was filed with skilled workers and craftsman. They contributed greatly to many of the roads, bridges, and even assisted with many great structures. Using their immense wealth, nobles of the Silver Coast founded the great Academy of Winterfall which would become a center of knowledge for all of the continent. Each student was uniquely allowed to attend the university, so the knowledge was mainly granted to only the higher classes of citizens, highly intelligent persons, and of course certain special cases. These people would go to learn dozens of languages, master magical and nonmagical skills, and access the most advanced scientific and alchemical knowledge.

Lord Anec Noj filled Tandersun with great cities, massive monuments, and constructed one of the largest academies in Winterfall, providing free education to all who sought it known as The Nadora School of the Sun. However this put the hold into debt. During this time, Tandersun was populated by mainly Etnali settlers who sailed up the Sapphire Sea. These Etnali were famous for being great sailors and builders with their quick ships and massive palaces.

The Stoneface Pass was a hold dedicated to always being a safe homeland for dwarves of Winterfall. However, sitting on the main route from northern holds to southern holds, the main city of Thel Thorum quickly became quite wealthy and attracted many traders and merchants of all races. Eventually all the other races began to settle both inside the mountain and on the surrounding lands. The tunnels were dug deep, and the halls flowed with dwarven ale. Collecting gold from the travelers, the traders, and the mountain, the people of the pass lived happily.

The land granted to Taira Alokin was filled mostly with human farmers which suited Taira very well. She was already an old woman of 83 years when she took leadership of Dehn, however the gods seemed to grant her an extraordinarily long life. Taira Alokin ruled simply and basically did nothing, because everyone was happy and the hold was wealthy enough. The farmers supplied great amounts of resources to the armies of Cedia and the Ice Plains in addition to the rest of the continent.

Furthermore, these legendary lords lived and ruled for over a hundred years as if blessed by the gods. However, all great things must come to an end. The first lord to give up their seat was Ailmer of The Silver Coast who would pass it down to his disciple Erolith. Witnessing their friend passing along the reins, the other lords followed suite and each choosing a successor they deemed worthy.

Second Age of Winterfall:
Valkar- The second ruler of Valkar, Bryja Spring-Maiden was chosen during a large feast at the city of Varstead towards the end of the year 147. Here thousands of Nords from around the continent gathered to brawl for the right to rule a hold. A young fighter, distant relative of Balgruf emerged the champion. Once again, the major families of Valkar pledged their loyalty to the new lord.

During her rule Valkar remained strong and maintained a powerful army. However in the year 168 Bryja fell terribly ill, unable to wake from a deep slumber. In her stead, a man of her court known as Kargun Alrenson took over control. The first thing he did was replace several of the high ranking generals and advisors with close friends of his, and leaders of lesser clans. This offended the more powerful leaders, however they could not do anything to fight against them as the Lord held nearly all power. After Kargun and his counselors raised the taxes of the villages a massive amount, the other clan leaders gathered together to devise a plan to overthrow Kargun and place a rightful Lord on the throne. Kargun however soon discovered these conspirators and had them and several members of their family killed. One survivor, Luno, the 12 year old son of Vilnjar of the Vekel Clan, was able to escape the slaughter. Unable to turn to anyone, Luno traveled to the Ebonwood to speak with the lord and seek assistance. During his travels he met a young boy who called himself Amundi. The boy was also alone and the pair traveled together to meet with lord Sagemyre of the Ebonwood. When Luno explained his situation,  Lord Sagemyre gave the two boys a group of one dozen archers to accompany them back to Varstead where they would confront the usurper. When they arrived, Kargun immediately seized the archers and the two young boys. However Amundi revealed himself as a powerful sorcerer and silenced Kargun and his company, allowing Luno to kill him and many of his followers. Then Amundi went to Bryja in her chambers and healed her of her sickness. The boy then disappeared forever and Bryja assumed control as lord of Valkar with Luno Little-Flame as her steward and heir. In the year 183 Luno Little-Flame became the next lord of Valkar and several years later Bryja died of natural causes.

Stoneface Pass- Orin Stoneface's grandson, who had been groomed to be lord, wished to make The Pass into what it was truly meant to be, a stronghold for dwarves. Odum Stoneface first banned anyone but dwarves from living or working inside the mountain. Many were forced out of their homes and hundreds were displaced. Next, Odum greedily took advantage of traders and travelers, imposing a harsh tax on goods and people traveling through the mountains. This gave rise to a group of merchants forming the Coldfist Company to help deal with the harsh taxes. In addition people tell of secret group of smuggled goods through the hold and worked for many wealthy merchants throughout the continent. Most money went to into a vault deep underground and was locked away, hidden even from the dwarves of the Stoneface Pass.

Silver Coast- When all the leaders stepped down, the nobles of The Silver Coast gathered together to decide who would be the next person to lead them. The top contender was a promising young student at the University who was busy studying the Ryn'em. His name was Shayar Heza, a Ytheran who was born in The Silver Coast. Shayar however did not follow the Ytheran god and instead chose to worship The Nine, like most religions of Winterfall. In the early years of his rule many behemoths descended upon the farmers of the coast and brought destruction. Shayar decided the hold should establish a decent sized army so they could defend their land from both beast and humanoid races. This army was at first an immense failure. The soldiers were not trained very well and because of it, were unable to fend off the behemoths. However after several years, Lord Heza called upon great military generals from Valkar and Atlas to help train the soldiers. After this training, the soldiers were able to drive away a great behemoth known as the Thunderfoot (162). The next lord of the Silver Coast, Moonda was a high elf from the Island of Nulme who traveled across the ocean to study at the Academy of Winterfall. During his time at the college he became a master of elemental magic and learned to be a great politician. From a young age he set his ambitions high to become a Lord of Winterfall and he dedicated everything he did to this end goal. In the year 171 his ambition was reached when he was chosen as the third Lord of The Silver Coast. One of his first motions was to spread the knowledge of magic across the entire hold, establishing an organized Mages Guild, placing guild halls in each of the major cities. In the years to come, the guild would spread to many other holds.

Tandersun - Anec Noj who remained lord of Tandersun, was an ambitious man, and was still not satisfied with his accomplishments when the other lords gave up their rule. Anec planned to build one last temple, the largest one ever, in dedication to their god Valari. After four years of delayed construction due to various reasons, Tandersun ended up bankrupt due to borrowing money from other holds for the various projects.

Dehn - Dehn became increasingly wealthy under the leadership of its new lord Arlen Balleth. She wanted to keep the peace, however at the same time desired to make a name for herself and in order to do this he knew he must take risks. The land of Dehn had been loaning money for to the hold Tandersun, and soon the debts were beyond reasonable belief. Lord Arlen did not believe that the hold ever intended to pay her back, so she sent an emissary with a single message, that Dehn would not lend a single gold piece until Lord obtained proof that they would or even could ever be paid back.

Under a lot of pressure from holds such as Dehn, The Silver Coast, and Atlas to pay off the hold's debt, Anec Noj thought of a solution. First, the land of Tandersun would be taken over by Dehn, but it will also have to take their debts. Atlas wanted a portion of land from Tandersun too, and accepted that as their payment. Lastly, Lord would pay a hefty sum of gold to the Silver Coast as their payment. In the year 151 Anec Noj willing gave up leadership of Tandersun. This brought the total number of holds from 9, to 8.

Afterwards, Arlen continued the construction of the Great Temple of Olena(Valari) in the city Ale'ael even though she did not follow the beliefs of the Etnali. When the temple was completed in 159, the new citizens of Dehn praised her and gifted her a sacred artifact, the Sword of Light of some shit. This sword motivated Arlen to establish a small army of mercenaries, former bandits, and other odd peoples. By paying them incredibly well, Arlen secured their loyalty (161). With the continued development of the hold, many more settlers traveled from all over the world, particularly more Etnali from the East, and the once farmland was quickly spotted with towns and cities. In 176, when Atlas came under attack by behemoths and dragons, Arlen and her army marched to their aid, and although they lost control of the Spire, the army stopped any further damage to the hold. After Arlen helped slay the fierce behemoth, Thunderfoot, she asked lord Seir Zakaria for the return of the land given to Atlas in 151. The new lord was incredibly grateful to Lord Arlen for her help, and quickly agreed to the arrangements. Once again, the people of Dehn praised their lord for securing more land. Unfortunately for reasons unknown Lord Balleth was assassinated, poisoned during a celebration in 178. The next lord of Dehn chosen, was Qandar na Zanduq, a professor at the Nadora School of the Sun. During his reign as lord, he promoted the expansion of knowledge. Qandar lead the construction of massive siege weapons that could be used to defend themselves from the great behemoths. In the year 183, the army of Dehn used their huge ballista known as the Scorpion to defeat a sea behemoth that was attacking the fishing towns by the sea.

Ice Plains - When Lord Baryn of the Ice Plains stepped down long with the other lords, he appointed a high ranking general to take control of the military outpost. This human's name was Gerano Houst, a fantastic swordsman, but a less great tactician. Gerano was determined to defeat the beast that his predecessor was unable to defeat, and in 173 he called upon the armies of Winterfall to assist him in this mission. Most of the holds agreed to send troops apart from the Stoneface Pass, who's leader needed to be persuaded to even allow the armies to travel through the Pass. However because of the massive army assembled, the combined force was able to take down the massive Frozen Man-Basher and access its lair looking for valuable treasures and metals. For several years following the defeat of the Frozen Man-Basher, the Ice Plains workers uncovered a large amount of precious metals. Due to this, many of soldiers did not return home and stayed in hopes of making a small fortune for themselves. However also because of the once unified army of the Ice Plains soon fell apart and Lord Houst was unable to unite the army again during his reign. Additionally, a group of ex-soldiers found they could make more money by robbing workers and traders throughout the hold. Knowing he needed to do something about it, Lord Houst chose to establish an elite force of soldiers known as the Winter Guardians. These soldiers protected workers from bandits and beasts in the north, and allowed work to continue. At the ripe age of 76, Lord Houst passed away from natural causes and left leadership of the hold to his disciple, a half-elf Captain Galdyr Light (199). Under her rule the Winter Guardians established several forts throughout the Ice Plains and expanded their numbers to the thousands. However with more troops, they were unable to train add their status of elite and began to fall in numbers to beasts and bandits in the north. Additional rifts began to form within the Winter Guard and several hundred troops began following Captain Bartholomew Cross's almost insane dedication to the Goddess Dikenna, Lord of the Dragons, and hunted down criminals to burn them alive. However this soon went too far when Captain Cross's second in command began accusing members of the Winter Guard and killing them in a crazed frenzy. A battle broke out between the Guard and The Knights of the Cross, and when it began looking hopeless for the Guard, many of them switches sides, deserted, or surrendered. Unfortunately for the captives, they were burnt on a cross alongside their lord. In the year 212 Captain Cross crowned himself lord of The Ice Plains.

Atlas - Atlas begins to be assaulted by a feuding dragon and behemoth from the mountains. The lord of Atlas, Ribeka Serrett calls her army back, however they need to travel through the Stoneface pass. Odum charges General Hanhar and his troops an immense tax to allow his army to return to Atlas. The general pays and is not happy, but he has worse problems such as the two behemoths. Several towns and cities are destroyed and Atlas is forced to completely abandon mount Winterfall to the beasts, including their temple base. When the Order finally arrived back from the north, there was incredible destruction brought about by the two battling beasts. However the dragon was badly injured, and thunderfood had been slain by Arlen Balleth. The dragons was easily slain by the powerful paladins. However their temple base was completely destroyed. For several months the Lord Serrett lead assaults against other powerful beasts of the Spire, determined to rebuild their temple and conquer the land. However after two years she was slain in battle fighting against a rare and ferocious Void Dragon named Xalanth, Champion of the Dark. After their leader and lord fell, the Order of Ryheus gave up on their mission and returned to the safety of their cities. Soon after (177), a well-known monk and next leader of the Order, Seir Zakaria, took lordship of the hold with little conflict. After he was selected as the next leader of the Order of Ryheus, the paladins seized control of the hold, however the citizens were not opposed to this and allowed Zakaria to lead. Within the next few years the paladins would promote widespread worship of the god Ryheus throughout the hold. In the year 178, a group of paladins set out on a mission to attempt to climb the Spire, defeat Xalanth, and continue to spread the worship of Ryheus across Winterfall, leaving behind twin brothers, Elijah and Alric  for Lord Zakaria to care for. Over the course of several years, the boys were taught to worship and fight for their god Ryheus. When the boys were 18 years old they set out to the Spire to search for their father who never reached his destination in the Silver Coast. Upon the mountain they encountered a young dragon, Liovisa who spoke to them and revealed that a great empire would soon form to the south and they should prepare for possible war. When the boys asked the dragon if it had seen their father, he informed them that Xalanth had taken their father hostage for many years for reasons unknown. Liovisa then confronted Xalanth on behalf of the boys who wished to meet with their father. The three were allowed to meet in the ruined temple base where Matthius, the Paladin assured the boys that he was safe, however he would never be able to return, although he would live forever. He had become a Void Knight, chosen by Xalanth for a higher purpose and to serve the Gods. Along with Liovisa, the boys returned home to Seir Zakaria and the order, sharing the information they learned. Not long after, Seir Zakaria died of natural causes, and the two boys, now men, assumed leadership of the Order as they had been trained to. However the nation was without a lord, as nether brother wanted to assume the duty. Instead, they asked their dragon companion Liovisa to choose a new lord,  but when she selected a 7 year old orphan girl, the two men were baffled. Liovisa insisted that she take command and that the boys teach her as Seir had raised them. The men did as she asked, and took Juliana from her mother to live with them in the Temple of Ryheus. Right from the start, the people loved Lady Juliana as she spent her time and money helping the poor and weak citizens of Atlas. However the order knew that they still needed to prepare for possible war with the growing Kearan Empire. In the year 202, the 12 year old Lady began training to fight and lead an army and soon after, Liovisa took Juliana upon her back, acting as a fierce mount.

Stoneface Pass - In the year 187, 40 years into his reign, the second leader of the Stoneface Pass, Odum Grayface, began to tax his people too much and the people banded together in an attempt to overthrow him. This surprising notion scared all of the other leaders of Winterfall as they believed that they had been chosen for their position and could not be removed. After years of this harsh tax, many merchants refused to trade with Odum Stoneface. This left the dwarves of the mountain without food and much of the resources they needed to survive. Unhappy with how their leader treated them, the miners and crafters of the hold refused to work. The halted production caused a massive decline in the hold's income. Unwilling to meet the protestor's demands, Odum refused to step down from his position. Instead he called upon his army to attack the helpless citizens who simply desired a better quality of life. However the army general refused to kill the people he was sworn to protect, and instead turned on Odum. After denouncing Odum publicly, he was forced into exile. They did not believe that he should be killed because the gods might seek revenge, however he would not be allowed on the continent ever again. With no one to lead them, the dwarves held a proper election. Lords from the neighboring nations of Dehn, Cedia, and Atlas helped facilitate this election to assure its legitimacy. The woman who was elected to lead was a famous halfling merchant named Rolilee Rainsky some believe her influence with the secret smugglers guild helped her secure the position. In 189 she established the new hold of Whithorn. As promised, Lord Rainsky immediately lowered the immense tax on the dwarves as well as other merchants and travelers of other races. A majority of non-dwarves were able to recover their lost businesses and were even compensated for their troubles. Rainsky distributed a great amount of the gold that Odum had kept locked up back to the dwarves, as it was rightfully theirs. During her reign, it is believed that the Coldfist Company began to expand to several others holds and formed an official faction known as The Iron Brand, a group of thieves, smugglers, and underground merchants.

However after a long time (215), the influence of the Iron Brand became too great, and Lord Rainsky made the decision to prosecute several high ranked officials. When the groups' leaders were arrested, many others delivered threats and warnings to the lord, however she would not back down. After several attempts at her life, the lord stepped down in the year of 219. The people of Whithorn were afraid of retaliation from The Iron Band and elected their candidate as lord without a fight. The new lord Horaec Darkriver raised taxes once again but did not put the dwarves in such hard times as Odum had. However the new lord did not use this new wealth for strengthening their cities or army. Instead it was stored in the coffers of the Iron Band. Because of this new wealth, the leaders of the Band decided to raise their own group of mercenaries from outside the hold. This new army of included half-men as well as humans, orcs, and elves. When Horaec realized he must join the south in the war against the Empire in 230, no one would join his army by choice and he was forced to lead his medium sized army of mercenaries to battle. During a major battle that turned the tides in favor of Winterfall, one of the mercenary generals Brum Crestbone killed his lord Horaec, blaming it on the enemy and planned to return to Whithorn and claim lordship. However one loyal mercenary elf Tehlmir Ravarel had seen the act of treachery and had other plans.

Ebonwood - In the year 202, a behemoth emerged slowly from the swamps moaning and making massive amounts of noise, but not attacking anyone. After some exploring of this massive behemoth, many wise druids of the forest realized the beast was injured. They brought this information to the Lord Willow Sagemyre who insisted they leave it to die. Going behind her back, the powerful druids used their magic to heal the behemoth, believing it would not harm them. When the behemoth arose in a matter of months, it headed straight towards the sea, and although it did not attack anyone, it paid no attention to the trees and towns in its path. The massive swamp beast tore up entire tree-cities, harmed hundreds, and even killed several dozen who were unable to escape its path in time. However when the behemoth reached the sea, it swam several miles and simply floated there, creating a small island. Lord Sagemyre was furious with the druids who disobeyed her orders and helped the behemoth. As punishment, the druids were forced out of the hold, but they found a loophole, and traveled to the new island that would become their new home, naming it Tor Lumys.

Cedia - Meanwhile the population of Cedia is steadily growing as orcs from the Isles to the west begin mass migration to the hold. Tales of the orcish haven spread throughout the land and soon the cities of Cedia were bursting at the seams, filled with orcs. This massive migration caused the non orcish citizens of Cedia to feel isolated, and lead to a large amount of humans, elves, and dwarves to emigrate from to various other holds of Winterfall. The large amount of archetypal orcs now living in Cedia led to the hold regressing to more  of a classic Orcish country. Soon (211) a famous fight pit was established which brought even more powerful orcs and warriors trying to make a name for themselves. The first fight to occur in this arena was the current lord versus a well-known warrior from the Orcish Isles. Lord Ulak the Gray was an old orc and wished to die an orcish death, in an arena, with honor. The warrior, Kraglam Ragearm made short work of the old orc, and as their orcish heritage dictates, many people crowned him Lord of Cedia. This notion frustrated many of the other lords who believed their positions were incredibly important and should not be granted simply for killing a man. However the lords had other things to do and decided to allow it and see what would  happen. However over the next three years, the lordship passed from orc to orc seven times as each new lord fell to a stronger opponent in the arena. The hold's leadership was in shambles, and when orcish clans began raiding other holds, the other lords had had enough, and confronted the orcish nobles. While several older clans of Cedia natives agreed with the lords, they were severely outnumbered by the immigrants from Orcish Isles who felt like their culture was being attacked. After being confronted, the current lord Mazrol Ghorgak, a native of Cedia, was pressured into fighting back by the enraged orcs, while many of the older clans disagreed and sided with the other holds' leaders. When Mazrol Ghorgak refused to fight against the other holds, Wolfclaw, Gadakfang, Gorthaxe, Red Moon, and the Eternal Scar clans rose up, and began The Clash of The Clans (215) against the Skullfang, Gro'bashar, and Darkhammer Clans. While the older native clans initially seemed to be winning, the Skullfang clan betrayed their allies and their lord and turned to the other side, turning the war in favor of the new orcs. Marzol was furious with the traitors and when he realized they were losing, he called upon the other holds for assistance. He was answered with a small force consisting of the Order of Ryheus, the Circle of the Crystal Crown, and soldiers from the Ice Plains. With this new force, they were able to put down the rebellion and swiftly win the war. After the war, Mazrol Ghorgak abandoned their old orcish ways, insisting that Cedia was to be a more civilized hold and should hold themselves to higher standards. In addition, he punished the Skullfang clan for being traitors and abandoning their honor and homeland. Many of the leaders of the clan were executed, while even more members were exiled. As word spread back to the isles, different clans had vastly different opinions of Lord Ghorgak. While many people were still angry with how Cedia was run, others realized it was out of their control, and admired Ghorgak for his brutality against the traitors. This led to several of the more civilized and less bloodthirsty clans leaving the chaotic Orcish Isles, and heading to Cedia.

War with Keara
In the year 215, Lords of Winterfall (Lady Juliana, Lord Moonda, Lord Zanduq, and Lady Sagemyre) gathered together to discuss the recent expansion of the Kearan Empire into the Easter Lands and Agrule and possibly prepare for an invasion into Winterfall. Several Lords (Lord Cross, Lord Rainsky, and Lord Ghorgak and Lord Luno) were occupied and were unable to attend the gathering. They discussed the possibility of their land being invaded in the near future and set plans for defenses. It was most likely that they would be attacked through Atlas, Dehn, or the Silver Coast, so a great number of soldiers were to be stationed in these holds. When the ships of the Kearan Empire were spotted on the horizon in the year 218, the four armies of South Winterfall were prepared for battle. With their powerful Scorpion and trebuchets, the coast of Dehn was well fortified and they were able to destroy nearly a third of the Kearan ships before they could land. Met with defeat, the Legion retreated and attempted to land in two different locations, close to Atlas and on the south tip of the Silver Coast. They had more success in these two locations, and although both sides lost considerable numbers, the legions of Keara was defeated and forced to retreat back to Valador. However during the battle of the something Lord Zanduq was killed (219). Several years later, the armies of Keara expanded greatly after recruiting massive numbers of dwarves, Etnali, and Ytherans to their legions. With this great force they were able to land at several more locations across the south and east coasts of Winterfall. Fighting lasted for several years during which the legions were able to gain control of a majority of the southern shore and a large portion of The Silver Coast. Unfortunately, in 228,  seeing their eastern relatives fighting for Keara, many citizens of Dehn chose to turn sides when they began to lose their hold on the province. In battle, the eastern natives of Dehn stormed the palace and killed their lord, Lord Meykol Barton. Seeing this, Valkar joined the war and helped remove the legions from The Silver Coast for the most part. Finally in the year 230, the final provinces of the Ice Plains, Whithorn, and even Cedia joined their southern comrades in full force, allowing them to emerge victorious. While the southern lords were grateful for their northern counterparts joining the war, they were also very spiteful that they had waited so long. Several lords also died during the fighting, including Juliana of Atlas, Lord Horeac of Whithorn, and Lord Luno of Valkar, and Lord Sagemyre of the Ebonwood.

Post War
After a terrible battle with The Kearan Empire where so many died, the people of Winterfall returned to their holds with no desire to leave. The people wanted to be left alone with their remaining family and be at peace, however not everyone was granted this desire.

Atlas- After the death of Lady Juliana, her husband Varius Dryden, a noble knight of the order was chosen to lead for the time being. He lead the soldiers of Atlas in the remainder of the war against Keara, determined to avenge his wife. During the war, Atlas had lost several forts to the enemy, one of which, Calsley Keep, was retaken by a group of Akh'Dina. After the war, when lord demanded the fort be returned to the Knights of Atlas the Akh'Dina asked for compensation for their efforts and were offered nothing. When the assassin's refused to leave the fort, they were surrounded and cut off of resources or allies. After receiving several threats from other chapters, Lord offered Skelslide Stronghold in exchange, as well as a decent sum of silver in 235. The Akh'Dina accepted and left without anyone even noticing. However when they reached the new fort, it was in ruins. This trick would lead to a long history of bad blood between the Order of Ryheus and the Akh'Dina. The assassins slowly gained more power and to spite the Order of Ryheus they took over more fortress ruins. It was soon clear that the once secret gang of assassins would soon have more presence in Atlas than the native Order. In 245 the order had a peaceful takeover of two major cities of the hold. Varius and The Order of Ryheus felt incredibly threatened and conducted a witch hunt for the assassins, attempting to rid the Atlas of them. When dozens of both assassins and innocent civilians had been arrested and possibly tortured, the people began to rise up against the order. Varius realized he was losing Atlas to the assassin's and decided to focus the order's influence in the remaining cities where they worked hard to improve the cities and even do chores for civilians such as dealing with mountain lions, troll or goblin infestations, and even retrieving lost family heirlooms. At the same time, the Akh'Dina was attempting to do the same in their cities gaining people's support.

Akh'Dina slowly outnumbering the order, use espionage to infiltrate the Order and begin corrupting it from the inside. Soon enough, several of the top ranking members are turning on each other and the lord is paranoid. He thinks that the assassins are coming after him, so he enacts a curfew and increases his guard resulting in more arrests of innocent civilians. Drayden goes crazy trying to defeat the assassins and discovers a fake hint to where they might be and firebombs an entire town of innocent civilians. The people of Atlas went batshit crazy and charged the capital hall with the help of the Akh'Dina in 274. Varius was  to be spared, but the people ripped him apart. The head assassin named Marcus Temple was chosen to become the new lord, even though the Order or Ryheus still controlled several forts within the hold. Under new leadership, the order began terrorizing travelers and assuming control on their two remaining cities. Asher could not allow these non affiliates to have power. In the middle of the night, one of the remaining halls held by the OoR in Meradean is set on fire and begins to burn. Although all the people inside escaped, it was clear that the OoR is no longer wanted in the area. OoR gathers their remaining forces across the hold and abandons the land to reclaim the Spire in their name. They establish an 'independent' nation known as Ryhelm in 280.

Ice Plains- During the war, it was realized that Cross had in fact been following the orders of a powerful dragon named Bevelth. After returning to The Plains with his army, he realized that an escaped prisoner Iris Steele of the Winter Guard had united a small force of deserters and retake a single fort. However this fort was famous for being particularly impenetrable, the only way the succeeded was with the help of Jonah, a servant to Cross. The servant also revealed that Cross had joined the war so late, as to weaken the other holds and eventually wage war upon them when the war ended. Cross was determined to retake the fort, however he knew his massive army would sustain significant losses in order to do so. He decided to let them keep the fort and focus on his military campaign instead. This was until he discovered that Iris had sent out emissaries to the neighboring holds, detailing his plans. After Cedia and Whithorn only agreed to get involved if actually provoked, Iris herself went with a small band of soldiers to Valkar to ask for help. The lord of Valkar agreed to help, and in 235, marched his recently bloodied troops through the tundra of the north to the Ice Plains. However while Iris was away, the siege on Fort Wolvesley had begun and ended. The army reached fort just in time to watch the embers of the last burning bodies extinguish. The Winter Guard had put up a great fight, but the massive numbers of The Knights of the Cross along with the dragon Bevelth, were too much for them. However the nords of Valkar had fought dragons before, and we're prepared for the challenge. The two armies met in open combat and the nords emerged victorious. With a huge percent of the Ice Plain's population dying in the wars, the land was nearly abandoned. Although Iris was made lord, she was not lord over many. Soon Valkar, Cedia, Whithorn, and even Tandersun began settling the land hoping to claim parts of it for themselves. This made Iris mad and he made a deal with Valkar to give them some land and gold in exchange for their support. The hold was reorganized and remilitarized and although many left, a good amount stayed. She was able to reestablish the Winter Guard and produce a great amount of iron. And everything was good. However before long lord Frostulf believed he could take advantage of Iris and slowly began settling more and more of the IP. At first Iris did not pay much attention, but the nords soon pushed miles beyond the newly established borders and she knew something must be done. She knew that the Winter Guard would never beat the massive army of Valkar, but she believed she only needed to prove herself to gain lord Frostulfs respect. In 242 the armies of Valkar and The Ice Plains met to battle, but Iris informed her men to stand down as she walked to the center of the battlefield where she met lord Frostulf. The two battled nearly to the death, and it was clear that Frostulf would win, but with a swift move, she jammed a dagger into the foot of the nords and put him on his ass with a blade to his throat. The two would eventually marry and build a strong relationship between their holds.

So after  they marry everything is basically good. The two holds grow pretty great and strong. They have a son in 255 but he unfortunately /dies at a young age. Then they have a miscarriage in 262 again in 268, and finally a child who is born with a deformed face, an illness called Goblin Sickness in 286. Frostulf is old and weary and is ashamed of his legacy and orders his servants to kill the deformed boy, but Iris protects him and brings him back to the Ice Plains where she is lord. while she was gone she put someone in charge of the army which had grown considerably. Frostulf is mad that she took the child and ran and comes after her with some soldiers, but now the ice plains has some elite soldiers and they kick butt killing Frostulf (289) and his soldiers.

Valkar- Lord Frostulf Ironhand was appointed to the position with the support of the other clan leaders after Lord Luno fell in battle. While the south was consumed with the formation of the assassins and the mages guilds, the new lord of Valkar is busy celebrating victory, drinking and feasting. While he was busy some elders are worried that their expanding population (people traveled up north to escape the war) would lead to hardships. When Iris of the IP came searching for help, they saw an opportunity to obtain some more land and wealth. After fighting Commander Cross and placing Iris as lord, Valkar was granted an area of land that would become known as West Valkar. (238)

So after  they marry everything is basically good. The two holds grow pretty great and strong. They have a son in 255 but he unfortunately he dies at a young age. Then they have a miscarriage in 262 again in 268, and finally a child who is born deformed in 286. Frostulf is old and weary and is ashamed of his legacy and orders his servants to kill the deformed boy, but Iris protects him and brings him back to the Ice Plains where she is lord. while she was gone she put someone in charge of the army which had grown considerably. Frostulf is mad that she took the child and ran and comes after her with some soldiers, but now the ice plains has some elite mofos and they kick butt. Frostulf dies (289) and the end.

Dehn- (Westwater) - Following the war and the major Eastern uprising in Dehn, Lordship was assumed by a general, native of Dehn Dorian Graeme. The lord wanted to put a new face on the old hold Dehn, and went on to rename it Westwater. The general and his followers were furious about the eastern uprising, and brought their anger out on the Ytheran living in the hold. The whole Ytheran population of the hold was quickly raided, captured, and placed in work camps. Any Ytherans who were caught trying to escape the hold were killed. The lord and his soldiers sacked their sacred temple, constructed by whoever, and even dragged known Ytheran fighters out of their homes for public execution. This chaos has lasted over 60 years and is still going on.

Silver Coast- Lord Moonda didn’t really do shit. They had to rebuild a large amount of farms, towns, and cities after the war, however it was left to Moonda's second in command, as the lord disappeared a few years after the war ended. A half-orc paladin named Gal'balesh, the Silver Reeve oversaw the hold and its people to make sure everything was running smoothly. At the same time, several students from the Mages Guild began to search for Moonda. After the search went nationwide and every chapter of the Guild had begun to search for Moonda, they were convinced he was either dead or had left the continent entirely. After several years, a lead was found and the group of mages were able to discern that while studying portals, teleportation magic, and the void, he was lost in the Infernal Plane. Determined to rescue him, but not sure if he was still alive, several of these mages worked tirelessly to open a portal to the alternate plane. After months they finally succeeded and called upon an elite but small band of soldiers and mages to enter the portal and attempt to find Moonda. Sure enough, Moonda was being held captive by the Incinditry Prince in a massive palace. Fighting their way through the castle, the group finally reached the prince's chambers where they wounded him, but were unable to kill him. Moonda opened a portal with all his strength, and the group escaped, although several had died along the way.

Moonda is rescued from the infernal plane in 239. The people are mostly healed from the war and the buildings and cities have been repaired due to the outstanding work of the Silver Reeve. Um, in 286 some of the cliffs near the shore begin to erode, people work super hard to build a solid base for one of the large cities right on the cliffs, but it begins to crack in 288. Moonda calls the great mages and they figure out how to make the city float using a powerful magical artifact.

Cedia- Knowing about the war between Winterfall and The Kearan Empire, a few orcish clans crossed the ocean to join in the battle on both sides. They caused mass confusion, joining battles mid fight, and raiding villages throughout the nation. When the war ended and these raiders were finally confronted by the Hold's propper armies, they quickly resigned. Many returned to The Orcish Isles to fight for power, and many returned to Cedia to live. Some orcs even took up residence in many of the other holds, particularly Valkar, Atlas, and the Ice Plains where they could fight ferocious beasts.

After the war, the population of Cedia is booming with lots of orcs migrating to Winterfall to partake in the war. With a looming threat existing in the IP, the Ragearm attempts to unify the scattered clans and mercenaries in case they need to fight. However Valkar deals with the Knights of the Cross and when they are given land in exchange, the orcs get jealous and want to invade the IP. Ragearm has to do what's best so he does nothing about it, he doesn't have the resources to fund a war but mercenaries don't understand that, they just want to fight. Ragearm wants them all to chill out so he holds a tournament in 240 to see who the best fighter is. People travel from all over Winterfall as well as the Isles to watch and participate. As per orcish culture, over 100 men and women die in the fighting. After the champion is crowned, a huge celebration is held where Ragearm is assassinated in 248. The people select a new lord, a halforc who had done outstandingly well in the tournament but had been spared by an elf fighter in the later rounds. He gained honor and respect from the orcs, however not all of them wanted him as a leader.

The champ had a small following who insisted he challenge the Lord Aggunar. In 251 the champion was cut down by the guard when he attempted to duel the lord causing a small civil war to break out which ends in 256 with the Lord's victory. Aggunar begins to unite the people and explain that they are seen as lesser due to their uncivilized ways. He wants to change their politics but not their culture. He establishes the first council of the clans, where the major and minor clans each have a proportional say in the actions of the hold. He also began the construction of several major stone cities rather than small clan villages. The biggest of these cities, Razdagh was constructed surrounding the arena. Thousands came to live in the new city, and it was made the official capital in 279. Three years later, several clan leaders and families traveled from the Isles to hold a feast and tournament in this new stone city. The lord was praised as a great orc and lord, he was begging to get old, but he was not ready to give up the lordship.

Ebonwood - With Lord Sagemyre falling in battle, the High Order of the Crystal Crown had to select a new Lord. It was an unexpected occurrence, but they chose a half elf ranger known for being a master of the forest. Erovar was taken in by the Akh'Dina after his family was killed by invaders from Winterfall. The Akh'Dina elvish for Army of Silence, was a group of mainly elvish assassins that emerged during the war with The Kearan Empire. The group initially formed in the Silver Coast, but quickly spread to the Ebonwood and Atlas. The Order did not know that Erovar was part of this secret order however they did discover soon after. When the Order tried to remove Erovar from the position, several High Order members were assassinated believing they could help Erovar. However Erovar did not approve of this and was stuck in the middle of a feud between the two factions. He only figured out one way that he could fix the situation, and as per tradition, challenged the several members who conspired in the assassinations. Erovar had to duel six of his associates at once, all on his own, however both the Akh'Dina and the Crystal Crown had trained him well and against all odds, he prevailed. With the death of the conspirators, Erovar was able to earn back the respect of both factions and rule in peace.

Erovar takes over in 230, fights against his brothers and unites the 2 factions in 238. They work together to protect the hold, collecting info on other holds and outside nations. Some elves in the Circle of the Crystal Crown begin listening to the propaganda by Elf Naerim who tells them that the Akh'Dina are trying to take over, as they began to do in Atlas. As the Akh'Dina in Atas continues to take more land, the circle grows weary of their overall intentions. During one of their regular meetings, Naerim had plotted to usurp the lordship and murder nearly a dozen of the Akh'Dina and even two members of the Silver Circle who opposed him. Under his rule the Ebonwood began to raid nearby holds such as the Silver Coast, Valkar, Atlas, and even The IP's. (years?)

So back in the day Naerim took over and killed Erovar for the crown of the Ebonwood and had a group of traitors basically take over the hold and threaten to kill anyone if they didn't join or stay out of his way. He took his merry band of elves and attacked towns and villages in the Silver Coast and Valkar, stealing gold and silver from anyone they could find. Eventually the SC gathered an army and occupied the Ebonwood and Moonda placed one of his trusted friends, Trexus Azure, as lord. The elves did not trust this lord at first, but he helped defeat Naerim and restore peace, so they grew to like him.

Whithorn- Brum Crestbone lead the army of mercenaries back to Whithorn planning to seize lordship when he returned, however a loyal elf Tehlmir Ravarel knew the truth. At the same time, the dwarves of Whithorn had plotted to reclaim their hold from the Iron Band and imprisoned many high ranked members while their army was away.

When Brum reached the doors to the city of Damdulir, he was met by an army of dwarves who denied his claim at the throne. At the same time, Tehlmir spoke out against Brum leading to a large battle. Mercenaries loyal to Brum attacked other mercenaries who supported Tehlmir. Then the dwarves joined in on Tehlmir's side and together they drove Brum out of Whithorn. When the dust cleared, Tehlmir announced his desire to lead the hold, however he was worried that the dwarves would not support him. However during time of Iron Band occupation, Tehlmir made a name for himself amongst the families of dwarves, being lenient, friendly and supporting the people, unlike many others. Astoundingly, Tehlmir was chosen by the Ruling Council in 231.

He worked to share his elven values of magic with the dwarves and halflings and opened a chapter of the Mages Guild of Winterfall in 238.

Telmar Ravarel doesn't focus on building an army at all. He let everyone do what they want and everything is pretty good. The miners mine and several builders construct forts on the surface. Due to their lack of an army, Telmar is reluctant to join the fight against Commander Cross.

The mages guilds form in 238, there are 3 major locations each focus on a separate type of magic (illusion, conjuration, elemental) In 276 Telmar decides they need a grand wizard of the hold and holds a contest between the three guild halls. A young halfling wizard is the winner beating all odds and becomes the grand wizard. Several mages are angered and split off to form another guild hall in seclusion. Telmar takes the halfling under his wing knowing that although he was immortal, an elf could not maintain leadership of a dwarven hold for that long. He makes it clear that Frog will be the next lord and people are happy. He takes control in 300 at the age of 42, still young for a halfling. Telmar reveals his relations with the Akh'Dina of Atlas whom he had been paying a hefty sum of gold and jewels in exchange for his support. Telmar stays to advise Frog for a little bit. When he leaves Frog decides he doesn't want to keep paying the Akh'Dina so far away and decides to build his own secret assassins guild strictly loyal to him. Instead of building an army for the hold, he builds an army of assassins for himself.