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Information from the Great Library in MalmukOverview
You live in the Kingdom of Arre, which is jointly ruled and primarily populated by elves and humans. The throne is always held by one of mixed heritage. There are other kingdoms of elves and humans but this is the only one that has been able to mix successfully. To the east, over the Sea of Stars is the kingdom of Tsia (primarily human), to the north the frozen planes and to the east, under the Thorin Mountains lay the kingdom of the Dwarves, further east are the Lands of Aperia. You have occasionally heard bards sing tales of a kingdom of elves who dwell in the perpetual twilight of the north but they are generally considered myth. Dwarves are common in Arre as they are successful traders, bringing dwarven gold, silver and highly valued weapons and trinkets of all kinds. Due to the dual nature of the country there seems to be a higher level of racial tolerance than in other places so it is not uncommon to see people of different races, especially in the larger cities.
The King/Queen rules the land through designated Barons who have a great deal of authority in their lands. The Baronies are Telaye, Laeran, Shaskito, Braler, Onease, Vestene, Justel, Arrlin, Mythil and The Northern. The Northern is the area between Stadoric and the northern wastes and is patrolled by the North Watch and is not considered a Barony. You live in the Barony of Justel and the capital city is Medtarth, which is far to the south. The Baron titles are generally hereditary but it is not unheard of for a baron to be removed, generally for abuse of power or disloyalty, and replaced by a person of the King's choosing. Orin (the 5th in h is line), Baron of Justel has been a fair lord and the recent years have had good harvests, low taxes and peace. You have all grown up in the village of Raven Cliff. The Kingdom has been peaceful for years since King Sident ascended the throne 30 years ago after the old king died under questionable circumstances. The capital and King are very far removed from you and other than the low taxes that are paid to the King there is not much thought given to the far away royal house. That is not to say that there is no loyalty to the King - just that on a day-to-day basis he does not impact your life much.
Your grandparent's settled in Raven Cliff after years of successful adventuring and the town has grown up hearing tails of their exploits. As you grow up you are pretty sure that all these tales have been greatly exaggerated and your grandparents are just being humored. These heroes' tales have filled your head all your life and you wonder if you will ever get the chance to experience some adventure yourself. The most exciting things that has ever happened to you are the once a year trip to the Harvest Festivals in Westmoor (the closest town). Most people in the kingdom worship the High Lord and his servants. In times past there have been many conflicts between the High Lord and the Nameless One who seeks dominion over all. The Nameless One is worshipped by evil beings off all races and is not known for its leniency if it perceives weakness or failure in its worshippers.
Gods of Arre
History of Arre
0 - The Landing
When the original eight ships of humans landed in Arre. Landing Day is a yearly celebration with feasts and gift giving.
73 - Government established
Elves established benevolent monarchy over the joint kingdom.
235 - Tsia settled
Kingdom of Tsia established. Relations are good with Tsia and trade is healthy.
993 - Mage Wars
The powerful and evil mage Greth sets himself up to rule Arre. When faced with defeat he tries to crash the moon, Kanchi, into the planet. Greth was defeated by the King's champion, Vorion, who sacrificed himself to prevent the disaster. The High Lord made him the patron of Magic for his deeds. The moon's new location made the oceans and seas un-navigable.
1350 - Moritai ascends throne
Moritai was an imposter who through magic was made to look like a prince who was lost but who was really a servant of Lloth.
1367 - Time of Troubles begins
Moritai persecutes and slays his enemies and tries to turn the elves against the humans.
1407 - Narrion leads revolt
Narrion was a farmer's daughter from the hills of Resque who lead a revolt against Moritai and defeated him. She later was slain but was blessed by the High Lord and became his servant and the patron of justice and the defender of the weak.
1408 - Crown is passed to a mixed blood and is from this time onward always held by one of mixed heritage.
1689 - Team established to try to find a way to trade over sea again
1737 - Air Ship successfully sailed by creators Masseler and Olysesis
2039 - Great Orc War begins
Chalis, a dark elf priestess, raised a powerful army including all the evil creatures of the dark; orcs, ogres, thrulls, evil dragons and giants to destroy Arre and subjugate its people.
2057 - End of Orc Wars
During the final battle King Alzavate was slain and his teenage daughter, Sólindë, took control and rallied the army for the final pitched battle, which saw the defeat of Chalis and the decimation of her army.
2172 - Queen Sólindë slain by an assassin
2252 - King Davenlor dies under questionable circumstances. Prince Sident ascends the throne.
2259 - Prince Sident marries Elanis
2261 - Princess Maris born
2266 - Princess Rachael born
2268 - Princess Margrem born
2271 - Queen Elanis, Princess Margrem and Rachael slain in bandit raid
2282 - King Sident slain by magical means & Princess Maris ascends the throne.
2283 -
The kingdom goes to war with Aperia over the sale and trading of airships and the crystals used to power them. The war ends but there is great loss of life on both sides. As part of the settlement the Queen is betrothed to the fourth son of the Royal Family of Aperia - Kailor Sen-Narha. Furthermore Arre will give a fleet of five airships to Aperia and train their crew. In return Aperia will sell five crystals a year to Arre.
"Between the river splits, the hope lies. One hundred and ninety miles of the edge. Up the watery vein that, that again until the rough is smooth. In the dagger's sheath, buried deep. Two futures true, one in black and one in blue. Heal, guide, shield, balance, focus, and jest. Here find further clues to what tomorrow may hold."
After some research, they note that the location is in a town between Medtarth and Little Mills that used to be called Dagger's Sheath. The swim under a rock in the river, and receive a message from the Snow Elf queen
"You must gather 3 of the crystal shards and take them to our ancient northern hold (in the Shadow Mountains). Set the 3 shards on the pedestal, and the Founding Stone on the other pedestal in the Great Hall. Your enemies have two of the shards. Three shards give power, and five shards give overwhelming power."
2284 - Current year
History of the Air Ships
The inability to trade over seas was a serious set back to civilization and although Arre needed little outside of what if could produce the rich spices and fabrics of the southern lands and Tsia was a painful loss. A small group of humans and elves decided there had to be a way to trade with the nations over the ocean. With a grant from the crown they set out to develop a new trading route or method. Several years past and many designs were tested and discarded. The elves enjoyed the challenge and as always the humans refused to believe there was something they could not do. When many of them were starting to give up hope and the King was starting to expect some results - they got the idea that perhaps the seas would never be navigated again but maybe they could sail ships through the air instead.
The metal Thuvite is spelled to float and used to build the ships. The ships get their power from inscrolled gem. How the gems are inscrolled is a little known secret. The crews of the ships are always human or 1/2 elf and only serve for three years. The ships are retired after one hundred years.
Since the secret of the air ships is unknown outside of Arre they helped the country grow to be a trading power. The ships are never sold but are leased for periods of years and this leasing is one of the largest sources of income for the country. If any damage is deliberately done to a ship that country is boycotted and no other countries will trade with it. There have been many attempts to discover the secret of the air ships but the spell to the gems is know only to a small group of mages and the identity of those mages is known only by King and the mages themselves.
No type of fire can ever be used upon the air ships. In order to cook, warm the quarters, etc mages have developed a variety of heating spells.
More Arre
Since transportation moved from water to sky the use of sky-faring beasts has become more common. Due to their more placid and flexible nature hippogriffs are the most common of these mounts. Flying mounts will eat three times as much as their land bound counter parts and as such are costly to keep. Pegusi are not known in Arre and are generally considered myth. Griffins are extremely rare and due to their vicious nature (they will attack horses and hippogriffs on sight) are almost never used as mounts. Also rare but occasionally used are great eagles but since they are carnivorous and prefer high aeries to nest they are only kept by the most wealthy.
Horses of southern Arre are generally very fleet of foot, long legged and long necked. These breeds are often gold with dark spots or cream with dark stripes. These mounts are typically used when speed is of the essence and the terrain not too difficult. Since their legs are slim they do break more easily than their sturdier cousins. This is not to say they are fragile animals but simply less hearty than some of the other breeds. The horses of northern Arre tend to be smaller and sturdier with less flashy coloring. Their coats range from snowy white to dark mottled green and most things in-between. The two breeds can be crossbred to get a sturdier mount than the southern but faster than the northern animals. In the far west can be found horses that have been specifically bred as battle steeds. They are massive beasts with broad chests and big heads that can move very quickly for short periods of time or more slowly for longer. These animals are mostly black or brown with a few deep red animals. They are smart but time consuming to train. The western warhorses will defend their partners to the death - often standing vigil for days.
Further to the north horses are not used at all but replaced with great lizard like beasts called Exas. The creatures have thick scales, which are usually cream and tan colored making them very difficult to see against the snowy plains. Exas have large luminous eyes with heavy bone ridges, which arch up into two sharp curving horns. They are native to the northern plains and keep herds of hearty yaks as food. The creatures are intelligent and work in partnership with the humans and elves to protect the border from the northern thrulls.
Thrulls look like a cross between an elk, human and wolf. Their lower body is that of a massive elk, swift and powerful, their torso is humanoid and their heads are wolf-like with sharp antlers. What created these creatures is unknown but as far back as the history goes there have been thrulls in the northern wastes. They will kill and eat anything - they are sly and intelligent. Their great herds have been reduced over time but it is believed they still number in the thousands.
The most dangerous of the thrulls are the bands of young male who have been forced out of the herds. These males form small groups of 7-20 whose only purpose seems to be raiding into northern Arre. Even though their shape would seem to indicate otherwise the thrulls main goal is to kidnap young women and girls. If raped by a thrull, human women have a 30% of having a thrull baby - the birth is always fatal for the mother. There is a 10% chance the child will be a normal human (which the thrulls will kill immediately), 25% chance the child will be mostly human but with some fatal deformity, 30% will end in miscarriages. The last 5% of children appear to be human but if allowed to live will have some random powerful abilities like being able to see at night, very good hearing or sense of smell etc. These cases are rare in the extreme (only 2 documented ever). If women are recovered from the thrulls they are almost always quite insane.