Arafel, Pre-Asmodian Insurrection

As the last Dark Age slowly faded and civilization began to reclaim the vast wildernesses of the North, human settlers came to the lands of Arafel. Moving East towards the Sunborne Sea they found fertile soil, natural harbors, and geography that provided some protection (mountains in the north and the Cyr Bryr forest in the West). Most were peasant farmers from the feudal lands of what would become the Kingdom of Timbal. Seeking a new land with more opportunities they made the dangerous journey over the Barrier Peaks. They sought to make a new home for themselves with more freedom and equity.
In the early years there was much mingling with the Iraens of the Cyr Bryr, which introduced a considerable amount of elven blood into the culture. While standoffish and suspicious, the Iraen elves were instrumental in helping the eastern moving settlers. They help them learn foraging skills. Some of the humans adopted the Iraenian druidic faith, which is still found in some farming families. While many of the individual elves were friendly with the humans, as a society, the elves were not open to their new neighbors and the official relationship remained strained for many generations.
In time, ironically, the lands united into a feudal society, much like the one they had originally left. The Kingdom of Arafel was based around three of its largest settlements: Matharyn, Davelyn, and Ghastenhall. For several hundred years the area continued to grow, ruled by a series of “kings” who took the throne by sword and seldom lasted more than a generation or two. Eventually the squabbling nobility (to use the term loosely) was united under King Barca using equal parts intimidation (by the would-be King’s heavy hand) and fear (of raiding bandits, orc tribes, and Iraens). While rife with corruption, the early years of Barcan rule were generally very prosperous. Arafel knew peace and expanded north to the river and west to the forests and mountains.
For its first eight hundred years Arafel was a polytheistic monarchy. The first great upheaval occurred when the decadent Barcan line was disposed by the House of Darius. Markadian Darius defeated King Jaraad Barca at the battle of Tamberlyn Field. The new King Markadian Darius I showed mercy on House Barca and allowed them to keep most of their lands and titles. Markadian was a devote follower of Tyr and his worship vaulted in to prominence in the Kingdom. Markadian I was a great King. He defeated an Orc Horde at what would become the city of Farholde. He reinforced the Watchwall, the series of connected Fortress that guarded Arafel’s northern border. He brought abusive nobles to heel and improved the lives of the peasants. Working with the clergy of Tyr, Arcadian laws were clarified and sophisticated system of courts was created. The Arcadian courts were divided into the common court and the noble court. Peasants could not bring charges against a noble person, unless another noble sponsored their case.
After a century of rulership, Markadian I died in an accident on a hunting trip. Per his wishes, he was laid to rest and now serves Tyr in Heaven, despite many who would have seen him resurrected.
Martius Darius was crowned King Markadian II. He was known as more of a builder and scholar than a true King. He built a great library in Matharyn and the great palace outside the capital known as the Adarium. After a brief rule, his reign was cut short by the blade of his own brother, Prince Hellen. He took the crown for himself, becoming King Markadian III. He held the throne for a few brief years before “accidentally” falling from a high tower. During these few years, King Markadian III proved himself quite mad. He believed he was the son of an angel and planned to lead his army to attack Hell itself. His “accident” was likely carried out by either the Church of Tyr or his own family.
King Markadian IV, his son, had been secreted away by the Church to protect him from his mad father. He returned to take the throne and proved himself an able politician and ruler, if not the paragon of virtue his grandfathers were. After taking the throne he used the Cult of Asmodeus as a scapegoat, blaming them for his father’s madness. The Church of Asmodeus was small in Arafel with a few peasant cultist and a number of power seeking nobles. The people, outraged, supported the “Asmodean purges” that saw the religion all but eradicated in Arafel. Markadian and his associates used the purges to remove their rivals, enemies and anyone they felt like. Titles were stripped, people executed, and lands seized and given to loyalist to the throne. The Church of Tyr cemented its importance in the rule of Arafel and rivaled the throne in influence.
Asmodeus was further blamed when King Markadian IV died of a mysterious disease at a young age. This began a long period of discouraging any worship but Tyr. Even other “good” faiths were barely tolerated. The Church of Tyr became more and more powerful, becoming a major part of the ruler ship of the Kingdom. Luckily, King Markadian V was an excellent ruler, who at the age of 22 helped repel an orc incursion at the Watchwall. After another fifty years of successful service, he was eventually deposed by a conspiracy of Asmodean followers. This ended the first incarnation of the Kingdom of Arafel.

Structure

Pre-Asmodian, the Kingdom of Arafel was a traditional monarchy. It was ruled by a King or Queen. Noble families owned the land and allowed common folk to work it for a portion of the yield. In return the Nobles protected the common folk with its military and enforced the Kingdoms laws. In practice, it was not quite so nice. The Church of Tyr had a major role in the later years and no major decision was made by a King without consulting the religious leaders.

Public Agenda

Public agenda in olden Arafel was largely about keeping the status quo for the Nobility who enjoyed their status and wealth. Some rulers had more noble projects (Libraries, Churches, trade). Defense of the nation from raiding human and orc tribes from the North and sometimes from the Iraen to the West was also important. A few small peasant uprisings were also quashed.

Assets

A Kingdom as large as Arafel had numerous natural resources. There was shortage of farmland and wooded areas for lumber and game. The seas and rivers provided fish. The Arafelians were not great miners, but did extract some iron from various areas. They were adequate, if uninspired, craftsmen. Most luxuries were brought in by outside merchants over long distances and this made them quite expensive.

History

Secrets: Markadian III was thrown from the tower by his young wife. Queen Delya had been a common women before being chosen by the King as his wife (when he was slightly less mad). Few knew that her family was blessed with the blood of dragons and she had developed some remarkable abilities. After her husband fell to his death she did not give a reason and the relieved court did not ask any. The official word was that she retired to a monastery to spend the rest of her life in prayer and quiet contemplation. In fact, the former Queen Delya left Arafel to seek her fortune with a few trusted companions and never returned. The "mysterious disease" that killed King Markadian was in fact, part of a plan of revenge by some of the few remaining worshippers of Asmodeus who unleashed a lesser strain of the Tears of Achlys, a magical and semi-aware plague from the Abyss, that had been modified as a weapon. The royal priests and healers found that they could not fight stop the disease from killing the King and that every time he was resurrected, he returned with the plague and soon died again. It was a record of this creative and effective assassination that Adrastus Thorn discovered in his research that gave him the idea to recover the plague and use it as a weapon against all of the followers of Tyr.

Demonym

Arafelian