History of the Oscosian Empire

Oscosia, to stand against The Black March (2500-2000)
While Erathis and Asmodeus toiled away in the northern parts of Delvatoria, another more insidious being made their way into Caelos by way of The Abyss. Orcus, The Demon Prince of Undeath crashed his way into the Prime Material, seeking to dominate and bring the rest of this new realm under the thrall of his necromantic powers. Luckily, there was one who would stand against this threat. The Raven Queen was never one to commiserate with her adopted family over good or evil, but hers was the domain of moments and fate. With Orcus’ aim to end the transition from life to death, and to enslave the body and soul, his very essence was nothing but an insult and the greatest of threats to her ways. So began their war over the bridge between Oscosia and Ashana (The Deadlands). For over a century, they battled across the landscape, destroying or dismantling each other’s machinations and plans. Eventually the time came that the other gods were beginning to construct the means to drag all the deities and extraplanar superpowers back to where they came from. Both knew that with limited time, their best approaches were to train up followers; choose their most powerful champions and bring them here, to finish the work they’d begun, in the hope that they’d be strong enough to combat the influence of all the others around them. Orcus summoned his faithful servant and exarch, the Witch-King Zhengyi who held the ability to raise most any being as an undead thrall in service to him. To combat him and the forces of undeath, The Raven Queen brought a champion of her own, including a force to aid them in any way they needed; their name was simply Wolf, as all who joined the Queen of Ravens gave up their names and identities to become perfect implements of her wrath. One of the most intriguing parts of The Raven Queen is her fascination and favoritism toward mortal races, specifically humans. While all the other gods or evil powers would conscript immortal or undying servitors, she would always elevate mortals who dedicated themselves to her instead. This is how the only kingdom of Humans was founded within all of Caelos.
It was with the arrival of these servitors that both great powers went back to their planes of origin. The Wolf built the first settlement that over the last two and a half thousand years has evolved into Vibrantis. Zhengyi took his time slaughtering his way across the countryside within Ashana, raising every being he felled, growing stronger and stronger by the day. Eventually the conflict came to a head at the border of Oscosia, near the edge of the Southern Oscosian Plains, between where Northwatch and Southwatch are today. Wielding a gnarled and twisted black staff called Soulbreaker, the Witch-King commanded his armies across the plains hoping to simply overwhelm his foes and make quick work of the living. He warned his thralls to be gentle with their corpses, as they’d soon be joining the Black March against the rest of Caelos. Wolf was no stranger to death, or undeath for that matter. His queen demanded that the line that existed between life and death be respected; once you’d gone across, it was tempting fate to try and breach the veil again. Though humans were generally considered weaker, shorter-lived, and not particularly talented in the magical arts, they did have one trait that no other race could rival; their will. The determination to fight against aging, with the desire to make an impact on the world while they had time gave them a perspective seldom held by any immortal being. With less time, and resources they became smarter, wilier, more versatile, and it was this trait that won the day against the forces of The Black March at the end of the 1st age. Wielding his weapon Valkyris, the undead ran atop constructed pits missing a portion of the army they were to slaughter. When the fighting began well beyond these pits, the Witch-King was caught off guard only holding back a few servants for himself. Though it cost Wolf his life, he and the rest of humanity saved Caelos that day, and won an impossible battle against death itself.
Death Defeated (?) (2000-1000)
With the threat of impending death put to rest, at least for a time, those who survived the final conflict began to make a home of Oscosia. Vibrantis became known as The City of the Spark, as those who survived saw themselves as the very essence of what it meant to be alive. Fortresses were constructed along the border of Ashana (The Deadlands) as Wolf always spoke of the fact that in order to truly end the tyranny of Orcus and his servant Zhengyi they would have to find his home and slay him there, burning and consecrating the land. There were four Lords who served under The Wolf and led troops into battle under him:
• Felix Ignatius was also a devout follower of The Mistress of Ravens, hoping to rid the world of undead and its curse before embarking on his own quest to end The Prince of Death himself.
• Claudia Avite was a stalwart warrior in her own right, but her true skill was organizing and inspiring her fellow people to whatever task lay before them.
• Tettiena Vitas was less interested in fighting, but had a mind as sharp as a diamond. She was a tactician at heart and had some affinity for magic herself.
• Lucius Secatem was a great warrior who hated fighting undead and the like, but loved a good fight.
Each of these people spent the remainder of their lives completing tasks suited to their strengths. Claudia put up her sword and went on to lead what remained of humanity into reclaiming the land around them and building what is the Oscosian Empire as it’s known today. Felix decided to uphold his oath to The Raven Queen and established Raven’s Claw Keep outside of what would become Harper’s Cross hundreds of years later. He sought out recruits and those he deemed worthy both of character and ability to follow him into The Deadlands to keep pursuing their ancient foe Zhengyi believing that Wolf’s warning should be heeded. The others did not think that after such a rousing defeat, the ancient mage would dare to move against them again. The Raven’s Claw Order continues to send out scouting parties to this day to discover the ancient resting place of the long forgotten monstrosity and complete the work that began millennia ago. Tettiena worked alongside Claudia, growing and sharpening her skills with magic to help construct and build up the city in ways beyond what a normal mortal would be capable of. She eventually built her own college, where those gifted with magic could seek to train and study, provided they would join with the state and serve for a time enlisted to aid in whatever ways they could. Her college was called The Vitas Academy and is still a staple in the society of the Empire serving as a funnel for the most powerful magic users at their disposal. Lucius took himself and his ilk back to the capital and built a keep with the money they’d earned and collected over the years. He was on record as not being a fan of dealing with the undead more than one had to for survival, but rather he was interested in all the other creatures and beasts that roamed the lands of Oscosia especially to the south. He eventually built a relationship with The Academy to go and obtain rare ingredients that were only found near dangerous beasts or were physically part of a beast. So long as The Academy paid well, he would send his Valestriders out into the wilds to either fight and slay these beasts or to gather the requested materials.
A few hundred years into the 2nd age, there came a great migration from the north of the Empire from a mostly unknown region. Thousands of smaller, stockier folk known as “dwarves” came pushing through the forests exclaiming about their red-skinned slave captors to the north of these woods. For a time they stayed in Arginstone along the shores of the Alabaster Sea. There they helped to build the great stone structures that exist today in exchange for some space to live amongst themselves. Claudia thought slavery to be a detestable practice and as such it was banned across the Empire before any of this ever happened. And so the Dwarves from Kerismattia found refuge amongst the people of Oscosia forging close bonds and trust between them. After a hundred or so years there became too many of these refugees to continue existing in Arginstone as they were, and so they set out to found their own city at the base of a mountain south of Vibrantis. With the blessing of the current leadership in the capital, the dwarves led an exodus from Arginstone to the base of the mountains, where they built their own city that stands to this day, Castingrat.
After the founding of Castingrat there came emissaries from Kerismattia who were seeking counsel with the king at the time. They warned that the continued aiding of these fugitives would mean war against all of Kerismattia. The king at the time was Epidus Avite and just like his great-grandmother before him, he would not tolerate the forced labor and enslavement of any within his borders, and so he sent them back with his answer. So began a 32-year conflict between the Empires that cost a great of lives, money, and led to The Sacking of Arginstone where the city was occupied by an enemy fleet for a few years near the end of the war. During this conflict a resident group of dwarves who chose to stay led a rebellion against the forces holding the city. The dwarf who led this rebellion was named Thane Steeldawn and after he’d driven their foes outside of the city and returned it to the hands of Oscosia he decided to stay and build a keep himself. The Steel Dawn Keep still stands to this day and is a successful mercenary company always taking work except from any of those that are part of the Kerismassian Empire as stated in its founding charter. Since that war there have been numerous conflicts akin to this one, but none of them every vastly successful or led by Oscosia itself.
Near the end of the 2nd age, the undead activity began to pick up near The Deadlands and raids became regular along the border. One fateful night there came a loud cracking noise emanating from the base of Southwatch, where some beast or creature had broken through. Out of the dust and everlasting twilight of Ashana’s skies there came a legion of ghouls and other shambling undead, pouring through the hole made in the keep. They were quickly overwhelmed, the local magister barely escaping with her life and a few guards in tow, they warned of the coming onslaught. For the next year, they battled back these undead, though they seemed more aware and intelligent, not just throwing themselves at the wall as had only been seen before. The current Herald of Raven’s Claw Keep pledged his soldiers to lead the assaults against such creatures. They’d warned them of the oncoming threat, though even they were unaware of these “ghouls” that were able to speak and reason. The battle to retake Southwatch was disastrous and costly, though ultimately successful. The undead stationed there had dug in and made use of the defenses themselves, setting up traps and launching counterattacks against the forces of the living. When Herald Oren fought his way onto the top of the keep he found a group of these creatures in armor, wielding weapons and utilizing magic. All but one were slain, and it spoke a warning to them that has been kept from most people as to not alarm or incite any sort of panic.

We’re not gone, and we’ll be back. Time has not been your ally.

In an arcane flash, the creature disappeared leaving the remaining undead seemingly without a leader, and they resorted to the expected savagery one thinks of concerning undead. There’s been no incursions since that time, though there have been whispers of increasing activity near the edge of the borders. Nobody has spoken to the current Herald of the Raven’s Claw in a very long time.
A Quiet Time (1000-present)
The 3rd age has been one of serenity and peace for the Oscosian Empire:
• There have been expeditions toward the southern end of the continent through the Vermillion Savannah but not to great success. There are many dangerous creatures that bar the way and the time and money it would cost to clear out such a vast region with the warm and dry climate it hosts hasn’t been a priority for the Empire as of late.
• Castingrat has been in recent years beset upon by a particularly savage and dangerous tribe of white-skinned orcs from the southern forests now named the White Orc Pines as that’s what one can expect to find there if not something worse. Attempts to scry at the bottom of the continent have found large structures and lizard-like creatures building what looks to be a city near the basin of an immense lake.
• Scouts that have made it through the White Orc Pines have found kobolds and other goblin folk nestling in large numbers near the base of Indigas where storms have become more common than ever before. Some say there is great treasure and money to be had in these strongholds and those foolhardy enough to chase after them have not returned with affirmation.
• There has been continuously more activity near the border of The Deadlands and groups of Echos have been sent out from Raven’s Claw Keep in recent years to investigate such disturbances.
• The wards of Branstor have been wary of creatures passing across the border carrying dangerous weapons or keeping an eye out for spies as Kerimassians often try to infiltrate the border regions.
• Arginstone is having a harder time dealing with the pirates and other forces trying to harry trade between Oscosia and The Glistening Isles and they’re looking for privateers that would help allay some of these fears.