The Glistening Isles

The Glistening Isles, Do you feel lucky? (2500-2000)
When the land had finally settled, and the oceans had been laid down, Avandra turned her eyes toward the yet unclaimed Glistening Isles of Broachia and Dreonia. She was always interested in what places would give the greatest opportunity for anything to happen; the continents to the west and east were too large and would surely devolve into many kingdoms warring for power; The islands to the south were already taken by Ioun and her quarry, Vecna. What better place than the naval of the world, she thought as she placed her followers onto the two islands. She warned them that there would be those who would surely follow through and try to ruin what they’d be building here. Lord Broach and Lady Dreonia continued with this charge from their patron, human heroes from another world gifted with immortality and charged with this exercision of their ladies will.
Broach took to the north and began the great city of Amen’thyr where the great Temple to the Inevitable stands still to this day, the greatest temple to Avandra across all of Caelos. He took great care to build up the Viridian Navy and to secure their new home accordingly, understanding that it would be through great naval power that they would be able to interact with the rest of the world. Dreonia went south to her island, and began the great city of Hennora. Trusting that Broach would do his part in protecting the oceans, she began a military academy there in the interest of being able to defend their lands from invaders or trouble as it would come. She also established Colovia as one of the world’s greatest markets, being a city of almost exclusively traders and places to do business. She wanted to build a place of opportunity, as she knew Avandra would smile upon her for it.
For about 500 years, the peoples of the Glistening Isles prospered in ways that were extravagant and wonderful, but as is common to their beliefs, Broach and Dreonia knew that change would come as it always did. At the end of the 1st age (~2000) an armada of ships came upon the twin cities, in aims to destroy them. Large black fangs were painted along the prows of every ship, and snake men lined the decks. Though they knew war was coming, Broach and Dreonia had thought Zehir and his followers wouldn’t be so brazen, as it wasn’t how he liked to enact his will in such overt ways. Expecting deception, Broach led the Viridian Fleet into battle against the Venomborn while Dreonia would watch and do what needed to be done in the case of an eventual turn. As luck would have it, their suspicious were correct, as a small detachment of the main force diverted, and a land invasion commenced simultaneously. With their vestiges from Lady Avandra, Broach and Dreonia won the day, though at great cost. Mercuria, a silver bow endowed with Avandra’s essence was destroyed, as Dreonia was overwhelmed by the Venomborn at the foot of the Temple in Amen’thyr. It’s said she unleashed some of the greatest magic available to a mortal and spoke a thousand arrows into existence to defend the city from the oncoming hordes. It was Dreonia’s sacrifice that won the day, as Broach won the seas against the Yuan-ti. The pieces of Mercuria were stolen away by the cult to Zehir and scattered across Caelos. Broach was eventually laid low by assassins of the cult, but protected the city and his people’s way of life. Fortunis is still held by the leader of Amen’thyr to this day, and is passed down from Vicren (Vice-rin) to Vicren and is said to still hold some of the legendary power that helped forge the Glistening Isles.


A Tale of Two Cities (2000-1000)
During the 2nd age in Caelos many wondrous things came to happen for the twin cities across the ocean. The Vicren of Hennora issued some local leaders over Colovia as it began to grow larger and larger, instituting the Traders Consortium as the local governing body of one of the largest economies in the world. Another large policy change was the decision to utilize the Viridian Fleet as an economic force rather than a purely military one. Any ships attempting to travel across the Ardosian Ocean would have to go by way of The Lautian Pass where they would pay a tax, and also be protected from pirates looking to relieve them of their cargo. Most countries are vastly against this practice, but none have as developed or trained a navy as the Glistening Isles and so they follow suit. There are some who make a business of smuggling on both sides of the Ardosian, but such a business is considered a high crime on the Isles and is punishable as such.
About 300 years (~1700) into the second age there came a group of strange looking creatures from the southwest. Scales like a lizard and of varying hues, they brought great gems and never before seen materials that could be used for a variety of enchanting methods, though such materials were rare and very costly. These creatures came from what was called The Archipelega Dracora and quickly began to make themselves at home across the islands. Over the decades that followed a procession came bearing a large ship and some of these creatures went northward past Amen’thyr into the Azurepeak Mountains to never be seen again. The peoples of Emeraldhill do talk of strange flying creatures sometimes be spotted at night around the heights of the mountains, as well as livestock going missing, though there was never enough of an issue to be worth going to the Vicren about.
Arginstrum was established in the late 1500’s when a single merchant lord, Caspian Termites had lost favor with the rest of the Consortium. He took his money and moved southward buying up several large plots of land and establishing somewhere where the law could be slightly more lenient for those who didn’t want to play by all of the same rules as those set before them. In the spirit of Avandra’s pursuit of personal freedoms, neither Vicren thought it wise to interfere so long as nobody was doing anything overtly against the nation that could cause wide-spread dissention. And so, Arginstrum was born, a place where a man could go to sell the greatest treasures of the world, become one of the richest men on the continent, and then lose it all gambling in the same day.
In the early 1400’s one of the less notable merchant princes, a human named Tannick Omriaso traveled eastward on an expedition into the heart of Phadrus before the great empire split. He met with one of the leading families patriarch, Zosin Occidensa one afternoon in the capital over tea. It was there that Tannick convinced the ancient elf that perhaps there was more to be gained of his family name than just “one of the great 4” what if, he could be remembered as “the one that changed the world”. A few years after this initial meeting they began to plan and to draw up contracts and agreements, making plans. In late 1394, Zosin made a speech to the general assembly of The Sanguinas Corellas where he announced that he would be taking his family, their wealth, and their estate westward, forfeiting any claim to the throne of Phadrus. This set a precedent for the next 75 years as 2 of the other 3 remaining families also broke away and established their own kingdoms across the continent. Part of the terms of these Zosin Accords would be that Tannick’s marry Zosin’s daughter when the time came. The end of the 2nd age was a prosperous time for the Glistening Isles, but there was a price to be paid for these extensive freedoms of trade and exchange of ideas and goods. Organized crime truly began, first in Arginstrum and stretching all across the twin islands and even bleeding into the territories of their new trade partners as the total number of routes began to expand.
• The Ivory Tower is one such organization, dealing mostly in the “acquiring” and selling of particularly valuable goods to those willing to pay such a price. They’re renowned thieves and though they tend toward non-violence there have been occasions where those who learn too much are lost to the world.
• The Penumbras Enclave made a name for themselves in the mid 1200’s when a trio of merchant princes had decided to go to war with one another. Using non-violent but still destructive means; destruction of property, threatening employees and suppliers of various goods, charging tariffs on goods from other families. One of the families decided that rather than waste money continuously on such tactics as they could possibly wither all parties down, it would be more effective to just remove the other family entirely. They paid a large sum of money to handful of dangerous folk and razed the opposing villas to the ground. This was certainly beyond what would be allowed in pursuit of “personal freedom” per the law and so this family was also taken down and imprisoned, but it set a dangerous precedent; in those days it was just 9 silver for a life. The business and world has changed much since then, but the Penumbras Enclave still persists and evades capture by the authorities.
The 3rd Age (1000-present)
As the 3rd age began, war broke out across the eastern edge of Phadria from an unknown threat later revealed to be The Vogall Dominion. Great beasts and monstrosities broke across the cities and their people, ravaging the land for nearly 5 centuries. After nearly 400 years of very profitable trade and business ventures, The Zosin Alliance on the western border of Phadria declared open war against the Glistening Isles under the leadership of Halavor Omridensa. He had grown to despair at their still having to pay taxes even though this kingdom of theirs had been borne of a deal made centuries prior. With the Cerulean Knights and the Cerulean Fleet in tow, he waged a 42-year war, ravaging the eastern Ardosian Ocean. With this new war in the ocean, smuggling and trafficking ran amok, as well as allowed The Twilight Union to slip through otherwise tightened boundaries and watches between the waters. Had Halavor decided to launch this attack a decade earlier, he may have attained his goals, but the invasion from Iashix required a unified effort from everyone in order to stop it, and so he eventually parlayed and had to formally make reparations for the war.
In the late 700’s there was finally first contact from the western continent of Delvatoria. Many expeditions had gone west to see what was going on, but neither news nor the explorers returned from these missions. One such vessel came covered in golden stamping and lettering, led by a tall, blue skinned creature known as Kalaziel Mithrali. They came with a group of humans and dwarves in tow, manning the ship as well as carrying and otherwise serving the “Tall, blue folk”. They told tales of a land filled with sand, and shining citadels that reached into the sky, they said they’re from Northern Subra’ien. They spoke ill of those they referred to as the Fel-born to the south of them and that they were interested in weapons and materials to combat these evil creatures. As if by some act of fate, during their visit another ship arrived, bearing black and silver iconography along the sides of their vessels. Red skinned folk with horns atop their heads, they spoke a language of dissonance and harsh tones as opposed to the sonorous, almost musical language of those that came from the south. Ger’gos Firebrand was their leader and he seemed more interested in wine and women than weapons. An interesting bunch they were and even today ships from Delvatoria are rare though some have decided to make their way to this continent in the hopes of a new start.
With the war with The Vogall Dominion ending in the 500’s, Phadria finally had a chance to breathe now that its inhabitants were left without the threat of losing their lives. The Glistening Isles had continued to prosper in this time, though corruption had seeped into their culture throughout the expansion of their fleet taxing services across the Ardosian, but all things were not well for the shining twins. The Kingdom of Acoria to the southeast of Phadria had begun some sort of new technology; Airships they were called. When the Vicren of Hennora and Amen’thyr did not heed the warnings of their spies throughout the continent that change to the way trade will be done was coming in a large way. When the first Airports were established across the southern end of the continent there was talk of sabotage, assassinations, or even all-out war, but it seems cooler heads have prevailed. It would be centuries before this new industry would take over, and those of the Glistening Isles were people who sought to embrace change, though some have been talking recently of trying to find a way to slow it at the very least…

Additional Character Options from this Region
• Cerulean Knight (Fighting Style): Your time training and fighting with those of the Cerulean Knights has given you some experiences fighting against terrible odds at times. While outnumbered, you gain a bonus to hit with melee weapons for every creature beyond the first. This bonus is mitigated for every ally you have near you.
• Soldier of the Luck-Bringer (Fighting Style): Both Hennora and Amen’thyr have their histories steeped in worship of the Lady of Luck herself, Avandra. Training for a time in either of these cities and owing some of your own devotion to her, you swear you’ve felt her hand on you more than once in a fight. Once per short rest, when you miss a weapon attack, you can reroll that attack, critically hitting on a 19-20.