Cyre
History
Cyre was the future. At the height of the Empire of Galifar, Cyre was a land of arcane dreams made manifest. It came to be known as Beautiful Cyre, the Purple Jewel in Galifar’s Crown, and Wondrous Cyre. To some, it was considered a land of decadence and arrogance, but to the rest of the empire, it was paradise.
When Jarot attained the throne of Galifar, none of his children were yet of an age to take over the administration of the Five Nations. Regents and the existing governor-princes ( Jarot’s younger brothers and sisters) continued to govern and served as mentors and teachers for Jarot’s scions. Mishann, the oldest of Jarot’s children, was sent to Cyre to learn at the knee of her uncle and prepare for her role as governor-prince and, eventually, Empress of Galifar. Just as it was since Galifar united the empire, just as it would be forever. However, Mishann and the rest of the empire would discover that nothing remains the same forever.
When Emperor Jarot died, Mishann prepared for the journey to Thronehold to attend her father’s funeral and to take the crown that was her birthright as the eldest scion. Her siblings each brought armed troops to the funeral, and before Mishann could be coronated, Thalin challenged the right of eldest succession. With loyal knights of the Silver Flame at his side, Thalin asserted that he was the better choice to be emperor of Galifar. Kaius and Wroann supported Thalin, in so far as they wanted a different method of selection to be put in place. “Why should the oldest and weakest automatically gain the crown?” Wroann asked. Wrogar supported Mishann’s claim, but the other three rejected her. Wrogar was able to stop the scions from spilling royal blood at Thronehold, but the five siblings and their followers departed the island without reaching any resolution to the question of succession.
Before the year was out, the first battles of the Last War erupted, and each sibling eventually declared his or her own ambition to take the crown.
As the empire collapsed and the Five Nations became five distinct and separate countries, war spread throughout the land. Beautiful Cyre, of all the nations, wound up as the battleground on which much of the Last War was fought. In addition to the troops from Karrnath, Thrane, and Breland clashing with each other and Cyran forces in this region, Cyre also became the place where Darguun, Valenar, Talenta tribes, and Lhazaar pirates came to loot, plunder, or seek land to expand into.
And so it went, with the great wonders of Cyre falling bit by bit with every battle, until the terrible cataclysm of the Day of Mourning finished the sad destruction of the once-shining nation in one fell swoop. No one has claimed credit for the release of arcane energy that obliterated the nation, and no one seems to know exactly what happened on the Day of Mourning. What is known is that something terrible occurred in or around
the city of Making, located at about the center of what is now the Glass Plateau, and slowly spread out to destroy the whole nation. Those living closer to the borders, as well as those outside the nation on this fateful day, were able to survive the disaster.
Today, Cyre is no more. In its place is the Mournland, a blasted, mutated land surrounded by a dense wall of dead-gray mist. Cyran refugees have migrated to New Cyre and Sharn in Breland, Dragonroost and Zolanberg
in Zilargo, and, in smaller numbers, to communities in Thrane, Karrnath, and Q’barra. Many Cyrans, still reeling from the terrible destruction, find it hard to forgive the Five Nations that have refused to provide them with help. Worse, the Valenar elves slaughtered Cyran refugees fleeing from southeastern Cyre by the thousands as they tried to escape the spreading mist.
A second injustice heaped upon the survivors of Cyre occurred during the Thronehold negotiations. Though the Day of Mourning was crucial in getting the Five Nations together to end the Last War, no Cyran representation was permitted. “Cyre no longer exists,” Queen Aurala argued. “The refugees have no voice in these proceedings,” High King Vadallia of Valenar agreed. And so Cyre did not participate in the accords
that redefined the continent and ended the Last War.
Cyre’s last century featured an incredible series of highs and lows. Led by the legitimate heir to the Throne of Galifar, Mishann ir’Wynarn, the country first appeared to be ready to fall to the combined might of Breland, Karrnath, and Thrane. But an inspired bit of negotiation brought the warbands of the Valaes Tairn to Khorvaire to fight for Cyre (or at least Cyran gold), and the other nations’ leaders quickly turned on each other as each decided to take the crown of the empire. For six decades Cyre enjoyed success out of all proportion with its size and might. When Shearas Vadallia declared himself High King of Valenar, carving out an empire in Cyre’s midst, it seemed Cyre was once again doomed. Then came the warforged, bolstering Cyre’s forces and giving it the strength to
survive despite the toll constant warfare was taking on the countryside. Still, their fortunes were waning, and many parts of northern and western Cyre became battlefields. Step by bloody step, the fighting wound
toward Metrol and the few pristine cites left in the south. Rumors abounded that Queen Dannel and her advisors had plans for a major new offensive that would throw back the invaders. Dannel’s uncanny charisma
inspired a nation and, despite the losses, spirits were high. Cyre’s martial academies and arcane colleges continued to attract students eager to learn the skills necessary to defend the nation.
Until the Day of Mourning.
Cyre’s complete destruction in a day by a wave of arcane energy is undoubtedly the single most important moment in the last hundred years. Major battles were being fought all across Cyre, with each of the Five Nations losing thousands if not tens of thousands of soldiers as the dead-gray wall swept outward from the interior. While refugees have gathered in Breland under the graces of King Boranel’s mercy, Cyre as a nation is simply gone, lost behind a wall that follows Cyre’s borders with eerie precision. In its place a strangely tranquil wasteland taunts treasure seekers with tantalizing hints of the greatest mystery of the modern age…
What was the Mourning? Will it happen again?
Disbandment
The Last War was a time of horrors. With every passing decade, deeper scars were carved into the surface of Khorvaire. But through a century of war, nothing had prepared the people of the Five Nations for the events of 20 Ollarune 994 YK—the day when the nation of Cyre was destroyed, leaving the Mournland in its wake. The nature and cause of the cataclysm remains a mystery, but on 20 Olarune those who survived the fall of Cyre gather to remember their lost kingdom. Some tell stories of the dead, while others teach the history of the nation to the young or perform traditional Cyran songs and dances. Others remember only the war, cursing the other nations for refusing to accept Mishann’s claim to the throne of Galifar.
Demography and Population
- Total Population -- 1,500,000 (as per 992 YK census)
Agriculture & Industry
But in the past, Cyre was a great nation, where art, literature, knowledge and philosophy were highly valued. Now, it lives only in the hearts of the survivors.
DISBANDED/DISSOLVED
What our dreams imagine, our hearts create
32 YK - 994 YK
Type
Geopolitical, Kingdom
Alternative Names
The Mournland
Demonym
Cyran
Leader
Government System
Monarchy, Absolute
Power Structure
Feudal state
Economic System
Traditional
Currency
--Gold Standard--
Location
Controlled Territories
Notable Members
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