Fahiamel

Formed from War

Fahiamel's survivable landscapes and tranquil settings are a double-edged sword since it is not as difficult to survive more races and people can survive and grow. However, teamwork is not a necessity for survival here and the limited land and recourses are distributed by bloodshed. Of the three major continents in the Strivus (Roots), Fahiamel has seen the most conflict and war. Countless tyrants and warlords have been forged through conflict, the lands soaked in bloody history and shameful race wars. Below is a detailed list of the major battles within Fahiamel up to the present day as well as the important figures involved. While a great deal of history was lost, a great deal of knowledge has been recovered from old battle sites.

Ugranta Motan

The Ugranta Motan (War of the People) was a territorial dispute over control of the Upper Desert, otherwise known as the Desert of Ashes after the war. The noteworthy organizations involved were numerous: The Alchemists' and Historians' Guilds, the Eagle Association, Il Vire, The Colleges of Brackehail and Mornhaven, and the Vi'hic Brotherhood. The conflict itself happened when the land was lawless in 330E when the Historians' Guild began a study on the lost civilization of Juaka. Nearby tribes of Dwarves and Vedalken who were denied access during the study revolted and attacked the Guildsmen, reclaiming the land they lived on in what they referred to as the Vedam Union (Vedalken Union). The battle was short and insignificant but sparked newfound ideas of ownership from the tribes which were contested by the College of Brackehail. The College claimed that recourses in the lost cities are valuable and should be kept open to study, and argued that no one owns land in the Upper Desert.
When the Lopanag and Y'ntun (Vedalken) tribes refused the Alffur (Dwarven) tribe joined them in the defense of their lands, and the College sent officials to negotiate. The tribesmen attacked the officials on sight, killing both Arela Powell and Havord Stamment. In response, College-master Goln personally visited and single-handedly massacred the entire Vedam Union, and resumed studies at Juaka. This caught the attention of the Eagle Association, a group of self-righteous individuals under oath to protect the masses by killing the malicious and evil. The group served under the Satyr Goddess Eaman and consisted almost entirely of paladin warriors, who attacked the College and attempted to burn it down, sparking a conflict between the Association and the College. The Historians' Guild saw this as an opportunity to resume their studies and sided with the College from the belief that Brackehail would defeat the Association. This battle was slow but bloody and lasted in small skirmishes for years, until 327E.
Since the conflict began, a demon-led group of superstitious Simic Hybrids named the Vi'hic Brotherhood (No translation) were lurking and feeding their artifacts with the hatred and death of the battlefield. The Brotherhood is powerful and feared, they hold many mystic powers that seem impossible or unheard of to outsiders. Of the little that is known, they possess weapons that grow stronger with each life they take, and Vi'hic gems (synthetic) that feed off of death, harnessing the lost energy and storing it to be used as an energy source to unique spells entitled "Abyssal Casting". Rumors say that they use the energy of death to connect with the Abyss, the realm of all things that are not real, since those who have died return to the abyss when their energies are captured. When they use the energy, they release the spirits of those they trapped in the Abyss and draw on the Abyssal power to cast spells that do not exist for unparalleled versatility and power. The Brotherhood also collected knowledge that the College and Historians' Guild recovered during moments of confusion.
Strange and ancient artifacts were discovered entombed within a lost Temple in Juaka by the College, which they attempted to test and activate resulting in the birth of the Il Vire. These were odd people trapped within objects with no memory of their past, their race was later named the Dhampir by Professor Strenge. The Il Vire was informed of the conflict for Juaka and concluded that the fighting was pointless and petty, denouncing both sides publicly before taking a post near Juaka, and attempting to prevent battles in what may be their territory. The Historians' Guild recognized that the Dhampir might also be a cursed race that terrorized the people of the city and had been trapped in these objects and locked away within a tomb for the protection of their people. This theory was popularized, and the College and Association both feared Il Vire as otherwordly and potentially dangerous. Both sides were at a standstill, so the Brotherhood brainwashed the Dhampirs' appointed leaders to send their people into battle sided with neither side. The Association was at a stalemate with the College and agreed to a truce to combat the Dhampir.
Their forces drove the Dhampir away, who began to colonize in lands that were under the rule of a Warforged, who met with and agreed to serve under him. The Warforged went by Steel but had no birthname from its creator. This Warforged controlled an experimental guild known as the Alchemists' Guild, though their activities were much more universal. They practiced studies of anatomy, mapping, alchemy, history, and even conspiracy. Using a wide array of practices, they acted as a powerful intelligence for Steel and his territory. The Dhampir managed to convince Steel that the College was dangerous, and intended to usurp him and steal the knowledge assets of his guild. At this point, the Association was uninvolved again and returned to everyday duty.
This territory was Steel's, but he appointed a Commander to each district, divided by the area of study and general architectural characteristics. Commander Apline was the head of District Fin (One), which held the Dhampir. Alpine had jurisdiction over their safety and deployment and ruled that they would lead the combative effort as it was their proposition. In cooperation with Apline, they devised a strategy to expand their territory for more manpower before overwhelming the College. The Dhampir used this as a means to grow in influence and power and began militarizing the nearby land under Steel's control. This plan quickly turned violent as nearby tribes and settlements were forcefully controlled by Il Vire forces. The actual Dhampir population was few, there were only seven to the organization's name and their origin is a mystery.
Revolt followed soon after by the culturally complex settlements that were unhappy under their new ruler. Militia for Steel increased significantly in size as the Dhampir recruited peasants and workers. Eventually, Il Vire was adopted as a term for the militia that these Dhampir controlled. In a way, the Alchemists' Guild focused on information and Il Vire focused on power and size. Together, these organizations flourished and Steel gained great power in the Upper Desert. The College of Brackehail caught wind of the expansion, and rumors of strange creatures. To satiate their suspicion a mole was planted into Il Vire, professor Gamias Strenge under the alias Forage Alps. After serving with them for only a week, he returned to the College to report that their suspicions were not baseless, and the Il Vire will likely attack them soon.
College Brackehail sent for College Mornhaven in the lower regions of the Upper Desert for help with a "mutually impending threat", the letter reads as follows.

Fellow devotees of Knowledge, We contact you formally today in lieu of a representative, as the dire straits of our near-future challenges the availability of our staff. We have reason to believe in otherworldly patrons, dark beings, or perhaps even demons lurking among us and conquering the land. The threat of these creatures is imminent and has been observed by Professor Strenge who worked with you in your introductory transmutative properties coursework. Though we have only shared studies in the past, we request a new form of an alliance of more grave importance. In an exploration of Juaka, we exposed a tomb and unsealed what may have been locked away. Inside of this place were sandstone walls beautifully adorned with painted patterns and drawings, and many items isolated to pedestals that seemed to hum and whir. In further use, these items released entities, which are now known as strange beings in our area serving a dangerous warlord.
These creatures are mysterious in origin and motive, and cannot be left to overtake our college and eventually yours. To address the mutually impending threat we ask your aid in defensive combat, and to rediscover the spell used to seal them away in order to return these beings where they belong. We apologize dearly for our actions, to indirectly threaten your safety and ask for your help in cleaning up the mess is truly unacceptable. Nonetheless, our choices are few and we resort to your kindness as in the past. Had we the option to handle the issue directly, you would have no letter. The losses of this battle may be great, we will convene prior to the College's victory for topics of reparations and thanks.
This is sent with great urgency of time, any people or recourses that can be sent should be immediate. Dangers of unknown origin are of paramount importance, and although your support is far from mandatory we beg your ethics. Your assistance may not be necessary, but more likely it may, there are few allies of the College in these deserts with who we have appropriate relations for such a request.
Respectfully, College-master Goln Podes.

The College of Mornhaven was quick to respond whereafter many meetings determining their cooperation and strategy were held. Mornhaven sent a great deal of their staff to help combat offensive Il Vire forces, which eventually arrived after two weeks of anticipation.
Steel's vizier (Jiban Olls) advised that he withdrew his forces from expansion and secured his borders, arguing that revolt and assassination grow more likely by the day. Acknowledging the threat, Iv Vire was commanded to abstain from expansion and collaborate with the Alchemists' Guild to suppress tensions and opposing organizations. Mornhaven began to doubt the dangers as they went nearly three weeks without any attacks, and forced Goln to send for Steel in search of contact and answers. Goln's letter was delivered the following day from the hands of Prefect Stamment Jr, seeking to end the conflict that began with his father's death. The letter detailed a plead for peace, and loyalty to their nation so long as the Colleges remained individually ruled entities.
Steel and Olls were pleased and agreed to accept after a discussion with the Forge Cabinet, a board of advice from political leaders in Steel's territory. Their ambitions were not met by Il Vire, who did not want the violent and unstable leaders that began this war to retain power. In the night as the document was being drafted, Steel was killed and drained by Nightking Makatsa, accompanied by Serpent Master Boholo-holo and All-Seer Fetola the Brush. At the time of his "execution", Steel was accompanied by a calligrapher responsible for transcribing the letter, vizier Olls, a trusted Commander Alpine and less familiar Commander Deers, and several guardsmen. By the next morning, the individuals had disappeared.
The Nightking had corrupted the calligrapher's mind after Steel, Olls, and the guardsmen were killed. Boholo-holo and Fetola restrained the Commanders with ancient magic, like a glowing green rope that bound their arms to their torso and fed on their energy. The corrupted calligrapher forged the completed letter of acceptance to the Colleges' plead, and will from Steel detailing the Nightking's succession to his army, land, and fortunes. He was made to grip the sword which seared through Steel's body before they attached a blade arm to Steel and stuck it through his heart. The illusion was obvious, but this was an intentional play from the Nightking as the vizier was hidden away with the Commanders. The scene was later discovered when the next guardsman shift arrived at Steel's doors and saw them open, alerting the Forge Cabinet at once.
It was concluded through suggestions and manipulative magic from Fetola serving on the Cabinet that the vizier created this obvious illusion, and wanted it to appear as though Steel was killed this way so he could take control of the region. The "will" had been hidden in Steel's chamber, upon its discovery brought to the attention of the Cabinet. After a week of formalities and investigations, Nightking Makatsa was the ruler of Steel's region and named it Il Vire in reference to the group's legacy title. Passing on the tragic news of Olls' banishment, Commanders Deers and Alpine were stripped of their memory from the event and returned to lead their district.
Nightking Makatsa feigned the intention to ally with the College of Brackehail for two weeks to learn about their army and their leaders. They assured the College of Brackehail cooperation and safety in committee with the representatives of the College of Mornhaven in order to urge their return. Mornhaven was monetarily compensated and sent back to their place in the lower regions of the Upper Desert as ordained by the committee after their College was left understaffed for over seven weeks. After four weeks when communication on the issue had completely dissolved, Il Vire launched an all-out offensive on Brackehail and its defenders. The conflict was brief, Goln and Makatsa ended up using Juaka as battlegrounds since Goln suspected the Dhampir could be resealed. The ancient city was ruined when College-master Goln realized he could not seal them here, and destroyed the Incosa Oabus using Wish in order to incinerate the area.
Most of Juaka and many peoples of the College were killed, but the scourge of the Dhampir had been eliminated. Only one Dhampir was not participating in this battle, Blooddrainer Bophelo had been surveying Mornhaven. The weakened College was then overrun by Commander Deers and his militia of district Niefan (Two). The Commanders disbanded the Forge Cabinet and appointed Bophelo as a ceremonial head, while collectively banding together as the military leaders of Il Vire. Bophelo became the center of worship in Il Vire, being praised as a great conqueror. Under this rule, the economy and government flourished as Bophelo became a religious head as well, praised as the God of the Ancient.
Il Vire retained control of most of its territory along the Upper Deserts and settled as a nation, marking the end of the Ugranta Motan.

The Modern Deserts

While primarily shaped by the war within it, the Deserts have always been lawless and chock-full of skirmishes over tribal pride, recourses, or territory. The Il Vire is often considered the organization in charge of the Deserts, though the many opposing factions within the lands still stand. the Vi'hic Brotherhood's unusual involvement in the conflicts was never explained, but their people still show often throughout all of Fahiamel for unusual purposes, irking hysteria in each instance as they inch closer towards an unknown goal. While the territories have hardly changed since late 327E, the Deserts have grown in culture significantly, hosting unusual medicinal practices renowned for success. The majority of the land lies unclaimed to this day, a sandy hellscape where settlements only thrive near the coast. The Deserts and the Wastelands being landmasses near the equator, they are naturally warmer, more tropic, and arid climates. Usually, wildlife and natural ecosystems thrive more easily in the tropics, but due to the rapid temperature shift between day and night, the rocks and plains broke down and weathered, creating large deserts instead.
In a more typical setting, deserts are usually found offset from the equator and randomly integrated into larger landmasses. the Strivus (Roots) being a relatively small planet has a more direct relationship between its sun and its geography. The deserts are typically formed directly on the equator due to high rates of evaporation from the heat and low rates of precipitation from the descent and drying of cooling air. An area's rainfall is caused by the ascent and cooling of moist air, so areas with rising air have much higher rainfall. Since the cooler climates are much more predominantly farther from the equator, rainfall migrates and occurs nearby the equator, leaving a desert center. Instead of the air rising in the tropics, descending in the deserts, and returning to the equator, the air rises at either immediate end of the equator and descends into the equator, returning to either side. It is almost a mirror system, of course, the terms "equator" and "tropics" are not used in the Strivus (Roots) as these mapping systems were never invented.
The evaporation is higher around the outsides of the equator despite being less exposed to radiation from the sun and warm air because of its high water density. Water cannot evaporate from a landscape as easily as from an ocean, so more water ascends from the warm areas between the equator and the rest of the planet before descending to the equator as it dries. Usually, wind flow will send cooling air away from the equator during descent instead of inwards. The reason this does not apply to the Strivus (Roots) is that the cooling air is descending as quickly as it is rising at the point of rainfall, and as it moves out begins to fall in place, later defining the ocean outline of landmasses on the equator. The Matias Abalies (Matia Mountain range) at the North-East border of the Upper Deserts is particularly strange, as even the mountaintops are dry and weathered. The mountain range is formed from colliding tectonic plates, though because it is situated in the equator, even the cool air masses that reach the mountaintops are already mostly dry by the time they arrive.
The dunes around the middle region of the Upper Desert were actually man-made, being the result of a large terraforming project performed in 144E by Tribe Coalition Aimfore (Air People) in an attempt to manipulate wind flow with primitive geographic and environmental knowledge. Unsurprisingly the project failed, and the dunes later became a common hotspot for smaller smuggler groups, using the dunes as cover to ambush and rob travelers. The smaller crater of the two which was not caused by the detonation of the Incosa Oabus is more accurately a gateway, as the strange hole descending into a civilization of ravine and cave-dwelling species was revealed after a large detonation from the people beneath in an attempt to reach the surface followed by the crust of the planet above them caving in. The species living beneath the surface included Gnomes, Firbolg, and Vedalken. This area was nearly impossible for any other species to survive in from Fahiamel's native roster, and was large enough to be considered its own civilization. The underground systems were later titled the "Underdark" by Head Geologist Hayp Bfap of the Historians' Guild.
The Lower Deserts were never run by war considering their small size and isolated position. (240E) Because of the lack of territory, major warring organizations had no space to dominate and life was too sacred to gamble. Each person was necessary to their tribe as recourses were scarce, and territory, as well as recourses, were shared openly with no sense of ownership for mutual friendship and survival. (80E) Once seafaring technology the tribe chieftains fought honorably to lead the city which would control trade through the Lower Deserts, and Chieftain Giya emerged victorious in the Sea Ring Trials. Chieftain Dwyn was upset that he was not chosen to lead because he pioneered the seafaring technologies, and took his tribe off to sea, eventually landing on an unnamed island he titled after himself, the Isle of Dwyn. This became a pirate haven and small settlement. Giya was named Chief, and among many Chieftains and people banding together studied and recorded their knowledge, banding together to survive through commerce. The merchant deserts were so wildly successful that the city of Sahra was named among the Capitals of Fahiamel in 66X. That said, Sahra is easily the most recently formed Capital in Fahiamel, so the respect of their city as a Capital is not quite universal.

Events of Dwarven Exile

Hivelköpper

Before Hivelköpper has occurred, the capitals of Aljana and Triyavil were both under Dwarven rule. Because of their quick expansion mechanic prowess they also had many strongholds, camps, and forts positioned around the rest of Fahiamel which operated under private rule and remained unchallenged by heralded authorities. They were by no means violent, but stubborn and resilient. They were strongest in mountainous areas as these terrains disadvantages most other races and gave them the upper hand defending their keeps or territory. The first attack officially branded under Hivelköpper (meaning "The Many Losses" or "The Many Rolling Heads" depending on interpretation) was the Storming of Fort Kranere. This fort was renowned for being impenetrable and held many nobilities among the Dwarvish culture, residing in the mountain ranges where they are now hiding. In the raid's triumph over Kranere from a battalion led by Orcish War Chief Hef'Kisva the Dwarves lost the intimidating presence they held over other authorities, and the mysticism behind their technologies was dispelled as Hef'Kisva's superior tactics tore down the Fort's walls. This was not aggravated or impulsive by any means, but rather a coordinated attack allying the Orcs and Elves. Wild success from the first assault inspired countless diverging attacks from the Alliance, named Jok Vilmug ("The Twine that Chokes you") in 339E, II, 001.
Most of the successful raids past this point involved joined efforts from overwhelming Orcish forces under cunning Elvish leadership and stealth. Fort Yugrastal, or the Great Treasury, was seized by Captain Alvik of the Jok Vilmug not long after in the Iavol Rampa ("Raining Bodies"). Yugrastal was a large trading depot exclusive to the Dwarvish Overking Hajib Raival, and controlled the majority of their trade routes. Countless Drawf sea camps were lost resulting in poor or inconsistent trade, which worsened until their reputation prevented an ability to secure international trade deals at all. Their recourses were draining, but they could still pull from the capitals in their domain. Overking Raival relocated to Aljana and reinforced the capital, declaring war on the Jok Vilmug for their crimes against mortality.
While this conflict spanned over 4 years, no other notable locations were overthrown in this period. After the second year and relocation, it became a tense cold war while both sides bolstered their defensive and offensive capabilities. Orcish and Elvish commanders heading Jok Vilmug and their war on the Dwarves were consumed by greed as the wealth seized in Yugrastal overwhelmed them, and they could not agree on how it should be split. The Elves insisted on an even cut, whereas the Orcs claimed that they had lost many more lives and leaders, and contributed more to the war effort. This led to the Jok Vilmug disbanding and marked the end of the Hivelköpper.

The Pev-Gra'ar

In 334E the conflict from Hivelköpper continued as Elvish forces destroyed Orcish settlements and enslaved their peoples, launching a series of synchronized incursions that completely crumbled Dwarven intelligence in and around Aljana before regrouping and using illusion to disguise themselves among the Dwarves within their own capital, until striking from both inside and outside of the capital in 333E. The battle was bloody and short, a horror to witness as racial violence drew morality far from the battlefield. Children were torn limb from limb, eaten, forcefully fed to their own parents. Establishments and homes were burned, civilians were trapped inside of a killzone. Gruesome displays such as heads being lodged onto pikes were put up around the capital to invoke fear within the opposition. For nearly 3 weeks the slaughter continued, until the Overking was captured at the hand of an Elvish Assassin named Uer Appoccade, and hung from the roof of his keep by the ankles as commanded by the Elvish General Pierce. "Your resistance cost us dearly, Raival. You will not die until you attend the pillaging of your people and the oblivion of Aljana. Only when every semblance of your filth is scourged will I take rule. You will be left to suffer with that pesky Dwarven durability, poisoned and dying while you see your ambitions burn." The taking of the Capital rose to Dwarven exile, Underking Harapo Luvarn went into hiding from his comfortable post at the throne of Triyavil soon after. This event came to be named the Pev-Gra'ar ("the Banishment").

Type

Continent