Valdoreians

Valdoreians is a general name for the races that lived on the Western continent of Valdorei. The races that survived the Disaster of Unara and made it to Veland were a combination of dwarves and elves. It's possible that more races lived on Valdorei prior to the Disaster, but that was never confirmed by any surviving refugees.

Pre-Disaster

Before the Disaster, the Valdoreians lived in separate Kingdoms, mostly separated by race. The Elven Kingdom, Elvatar, was ruled by King Nandum for 650 years of his 750 year life, the oldest elf to ever live. Elvatar was allied to the dwarven kingdom of Theldural.

The King of Theldural and many dwarven people were killed in the disaster, so much of the history ended up being lost. Myths and Legends remained however, and the story goes that, Grodd Greatsky, king of Theldural, fought off the armies of the undead single-handedly to give his people time to escape to Elvatar, not knowing that it too was under attack from demons and devils.

Disaster and Exodus

Disaster of Unara

The disaster came as a surprise to the citizens of Valdorei. There was no warning from the gods before the Volcano near the Kingdom of Theldural erupted. Volcanoes across the continent rained lava and ash upon the towns in the nearby area, and those who escaped quickly found themselves trapped by wide chasms swarming with demons and devils or surrounded by undead.

The legend says that the rulers fought to save their people, using whatever magic and martial prowess was available. Ila Irdleliem fought off the demons and devils and would have died to save as many of her people as possible but her father's guards dragged her onto the ships that were leaving the continent. King Grodd also fought according to legend, fighting undead as he was surrounded and wounded, supposedly continuing to fight after losing an arm and an eye. His death came when he cast a spell that split the Earth beneath him, collapsing into a sinkhole and taking thousands of undead with him.

Exodus

Ila's estimates of who she managed to save from the two kingdoms were only about 10,000, less than 1 percent of the total population of the continent at its peak. They loaded up on elven ships, numbering in the hundreds. They sailed towards the sunrise as the continent burned behind them. It's said that Ila wept as she sailed away, and as her tears fell they landed in the water and calmed the sea. The wind turned, blowing them East, away from Valdorei, and they arrived several weeks later on the shores of Veland.

Their hundreds of ships arriving on the shores of Veland led to their nickname of the Sea Peoples, however that name did not last beyond the Sunset War.

Sunset War

Conflict

When the Sunset War broke out, it left the Valdoreians no choice but to fight for their right to settle on Epixian land. The Valdoreians were known for their guerilla tactics and insurgencies scattered around the kingdom, forcing the war to be fought in city streets, and often involving non-combatants. They were also known for their specific targeting of non-military targets to weaken political entities or spread terror or send a message.

Post-war

After the war, the Valdoreians were recognized and accepted by the Epixian government, however there was quite a bit of animosity towards Valdoreians among the common folk for their brutal tactics and terrorism. Ila attempted to improve relations, but tensions didn't ease until long after her passing.

Zala Kos, Ila's cousin, became King after her death. His immense pride for the Valdoreian people led to inciting bold rebellions against Epixus for their being sequestered onto reservations. All four rebellions failed, with the fourth never really coming to fruition. A coup overthrew him, and a new Queen, Thadu Feyel, took over rule of the Valdoreians.

Feyel Dynasty

Queen Thadu

Thadu was known as a fair and just ruler, but she lacked the power that came with Ila and the pride that Zala possessed. Her rule was weak, and eventually the dwarven Valdoreians decided to form their own kingdom, as they once had nearly a century before.

Thadu permitted this secession, and the dwarves formed their own Kingdom of Bhamtodur. She ruled for several more decades before she sensed the unease at the weakness of her rule combined with the unrest within the Kingdom of Epixus outside their borders. She abdicated her throne to her son, Siluss Feyel, who was beloved by all. He was kind, and a fierce warrior.

King Siluss

His rule began in the year 357 AH, and he was the first king of the Valdoreians in Veland that was born in Veland itself and didn't witness the Disaster. This lack of knowledge became a boon to his rule, as he didn't carry the memory of what used to be, and instead focused on improving the current situation to its extent.

His youth and fighting spirit allowed him to lead his armies to victories against the Epixian Loyalists, a splinter faction within the kingdom that was attempting to overthrow the ascension and reformation of Kingdom of Epixus into the Empire of Carladia. Their assistance to the newly crowned Emperor Zranda Evencrest in the defense of his Empire indebted him to them. When the Emperor offered to repay the debt, all Siluss requested was an alliance between them. Zranda, surprised by the humble request that he had already considered in effect in all but name, not only agreed to those terms, but he agreed to allow the Valdoreians to settle anywhere within his lands. To bond with and live as Carladian citizens, in addition to keeping their own territories on the reservations.

Few still lived who remembered the Sunset War, and the animosities were long since lost. This new alliance between the peoples removed any tensions and allowed both peoples to live in peace for the next 900 years within the Carladian Empire.