Bikaersa

History of the Kaers

The name ‘Alder-Kaers’ translates to ‘Old Stronghold’ in Elvish. The first empires were thought to be established by Sea Elves in the early Second Era, who were the first to settle the coasts of the two continents post-Sundering. The early Sea Elves described signs of previous life in their ancient journals, illustrating wreckage and ruins of the First Era’s civilizations that once flourished on there. It appears that whoever lived on the two continents before the Sea Elves were completely eliminated before, or during, the Sundering, as the Sea Elves had little competition in settling the coasts.
When the various races of Bastion developed marine transport and began colonizing the jungles of the Two Kaers a few hundred years later, the Sea Elves were initially indifferent. They stuck to the coastlines, the colonizers stuck to the jungles. But when the colonists made a move for the coasts to establish trade ports, the native Sea Elves fought back-- and were ultimately quashed by an army of Yuan-Ti who went on to establish the first empire in the Upper Kaers, ruling the Lower Kaers. The Yuan-Ti maintained a strong grip on government whilst opening borders to settlers from Bastion and Galoria, and whilst the Empire thrived economically much of Bikaersan Sea Elf history was lost. Anti-sea elven settlement from the Empire spread to include all other elven races and became particularly prevalent in the Upper Kaers, leaving the less populous ‘less desirable’ Lower Kaers to be inhabited mostly by elves. This drew in Elven immigration from Galoria, further deepening the racial split between the two continents.
Although racial prejudice was legally stamped out by the 1600s and Bikaersa had diversified, the elves’ long lifespans continued to hold unshakeable grudges. Reconciliation efforts from Upper Kaers were difficult despite the Empire’s best efforts to make amends and pay reparations. The divide between Upper and Lower Kaers grew deeper as time ticked onwards, each half of Bikaersa developing their own unique cultural identities-- and therefore, needs and desires that a single Empire could not cater for.
This cultural rift led to a series of rebellions, skirmishes and troubles between the two continents that came to a head in 1725 in the Battle of the Kaers, a civil war for Lower Kaers independence. The war came to an end in 1733 with a decisive victory for the Lower Kaers, who had a technological advantage by way of newer firearms brought in from allies in Galoria. Though Galorian Elves traditionally shunned the use of mass-produced weaponry, Lower Kaers Elves needed every advantage they could get. Eternan big business Pepperbox Industries saw this opportunity and backed the Lower Kaers side of the war, giving them the weaponry needed to fight back the North. Lower Kaers split from the Bikaersan Empire, electing a leader and becoming the New Kaers Republic. The remaining empire was renamed ‘Alder-Kaers’.

The Empire of Alder-Kaers

Alder-Kaers is the northern half of the territory formerly known as The Bikaersan Empire. It shares a stretch of ocean with Eian to the north, and shares a similar dry sandy climate. Further south and the climate becomes lush and tropical with heavy monsoon seasons and high temperatures year-round. Much of Alder-Kaers is dominated by impenetrable jungles and rivers rich with life. Much of Alder-Kaer’s economy relies on exporting produce such as fruit, cotton, chocolate and coffee (the latter which would eventually become a point of much controversy during the Great Coffee Prohibition of ‘31.)
The population of Alder-Kaers is a mixture of many Bastion races, with strong Yuan-Ti and Aarakocra communities within them. Elves are one of the larger minority groups alongside humans and dragonborn. Dwarves are fairly uncommon in either of the Two Kaers, largely owing to the tropical climate and soft soil of the continent being largely unsuitable for underground dwarvish strongholds.
Modern Alder-Kaers is an active empire that embraces both its rich history and modern innovations. It is a country that continuously seeks to consolidate power through market trade and international pacts, as it lost much of its source of industry when New Kaers seceded from the Empire. Alder-Kaers’ old architecture and quiet forest villages are largely outpaced by the current arms race between Galoria, the Republic and much of Brengar-- meaning Alder-Kaers has to practically bank on its agriculture exports in order to keep up with such a rapidly changing world.
Though the old Empire was ruled by a Yuan-Ti majority who took over the first Sea Elven settlers, it should be noted that neither race were the original denizens of Bikaersa. Whatever lived on the two continents prior to the Sundering were completely destroyed, only traces of history left behind in ruins. Although vocal and jaded Republicans are quick to paint all “Imperial Northerners” as ruthless oppressors, most modern Alderans are indifferent to Republican independence and pay them no mind. To the shorter-lived races of Alder-Kaers, the Bikaersan Split is now a thing of the past.

New Kaers Republic

The New Kaers Republic is so far the newest country in the Material Plane, established in 1733 after declaring independence from Bikaersa. Because many of its laws were established in modern times, The Republic doesn’t have much of a unique history to call its own. Instead, its culture is focused on moving forward and developing an identity.
The Republic boasts the largest elven population outside of Galoria, a hodge-podge mix of Sea, High, Wood Elves and even Drow. Republican Elves have a collective identity of their own, one that embraces technology, industry, and unity of culture-- a stark contrasts to the Aldheim elves who embrace their natural origins and tend to stick to themselves. They have a stereotypical tendency to view Aldheim’s elves as ‘old-school fundamentalists’, whilst the Aldheim elves think of Republicans as their ‘gun-toting redneck cousins’.
New Kaers doesn’t support the same lush jungle life as Alder-Kaers does. Most of its lands are flat plains or sprawling redwood forests, getting sparser as one heads south. Instead of produce, New Kaers is the heavy industry capital of the world. Since much of New Kaers infrastructure was built from scratch post-independence, there was room to plan massive factories, quarries and dig sites-- much more well-organized than Eterna, which had to awkwardly shoehorn in its shiny new factories amongst ancient castles and old buildings at the expense of the environment.
The jewel of the Republic is New Kaers City, ‘The Beacon of the South’. Much of New Kaers’ infrastructure is modern and high-tech, its pop culture rapidly evolving as it draws on various cultural influences and setting trends for the rest of the Material Plane. New Kaers City is the keystone of this innovation; if it’s hip and new and popular with the younger generation, it’s probably from New Kaers. Bobbed hair, jazz music and neon lights are the latest crazy trends to come out of the city, and it’s been disappointing everyone’s grandparents since.
Not all is hope, glitz and glamour in New Kaers, however. When the Coffee Prohibition hit, New Kaers City became a hotbed of organized crime-- ‘javarunners’ working with illicit coffee growers to the north to create a black-market income for all sorts of gangs and thugs. Even when the Prohibition was lifted, the New Kaers underworld still runs deep. Outside the city, Republicans are troubled by a large swathe of the south bearing the same barren taint of the Ring, which has been placed under quarantine. Border checkpoints and large walls have been constructed to keep citizens out of the dead zone, making investigation of the true nature of the wastes difficult.

Type

Continent

Location under

Kaleidos

Related Historical Events

• 1725 2E
  The Bikaersan Split