Recent History: Midlands and Oarn

"Thus marks the reforming of ancient accords! Thus do our two faiths once again become one!"   "Thus does the Cycle bow before the Moment, and thus does the Storm bow before the Sun."   "It is witnessed under the eyes of the Wanderer. Let word of our joy spread to every corner of the world! Welcome home, brothers and sisters!"   For many centuries following the Scourging, the twin faiths of Ishue and Akkadis had been in constant conflict. The seemingly insurmountable wound left by the Scourging, the violation of their sacred precepts of balance, and the loss of both Lorinth and Teovas, had wracked gods and mortals alike with grief and fear. Gods died and abandoned their stations in this strange age of isolation and stagnation.   For centuries it seemed nothing would change, that the Two Who Were Once One would forever be enemies. It took the collective will of several groups of clerics and priests, along with the direct intervention of Volk himself, to bring about the dream of reunification.   Thus, atop the sacred mountain Yoel, around the waters of the Gair Loch, did gods and mortals have their joyous reunion. Peace was not easy in the coming decades, but their will was strong, and the warm memory of the Reunion persisted throughout generations to come.   Sableheim had finally, after so long, begun to heal.

The collapse of the Hexif Dominion, who previously had ruled the southern half of the Midlands, was sudden and terrible.   Their territory covered much of what is now considered the Frontier, though in those days their society primarily congregated around the northern and southern coasts. In their desire to learn more about their Pentarchy forbears, they journeyed deep into the Wake and discovered and discovered, reportedly, a wonderous city. More wondrous, however, was the vast network of crypts and ruins beneath their find.   It was the delving of these depths, the exploration of that which was meant to remain buried, that sealed their fate.   Varied reports from survivors say that the spirits of the unquiet dead, the souls of the dead pentarchy kingdom, arose in a baleful chorus and washed over the land, causing untold death. The spirits have since quieted slightly, though they still roam the land, tormented and dangerous.   The Hexif Dominion was not the only powerful civilization to attempt to settle the wastes, but theirs was the most dramatic, abject failure.

The ascension of one Typhon of Oarn is necessitated by the death of another.   Azjerishal Son-Turaniv slew his uncle, Yolenashin Father-Ar in the Mantle Grounds following a protracted battle. The challenge to Yolenashin's right to rule had long been anticipated as Azjerishal matured into a warrior more formidable than even his father. The formal challenge and subsequent battle occurred mere minutes apart, Yolenashin supposedly being driven into a rage at the act and demanding an immediate commencement of hostilities.   By sundown Azjerishal had outlawed slavery of any kind in Oarn, and had married a goliath named Winter Sky Seen Through Barren Branches. The Typhon's new husband had been born a slave and was, mere hours ago, a member of Azjherishal's guard.

A decree from on high orders Hymaelian clerics, priests, and all citizens of Aertas to return to the city immediately, or face excommunication. Many heralded this command, and the influx of people quickly filled Aertas to bursting. Equally many, however, did not, including the majority of the Weaver Knights.   Then the gates were closed, and contact with the outside world ordered to be limited, or eliminated entirely if possible.   Queen Caemille's justification for these bizarre and potentially disastrous decree was simple: she belived the world beyond the Glories to be rotted and dying, and they alone would carry the light of civilization into a new world, as they had done once before. Many inside the walls of Aertas, though no calamity seems to have befallen the land, fear that one may strike any day. They are cautious to leave, both out of fear of Weeper knights and that they may discover a ruined hellscape.   The odd merchant and traveler is sometimes allowed into the city; Aertas has always had to import much of its food, but these are rare. The city gasps for air, and the shadow of fear grows long in the grand capitol of Vaelgard.