The Rise of Quarius

Political event

"The chaos and mistrust in Daurestel allowed Quarius and his agents to seize power and transform the eastern realms into the Kingdom of Quarius, with Nikolai himself installed as its supreme monarch."

The rise of human colonies vexed the elves of Pren’hafan. Forests that had stood for centuries fell under the axes of creatures who lived only a scant few decades. These tensions did not rise to war, but the newly landed humans gnawed at peace like gnats.

As the first functional human civilisation in this part of the world after the Cataclysm, a handful of self-entitled noble houses arose in Daurestel and established law and structure, but those who designed the game stacked the deck in their favour. Corruption spread through the upper echelons of Daurestel, and power-hungry politicians seized each new and valuable resource that was discovered in their bountiful new kingdom. They turned their citizens against each other, forcing them to fight for scraps while they hoarded the lion’s share.

Daurestel was a political war zone, and the greatest warrior of them all was a loudmouthed braggart and cunning oligarch named Nikolai Quarius. The chaos and mistrust in Daurestel allowed Quarius and his agents to seize power and transform the eastern realms into the Kingdom of Quarius, with Nikolai himself installed as its supreme monarch. Quarius was quick to conquer the ruined city of Aureum, sever any remaining connections with the elves of Pren’hafan and make new alliances with the dwarves of Brightstone, marrying Quarius’ autocratic power with the dwarves’ immense material wealth.

The elves were furious, but the ambassador from Pren’hafan to Daurestel, an idealistic grandson of the still-living Sylaise named Glynn, hoped to resolve this diplomatically. Upon arrival, he was apprehended, tortured, and publicly slain. This final act of treachery sent Pren’hafan into arms, and the continent erupted into a long and terrible war between Sylaise’s kin and Quarius’ bloodline known as the Dishonourable War.