...and What's in a Name?
In the waning years of Qu'astan's northward march, they happened upon intelligence that revealed the existence of the race of Dwarves and Elves, which were unheard of in Qu'astan till that point. While the Elves interested Qu'astan initially, it was the stories of Dwarven riches that motivated the Padasha to find the Dwarven home at any cost. That incentive pushed the Qu'astan armies northward, past what would eventually be known as the Heslonic Shield. The northlands that lay between the Heslonic Shield and the Ice Crown were largely pastoral and sparesly populated. Those settlements (with a couple of notable exceptions) were agrarian and did not possess anything the Padasha wanted. When he first arrived, the Padasha was so overwhelmed with the odor of the manure used by the locals to fertilize their fields that he pronounced "lais ladai'ay maslahati hadhih al'ard annai-zumin" - "I have no interest in this bare land of feces" - quickly appointed a Dasha and departed. Shortened considerably, "Szemya Plamedhzu" became known as Omin as the displaced masses from the south increasingly sought new homes away from the ravages of Qu'astan.
In the days, months, and years following his departure, the arrogant Padasha would come to hear for an ancient city nestled on the shores of a lake in the center of the new land he abandoned, and of greater interest still was the discovery of an mountain fortress far to the east and north, built in much the same way as the great walls of his most prized jewel - Havre.
Thus perhaps, the words of a conquering warlord in search of plunder should not be taken too seriously when defining this land, its people, its history and indeed mystery.
THE DARKEN YEARS
The Darken Years are so called not because of some kind of tyranny or evil that might have blanketed the lands, but rather because there is very little known about them, and there are are a great many questions.
Prior the arrival of the Qu'astan, the lands were settled primarily by agrarian communities. Hard working, largely peaceful, and committed to the ground they worked on, these people are often referred to as Zmedyans by scholars and academics since they didn't seem to have a name for themselves, nor leave any written history to consult with. Villages were largely self sufficient though trade routes with Lltrel did establish it as an economic hub even before Qu'astan. Indeed Lltrel, Dumat and Lespire - known now as Waldrig - pose some of the greater questions.
THE QU'ASTAN ASCENDENCY
The Qu'astan Ascendency has left it's mark on nearly all regions of Northern Tor Lindon, and the region known as Omin is no different. When, hundreds of years ago the Grand Pharaoh's sent his innumerable forces northwards across the Birthing Sea, they cut a wide swath of destruction and conquest in their wake. In some areas they deemed worthy, they started to rebuild that which they destroyed in an image that better suited their likes. In others they simply razed and took what they wished.
Despite what more cosmopolitan perspectives might consider, Omin has a varied history. It's history goes back farther than the Qu'astan invasion. When Qu'astan forces arrived in Omin, it may be true that they found little of use but that is partly of their own device. The Golden Road, now known locally as the King's Road, a major trading route leading to and through distant Havre, led the Qu'astan to the borders of Lltrel. At the time, Lltrel was the pre-eminent population center and featured a world class market and even a smaller university. Trade of goods and ideas with Havre was fairly strong, and Havrian archives seem to support that Lltrel was founded by Havre a full two centuries prior to Qu'astan's arrival.
The exact reasons for this founding are unknown. If presumptions of Havrian King Bassandou the Second's lust for exploration are substantiated, it could simply be that the Golden Road was being explored northwards to see where it led. That it led to a bandit-infested fortress of possible Ancient design (a fortress that would one day form Dumat) may have come as a surprise, and the founding of Lltrel might have been part of a long-term strategy to establish a presence in the area in order to capture the fortress.
Lltrel grew to be a refined city and attracted many from Havre. It was a center of commerce and the arts, and given the periodic barbarian raids that swept through the region set itself up as a bastion of freedom. Given its Havrian connections, it should not come as a surprise that much of its construction was stone, a white granite cut from a quarry that lay on the opposite shore of the Tinimere. But in some notable ways, Lltrel was very different than Havre. It was ruled by Council, elected by the patriarchs of every single home in Lltrel. The Council then elected an Elder who presided over it for the period of one full year. During that time the Elder had complete control of the city. It is not known when or how such an 'enlightened' method of rule came to be, but it was at that time the only one of its kind in the world. Lltrel also had legislated a citizen's army, mandating that all males before the age of 15 had to have served in the Lltrel military for a period of 2 years. Once discharged (honorably), they were to be called upon again should the need arise.
Life in (old) Lltrel was understood to have its challenges, but was on the whole peaceful and prosperous.
Sandstorm
Qu'astan's arrival changed everything for the peaceful city of Lltrel. Qu'astan marched northward with an army numbering over 10,000. Lltrel's civilian army could at best number 1,500. Completely isolated and unsupported by Havre, Lltrel capitulated to the Padasha without a battle. The last Elder of Lltrel was handed over to the Padasha's Sha'iar for cruel sport and a public execution, the Padasha installed a low ranking favorite to be the Dasha of Lltrel and for many years, Lltrel lived through the peace of an oppressor's boot-heel.
Lltrel might have side-stepped its eventual fate had a previously little known force not then decided to make its presence known. The Dwarves of Warku, slowly emerging from their halls and were reaching out to the Humans of the northlands. Peaceful, trade oriented Lltrel was a natural center for them to use both as a direct market, but also as a stepping-stone to gain access to the city of Havre. If Qu'astan's might proved overwhelming to the people and leaders of Lltrel, the Dwarves of Warku resented Qu'astan's presence and disruption of their operations.
The Dwarves began to harass Qu'astani trade routes and fostered a fair amount of hostility amongst the Fen who - now equipped with Dwarven made weapons and a little tactical planning - set themselves to raid the Qu'astani with a ferocity that they had not witnessed before. Qu'astan suffered heavy losses, but it could afford them. If the Dwarves understood the depth of the well the Qu'astan drew from when making war, they might have thought differently when considering aggravating them. The Padasha's movement against the Fen was bloody but decisive. The Fen were sent into full retreat, and with the help of powerful magics were sent back to the Dagarlons over the Sea of the Northern Dragon. It would take many years before the Fen would return.
The Dwarves, however, shut themselves into their city and there they remained, isolated. When the Padasha's attention turned to them and their riches, and he was not able to find them, it was the people of Lltrel that bore the brunt of his search and anger. The people of Lltrel did not know where Warku was, and the Dwarves carefully maintained that level of ignorance. People were spied upon, arrested, and tortured... in short, life was made a living nightmare for the Lltreli. This, far from cowing the people, angered them and they openly rebelled against the Qu'astan.
The Padasha, having completely lost patience with the situation, razed the city of Lltrel as an example of the futility of taking arms up against the Grand Pharoah and his armies...
The Pendulum of Fate
Qu'astan's eyes, eager for all that glitters, didn't care for the now-homeless Lltreli and didn't harass them as much as they could have. Qu'astan's attention was still focused on the futile hunt for Dwarves in the northwest corner of Omin, and in the northeast their eye was fixed on the fortress of Dumat. The fortress - built into the side of a mountain - was deemed to have been built by the Ancients, and Qu'astan lusted for its secrets. It was also deemed impregnable by most, save perhaps only by starving out the inhabitants.
Lltrel being razed, the refugees fled the ruined city to smaller towns, hoping to escape notice.
Two such towns, D'rien and Pasici thrived in their own way for many years, keeping a low profile despite the influx of people from Lltrel seeking to escape Qu'astan's rule. D'rien however was nestled in the Cresting Hills to the north of Lltrel and had undergone fairly extensive excavating efforts under Dwarven guidance in the nearby hills and had struck gold. In order not to draw attention to themselves, the decision had been made to not develop the find until such a time when it would not gain them the Dasha's attention.
The plan might have worked, but for Qu'astan's intelligence that eventually reported the find and drew all the attention the D'rien wished to avoid.
It is perhaps a quirk of fate, but Qu'astan's discovery coincided with the reigning Dasha's (Ralatec) decision to lay siege to Dumat. Eager to make a name for himself and to elevate himself in the Padasha's court, the Dasha mustered the bulk of his army for the attack and felt that the combined might of his siege engines, army and a few Sha'iar's that he had commissioned specially for the task would be sufficient to break the fortress.
The Elder of D'rien, Albien Llir saw that perhaps the time as right to lead an uprising against the Qu'astan forces remaining in Omin and not committed to its siege of Dumat. The Elder had been working secretly with aid from undetermined agents to build a small but effective army, and had worked with Vollien Waldrig of Pasici to do the same. When the attack on Dumat commenced, they would attack from the north and south, route Qu'astan's forces in the area of Lltrel and then prepare for a counter attack from Dumat.
The attack worked well and Albien Llir won the field in his battle, but the counterattack from Dumat never came. The Dasha was so focused on the siege that he remained unawares until too late about a massing insurgence of Giants in the land of Rokorum. His army, depleted from repeated runs at the fortress was completely destroyed by the rampaging giants. The Dasha might have escaped, but the Padasha had less patience for incompetence than he did his foes. The Dasha was put to a slow, lingering death in Havre in front of the Great Spire.
The Qu'astan forces had been handed their first defeat in the region. Given that their forces were retreating from other regions back to the Birthing Sea, Qu'astan never recovered from the loss and simply abandoned Omin altogether.
Omin has a very colourful history, and has 5 major (at least for the region) population centers each claiming dominion over a certain stretch of 'hereditary land'. Each are very distinct and have their own political culture. They will all be described in some depth below. The borders (red lines) indicate the current borders. Each population center is denoted with a number due to the space allotted by the mapping program. The numbers are denoted below the map.
Omin does have at least one redeeming feature. In a world where demi-humans are just about wiped out, Omin is the one land where most races live in relative harmony. Elves from Orivador or their nation of Adrigond, Dwarves from the fortress of Warku, Halflings from the Darkwood, Half-Giants from Rokorum, and Humans from everywhere else. All seem to have an agenda in Omin, and all are equally persecuted by the growing Servant's movement, and the might of Waldrig.
Enjoy, and I would enjoy any feedback you can give me.
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