The Kingdom of Volskaria
Early History
Little is known about the origins of the people of Volskaria or how they came to reside in the lands currently known as the Reach. What has been chronicled is that around 600 BNE, an order of paladins sworn to the god Ilmater established the Silent Watch to safeguard what amounted to a loose collective of agrarian villages against celestial incursions. This new order was led by a holy warrior who was granted an ancient relic by a powerful being referred to in Volskarian scriptures as The Golden One to protect against celestial attacks [see "Chronicles of the Dark Lord: A New Order]. In the decades that followed, the fight against the celestials would transform the people of Volskaria into a formidable military organization whose elite force of Templars wielded powerful ancient relics against an otherwise unstoppable threat from the heavens.
Over the course of the next century, the growing cult of the Templars co-exited with what appears to be a more traditional veneration of dragonkind that served as a folk religion to the original Volskarians. In time, the Dragon Cult evidently became a more organized religion, with a grand temple erected to an Iron Dragon named Asatavaranuth, who served at one point as the city's patron. [see "Sage of the Reach"]
The Volskarian Conquest
In the last century of the kingdom's history, it appears that the war against the celestials had more or less ceased entirely, the reasons for which remain unclear. Freed from the heavenly threat upon which their entire civilization had been built around combatting, the militaristic kingdom quickly turned to outward expansion and conquest, obliterating nearby peoples and incorporating their lands into its rapidly growing empire. It is theorized that during this time, much of the factual histories of the kingdom's origins, including the Order of the Silent Watch's initial allegiance to the god Ilmater, was obscured or lost entirely by the increasingly dogmatic teachings of the Templars and the cult they had formed around the order's relics.
The Fall of Volskaria
In 317 BNE, the Kingdom of Volskaria was utterly destroyed in the span of a single day. What accounts exist from this cataclysmic event were gathered from surrounding peoples and a single "survivor," a reborn solider of the Silent Watch named Riven who died during the event but returned to life centuries later. Riven's first-hand account suggests that the Order was marching to conquer a people residing east of the Volskarian River when the heavens suddenly opened up and the ancient enemy, what the Volskarians referred to at that point as "the False Ones," fell to the earth like blazing comets and laid waste to their forces, their cities, and their entire civilization. [see "Songs of a Fallen Kingdom," Ch. 1 & 2]
References:
12.3 - The Sage of the Reach
The Last Watch: Songs of a Fallen Kingdom, Ch. 1
12.17 - Songs of a Fallen Kingdom, Ch. 2
The Architects' Hoard
// A Past Unhallowed: Oaths Taken, Oaths Restored
// Chronicles of the Dark Lord: A New Order
Structure
Theocratic technocracy
Political ruling class responsible for day-to-day governance included the King and Lords of Volskaria, but these were beholden to the dictates of the Templars on any matters concerning military endeavors or protection against celestial threats.
The Order of the Silent Watch served as both the armed forces of the Kingdom of Volskaria at large and the arm of the Templars, who maintained direct control of the Order as its commanders.
Political ruling class responsible for day-to-day governance included the King and Lords of Volskaria, but these were beholden to the dictates of the Templars on any matters concerning military endeavors or protection against celestial threats.
The Order of the Silent Watch served as both the armed forces of the Kingdom of Volskaria at large and the arm of the Templars, who maintained direct control of the Order as its commanders.
Eyes Upon Heaven, Hand Upon Blade
~550 BNE - 317 BNE
Type
Geopolitical, Kingdom
Alternative Names
Volskaria
Location
Notable Members
