Local History

The central heartlands of Arcania have always been considered regions rich in diversity, magic, history and opportunities for exploration. In ancient times the domain that lay between The Red Ridge Mountains and what would later be known as the nation of Myrddion was full of lush untamed forestlands, sprawling mountain peaks and great rivers and ruled over by dragonkind of a multitude of colors.

"Alexandros" itself is an ancient name referring to the ancient kingdom of Alexandros that was destroyed in the take over by Charn some seventy years ago and of which Alexandria was the former capital. Though the kingdom has not been re-established due to the end of the royal line, Alexandria itself has continued on.

Today, its nobility vie with merchants and visitors from other nations and cities. Its landscape is as varied as its markets, with a history that extends into the first age.

The Ancient Landscape

Alexandros rests on ancient land, a region historically rich with diversity, magic, and history. Long ago the domain that lay between the Red Ridge Mountains and the Vast was covered in untamed forests, sprawling mountain peaks and great rivers. Dragonkind of all colors oversaw this treasured place, and beneath them, a race of humankind struggled to grow.

During the First Age, these humans built temples and made offerings to the many ancient gods who still walked the world in flesh. Aside from their ruins and the occasional tales of seers, little is known of these ancient folk.

At some point, this ancient culture built a great and ancient temple, greater than all others in the area at that time. They centered it in an area touched by the visions of the gods, and used it to commune and to worship. This site today is known as the Eidolon Court.

Eventually, scholars know that the dragons left. The War of the Heavens rocked the world and they were called away as sentinels in divine armies. Maugrim tore from His brother, taking with Him His own pride, and the madness and darkness of the Void, and began a struggle that lasts today.

The divine struggles would reach into ancient Alexandros. Together with the conflagration of divine powers and the loss of its great protectors, the old kingdom was laid to waste. Destruction rained down from the hand of Maugrim and the gods of the underworld as they sought to unmake creation, and rip from the world the power of the Source.

Much knowledge was lost, and the kingdoms of old scattered.

The Settling of the Oruch, Sildanyar, and Khazad

The landscape would become the center of wars a millennium later when the sildanyar would settle it. Seeking to create a second, great civilization beyond the borders of Llyranost, they founded the city of Aranthalas within a realm they called Estania. In those days, the magic of the sildanyar and other, ancient races was mightier than is known today, and with this power they crafted some of the greatest wonders that the world has known.

However, dwarves traveling from Khazad Duin soon moved to the area, and fresh on their mind was the treachery of the mul'niessa. They mistook the inhabitants for their twisted brethren, and so began a war that according to some scholars, may have had Deimos' handiwork behind it.

The war raged for years between them, and eventually, the tribes of the oruch found themselves drawn in, either by the draw of blood or from the effort of defending their territories. War soon overtook the landscape, and this three-way conflict threatened to unravel all three civilizations and all they had wrought.

That all was not lost was due to the efforts of a great elven peacemaker by the name of Ra'Tenniel. He would forge the accords known as The Great Meld which established peace and divided the lands. Under Ra'Tenniel's influence, the sildanyar and khazad found peace, and the oruch became guardians of the wood and wild. They turned their mighty strength upon invaders and monstrous forces and the khazad built the great kingdom of Morduzum beneath the earth.

And yet, as peace progressed, the khazad would delve too far. Ignoring the warnings of their clan elders, they dug more deeply into the stone and earth. Eventually, they came to disturb the lair of the great Black Dragon King, one of the primeval ancient dragons that had fought side by side the twisted god Maugrim in the age of wars. Awakened, the cruel behemoth summoned to him his progeny and also trolls ando ther wicked, poisonous creatures.

The combat came to a close through the intervention of golden dragons, but by this time the land was poisoned and its earth soiled. The khazad retreated and offered sanctuary to the oruch for a time, and the sildanyar fled to the forests.

For three generations the oruch and the khazad held their peace beneath the earth, until an ambitious oruch lord by the name of Kotiphar sought to lay waste to the teachings of Adom. He reached back into the history of the oruch-kind, and came across forbidden names and teachings that the oruch had long forgotten. He embraced them, and swore a pact with fiendish powers, and in doing so transformed his clan into the Daemon-Orcs or the Mogareg.

The war that erupted ended the peace between the khazad and oruch in the land known today as Alexandria for some time, as the khazad who were not killed or slain by these daemon-orcs were sold into slavery or forced to flee northward, bearing tales of betrayal and horror. In the wake of the daemon-souled and damage from the ancient Black Dragon King, the mighty kingdom of Morduzum was no more, and its passages litter the land beneath like catacombs.

The Age of Artifice

The weakened state of then-Estania once again set the stage for the surge of humankind. The round-eared children gathered and gripped their spears, and went to war with the sildanyar over lands and resources. The son of the great negotiator Ra'Tenniel, Silvanos, established a haven for his people north of the human lands. He did so because he saw the war against mankind was one that could not be won, and with the sildanyar out of the way, the humans soon drew their city-states together.

For a time there was peace again.

However, this time was the time of Artificers and the time of Kulthus. The lands of then-Estania were considered backwater and expendable by the Kulthian Aristocracy, who stepped forward in conquest.

As the land's newest conqueror, they appointed a Governor who forbid their use of magic and enforced the laws of the Artificer's City. The Governor would then turn to exploit its natural resources and location to build a terrible weapon. This weapon became known as the Spell Cannon.

The Spell Cannon stood larger than men, and possessed the ability to fire a beam of Mana so powerful that it could sunder the very walls between the planes. Such toys were the power of Kulthos, and when they were torn from their throne by the Sundering, the people of the Alexandros landscape were able to step forward and free themselves once again. The Sundering spread from the great Eidolon Court of ages past--that great structure built now by unknown hands. The rippling effects tore into the ley lines and mana fields across the world, and scored Alexandros for years to come as a result of Kulthos' arrogance.

However, freedom was a difficult process, as for years they had been guided by the Governor, and been forbidden even the most basic education in the arcane arts. Because of this, the region recovered slowly and may have lain stagnant for some time if not for the arrival of pilgrims also fleeing the wrath of the Lords of Artifice. Among these groups were wizards, instructors, and other learned folk. Together, this new mixture of people and races began to lay a foundation to rebuild their cities and homes.

The Crown Wars and Sorceress Wars

When the Crown Wars erupted, Alexandros stood at first neutral. A recovering nation and of independant mindset, it had no want to get involved. Unfortunately, while some scholars refer to Alexandros as "the world's center," this hubris-filled statement nonetheless contains a grain of truth: the small nation stands at the center, the crossroads of many greater nations.

Too, Alexandros' ideals would draw it in. In the name of the right and good, Alexandros' current king, Regendus Dan'Alexandros, allowed Myrddion to use their territory as a staging ground for confrontations with Charn. However, he placed upon Myrddion stipulations and the nation's own troops remained largely committed to securing their own borders versus wars in distant lands.

During the Year of Ascension, a sacred season for the people of Alexandros, a double tragedy struck the nation. The Great Plague had begun sweeping across all of Arcania. The destruction during the Crown Wars (and some whisper the influence of Gunahkar's laughing maw) checked nations' ability to respond, and the plague swept like wildfire.

Alexandros was not spared, and her cities and towns were filled with the sound of the suffering and those in mourning. It was during this time that the catacombs of Alexandria were first constructed, for the dead were numerous and Thul's occasional influence struck a justiafiable fear in the hearts of citizens.

Following on the heels of plague, the War came to Alexandros' very doorstep. The neighboring nation of Celidun fell to Charn, giving them access to ports across the Inner Seas. The Witch Altima, Charn's ally, then struck the nation of Alexandros.

Though Alexandros expected an attack, the nation found itself unprepared for the sheer power and fury of the Sorceress Queen, a creature who wielded magic of unforeseen might and overturned Alexandria's armies with her own assault of beasts, monsters and strange magical-machinery. For two years, Alexandros fought, but eventually they too fell. By Altima's wrath was their king slain, and their nobility of House Alexandros scattered to the four winds.

The Sorceress Wars

For fifty years, Altima reigned as Charn's general-queen over the region of Alexandros. She scoured it for the secrets of the Old World and the power of the ancient nations of Estania, Morduzum, and even before.

As the civilized world hid or struggled, the darker races allied themselves with Altima...some by choice, others for fear of risk of destruction, such was the fear of her. The sildanyari of the Mythwood shut themselves away and enclosed their magic, yet knew it was only a matter of time before Charn's great Witch came battering at their door. The khazad vanished into the Red Ridge Mountains, and took with them great treasures.

Within Alexandria itself, resistance groups began to form, funded by Myrddion and other nations. In secret, they sent war golems, magic, and soldiers to aid Alexandros' quest for freedom.

However, without a king, the resistance groups lacked leadership. Though they possessed supplies and resources, they lacked cohesion. Eventually, a group named The Scythe rose to fill this need. Named for the farmer's common scythe, they declared themselves a symbol of the common man and the judges of Altima. With them stood the Plalanx Falcis, formed by members of Alexandros' old nobility, which most had believed fled or assasinated.

With such leadership, the forces only needed a time to strike. They found it in the betrayal of Altima.

When Myrddion gained ground against Charn and pushed that empire back, Charn found that its Witch-Queen, their great general, betrayed them. Not for ideals or mercy, Altima took her stand based on some newly acquired power. It is at this time the allied forces struck. The Phalanx Falcis rallied their troops and forged alliances between internal rebel groups and a people's army was formed. Through tactics and force the people of Alexandria threw off the Witch's yolk. History records a great battle between Augustus who slew her in a great battle, which took place in Alexandria's great castle by means of a flaming sword of blazing light.

As Alexandria fought, Myrddion rallied, its troops sweeping inwards into Alexandros's greater regions and destroyed Charn's forces which had for too-long held the land. In this, Alexandros and Myrddion worked together.

Though they had taken heavy military losses, Myrddion routed the remains of her armies and the Sorceress Wars came to an end. Alexandria City was in ruins, however, and the lands of Alexandros bore the scars of machines, magic and warfare. Myrddion would take Alexandros as a liege land for the purpose of rebuilding it, bolstering its defenses and creating a strong unified presence to protect against would be predators in the aftermath of such a terrible series of wars. Augustus Alexandros--he who would have been king--had vanished.

The Watchful Peace

Ten years passed beyond the Sorcereress Wars, and Alexandros remained under Myrrish guardianship...and control. Unsurprisingly, the people of Alexandros began to clamor for freedom and a return of sovrienty. Their nobolity scattered, it looked as though the complaints would come to naught but angry grumbles...until Augustus reappeared. Angrily, the man who would be king denounced Myrddion and their actions. He reinstated the Phalanx Falcis, who were now seen as terrorists.

Augustus' actions ushered in a new era of tension and strife as his and his followers' actions became increasingly angry and desperate. His attempt to overthrow the Myrrish from Alexandrian land resulted in a strain upon his sanity and those around him. Such was the chaos and desperation that the most holy of holies, the Eidolon Court was nearly destroyed...and Myriddion and Alexandros began to view one another as potential enemies.

Events would reach their peak when the late summer and fall of AR 1003 in an event known as the Merkabah Siege. Two events heralded its eruption. First, the Eidolon Court was revealed to be the same fountain of divine energy of the days of ancient Kulthus, an incredible source of power and divinity, and what would mark it a sacred place of pilgrims in years to come. Second its uncovering forced the revealed identity of the Myrrish Governer...a surviving High Artificer. Saluven proved to have been responsible for much of the tensions and policies that had existed.

The Merkabah Siege, Saluven's forced raised the floating fortress-city of Merkabah and called upon an ancient army of its constructs, undead, and the cult members of The Illuminated Order to descend upon Alexandria. The assault destroyed much of the city and many lives from the still-tired nation...yet in the end Saluven was defeaded and Merkabah crashed into the mountains beyond the city.

The following winter, during an international summit, Myrddion agreed to restore full sovereignty back into the hands of Alexandros' ruling merchants, guild leaders and remaining nobility and the confederacy known as the Argent League was formed.

The War for Sendor

Recently, hostilities between Myrddion and Stormgarde led to open warfare and then the empire of Bludgun took advantage of this and attacked the Myrrish nation of Sendor, conquering it and beginning a new season of warfare. At first this seemed to have little impact on Alexandros, which again sought to maintain a distant stance out of necessity for needing to rebuild in the aftermath of the Merkabah Siege. However, this would not last as Bludgun, near to her borders, continued to threaten the land and refugees from Sendor poured inwards. Finally, an attempted hostile take over of the city (precipitated by mercenaries implanted in Alexandria under the pretense of coming to her aid), Alexandros declared open hostilities against Bludgun.

Joining with Myrrish forces, Alexandrian Irregulars marched into Sendor to reclaim it and free the slaves who had been held under Kinnevack the ogress. Their rush withdrew crucial support from the newly liberated Blar, which fell--and many of the hobgoblin refugees fled to Alexandria, or being a military race with recent hostility against Bludgun, aided in the organization of forces in Sendor.

The armies' march through Sendor is the tale of bards. They triumphed over Fort Gettys, then rescued the damned city of Versis from rampant demons before reaching Sendor's capital, Vinas Solmnus.

Eventually the war drew to a close--combined forces smashed the Brazen Drum, one of Kinnevack's torture prisons before rampaging against the city walls. The victors returned home to Alexandria with hope-filled hearts, as well as the new burden of refugees, and friends and family who saw their loved ones for the first time in years.

And then it went wrong.

Present Day

Alexandria, and the Myrrish King, vanished at the end of the War for Sendor. Locals claim that during a period of five years there was no sight of the city of Alexandria and that a gray mist prevented investigation into the area. Scholars attribute the happenings to the chaos of the times and potentially the dark goddess Taara. Regardless, where it has been five years for the rest of the world--to the re-appeared Alexandria, it appears as though Sendor's victory was just yesterday.

To the rest of the world, however--it was not.