A long Piece of text follows, it may look
harsh to the eye but makes a good read and is the first piece of information
relating to the history of the Imperial basin of Vaklam.
As players it
is probably best before we kick off the game itself with some background
knowledge of the world in which you are going to play. If you find this kind of
thing boring, I suggest that you skip it merrily. The world of Vaklam that we
have been using for the past four years has always been seen from a certain
point of view and that is the imperial one. With that said it becomes clear that
the history and notes that are about to be related to you are primary to one
thing, the Vaklam Empire of the great basin. I will begin with a prologue:
Prologue: The End
In the days before magic, there was man. Man was not benevolent, man was
warlike, a race of evil and corruption. There was no magic in the world save the
magic of story and legend that was told to babes. Then one day in a time of war
in the winters cold when the snows lay heavy on the bare earth, stained with
the deepest crimson of a thousand thousand that some called innocent there came
a sign. Those called wise men looked to the skies and saw a shape, a glowing
ball of azure power drafting across their heavens. Chasing it a wave of fire,
never catching, furtive in its pursuit. A sign they proclaimed, a sign of
endings, of the last days of their world, when beasts would rise from the seas
to devour all that was the land, when dragons would come from the mountains to
bring unhappiness to the people. Then in those moments they learned to truly
fear the death that they had long found comfort in, it's banner no longer seemed
as bright that day as they waited to march behind it for a final time.
Yet.....
What came within the next few years was a peace, throughout all the lands and
empires, peace and closeness born out of terror. The azure sun in the midnight
sky flew on, toward the world of mortal men, and for twenty years there was a
great age that none had known the like of before. Some preyed to Gods who
answered no word or moved to stop the disaster, others, wise in prosperity,
realised that the act of horror had sparked the kindness that crashed like a
giant wave over the land, they resigned themselves to death, pleased to have
seen the land through clean eyes. Then, after these long twenty years, just
after dawn, the sun rose for a second time, as the azure sun hurtled over the
land, from the South to the North, flying faster than any bird that had been
seen, quicker than the wind. And in its wake there was great tumult, as the land
rose and sunk, leaving valleys and mountains where there had been planes, forest
where there had been desert, and death where there had been life. As it went
smaller fires detached themselves and went to greet the East and the West, but
the main fire travelled on until the world shook and the oceans rose and the
great sun settled too the North, that some call the Frozen North, and the world
breathed again.
For a second after the impact, for a brief moment of split infinities, the
world of men became the world of legends, elves, dwarves, gnomes all, standing,
staring in pallid amazement at themselves and all that stood around them. For a
moment. Then they where gone and the world screamed again. Deep in the hearts of
the blackest woodland, Foresters grew in size and shape, twisting as their
bodies revolted against them. Where once had stood human beings, now stood the
orcs and trolls of deepest legend. High in the mountains eyes gleamed in the
darkness, the first Goblins walked from the some reclusive home. The second sun,
which scholars now no to have been a comet, had given it's gift to a world of
tired dreamers. Magic so great and powerful to change the face of an entire
planet in the space of few fleeting heartbeats, such a gift to give to a race so
weak and infantile, yet given it was. What was done could not be undone and it
was the end of the golden age of peace.
Many said then and say now that the gift of magic was small and ill considered
by the fates that controls all destiny. They say that the gift of peace was
enough for those twenty years. Others say differently. The fates, well, who can
say how long they laughed or wept.
Chapter One, The birth of Magic
It did not take long for the world to change, before magic changed the way that
people lived their lives and Man found something else to direct their hate at.
The unnatural. The Orcs, the Trolls, the Goblins. War broke out along several
of the borders of the old empire. In those days the basin was split into
approximately three large kingdoms, which themselves where split into fiefdoms.
There where three noble houses and in those times no high King. At the time of
the Source Comet King Banais ruled the Northen lands, just South of what is now
the Dwarven Mountains, Gaharak ruled the largest of the three kingdoms: the
central plains and Thiryk ruled to the South along the Coast. It was King Banais
who had brought the rule of peace to the land, and he was respected by the
peoples of all the lands, but he was old and the twenty years of peace had
softened him. Forgotten where the days of war and when Trolls and Goblins began
raiding his lands there was little resistance.
Neither Gaharak nor Thiryk had been on the throne at the time of the great of
peace and when members of their court began reporting tales of people with
strange' powers they became curious and made it known that they wished to meet
with these people. What their men returned to them where to become the first of
the Sourcerers. The first examples where of course untrained and did not
understand how to channel and use what magic they had. Before long however a man
called Thaddius gathered together a handful of the more powerful examples of
magery and together they left the land to capable of destroying enemies with
bolts of lightning and fire, Thiryk wanted the power to enhance his own troops,
giving them magic weapons and armour. Both met with great success. Banais tried
to learn to heal through the magic, his efforts where not fruitful.
As the armies of the two southern Kings grew in size and power, the land grew
more and more dangerous. The goblinfolk had organised themselves into families
and tribes, their raiding parties where seen throughout the lands and they often
attacked the great castles of the Thanes who ruled in the Fiefdoms. Brigands
took hold of many of the main trade routes and a state of lawless chaotica grew
in the great basin. To combat the horrors, the pillaging and the raping in all
of the lands and not just his own Banais organised a band of warriors and
Sourcerers to travel the lands and meet out justice in his name. Only the true
and the just could become a member of this elite group and the codes of morality
that they adhered to was severe. Wherever they went the lawless fled, the tribes
quaked in fear at their coming the people rejoiced and felt safe. The Cavaliers
rode the land
Thirty years passed and Banais died, and in great reverence was he buried, and
much was he missed. The people wept, it is said, for so long and so hard that
the river flooded and washed away the hope of the common man. In his stead the
throne was taken by Queen Jerubal who was the Kings eldest daughter, and in
those times the tradition stated that the oldest member of the noble line became
the next ruler. She was a Sourcerers and a warrior, her father had had her
trained for many years and she excelled in the art of the sword. She was also a
trained diplomat and ruler, her iron will and fair hand where already respected
by her Thanes and none of her subjects thought of her as weak. When she ascended
to the throne she spoke words of her father, saying that none could replace the
man that he had been, but she also said With a woman on the throne Gaharak and
Thiryk, both now well into middle age, pushed their men across her borders, but
they where driven back by the armies of the North. Jerubal recalled the
Cavaliers and bade them to only protect the borders of her land and leave the
others to fare against the brigands and Tribes if they could. Tanak, the then
leader of the Cavaliers refused to leave the peoples to their fate, saying that
all life deserved the right to protection and safety. He resigned his commission
and retired to an estate at the very Northern edge of Jerubals lands, with him
he took twenty men and women who refused to leave his side, such was the respect
that they owed him. Jerubal replaced him and the people that he had taken with
him saying that his decision was a just one and she could ask no more of him.
Tanak in his own right was an excellent Sourcerer and when he left he took up
the research that Banais had started and applied his power to that of
healing.
With the Cavaliers gone from their lands the two Kings applied their will to
supplying militias to their towns and hamlets. Gaharak fatally increased his
taxes to pay for these new guards, but these new taxes where just a fraction of
the already massive payments that his people weekly made him. A few weeks after
the implementation of the Militia the people rose up and after a swift and
bloody revolution he was executed. The new leader of the lands was Latarn, a
former Captain of Gaharaks personal guard and one of the instigators of the
revolution. Latarn was a warlike man and the other leaders of the lands turned a
watchful eye towards the central lands and their armies. Thiryk met many times
over the next year with Jerubal and the two formed a peace treaty that was to
last until both had perished. They pledged to stem any hostility that may
venture forth from the central lands under the leadership of the new King.
Over the next few years Latarn made several efforts to invade the southern
lands, jealous as he was of that lands great sea power. Each attempt was driven
off and Latarn was defeated. After the third impressive defeat, and with many of
his peoples lives lost in pointless wars Latarn became the shortest lived king
in the central lands. He was executed and replaced by subjects and in court.
Charismatic and inspirational, their plans for the Kingdom brought about many
changes to the central basin over the next two decades. They introduced many
improvements to the economy and society all of which where mimicked by the
Northern and Southern Kingdoms. In fact it was at this time that King Stokon
implemented the first of the guilds, for trade and such, but also more
importantly for Sourcerers and Warriors. The standard of living improved
dramatically, as did the relations between the three Monarchies, to such a point
that toward the end of this period Queen Jerubal released the Cavaliers back
into the world. However it was in this long age of peace and harmony that King
Thiryk finally passed away of old age, he was, it is believed, in his late
nineties and probably the oldest human King of any lands. His replacement was
his youngest son Palurn, who at that point was a Captain in the army, although
at the time of his induction he made a point of telling his subjects and the
visiting regency that his military career would in no way reflect in his actions
as the new King. The age of prosperity continued.
Six years after the death of King Thiryk Thaddius and his retinue returned,
they had not been seen for over Eighty years. They came from the seas to the
South, two black ships it is said, sailed into the harbour, their sails furled,
no oars to row them. Thirty men disembarked from the two ships, clothed from
head to toe in robes of black, their eyes glowing a deep azure. In each of their
hands they carried a skull topped staff each one an artifact of great power.
Thaddius stepped forward and spoke words that where heard in every Kingdom, in
every house and room from castle to hovel, by King and Leper, the basin shook.
Know this, he said, this land is mine, your lives belong to me, my thoughts are
your thoughts, my will is your will. For I am Thaddius, archmage of the Kaytaar
and you will obey me. With that the thirty, who where the black cabal of the
Kaytaar strode to the castle of King Palurn those who tried to stop them where
struck by bolts of power or burnt in flames of magic. Whilst on route the King
was spirited from the castle and taken the lands of King Stokon and the southern
lands where taken, without a war or loss of life and Thaddius was King.
Having heard the message of the dark mage Queen Jerubal made preparations for
war, part of which was to abdicate her throne in favour of Ythalren, her oldest
daughter who she had trained in the same way that her of King Stokon, Sourcerers
and warriors stood side by side together ready to do battle with an unknown foe
of unknown power. Meanwhile in the capital of what was now named Aziler, or the
lands of shadow in the old tongue, the Kaytaar where preparing the armies that
would need to take the rest of the land from the Kings. Together they gathered
the people of the land bringing them via arcane methods to the great castle of
King Palurn. What followed is what many consider the greatest catastrophe of
time. The people of the Southern land where slaughtered, one by one, person by
person. No one was spared, where they Woman or child, old or young, with child,
crippled all died. When the Kaytaar had finished not a living Soul remained save
them. Why? Because whilst the Sourcerers of the land had learnt the arts of
magic to strike foes, to make magical weapons and armour and the like the
Kaytaar had gone further. They had learnt the path of Daemonology and it was
Daemons who came to feed on the blood of the dead and to the bidding of the Dark
evil that was Thaddius.
What followed was sheer hell. The war with the daemons was unlike anything that
anyone had ever seen before. Daemons where a terrible foe, there power sprung
from the very Source comet itself and their hatred of humanity was unparalleled.
They clove their way through the lines of soldiers around them and for every
daemon that died so did fifty soldiers. Even the Source Magic used against had
little effect but together the Wizards and Warriors began to hold them back. The
Daemons march was slowed to a crawl, but still they came, more and more of them,
into their thousands. More died, fuelling the spells that Thaddius in his
insanity continued to cast bringing more and more monsters into the world. The
lords of the land could do nothing but quake in terror as the evil came onward.
They retreated as far North as they could building a huge wall around the
Northern reaches and manning it with anyone who could hold a weapon and there
they found a sticking point and hope.
Then came a saviour. A wizard called Phyphor had, instead of fighting against
Thaddius and his Daemons, looked for a way to fight against them. His scryings
had taken him to another plane, and another world. There he had seen a being
capable of slaying daemons with great renown with the last his deeds. After a
short time he had taught many around him arcane skills that hurt the Daemons and
drove them before him in fear and terror. Some say that he and his disciples
could make themselves invisible to daemonic eyes and summon powerful energies to
hurl against them. Salacin and his followers were granted Imperial Knight
status, and the title of Daemon Stalker. The newly formed group spearheaded the
armed forces as they drove Thaddius and his daemonic minions from the land.
Eventually the group confronted Thaddius himself. After what was a remarkably
short battle Thaddius was banished to the realm of daemons, there he took on
their powers and a new name for himself. He was to become Sarkith, Duke of
Shadows.
With the threat of Thaddius gone, the peoples of the Basin rejoiced. None had
thought that the evil of the Daemons could be defeated but they had been wrong
and now life could begin to get back to normal. King Palurn vowed that he would
never return to the Southern Kingdom that he had one ruled, instead he married
Ythalren and they agreed to rule the North. That would have happened too had
king Stokon not intervened. He announced that the people could no longer live
divided. He abdicated the throne in favour of Palurn and Ythalren granting them
full dominion of the lands he owned. They named them Maryat in honour of the
Queen who would so willingly give up her title and land in the name of peace.
The final surprise was to come when Palurn announced that the people should
decide who would rule this new land. The next day there was an assembly the like
of which has not been seen since. The people where called upon to decide who
would lead them on into this new era of peace and prosperity. The decision was
made swiftly. The people called for Salacin to lead them
Though flattered Salacin wished only to return to his home plane, one that he
loved so well. He turned down the offer to lead the nation saying to the people
that they should follow those who had led them well and true for so long. The
people cried in agreement and screamed for Palurn and Ythalren to be returned to
the throne. That afternoon they where made the first Emperor and Empress of
Maryat. They took the town of Odern and renamed it Banais in honour of the first
King who had brought peace to the land so of it was left as a memorial to those
who died and the hope that their souls would find rest in whatever afterlife
they went to.
Over the next few decades the Daemon Stalkers enjoyed great success. They drove
the remnants of the daemonic forces from Vaklam, even pursuing them to the
Shadowlands and killing them there. They and the cavaliers where becoming the
word of law in a safer Maryat, the roads where safe to travel, no Daemon nor
Goblin dared the lands of Palurn and Ythalren and thoughts where made to the
exploration of the world beyond the basin. This was not to happen effectively
for another hundred years. The first century drew to a close and the second
marched on. The guilds that we know and use today became prolific and the
progress as ever became all-important. Sourcerers truly mastered their art and
metal swords and armour began to be used, blacksmiths learned how to work steel
and life became better for the Maryat folk. It was in the year 174 AC6 that a
tragedy struck that would effect the world forever.
The Daemon Stalkers of that time where under the command of Jareth a veteran
scout, responsible for much of the intelligence that was brought out of the
tribal lands. The group was enjoying phenomenal success and popularity. Their
guilds where active in almost every city and every young hero had a burning
desire to join. It is said that Jareth and the high council of Daemon Stalkers
where planning an assault to the heart of the Shadowlands, it never came. Jareth
and the nine members of the high council where found dead in their quarters. All
had their necks sliced from ear to ear. Despite a massive enquiry aided by
powerful magic, the Imperium was unable to uncover the assassins. Over the next
month, of One hundred and forty-six members of the group where killed. There
were no clues as to who had committed these crimes, or where they had gone.
Suddenly the remaining Daemon Stalkers vanished without a trace. With them they
took their arcane knowledge and the only weapon that the Imperium had against
Daemons.
In the year 270 AC the Emperor of Maryat was Fasteron the True the people had
elected him from the Cavaliers of whom he was the then head. He was a very
honest man, loyal to the Empire and strong in his decision making. Source Comet.
After his induction he was called upon to choose a new leader for the noble
cavaliers. A choice he knew was coming. At the time the second in command of the
Cavaliers was a young woman called Imaris who was to take on Fasterons title,
that of the true. However Fasteron had always considered her as nothing more
than an advisor, he also believed that leading the Cavaliers was a mans job. It
was that folly that led him to make the decision to appoint a young Cavalier as
their leader. A man full of good ideas and with strong leadership qualities, a
man with excellent mastery of both Source skills and with the blade. A man
called Gabrak.
More too follow (This will be a link)
