The Avbaroy History Book

[Lyinginbedmon]

For those who don't know, "Avbaroy" is the local earth-like planet that most of Avatar Battle Royale takes place on (It's a portmanteau of the project name). It's a world that's been built up over the past couple years by a whole host of people adding in a whole host of fairly crazy stuff, often simply to justify their own wacky characters, but it's actually become a pretty awesome place.

Now, ABR has it's own wiki (http://abr.wetpaint.com), which is dutifully maintained by a handful of people (Mostly myself and Mad Mask), but which doesn't get much traffic, and so our motivation kinda dwindles after a while, even when we're writing about some seriously cool stuff. As an example, did you know that if Step Up 3D was made in Avbaroy, the cast would be predominantly comprised of Dwarves? Now imagine that in your head.

And some of the coolest stuff actually happened in the history preceding the current events in ABR. The entire Age of Dragons, on which much of the original ABR storyline was built, actually transpired 500 years before it, and that's still over a thousand years of history (The age ended in 1025) and at least one well-known cataclysm (The Great Cataclysm, to be precise, at year 0)

So myself and Mask are going to do a bit of writing for you all here, predominantly to pump our egos but as a side effect to spur on our creativity.

First up in our hopefully-continuing series of exposition logs is:

The Revolutionary War of Arcania

First up, a bit of background:At year 0, the Dark Ages ended, which were a period of prehistory some thousand or so years long immediately following the global catastrophe of the Great Cataclysm in 985 BMY (Unknown cause or content). The Revolution started in year 75, but we may also cover some time between then and 70.

Following this period, humans developed the first post-Cataclysm calendar and founded the Empire of Mann (Named for it's homeland, not the dudes running it :smalltongue:) In all the disarray following the Dark Ages, the Empire quickly grew to substantial size, dominating most of the continent of Laurasia. The emperor at this time was Emperor Perslay I, a peaceful monarch associated with sophistication and a strong economy.

Meanwhile, the Dwarves of Karazi in the Elwind mountains formed a powerful Kingdom of their own, much of which had survived from the Cataclysm by virtue of being underground and surrounded by rock. The king at this time was Gorm III (Aka Gorm the Old, having supposedly survived the Cataclysm), an aging but benevolent ruler with great respect for his people's heritage. He is the 4th Emperor of Mann in under 50 years, owing to the fairly low (but gradually climbing due to medicinal and clerical development) lifespan of humans.

The Elves in the Golden Forests of Avalas were being pretty much the aloof so-and-sos they usually are, but the Forests themselves were substantially larger than they are in modern Avbaroy, stretching almost to the Eternal Basin (The site of the former supercivilisation capital Eternus...and of the epicenter of the Great Cataclysm).

All in all, things were peaceful. There was a bit of a ruckus a few years back in 66 when the young religious group known as the Erenatl became independent of the Empire and left to find their own homeland, but Perslay let this go. Partially because forcing them to stay against their religious beliefs would have earned him far more ire than praise.(World map for this period coming soon)

And at this time, the next chapter in Avbaroy's history focuses on one man:

Michael Arcanon

Archive
Geography
Avbaroy Geography 101 (http://www.giantitp.com/forums/showpost.php?p=9310517&postcount=23)
Map of Southwest Avbaroy circa year 70 (http://www.kinogo.com/victor/maps/thread/mannishmaprelease1.png)

Histolinguistics
The Origin of Curses: Witch (http://www.giantitp.com/forums/showpost.php?p=9403361&postcount=24)

Arcanophysics
The Development of Teleportation (http://www.giantitp.com/forums/showpost.php?p=9868690&postcount=25)

History sorted by age
Pre-history
The Early Dark Ages in brief (http://www.giantitp.com/forums/showpost.php?p=9980807&postcount=26)

Early history (0 - 75 AC)
The Empire of Mann: Dwarven Hegemony and Alliance (http://www.giantitp.com/forums/showpost.php?p=10090349&postcount=27)
Michael Arcanon: State Mage (http://www.giantitp.com/forums/showpost.php?p=9253610&postcount=12)
Arcanon's Arrival on Marshall's Ghost (http://www.giantitp.com/forums/showpost.php?p=10159563&postcount=29)

The Arcanian Revolutionary War (75 - 79)

Post-War Imperial Decay (79 - 896)
The 91 Assassination Attempt on Michael Arcanon (http://www.giantitp.com/forums/showpost.php?p=10124776&postcount=28)

Age of Dragons (896 - 1025)

[Mad Mask]

Great! I wake up just in time to see this thread be created. :smallsmile:

I'm going to mostly fill up for the Empire of Mann (due to my appeal for large, well-established governments :smalltongue:), but I'm also going to do lots of illustrating.

The world map is almost finished, there's mostly fine-tuning to be done. It should be up today.

Also: if you visit the ABR Wiki, be careful, as there are a lot of spoilers.

[This post is reserved for future use if the need arises.]

[Fay Graydon]

So you two are basically desiding on the whole history of Avboroy?
Which basically defines (to some degree) what can and can't happen in FI (and would of done FFF to but we finished that).

Er... If this is going to be Cannon did you clear it with the rest of us at any point? :smallconfused:

Cuz if not then I think this should be Non cannon in the ABR universe or an aalt history.

[Lyinginbedmon]

Mask and I are by no means the final word on these events, and we definitely don't intend to be the only contributors to these logs.

We do expect to be the two most common contributors though :smallannoyed:

[Szilard]

So basically it's everyone else's fault if they don't contribute. :smalltongue:

[Green-Shirt Q]

This sounds like a fantastic idea. As long as you're willing to edit it if anybody else creates new history in the future to include that new history.

I don't think I would really contribute that much, though. All this world history stuff is a little intimidating and I don't think I'm the best at writing it. It's partly the reason why my character's backstory takes place on an entirely different planet.

Also, would this be the history behind FFF, SDSB, Plot 3, TJH, and FI OR FFFR? The two universes, from what I can tell, seem to be in two...well, universes. There seems to be a lot of differences happening so far, and I would imagine it's a great oppertuinity to make even more changes to the history.

[Lyinginbedmon]

This'll be for FFF, the history recounted largely in the wiki at the moment.

And to clarify proceedings in this thread:

There'll be an OP archive so you don't have to dig through the thread, if you raise a complaint we will consider it and see if we can revise things in line, but we're not going to rewrite a thousand words of long-established events to suit someone who wants a flying duckmongoose and a blue sun.

Even then, we (Mask and I) are not going to be only people contributing in the thread, we simply assume given that we've been the two largest contributors in the past several months that we will be the largest contributors here as well. There's still plenty of room to have your say on things.

If after all that, you're still annoyed that you don't have your blue sun and flying duckmongoose, you've only yourself to blame. No-one has to include your duckmongoose if you made it up on the spot contrary to everything everyone else has said.

[Green-Shirt Q]

If after all that, you're still annoyed that you don't have your blue sun and flying duckmongoose, you've only yourself to blame. No-one has to include your duckmongoose if you made it up on the spot contrary to everything everyone else has said.

That's just an exaggerated example, right?

Who said anything about a blue sun and flying duckmongoose?! :smallconfused:

[Calamity]

I don't think I would really contribute that much, though. All this world history stuff is a little intimidating and I don't think I'm the best at writing it. It's partly the reason why my character's backstory takes place on an entirely different planet.

I'd have to say the same, except I couldn't use the excuse of putting my character's backstory on a different planet due to him not being an alien. The biggest thing I've done is put Perwood and Surport on the map :smalltongue:


Also, would this be the history behind FFF, SDSB, Plot 3, and TJH OR FFFR? The two universes, from what I can tell, seem to be in two...well, universes. There seems to be a lot of differences happening so far, and I would imagine it's a great oppertuinity to make even more changes to the history.

As it's a paralell universe, I certainly think it would be interesting to have a similar history but with certain events happening and/or not happening. But that's for another time.

[Fay Graydon]

As it's a paralell universe, I certainly think it would be interesting to have a similar history but with certain events happening and/or not happening. But that's for another time.

the problem with that would be that it would mearly end up being Fat fish fury all over again and we would end up with Future Imperfect Reboot...
I think that by keeping FFF:R without any backstory's or histories at all we can avoid blogging up Giant in the playground with yet more random ABR related threads.
This also allows us to focus on the main universe.

[Green-Shirt Q]

the problem with that would be that it would mearly end up being Fat fish fury all over again and we would end up with Future Imperfect Reboot...
I think that by keeping FFF:R without any backstory's or histories at all we can avoid blogging up Giant in the playground with yet more random ABR related threads.
This also allows us to focus on the main universe.

I disagree.

I think we should take the oppertuinity to use this new continuity to the fullest potential and make an entirely new history around. Then we can explore some interesting concepts based one what did or didn't end up happening in history.

Though we don't really need to write it down in a thread. :smallwink:

[Lyinginbedmon]

Time for a nice first installment I think.

Michael Arcanon: State MageIn 70, Michael Arcanon was a State Mage for the Mannish Empire. This basically meant he was a spellcrafter in the perpetual employ of the state, all his work went in to their hands and whatever orders they gave he had to obey. Such was the case for every licensed spellcrafter and unlicensed spellcrafters were criminals.

Two years ago in 68 he was involved with the Empire's expansion into the Golden Forests of Avalas (Elven homeland), serving as a kind of guerilla soldier on the front lines. The expansion captured almost half of the forests, and in 70 had mostly turned into a peaceful occupation more than anything else. Arcanon came back from Avalas in 69.

Upon returning, he focused intensely on the study of magic, as was his passion before, but with particular attention to the source of magic itself. In year 70 he came to the rectified and tested conclusion that a substance known as incarnum was the source, and that it existed in almost every intelligent organism to some extent.

However, the spellcrafting community did not take kindly to his research. The churches disliked the idea that the power of their gods was in actuality something that could be achieved without them, whilst the arcane community preferred to believe magic was an innate substance of the universe. Arcanon quickly became a laughing stock.

His work ridiculed, and with memories of his time at the front coming to haunt him, Arcanon quickly slipped into depression. Although he did not become an alcoholic, he spent much of his time and state income in bars staring into whisky glasses. Many of the other patrons of his noted haunts would talk to him, and he would make polite conversation, but little turned him from his funk.

(What follows is apocryphal)
Arcanon was sat in a bar whose name he's never been able to remember, but he recalls an aging bartender with a pipe. The bartender tried to cheer him up, unsuccessfully, with stories of how he fell on hard times and built his bar up from rubble and rock, and so Arcanon stayed until closing time, the last remaining customer.

The bartender was smoking a pipe, when as he closed the last window a gust extinguished it. Frail and elderly, the bartender had difficulty relighting his pipe, so Arcanon, for reasons he was never quite able to recall, got up from his stool and ignited the bartender's pipe with an arcane whisp of flame.

...and immediately realised something in the Empire was very wrong. He realised that like the old bartender, he was a regular person, the only thing separating them was his magic. And yet, he was a wage slave for the state whilst the bartender busied himself away in his beloved bar.

(Now historical fact again)
Arcanon submitted his resignation from the State Mages two days later. However, Stage Mages have a difficult path to retirement, which Arcanon was not at all interested in following. He tendered his resignation in the manner and fashion of a baker or bookmaker, and left immediately for the docks on August 16th of year 70.

[Lyinginbedmon]

And without further ado, the Avbaroy Southeast circa 70 (http://www.kinogo.com/victor/maps/thread/mannishmaprelease1.png)
http://www.kinogo.com/victor/maps/thread/mannishmaprelease1.png
(Warning: Large image)

[Mad Mask]

Thanks Lying (but you could also have asked me to do it myself and you wouldn't have to double post), but this is is an extremely large image; wouldn't it be better if we just linked it? This'll prevent quite a degree of horizontal scrolling.

Also, there's a small easter egg in the map. The first person to find it will get... well, nothing, but it'll be funny. :smalltongue:

[GrlumpTheElder]

Also, there's a small easter egg in the map. The first person to find it will get... well, nothing, but it'll be funny. :smalltongue:

Think I've found it. :smallwink: UK

This is all increadible stuff! I Like :smallbiggrin:

[Lord Raziere]

that is a really good map, I've tried making my own maps in inkscape but they're too.....watchamacallit....polygonical? roughiclese? simplacious?

[Lyinginbedmon]

that is a really good map, I've tried making my own maps in inkscape but they're too.....watchamacallit....polygonical? roughiclese? simplacious?

Most of making a "realistic" map is adding greebles, which in this context is all the various edges and rough jagged points on the coastlines. If you spend a lot of time adding those, it looks very much like something out of National Geographic...but that's a LOT of time.

[Mina Kobold]

Thanks Lying (but you could also have asked me to do it myself and you wouldn't have to double post), but this is is an extremely large image; wouldn't it be better if we just linked it? This'll prevent quite a degree of horizontal scrolling.

Also, there's a small easter egg in the map. The first person to find it will get... well, nothing, but it'll be funny. :smalltongue:

I can only find funny names for islands (Bootkey is one example of a hilarious name) and no easter eggs :smallfrown:

I would contribute but High School is very busy for me and the only thing I have much of an opinion on is Goldunscael which stayed out of politics for centuries exactly because I didn't want to mess with the history of Avbaroy too much.

[BRC]

Am I correct in assuming that that port of Scorbay eventually becomes the city of Scornbail?

[Mad Mask]

The next instalment should be about a little geography, and some information about the Empire of Mann.


Think I've found it. :smallwink:

This is all increadible stuff! I Like :smallbiggrin:

Congratulations, we have a winner!

Hopefully the shiny images won't detract people from reading the giant blurbs of texts... because that's what you came here for, right? :smalltongue:


Most of making a "realistic" map is adding greebles, which in this context is all the various edges and rough jagged points on the coastlines. If you spend a lot of time adding those, it looks very much like something out of National Geographic...but that's a LOT of time.

Indeed. It took me an entire day just to get the shapes right... I had to do it manually too, Illustrator's automatic tool for this occasion turning out to give an unrealistic outline.


I can only find funny names for islands (Bootkey is one example of a hilarious name) and no easter eggs :smallfrown:

Look up north.


I would contribute but High School is very busy for me and the only thing I have much of an opinion on is Goldunscael which stayed out of politics for centuries exactly because I didn't want to mess with the history of Avbaroy too much.

Your choice, but if you decide otherwise in the future you're welcome to join in. The only requirements are being internally consistent and having fun.


Am I correct in assuming that that port of Scorbay eventually becomes the city of Scornbail?

Indeed. Scorbay was the first city established on Schizotec the Teckhold.

[Mina Kobold]

Look up north.



Your choice, but if you decide otherwise in the future you're welcome to join in. The only requirements are being internally consistent and having fun.


Oh, I see :smallredface:

Now you made me feel guilty about not writing anything, I will try to get a history of Goldunscael done as consistent with my past self's ramblings as possible.

If I have the time it might even include pictures :smallsmile:

But first sleep and finishing that FI comic

*Passes out*

[Lyinginbedmon]

Mask's post regarding the Empire of Mann is presently delayed due to schoolwork being a mean poo-poo head.

[Mad Mask]

Sorry for the delay. Here's the next instalment, it goes hand-in-hand with the world map:


Avbaroy Geography 101


General
Avbaroy's surface is divided between four continents: the supercontinent of Laurasia, which contains the majority of Avbaroy's land mass; the islands of Percillia, in the south; Amasia, in the north-east, and the speculated continent of Eustaria, far up in the north.

Due to the Great Cataclysm, Avbaroy has currently no icecaps at the poles; the more southern colonies actually experience a mild, temperate climate. The only permanent glaciation is located at higher altitudes, and snowfalls are seldom seen except in the more mountaineous regions.

Laurasia
Home to most of the world's population, Laurasia is however the harshest of all the continents, due to its large size limiting the moderating influence of the ocean. Its climate is very seasonal, with very hot and dry summers and cold winters.

Following the end of the summers arrives enormous, powerful monsoons sweeping throughout the land, causing widespread flooding and most of the year's rainfall. While welcomed to agriculturers who are dependent on it for the growing of their crops, city-dwellers have a more mixed response; while providing a respite from the unyielding heat of the summer, the monsoons cause severe damage to urban infrastructures, and many citizens find their homes waterlogged and their property destroyed or swept away.

Percillia
This small assortment of islands is actually the remnant of a larger pre-Cataclysm continent, which is now almost entirely submerged under the Percillian ocean. Comparatively higher in altitude compared to Laurasia, Percillia's climate is however substantially less intense, with a more narrow range of temperature, which has attracted a high number of immigrants to these areas.

Amasia
While fairly attractive to colonists with its wet, tropical climate, Amasia's faraway location has discouraged most attempts at colonisation.


Notable regions
Grand Tusk Plains
Inhabited by nomadic tribes of orcs, the Grand Tusk Plains almost no natural resources, and due to its flat topography, is hit especially hard by the summer floods, which has let to it being mostly left alone by the Empire of Mann.

Elwind Mountains
This large mountain chain is home to the Karazian Dwarves, who have held a grudge against the Empire of Mann ever since their defeat by Emperor Percilles the Great almost a century ago, and the Moon Elven Kingdomo on its plateaus,

Harshrealm Desert
The largest of all deserts in Avbaroy, Harshrealm was named after the first human to circumnavigate it, Lional Harshrealm. Virtually rainless, it is the lowest, driest and hottest location in Avbaroy and is completely unhinhabited. Most of its terrain is rocky or covered in dry salt lakes. Although for the most part of the year, Harshrealm remains a dry, arid place, once per year it is subject to massive flash floods, capable of killing hundreds in a matter of minutes. Combined with the merciless predators who are more-than-eager to attack trespassers, this makes Harshrealm a fairly non-recommended travel destination.

Softwind Desert
The western sister to Harshrealm Desert, Softwind is, as its name implies, far more hospitable than its neighbour. Beneath its beautiful sand dunes, the Erenatl people practice their strange religion, and while not particularly aggressive, are best left alone.

Avalas
This large forest is home to a booming wood industry by the Empire of Mann, which does not particularly please its elven inhabitants, who have for almost half a century fought a guerilla warfare against the enterprising imperial authorities.

Bootkey
This island is inhabited by the bizarre-looking but otherwise friendly Flying Landfish, who appreciate the occasional Imperial visit.

Marshall's Ghost
With its jagged cliffs, relentless waves and otherwise bad weather, this island and the sea surrounding it are considered so perilous that most would rather trek through the entire Harshrealm Desert than spend one night near this death-trap, and that's not including all the myriad superstition and rumours surrounding this forsaken land. All attempts at settling Marshall's Ghost have so far ended in disaster, and aside from the occasional intrepid sailor, the Empire has abandoned all efforts at colonisation.


And here's a picture of Michael Arcanon in his State Mage uniform, doing the clenched fist salute:

http://www.kinogo.com/victor/thread/people/arcanonstatemagesalute2.png

Next: the Mannish Empire, which would be a little more interesting. :smalltongue:

[Lyinginbedmon]

A quick word on the etymology of a curse word, because that's always fun.

"Witch"
The phrase "witch" is a offensive slang term used towards spellcrafters, first used in 68 in a court tribunal against an arsonist spellcrafter, and perhaps most notable used in a conversation between Emperor Conrad II and Michael Arcanon himself.

It originates in the elder phrase "wizard b*tch", which originated itself in an even older term used by enemies of the Empire of Mann in regards to the State Mage system from year 50: "wizarding dog". State Mages were often depicted in charicatures as canines of various sorts, highlighting their perception of as bloodhounds and lapdogs for the Empire.

"Wizard b*tch" was first used by an elven slavemaster from Grand Tusk in a letter to the individual's superiors, claiming unfair treatment and excessive harassment. He was later incarcerated by Grand Tusk authorities. The phrase gained increasing popularity as the logical continuation from its predecessor.

Witch has retained its negative connotations throughout the centuries and even to modern day Avbaroy, though some have taken it upon themselves to use the term in a more positive and creative manner, referring to themselves personally as witches and expressing preference for it over more formal terminology.

[Lyinginbedmon]

The Development of Teleportation
The teleportation spell was originally developed by Michael Arcanon in 74 AC during his period of isolation on the island then known as Marshall's Ghost.

The spell establishes itself as two nodes, a transmitter and a receiver. The transmitter converts the spellcrafter (and all matter they contain about them, such as clothing and linked companions) into particulate energies, which is then shot by the transmitter in a straight line to the receiver at a speed approximating the speed of light. The receiver node then re-assembles the matter, identifying it's composite makeup based on the individual elements of particulate energy, to recompose the matter transported full and alive. The nodes themselves are tremendously short-lived, containing only enough magic to enact their functions once before disintegrating entirely into the surrounding landscape. The two nodes are what allow other mages to prevent teleportation into and out of certain areas, as well as ascertain their use before arrival, by detecting and disrupting them (This was disastrous in earlier versions, as the nodes did not include methods to detect this interruption and so would often cause users to be fatally disintegrated).

Arcanon began experiments with teleportation shortly before he published his articles on Incarnum souls, but had little success. At the most, he was able to produce a loud bang as matter arrived at the destination point but was improperly re-assembled (the receiver node at this time was unable to distinguish different elements from what was then simply a brief beam of light).

Isolated on Marshall's Ghost, Arcanon was the solitary living inhabitant of a verdant island, with a selection of mountains, valleys, and rivers. He soon found travel about his new domain difficult by foot or boat (Especially as most rivers on the island lead off of cliffs at the edges...inhospitable at least).

As Arcanon would later recount it, one day he spied two mountains, Arca and Sinai, who along with mount Goro formed the three tallest landmarks on the island. Having little to occupy his time and losing motivation and morale on a daily basis, he began developing personal teleportation in an effort to climb them.

His efforts were initially hampered by the energy expenditure involved, it took a great deal of magic to convert his body properly into energy and so each attempt left him drained and exhausted for some time.

One such attempt caused Arcanon to lose two toes on his left foot, setting his progress back weeks as he tended the wound and hastily drew up schematics for what would later be revised and published as the Regeneration spell to regrow the missing digits.

Eventually, Arcanon successfully composed a fully-functional teleportation spell, then known as "retolpet" (its verbal components, and the only components of the spell), first using it to climb Sinai and then almost immediately afterwards to reach the summit of Arca.

The spell still differed significantly from what is modernly referred to as the Teleport spell, it had only the most basic checks to discern if an area was viable to transport (due to space constraints and such), and slightly defective receiver node still caused a wild burst of air as reconstructed matter shoved existing matter from its space, also causing a loud sonic boom as the energy stream decellerated almost instantaneously at the node location. Arcanon used this defect famously in his return to civilisation, arriving in the middle of a village inbetween a child sorceress and a group of nationalist state mages.

For a number of years, Arcanon would remain the only mage capable of utilising true teleportation, but the mechanisms gradually filtered through the magic community and became commonplace.

[Mad Mask]

Here's a few words on the Early Dark Ages, a period following the end of the cataclysm.

The Dark Ages were a period lasting from the end of the Great Cataclysm to the establishment of the Mannish Calendar, from −985 to 0 MY. Despite their name, the Dark Ages were not an especially grim period compared to the rest of history, but are rather called so because of the little amount of information historians possess about it (they are essentially “in the dark” about the Dark Ages).

The Great Cataclysm
The true causes of the Great Cataclysm, an disaster of such magnitude that it completely changed the course of Avbaroyan history, are unknown even to the most savant of mages. The only fact proven beyond doubt is that it did truly occur. Cultures have invented a diverse array of mythologies in an attempt to explain it, but they are as numerous as they are contradicting.

Still, a handful of aspects are common throughout all of these fables. They all mention that before the Cataclysm, man’s works covered the world as he ruled from enormous, sky-scraping cities, the wonders from his intellect having taken the place of magic. Yet man grew proud, the tales continue, and their brilliant civilisation was extinguished as fire rose from the skies, as ice melted and oceans boiled, the earth rupturing, split by the most tremendous forces.

The Early Dark Ages
Nonetheless, man still survived the wrath of the elements by taking refuge inside the underground cave systems of what is now Elwind and Merinas. But when he emerged from his shelters, he saw his world forever altered. Monstrous winged serpents (later known as “dragons) had taken his place, their beastly domains a mockery of his, and the races of old, dwarves, elves and orcs, kin of his yet alien in so many ways, reestablished themselves into the land he had taken from them millennia ago. Swallowing his hubris, man had to bid his time until his true return. Thus began the period known as the Dark Ages.

Historical records from the majority of this period are sparse and incomplete; only the Dwarves kept any sort of a coherent writing system, but as they primarily left their tunnels only to scavenge for their mushroom cultivars, not even taking the risk of above-ground agriculture, their utter isolation prevented them from writing down useful information. However, it is known that the Dwarves were the main instigators in the return of civilisation, having re-discovered most of the technology now used in the 70s, such as efficient agricultural practices, advanced metallurgy and medicinal techniques, among others. They would later be passed down to humans, forming the basis of their technological prowess.

The relations mankind had with dragons during most of the Dark Ages, is currently unknown. While the northern Hordian cultures believe the creatures to have been benevolent guardians, helping man restart his path in a rightful way before leaving him to his own devices (unsurprisingly, as Hordians worship a deity called the Father Dragon), the Percillians in the southern Empire of Mann hold them to be voracious demons with an appetite for human flesh, whose defeat by heroic dragon-slayers called the Twelve Heroes of Erbia was a glorious victory for the forces of Good. The only thing known for certain is that the dragons eventually disappeared, leaving behind only a few scattered specimens.

[Mad Mask]

The Empire of Mann

The Empire of Mann was the world’s second largest empire in terms of total area, and certainly its most influential, despite being nominally extinct today. Formally established in 0 MY by Percilles the Great, it can trace its roots further back to the Dark Ages, to Samien I’s foundation of the Mannish Kingdom in 183 BMY. Throughout its five centuries of existence, Mannish civilisation has been responsible for shaping much of the world’s history, and can even be considered to be the most predominant reason for mankind’s recent dominion over Avbaroy.

For the rest of the following post, we will look at the origin of this formidable nation.

Dwarven Hegemony
To understand the genesis of the Empire of Mann, one must first examine the times in which it sprung. Ever since the disappearance of the dragons, Central Laurasia, the cradle of modern civilisation, had been ruled by the cities of the dwarves, most powerful of which was Vanirkul, later known to the Mannish as Earthlake City, organised in a loose, nameless confederation. Relatively untouched by both the Great Cataclysm and the dragons’ reign, the dwarves were the first of the mortal races to flourish, and benefited from a massive technological head start. Where humans had barely regained the technical prowess of the Neolithic, dwarves had already mastered metallurgy, printing, efficient agriculture and watermills, among others, thanks to their immediate access of pre-Cataclysm blueprints of machinery.

Despite their ingenuity, the dwarves were hampered by a major obstacle: despite their almost supernaturally long lifespans, much like the elves they faced an very low fertility rate. Where female dwarves were expected to produce two or three offsprings in the course of their lifetime, human females could easily deliver more than ten times that number. Early on, the problem was negligible due to the dwarves’ larger initial population and technological advantage, but during the end of the third century BMY, Vanirkul, the largest city, contained only about 30,000 permanent residents, and in a normal engagement, dwarves were expected to be outnumbered at least twenty to one.

The situation was further exacerbated by the improving technological progress of humanity, while the dwarves stagnated, their over-reliance on increasingly difficult to decipher pre-Cataclysm designs and social conservatism preventing them from innovating in any useful manner. When Gorm III assumed power over Vanirkul, the Dwarves had lost almost all of their outposts outside of the Elwind mountains, their ancient Empire gradually eroded by the growing threat of the human powers.

The Alliance
Gorm III’s early reign was characterised by a burst of avant-garde thinking. Feeling that the dwarven confederation was too weak and fragmented to properly maintain its dominion, he centralised most of the governmental decision into his hands and that of his city, assuming the post of King of the Karazians (Karazi being the name of the Elwind mountains in the dwarven language), although still officially maintaining most of the confederate legislation, at least in appearance. Because of Vanirkul’s status and the general situation of the Karazians, his moves were largely uncontested.

Following his reforms, he found a way to simultaneously solve both his kingdom’s population issues and the human threat. Instead of continuing to desperately try to hold the falling outposts against his enemies’ endless waves, he would go forth and ally with one of the human tribes, offering them his peoples’ resources and knowledge of technology in exchange for military assistance (essentially, employing them as state-funded mercenaries). He found his saviour in the warlord Samien of the Mannish Tribe, and despite initial resistance at home, he was able to create his visionary army and go on the offensive.

The results surpassed all expectations as the dwarven-equipped and dwarven-lead human soldiers cleaved a path through the opposing forces, allowing the Karazians to gain a considerable amount of territory. When the largest conflicts began to end, Gorm III allowed the Mannish to settle down, offering them the southern half of the conquered regions, and Samien crowned himself as King of Mann and governed his fledgling kingdom autonomously for the rest of his lifespan. However, both nations were still strongly interdependent, the Mannish defending the Karazians and the Karazians advising the Mannish, both species co-operating to build a series of fortifications along the border (the famous Firestone Fortresses).

[Lyinginbedmon]

The 91 Assassination Attempt on Michael Arcanon
In his reign as leader of Arcania, Michael Arcanon endured two assassination attempts. The first transpired in 91, twelve years following the end of the Arcanian revolution.

Whilst appearing on a balcony over the main square in Lamburg during the celebrations of Union Log (the annual celebration of the war ending as noted by the War Log of Conrad II), a group of fifteen collaborators stormed the building whilst a further eight created a distraction outside with fireworks.

Arcanon was held hostage for six hours on the balcony, where the collaborators erected an anti-magic zone, which prevented Arcanon's body guards from arriving via teleportation, resulting in the most well-known event of the attempt: their matter streams successively exploding at the edge of the zone in a shower of light, which caused the crowds in the square to disperse in a panicked state.

The assassins restrained and beat Arcanon for two hours whilst barricaded within the balcony room, before more than three hundred mundane citizens stormed the building to rescue him. Roughly one half of the collaborators were arrested, others died or were crushed during the retaking of the balcony, whilst four civilians died during the retaking and a further three were injured by the initial firework diversion.

In the ensuring investigation, it was revealed that the collaborators had all come from post-war families from Vandal, and served some portion of their lives in the Mannish military, with two of them being former State Mages loyal to the Empire. Arcania did not hold the Empire responsible for the attack, as it was conclusively identified that it was not at all associated with the leadership of the Empire.

Arcanon noted the first assassination attempt as being an important moment in his leadership, as it demonstrated to him very vividly that, whilst the vast majority of people he presided over were spellcrafters, the minority unable to use magic were just as proud of being Arcanian and as reverent of his person as the most nationalist spellcrafter. In the years following the attack, the broom became a national symbol for Union Log, due to its association with mundane life and with spellcrafters.

[Lyinginbedmon]

Arcanon's Arrival on Marshall's Ghost
By year 73, Arcanon was a well-known fugitive from the Empire, having been hounded for 3 years due to his illegal resignation from the State Mages (And because, discretely, Emperor Percilles believed his ridiculed theories of Incarnum). He no longer had an unrecognised face, as wanted posters existed in most cities and towns, and found it increasingly more difficult to find safe refuge from his pursuers.

Arcanon arrived in the port town of Farostown after stowing away on a shipping barge during a summer of inclement weather, approaching storm season. Whilst he initially found it difficult to find shelter, the locals eager to claim his bounty or run him out before trouble arrived, barmaid Helen Turgal gave him a room at the back of her tavern because he had "a handsome face".

A group of twelve soldiers, led by Arcanon's primary antagonist Niles Serrin, arrived two days later having discovered his escape route from Harshrealm Desert. Serring went door-to-door looking for Arcanon and was quickly alerted to his presence at the tavern.

Arcanon spotted the soldiers approaching before they arrived and Helen managed to distract them long enough for him to escape through the back of the tavern, however Serrin spotted the ruse and gave chase towards the docks. Whilst a crossbow bolt struck Arcanon in the shoulder, he was able to escape on the stolen fishing vessel Exersus, but was caught in an ocean storm just off the coast. Flotsam found several days later determined the ship to have sunk in the waves, though Serrin remained skeptical. Historically, the Exersus itself has never been found and is presumed to be at the bottom of the ocean.

However, Arcanon himself survived, and washed up on the sandy southern coast of Marshall's Ghost the next day, awakening to the sight of the Der'o Fasciid ancestral guard statues further up the beach.

[Lyinginbedmon]

The Invasion of Krygos
Until the year 64, the small nation of Krygos was independent and neutral to global affairs regarding the Mannish Empire. However, in 64 the crown prince of Krygos, Aster Moriveni, erroneously claimed territory to construct a new settlement within the unnamed section of land between Krygos and Opolec.

This space had been the result of a previous land dispute between Krygos and Opolec following the War of Thistles in year 27, but following Opolec's acquisition by the Mannish Empire the agreement was annulled and the territory fell to its former owner, Opolec. Unfortunately, news of this annulment had not reached Moriveni when he made the territorial claim, and as such the Mannish Empire declared war on Krygos for what they perceived to be an act of invasion on their new territory.

The invasion ended with a complete victory for the Mannish Empire over the vastly outgunned Krygos. In year 66, Krygos surrendered unconditionally, including the military execution of Prince Aster. Militarily, Krygos successfully won zero battles in the two year process, though the Mannish Empire was noted to use overwhelming force and many political critics deduced that the invasion was more a war of investigation, particularly of new developments in magic, than of pride, resource, or other typical motivations. As a consequence of this investigative combat style, Krygos routinely reported massive casualties, especially in the civilian sector. However, being largely surrounded by the Empire and facing the largest military power on the planet at the time, Krygos received no aid for fear of also drawing Mann's ire.

Whilst the political situation involved in the invasion of Krygos is not particularly noteworthy, the military strategem used during the invasion is considered to have been innovative in the application of the State Mages, especially in a variety of experimental armaments using fundamental elements of magic that had, at that time, only recently been quantified. Indeed, most mages involved in these armaments were neither aware of their function nor of their operation prior to being implemented.

One such armament of note is the Magnetic Trebuchet, what most modern Earth militaries might refer to as a crude railgun, in which a combination of telekinetic and electrical magic was used to create a moving magnetic field through which a large explosive pellet was launched at extremely high velocity. Of particular mention is that in its earlier development periods, one mage involved in the development of the magnetic trebuchet was Michael Arcanon.

Whilst the Magnetic Trebuchet was hailed for its destructive power and theoretical range, it was not implemented on a large scale due to the high level of co-ordination required to properly arm and fire the device, as well as its near-immovability once constructed (it could only aim at targets directly infront of it and was difficult to aim at different targets outside of this area) and, as with many experimental projects into magical applications of the time, research into furthering its development ceased long before the invasion of Krygos ended. Arcanon was known to recall the trebuchet as an example of the tragedies wrought by the military's monopolised usage of magical theory.

One element of magical applications that survived its development through the invasion was also one of the more simplistic. During development into an anti-ship effort using the concentration of fire energy in a small area under water, a harmless lighting effect was also discovered. This effect, termed Jones' Lantern, became commonplace throughout the Empire in the form of lantern-bearer mages in military districts and outposts. Following some refinement, the standard magical lighting effects came into prominence as a low-level application of magic that most spellcrafters could grasp and practice.

[Green-Shirt Q]

Wow. I'm glad I found this and it's still being updated. For my upcoming project involing ABR, this is gonna be really helpful. :smallbiggrin: