Introduction
The Exarchate of Alsudhvi was once the populous and powerful
center of a vast seafaring empire. In those days, it was the Alsudhvian Empire,
and it ruled the coastlands and waterways of three continents. It was a land
ruled by god-emperors, the ancient foes of demon lords and the bane of the
abominations of the Deep. All of that ended hundreds of years ago, when the
last of the Wave Emperors was assassinated by his own children, and the Empire as men knew it ceased to
exist. Now, this once-proud imperial seat is a backwater, an exarchate of the
Empire of Ramos. On the Easternmost edge of the lands of Alsudhvi is the great
city of Ina-Zhunawl, Gem of the West, once the seat of the Wave Emperors but
now torn by warring noble houses, foreign interests, and civil war. In the far
west, the Island of Ghinta, once the court of the Emperor-in-Exile, is now
ruled over by a lineage of mad dukes who worship a strange god of the Deep. In
the south, the coastlands of the Marnal Sea are ravaged by piratical beastmen,
while on the other side of the Red Mountains, an ancient kingdom of monsters
prepares for war…
Historical Overview
The Dragon Time/The Age of Legends/The Elder Days
In the time before men began to reckon time, the world of Byelsyev[2] was ruled over by the Thirteen Great Dragons. Immortal and forever re-incarnating, these dragons and their chaotic spawn held dominion over man and beastman alike. In those ancient days, it was only the Elder Peoples – the Arajeon[3] and Dvargar[4] who defied the power of the great wyrms. From their ancient fastnesses, they wove powerful magics and forged mighty weapons and armor.
In that age, the Age of Legends, Longruc Beastcoat , father of the Dwarves of the Fireheart Clan, and Halamar Trisven, Elf-lord of the Fastness of Trisven, sought out and slew the thirteenth of the great dragons. Before it could reincarnate, they wove a powerful spell which shattered its heart, releasing arcane magic upon the world. This was the birth of the One-Hundred and Fifty-Three Sublime Secrets, the use of which is still known to wizards today. With the aid of the One-Hundred and Fifty-Three Sublime Secrets, the elder races, together with the fledgling race of mortals, were able to overthrow the rule of the dragons—but at a great cost.
The Age of the Sorcerer-Kings
The ancient history of the land of Alsudhvi, and the reckoning of years, begins with the founding of the great city of Ina-Zhunawl by the sorcerer Achem-Ing, a chieftain of the Saftash. Achem-Ing was still fresh from his great battle with Mazrahm the Red, a powerful dragon, from whose bones Achem-Ing built his throne. It is rumored that Achem-Ing did not worship the Eight, the ancient gods of the Saftash people, but secretly worshipped and derived his power from a single god, a shadowy entity whose true name was known only to himself. Achem-Ing became the first Wave Emperor, and under his banner the various Saftash tribes were united. Cities were built, and kingdoms were established.
This age is sometimes known as that of the Sorcerer-Kings, for all
those of Achem-Ing’s lineage were powerful sorcerers, and they warred as much
with the elder races as they did against the hordes of beastmen which at this
time began to migrate across the passes of the Red Mountains. This age is held
to have ended when Vlam-Uns, the last of the Sorcerer Kings, was slain in
battle with the Ssanu, a race of serpentine humanoids who laid waste to the
ancient Elven kingdom of Virrie and sought to claim dominion over the lands of
Alsudhvi as well.
The Golden Age
Oki-Swunawl, the nephew of Vlam-Uns, became the next Wave Emperor, and ushered in a new era of prosperity. It was at this time that the Alsudhvians began to extend their dominion to the continents of Qovol and Gimaqin, as well as into the heartland of Byelsyev. This would bring them into contact with other human societies, such as the Inglings and the Ramosians, as well as with demi-human enclaves which had been sundered from those of Alsudhvi during the Age of Legends. Although this era came with increased dominion, trade, and prosperity, it was also an age of near-constant warfare. The Ssanu continued to make war on the Empire’s southern border. Many ancient Elven enclaves were destroyed by the Serpents during this time, and it is believed that the majority of that folk left at this time for the continent of Gimaqin, seeking to find their long-sundered kin.
Towards the end of the Golden Age, as
the Empire descended into decadence, beastmen plagued its borders. The long reign
of the Wave Emperors was finally brought to an end when a group of imperial archaeologists
opened the Crypt of the Winter Queen, a powerful vampire from the Age of
Legends. Awakened, the Winter Queen summoned her long-dead legions to her side,
and over the course of thirty years the entire continent was nearly overrun by
an undead apocalypse. Although the Winter Queen was ultimately imprisoned once
again by clerics of the Eight, the empire was crippled and ripe for invasion.
The Vikarian Empire
That invasion came in the form of the Ramosians, a highly developed confederation of civilizations whom the Empire had first encountered on the continent of Qovol. Seizing the opportunity, a Ramosian commander named Viko the Conqueror landed a large fleet on the northern coast of Byelsyev, and over the course of a seven-year campaign, managed to conquer what was left of the Alsudhvian Empire. The last Wave Emperor was sent to die in exile on the rocky Island of Ghinta, and Viko moved his imperial seat further east, towards the center of Byelsyev, refounding the ancient mannish city of Ina-Mahzim and renaming it after himself: Vikaros.
Over the course of the following generations, the once
powerful kingdom of Alsudhvi was relegated to a backwater of the new Vikarian
Empire. The old nobility of the Empire still fought with each other and their
new overlords for their ancient rights and privileges, but for the most part
the common people accepted the status quo and moved on. The worship of the
Eight was largely abandoned in favor of the monotheistic faith of the
Ramosians, and the secrets and problems of ancient days were largely
forgotten—except when they could not be. The Ssanu had not abated their ancient
war against elves and men, and new breeds of beastmen, driven from the
continent, began to take refuge in the mountains overlooking the fertile plains
of the dwindling Exarchate.
Recent History
The recent history of the Exarchate of Alsudhvi has been marked by external pressures and internal strife. The Landgrave, the assembly of landowners and nobles responsible for governing the province under the Exarch, is bitterly divided between a small but wealthy minority of Saftash traditionalists, and those nobles who are either descended from the Ramosian invaders, or who have wholesale adopted Ramosian culture. Relations are strained with the remaining demi-human settlements in the region, for both Elves and Dwarves alike refuse to recognize the overlordship of the Vikarian Empire, and still cling to the covenants of independence and non-aggression which the Wave Emperors made with them long ago.
The depredations of beastmen
along the coast and in the passes of the Red Mountains have made life
particularly difficult for villagers, herdsmen, and those living on the fringe
of society, while the great cities are plagued with their own troubles. Finally,
although the Ssanu have not marched to war in living memory, everyone knows it
is simply a matter of time…
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