Record 003: EMPIRE

[The Rising Dragon]

“What has become of Tsuminia, who claims we are all equal? It is in constant conflict, as they go against the nature of man! The kingdoms of Valtheran and Aube, who share similar views, are mired in sloth, stagnating in their own lands! Our great empire of Stamaria is not like them! We put an end to the wars! We evolve with every conquest! Our world only grows stronger as we take a firm reign on the kingdoms. It is Stamaria that looks forward! It is we who move towards a better future!”

- Aurinar Stamarin, 5th Emperor of the Holy Empire of Stamaria

EMPIRE

After the long years, the cataclysm finally begins to subside, leaving its survivors to sift through the ashes, never again to know of the glories of what they once had. Cities had been toppled into dust, the skies once again the domain of the wild creatures of might and magic. The cold reaches of the ends of the world were once again lost, as a gigantic maelstrom raged on in the north like a terrible crown. Technology had brought an undoing to mankind, leaving the survivors listless and without purpose. Chaos reigned on Ymaggion, and the sentients turned on one another, blaming each other for the loss of life. Life, society, and civilization quickly grind to a halt, and another period of darkness had befallen the world.

No longer content to simply watch the events unfolding on Ymaggion, the Primevals intervened once more, using subtle machinations to stimulate the healing process of the planet they had created so long ago. Despite this, the world remains largely uncivilized as a whole for over twenty thousand years. Soon, though, seven ancient temples are unearthed by various peoples in the world, and once more, the power of the Primals flowed through the world. Having surreptitiously guided sentient life to their Temples of Power, the Primals were pleased as mankind rediscovered the mystic arts of magic. However, the world was still a dangerous, uncivilized place—and it would remain so for many long years. Three thousand years later, the ancient dragons, having been long forgotten by the sentients and thought to be merely myth and legend, recovered from a long slumber and took to the skies once more. Slowly but surely, progress was once again being made in the world. The Primals stepped back once more, though they kept a closer eye on it than before, for they knew that the source of the cataclysm that struck Ymaggion still lived on.

Some wonder if the originator of the cataclysm is what caused the terrible disaster that occurred in Kemei, four thousand years after the reawakening of the dragons of old. This continent was known for a long time since the cataclysm as a cradle of life, a place of outstanding beauty that abounded with life thanks to the radiant power emanating from the Wood Temple, the sacred structure built in honor of the Primal Corus. No one knows for sure what exactly occurred, but misused magical forces in the mystical forests of the continent resulted in a terrible calamity as the backblast of dark magical energy resulted in the destruction of the Wood Temple. The world was rocked with the blow, and from then on, Kemei was irrevocably changed—throughout the millennia that would follow, the forests of Kemei withered and died, resulting in a desert of death that spanned most of the continent.

Throughout the following millennia, sentients discovered lost pieces of technology from the age of science that had destroyed the world. Being what they were, the people naturally tried to implement these technologies back into their lives, but now, technology and science as a whole seemed cursed. Disaster would follow, often through freak accidents caused by weather, or dangerous malfunctions from machinery that had lay dormant for over thirty thousand years. Though they never gave up, people treated technology with caution and fear, for every use of it risked horrible destruction.

Despite this, they pushed on with their lives, and slowly but surely, civilization began to reappear. People grew organized and migrated to various locations in clusters, creating new towns and villages. Five thousand years after the terrible calamity of the Wood Temple’s destruction, the first cities began to appear. As a result of this, mankind slowly crawled out of the pit that they had been mired in, and their numbers grew. The planet finally began to repopulate, and new kingdoms appeared throughout the lands. Soon, even the curse of science receded, and slowly, lead by the dwarves and the humans, technology began to play a role in human life, now in balance with the magicks brought by the elves and the komala.

The world had changed once more. In Allondell, a benevolent rule of mages had been born, ruling from the city of Minervum, known as the Taron Magi. The furthering of technology was researched far to the east, in the great continent of Kouchi, resulting in the kingdom of Tsuminar. Even the oceans became places of life, with numerous kingdoms appearing on the continent of Valtheran and the super-island of Aube. And in the continent of Zailleon, one kingdom grew more prominent than the others. Led by a man of great power and charisma, the kingdom of Stamaria reached out, seeking unification. Nearly five hundred years after mankind finally stabilized, Kesliv Stamarin united all major kingdoms on the continent under the single name of Stamaria. An empire was being born, something unseen for many eons, long before the age of science and the great cataclysm.

The united kingdom of Stamaria reached out across the oceans, seeking connections in these distant kingdoms. Alliances are born in both Minervum and Tsuminar, the capitol cities ruled by the houses of the Taron Magi and Kyan. Early in the new century born of the unification of Zailleon, Arnon Stamarin, grandson of the late Kesliv Stamarin and heir to the throne of Stamaria, married the daughter of Archmage Miralos, Llora Taron—the woman would become the future archmage of the Order of the Taron Magi, and future ruler of the kingdom of Minervum. This marriage unifies the two kingdoms, and Stamarin borders officially cross the Great Sea into Allondell. An empire had been born.

Many years later, a diabolical plot erupts in the kingdom of Tsuminar, as nobles sought out the seat of power from the ruling House of Kyan. In 54 S.R., rebels enact a daring and horrendous plan, resulting in the assassination of all men in the House of Kyan, throwing the kingdom into chaos. Civil war erupts between Kyan loyalists and Tsuminian separatists. Once more, Stamaria reached out to lend aid to its old allies of the House of Kyan, sending troops in to quell the masses and open up negotiations between the powers. As the kingdom was divided in two, Arnon Stamarin’s only son, Trens Stamarin, marries the young widow, Serriela Kyan. Stamaria brings peace back to eastern Kouchi, though tensions remain high between the two kingdoms of Tsuminar and Tsuminia. Five years after the end of the civil war, Aurinar Stamarin is born to Trens and Serriela Stamarin.

But all is not well in the Holy Empire. Trens Stamarin is only human, and succumbs to temptation after the arrival of the ambassador from the ancient neighbor of Zailleon, the southern continent of Cher Plek. Ver Jorin and Trens Stamarin begin a seedy affair, kept far from the eyes of Serriela. Unbeknownst to Trens, when Ver Jorin returned to her native homeland, she did so pregnant with his child. Nine months later, in the year 68 S.R., Khordus Jorin is born as the bastard son of Trens Stamarin. That same night, the Emperor of Stamaria is mysteriously slain as lightning rains down from the heavens, piercing through him. At the age of nine, Aurinar Stamarin ascends to the throne of Stamaria. Soon, the world would change once more.

Infuriated by her child’s now dead father, Ver tactfully destroys all alliances between the Empire of Stamaria and the various kingdoms of Cher Plek, most prominently those in the northern reaches of the continent. New fortresses are constructed, and no Stamarian is welcome in the southern lands. Eleven years later, in 80 S.R., Emperor Aurinar becomes of age and imposes strong changes in the Empire’s government, promoting hand-picked Viceroys throughout the Empire to rule each of the major cities, including the capital city of Tsuminar and the mage city of Minervum. The Emperor sets sail across the Oceania Territories’ northern waters to Kouchi, where he disappears into Mount Tenamon. He is not seen from again for another eight years, and his empire is ruled via communication only with his Viceroys in the continents of Kouchi, Allondell, and Zailleon. After these long eight years, Aurinar Stamarin returns to the public eye a changed man. He spends the next three years publically speaking to his people, gaining public approval throughout his enormous empire.

The world trembled as Stamaria relished in its new doctrines, in that the strong will rule over the weak and guide the world into a new future. The drums of war are sounded as the Holy Empire of Stamaria begins to forcefully expand its borders, attacking the seceded country of Tsuminia and the hostile nations of Cher Plek. From across the waters, the kingdoms of Valtheran see the world changing around them, and prepare for war as they unite together, reaching out to its neighboring kingdom of Aube. Together, the two kingdoms ready themselves for the day when Aurinar Stamarin turns his eye on them.