History of Aroa

Aroa is a peninsula known as “The Hand of Creation.” This is the entirety of the known world; at least what can be remembered. Aroa is a peninsula of of peninsulas with four smaller pieces of land jutting out from the land known as “The Fingers.” Two mountain ranges run the width of Aroa. One called “The Kunckles” and the other known as “The Barrier Mountains” after the heroic defense lead by the native dragonborn people at the end of the Age of Loss.   Not much is known about the world in the Pre-Knowledge Times and the Age of Knowledge. Legends abound. Stories of cities as far as the eye can see. Myths about great magics used to command reality itself. Epics of heros, leaders, and gods themselves walking among the people doing great deeds of compassion and philanthropy. LIbraries of knowledge available to all filled wall to wall and floor to ceiling. Histories and theories about the material plane. First hand stories of the heavens, and hells, themselves. Journals of scholars, and mages, and philosophers, and kings, and demigods, and merchants, and warriors. The age of knowledge truly was the height of the material plane’s power. But that was before the Blood War spilled onto its doorstep.   The story goes that all manner of evil spilled up from the ground and out from the skys consuming all in its path rolling over the cities of the world. But that would be too kind of a tale. Good versus evil. Right versus wrong. Rarely are such events simple. The information that is known about the Age of Loss is much more, saddening. It’s called the Age of Loss mainly for the loss of knowledge and land but it was so much more. Loss of people. Loss of trust. Loss of Hope. Loss of any sort of goodness in anyone. Brother against brother. King against King. Friend against friend. Spirits were crushed under the pressure from the lower planes. Over hundreds of years the great nations of the world were slowly conquered. CIties lost and people enslaved. The Blood War between the devils and demons seem to have taken much of the material plane. The remaining people fled to Aroa. Everything else is now The Wastes. An evil landscape full of death.   As the people of the world ran they encountered the borders of a dragonborn kingdom, Arokath. King Rhaelion took pity on the refugees and allowed them into his lands past the barrier mountains. Rallying his people and a number of survivors along the Barrier Mountains, he held off the invading hordes. Although at a great cost to both his own life and the lives of many of his people. He became known as King Rhaelion, the Savior; ending the Age of Loss.   The Age of Recovery did not signify an age of ease. New lands had to be settled. Farms tilled. Cities and roads built. While people from many different races fled during The Loss, three distinct kingdoms and nations developed. The Calderian Nation. The Dorandul Kingdom. The Felirythian Republic.   The first being the Calderians, rallied under the banner of a human named Calder. He was a young and charismatic man who was fond of organization and making deals to better the world. He was able to unite a collection of tribes that had settled in the eastern regions of Aroa. He was also influential in the formation of the Crossroads. The Calderian nation was founded on a clear set of laws governing the interactions between different peoples.   Under the rule of Galbar, a dwarf, the second kingdom, rose up; Dorandul consisting mostly of dwarves. The people of Dorandul live in and around The Knuckles, the mountains that stretch across three of the fingers. The Doranduls tend to prefer their isolation but became some of the Aroa’s greatest traders and smiths. Keeping not only to settling beneath the mountains but also the surrounding land. Those that live beneath the Knuckles call themselves the Dorans while those that live above the mountain call themselves the Dulans. There has always been a general level of animosity between these two groups within the Dorandul Kingdom.   The third nation established during the Age of Recovery was the Felirythian Republic. Three elves all claimed lordship over the western region of Aroa. One victor arose out of the War for Western claim. Celebor, an elf bent on uniting his people brought the region under his control through bloody conquest. Celebor and his followers were not well liked and rebellions plagued his land. Over the years, Celebor became more and more brutal in his suppressions of the uprisings. Starting with simply jailing the rebels and eventually slaughtering whole families for the misdeeds of one member. Eventually, during one of the rebellions, Celebor was assassinated in his place. His armies crumbled overnight. Felriyth, the leader of the rebellion, then pieced the peoples back together. In doing so, creating a republic under his banner leading to peace in the West.   Although Arokath took heavy loses at the end of the Age of Loss they did not fade. Still a strong nation of people. King Rhaelion’s last command was that the dragonborn people become the protectors of Aroa. The shields of the realm. To this day they watch the Barrier Mountains. Repelling invading parties and wandering beasts that wander too close to civilization. Some see this as a divine task. Others, a foolish charge of a long dead man. Even those that do not agree with Rhaelion’s charge still find themselves protecting other; one way or another. Either being hired on as guards or mercenaries. Most dragonborn are highly respected, especially those that take the charge seriously. Although the charge was given to the people of Arokath, all are welcome to defend the Barrier Mountains. While predominantly dragonborn it is not uncommon to see other races on the walls of the barrier holds. After all the nations of Aroa had formed near the end of Calder’s life, he called together all the leaders of Aroa. Himself and the three lords of the Calderian Nation; the Lord of Strength, the Lord of Growth, and the Lord of Law. Galbar and his two advisors, the Vodor and the Vordul; emissaries of the Dorans and the Dulans respectively. Along also came Feliryth and the Senate of 50, the ruling body of the Felirythian Republic. Together they came up with the Crossroads Alliance.Rhaelion’s son, Rhaelus, came as well. To ensure the survival of civilization agreements were made:  

• A city would be built, called the Crossroads, in which people from all walks of life would be welcome. Each nation would leave one representative to help rule. Called the Crossroad’s Four. Each nation would take one-fourth responsibility of providing for the city. Crossroad’s Four answer to Arokath ultimately.

 

• While the Arokath Kingdom would continue to hold off the the Barrier Mountains each nation would support them with provisions, troops, and wealth as needed.

 

• In the event of a large scale invasion the four nations will band together to hold off the invasion. One military commander from every nation will lead the armies with Arokath being the commander-in-chief of all militaries until the invasion is repelled.

 

• In the event of tensions between nations, leaders of the other two nations will act as emissaries and mediators between the two feuding nations until an agreement is struck.