History of Caspia

Like their neighboring nations, the lands of Caspia were once part of the sorcerer-kings’ Arcane Empire for hundreds of years. When the arcane tyrants’ rule ended, the now-free settlements along the coast of the Middle Sea became a collection of squabbling city-states. Each controlled a small patch of land or a network of smaller towns, and a few became military powers in their own right.

Founding of Caspia

After the fall of the sorcerer-kings, countless wars were fought for control of modern-day Caspia. Few would-be conquerors could secure the entire region until a powerful warlord known as Kristoff Karn brought the Eastern Vales under his rule. Not content to claim that region alone, Karn moved south to invade the lands around the Middle Sea.

He met his match in the mighty Rex Caspian. Although this renowned warrior did not have any noble ancestry, he united the city-states of the Middle Sea to fend off Karn’s armies. After years of war, Karn’s resources and troops were exhaust ed, and the two warlords met to negotiate a truce. The men had not met personally before, but inexplicably came away from their parley as friends, seeing much of themselves in one another. They agreed to lay down their arms and recognized the sovereignty of each other’s lands.

Six Houses

Although infamous for his promiscuity and countless partners, Rex Caspian married Cordelia Karn. The two sired six children: Jackson, Jones, Joplin, John, Jagger, and Joyce. Rex ruled over his kingdom for many years, until during a sporting display he rashly decided to wrestle a gorgon with his bare hands. The old king was turned to stone while holding the beast in a headlock. The petrified body of Rex Caspian still stands as a statue in the center of the Rex Colosseum, clutching the gorgon in place. Though mages and apothecaries offered to reverse the curse many times, Rex Caspian’s six children instead decided to let their father remain as a “glorious symbol” while they promptly divided his kingdom amongst themselves. Each formed one of the six houses of Caspia, fracturing their father’s empire into six warring kingdoms.

The decision to leave their father as a stone statue and go their separate ways was the last thing all six of Rex Caspian’s children could ever agree upon, and their descendants carried this rich tradition onward for generations. The houses would go to war to prove they had a better army, stronger knights, or any reason imaginable. Occasionally, the houses collaborated but quickly fell back to sibling-like infighting. During the renowned Battle of Skulls, House Jones and House Joyce united to defeat a hydra that was tormenting the outskirts of their lands. Upon defeating the hydra, both houses wanted to adorn their throne with the skulls of the beast, but could not agree which house would get five skulls, and which would get four. Appropriately, the resulting war lasted nine years

Establishing the Kingsmoot

The Caspian houses were deeply divided over the place of magic in their laws and realms during the Mage Wars. When Divine Matriarch Humility III called each of the Great Houses to negotiate the Edicts of Lumen, another war almost started over which house would represent the nation of Caspia as a whole. It was only prevented by the suggestion from the newly formed Academy Directorate that all the higher nobles of each nation could attend the summit and sign the treaty.

Nevertheless, the fact that Caspia was simultaneously a singular and divided nation was a vexing problem during the peace talks, as the Faith of the Sacred Flame and the Amethyst Academy planned to offer each realm a magical crown as a gesture of goodwill. The clerics and wizards of the time knew it would be foolish to give each of the Caspian Houses their own crown, especially ones which could grant them a wish. Instead, they forged six mighty blades, one for each House, and a single crown, which they announced could be worn by whoever was the singular inheritor of Rex Caspian’s legacy — so long as the matter could be decided peacefully within ten years.

Naturally, with their usual solution of making war on one another off the table, the Caspians were unable to decide upon who should wear the crown. Each house presented their case for their house ruling over Caspia as a whole. The Jacksons argued that since they had recently slain a gang of trolls that were stealing livestock, that their house deserved the crown. House Jones argued that their military was the largest and strongest. House John argued their castle was the largest and most well decorated. Each house put forward their case, and in challenging one another to meet the prestige of their own deeds, the Caspians found their way. They each agreed to issue a challenge to all the others, and whichever house won the most challenges would become High King for the next decade. Arcturus Jagger became the first to claim the crown as the High King of Caspia, and the Kingsmoot was born.

War of the Sword

There was once a Caspian prince who was also a famous bard, Prince-Elector Oberon Joplin. This warrior-poet was a peerless swordsman, perhaps the greatest duelist of the age in any continental style. Oberon was also known for his outstanding performances and even possessed magical talents, though he was not mageborn. In the year 971, the well-loved Caspian prince won the Kingsmoot and was to be crowned High King of Caspia. However, this was met with great opposition from the Faith of the Sacred Flame and many nobles in Westemär and Elyria, who claimed the man’s magical abilities were irrefutable evidence that he was mageborn.

Under the Edicts of Lumen, Divine Matriarch Temperance IV invoked the Articles of Umbrage to call the High King to trial in Lumen. Prior to the final judgment, rumors spread amongst the Elyrian nobility the scheme was an elaborate ruse by the Academy to seat a mageborn on a royal throne. As a result, the assembled no bles and Flamekeepers rejected the testimony from the Academy Directorate, which claimed Oberon was not mageborn. The Divine Matriarch proclaimed that House Joplin must disinherit Oberon and renounce the throne. Oberon refused, and the Great Houses stood united behind their king and stormed back to Caspia.

The continent braced for war, but in a last-ditch attempt at peace, a year later an Elyrian delegation visited the High King led by the High Paladin of the Silver Order at the time, Miranda Crake. Unfortunately, a fierce row broke out during the talks, and Oberon Joplin challenged Miranda Crake to a duel. The fight would be his last. The High King died at the feet of the High Paladin.

House Joplin reacted with rage to the death of their liege, and diplomatic relations spiraled out of control. The result was the War of the Sword, which raged for twenty years. The war was characterized by duels between Elyrian knights and Caspian Princes. The war raged on until the death of Divine Matriarch Temperance IV, when a Caspian Flamekeeper, Ganymede Joyce, was chosen as her successor and became Divine Matriarch Charity VII.