Valamar

Valamar is a vast continent that spans thousands of miles across with unique biomes found across it. The three largest spanning geographical features that divide up the continent are the Tempest range that runs east and west, The Grand Plains that run north to south with the center of the continent is the vast desert of Ao. The continent is home to many different biomes that accommodate a multitude of races from the dry deserts, verdant fields, dense temperate forests, steamy jungles, deep lakes, and soaring mountains. Valamar is also home to many unique terrains such as the Fel Wood, the Ashlands of Northern Valamar, or the ice fields of Yastral. Much of the interior of the continent still remains largely unexplored.

The Northern portion of Valamar is the most explored and settled area that the kingdoms of Sothern Theados are familiar with. The earliest known records of the first civilizations are those of Aoiri and the Giants of the Shattered Isles. The next earliest recorded kingdoms were of the elves of Moonvale and the elves of Malayiah followed by the dwarves of the Tempest Range. Most of that history was lost however with the founding of the great kingdom of Valornamora of which the sea that separates the two continents draws its name from now.    During this reign, there was a recorded unprecedented peace as most of the lands of Southern Theados and Northern Valamar were under Valornamora leaving only the Kingdom of Aoiri, The Dwarven City-States of Tempest Range, and the kingdoms of Ao free from the sprawling kingdom's control. This kingdom whose king's name has been forgotten or erased from what surviving records of the time was disposed of by two powerful liches one skilled in the arcane arts and the other a warrior of unmatched prowess. These two liches gathered a large undead army and marched upon the kingdom, it took the combined efforts of several of the bravest knights and lords of Valornamora working together with several of the monstrous races such as goblins, minotaurs, giants, and kobolds to finally defeat the liches and seal them away in undisclosed tombs to make sure they could never endanger the world again.    This event known collectively across both continents as The War of Life laid the foundation for the modern nations of both continents to be born. It was during this war that many cities were fortified and the earth itself was shaped to help defend these bastions of life from the undead armies of the Lich Lords. Particularly the Stormtear River which was a low winding river became widen at the dwarven city of Grand Guard to create a deeper river across its entire length to form a protective barrier on the western interior where the two city-states of Prothos and Malakar reside. Several of the Floating isles of the Giants of Aoiri were positioned in the sky above or near key points to give intelligence and work as rest stops for the various sky beast mounts that were prevalent at this time, with a few still being used today but most either returned back to Aoiri or were abandoned entirely.    It was after this time that a location started to appear in some accounts of the Fel Woods, a small section of land fount on the northwestern shores of Mourner's Lake, and forming the eastern border for the neck of a smaller lake called Tearstone and is found south of the Eradrasen Range. Approximately about 700 years later the Arcane Lich Lord was freed by several drow priestesses of Lotlth in exchange for securing his help to blot out the sun, which would have enabled the drow in the dark cities below to come to the surface without the need to accumulate to the sun, and would have no fear of the magic weapons and armor, which weakens under long exposure to sunlight, to be disenchanted. What came to be called the Darkness of Lotlth, or the Invasion of Lolth was almost succeeded when the drow uncovered the ruins of a temple in Ao's Desert.    In their search for this temple, they shifted the mapped sand dunes, and valleys and reshaped entire sections of the desert until their prize was found. The Lich Lord and the Drow's plans were stopped by the Heroes of Arulean but not before a new undead army was made and swept throughout Valamar leaving pockets of dead earth, abandoned fortresses, and swarms of undead that now wander the breath of Valamar. To do date no other significant geographic changes have occurred in the last 20 years since the Heroes of Arulean restored a semi balance of peace to the two continents.