Kingdom of Erlagon

History

Before the founding of the kingdom the region was desert, rock, and mountain. No crop would grow there, and beasts perished by its cruelty, for it was dry, the heat of summer relentless and the chill of winter merciless.   In spite of its ruggedness and inability to easily sustain life, the land had about it some sort of allure that drew settlers to it in the days of the clans. In a way it was beautiful, and perhaps it is true what is said concerning it: it was touched by the gods. Many times the region conquered the settlers and slew them all, but as many times they returned to once more attempt to tame it.   By the time of Emenis there was a more or less stable population living there, a very rough and enduring sort of people, but cheerful and pious too, and likewise their beasts, their flocks and their horses, came to be known as some of the most reliable and thrifty in the whole of Eór. This was particular true of the animals and the people that lived in the eastern deserts, a people of hunters who slept beneath the stars. Second to them were the shepherds in the hills and beneath the great gray mountain in the north, who above all were pious and honorable in spite of their troubles and their poor conditions.   In the days of Éorin the land was, in some places, a little less cruel, and a little more green, but still not regarded by any of the great men of the day as a desirable dwelling place. During his reign Éorin strove, in between the wars and skirmishes, to better the land.   It was not until the reign of Hirnikál his grandson that the land was blessed and became fertile, the meadows, the forests, and the hills taking on that deep, cool green shade for which the country is now known.   There is a tale which explains why the mountainous region of Napán remained unyielding and cruel, and similarly why Barahre is mostly an empty plain of sand, and the desert hills and forests of Deraspa are dry and intractable. The seven tribes of Erlagon were young then, but maturing into their more present forms, so they were splitting and organizing themselves and setting up territories in which to reside. It was not, however, the will of the gods that they should be so divided as the clans of old had been, but that they should be as one.   The Barahrei were proud, and refused to unite themselves wholly with the other tribes, wishing instead to remain distinct. The Olormrics were afraid that the others would not accept them, because they were wild men, and because of the crime of their leader, Olormere. The Deraspans swore fealty to their king as always, but were hesitant to bind themselves to the other tribes, lest they lose their valued independence.   Receiving a reprimand from the gods, the Deraspans were first to repent, and unite themselves with the others, so that their honor was restored and they were punished less severely. The Barahrei followed after, afraid of their punishment and hoping to lessen it by their penitence (this did not happen), but the Olormrics were more wary, and were last to give in.   It was apparently during the reign of Aryn Diraskotár that the seven clans began to form, though some of them were more distinctly in existence before this, like the Deraspans, who seemed to have united under the banner of Jenetár the Black-Browed, Éorin's most faithful and valiant captain.  

Culture

Battle Cries

Elrér al Uarna! ("Lift the Veil!")