Post by CyMoahk on Apr 25, 2008 15:33:09 GMT -6
The Ages roll along; time is heedless of the stuggles of those who live. The Age of Dreams, Age of Sky-Kings, Age of the Sorcerer, and Age of the Wheel have all come in their turns, curshing someone under the slowly moving wheel of time. Dragons in particular have suffered; ever since the end of the Age of Sky-Kings with fall of Silverhigh, the hominid species began slaying dragons regularly. This was made even easier with the advent of the Age of Iron, ushered in by the dwarves' metalwork, with swords and spears that could pierce dragon scale easily, among other applications of the new metal in almost all aspects of hominid life.
However, with technology improving and the dragon population decreasing, the hominid populations grew faster than the dragons dwindled. Dragons were still killed every year, but before long conflicts between the different hominid races took precedence over slaying.
The war that has in recent years englufed both Upper and Lower Worlds started centuires ago, though, in the Lower World. The dwarves and the demen have never gotten along, brutal to each other; it was not uncommon for tunnels, mines, and cities to change hands every so often, and although it was never a 'war' or a 'seige' between the two groups, battles were not unheard of, and were just accepted parts of life in the Lower World.
This all changed one spring north of the major civilized areas, on the boundary of Hypat in the Upper World and the boundary of the Wheel of Fire in the Lower. Some top-wandering demen organized a successful surprise attack on a dwarf mine with the help of a small group of humans from a village nearby. In the following weeks, the Wheel of Fire dwarves continuously lost ground to the demen. Vengeful and looking for blood, they finally decided to launch an attack on the town where those several humans were from, resulting in massacre as the unsuspecting human village was raided and destroyed in less than an hour. Hypatian thanes, enraged by the (seemingly) unprovoked attack - and suffereing from a trade deficit at the time (which was actually a result of skill in the Charter Company of the Diadem) - officially declarded war on the Wheel of Fire one by one; they then eventually put enough pressure on the king that he (reluctantly) made an official declaration of war, setting all of Hypat against the dwarves.
The dwarves were now facing fire from both the humans of the Upper World and their demen neighbors in the Lower World. Desperate for help, they began seeking the aid of the elves, agile in battle and skillful in magic, both those living in Hypat and those groups separate from the human-run empire. While the elves did not want to really get involved, Hypatian thanes preemptively began abusing the rights of the elves in Hypat and effectively declaring war on the elves outside Hypat. This forced the elves to strengthen communication and coordination between groups and, understandably, pushed them toward siding with the dwarves. Thus all of the races began fighting.
Or almost all: the blighters, espcially those in the villages of Old Vloam, are remaining neutral. They, like the people of Ghioz, are more or less waiting to see how the war plays out, and maybe then take advantage of whoever's left standing. The barbarian groups of humans and elves from the Sweep and desert lands are being a bit more active about profitting from the war, encroaching farther and farther west as they pick off those already weak from fighting. The hominids of the far north (away from the ocean), detached as they are from the societies to the south, are more or less unaware of the turmoil, as it has hardly affected them, if at all. Finally, the markets of the Wa'ah to the far east have continued trying to keep trade with the western societies flowing, but more and more often caravans do not return back east....
After several years of this, the fighting escalated to the point where most of the dragons, feeling their refuges may soon be threatened as well, decided to join the war as well. As the Age of Iron whittled their numbers down, they sought refuge in the remote places: single families were spattered around the many caves on the entire length of the Red Mountains, a few families likewise in the Bissonian Scarpes. Several large dragon groups also evolved, from the loose and wide-ranging community around the Isle of Ice, to the society in Vesshall in the Sadda-Vale, to the civilization centered in the Lavadome. Some dragons are also rumored to live south and west of the Inland Ocean, in the Ghioz, and to the far east, but if they are there, they are not making themselves known. Wherever they are, the blood in all dragons may be getting restles from years of hiding; whatever the reason, dragons are now choosing sides in the hominid war. The dragons, not having any original attachment as a group to one side or the other, are aligning themselves as individuals, based on their own situations.
The level of the war is escalating with new firepower on each side.... and this is where we begin....
However, with technology improving and the dragon population decreasing, the hominid populations grew faster than the dragons dwindled. Dragons were still killed every year, but before long conflicts between the different hominid races took precedence over slaying.
The war that has in recent years englufed both Upper and Lower Worlds started centuires ago, though, in the Lower World. The dwarves and the demen have never gotten along, brutal to each other; it was not uncommon for tunnels, mines, and cities to change hands every so often, and although it was never a 'war' or a 'seige' between the two groups, battles were not unheard of, and were just accepted parts of life in the Lower World.
This all changed one spring north of the major civilized areas, on the boundary of Hypat in the Upper World and the boundary of the Wheel of Fire in the Lower. Some top-wandering demen organized a successful surprise attack on a dwarf mine with the help of a small group of humans from a village nearby. In the following weeks, the Wheel of Fire dwarves continuously lost ground to the demen. Vengeful and looking for blood, they finally decided to launch an attack on the town where those several humans were from, resulting in massacre as the unsuspecting human village was raided and destroyed in less than an hour. Hypatian thanes, enraged by the (seemingly) unprovoked attack - and suffereing from a trade deficit at the time (which was actually a result of skill in the Charter Company of the Diadem) - officially declarded war on the Wheel of Fire one by one; they then eventually put enough pressure on the king that he (reluctantly) made an official declaration of war, setting all of Hypat against the dwarves.
The dwarves were now facing fire from both the humans of the Upper World and their demen neighbors in the Lower World. Desperate for help, they began seeking the aid of the elves, agile in battle and skillful in magic, both those living in Hypat and those groups separate from the human-run empire. While the elves did not want to really get involved, Hypatian thanes preemptively began abusing the rights of the elves in Hypat and effectively declaring war on the elves outside Hypat. This forced the elves to strengthen communication and coordination between groups and, understandably, pushed them toward siding with the dwarves. Thus all of the races began fighting.
Or almost all: the blighters, espcially those in the villages of Old Vloam, are remaining neutral. They, like the people of Ghioz, are more or less waiting to see how the war plays out, and maybe then take advantage of whoever's left standing. The barbarian groups of humans and elves from the Sweep and desert lands are being a bit more active about profitting from the war, encroaching farther and farther west as they pick off those already weak from fighting. The hominids of the far north (away from the ocean), detached as they are from the societies to the south, are more or less unaware of the turmoil, as it has hardly affected them, if at all. Finally, the markets of the Wa'ah to the far east have continued trying to keep trade with the western societies flowing, but more and more often caravans do not return back east....
After several years of this, the fighting escalated to the point where most of the dragons, feeling their refuges may soon be threatened as well, decided to join the war as well. As the Age of Iron whittled their numbers down, they sought refuge in the remote places: single families were spattered around the many caves on the entire length of the Red Mountains, a few families likewise in the Bissonian Scarpes. Several large dragon groups also evolved, from the loose and wide-ranging community around the Isle of Ice, to the society in Vesshall in the Sadda-Vale, to the civilization centered in the Lavadome. Some dragons are also rumored to live south and west of the Inland Ocean, in the Ghioz, and to the far east, but if they are there, they are not making themselves known. Wherever they are, the blood in all dragons may be getting restles from years of hiding; whatever the reason, dragons are now choosing sides in the hominid war. The dragons, not having any original attachment as a group to one side or the other, are aligning themselves as individuals, based on their own situations.
The level of the war is escalating with new firepower on each side.... and this is where we begin....