The Flintlock Era

The Flintlock Era is an alternate future version of Allaria. Set in a world in which the Heroes of Light failed in their battle against Vecna, and the Queen of Undeath successfully entered the Material Plane. It is an era made distinct by advanced weaponry, radical legal changes, vast criminal networks, massive political intrigue, and an urban setting.

## Alternate Timeline

### True Events

In the year 70 A.E. a necromancer under the control of the Vecna, the Queen of Undeath and Planar Lord of the Shadowfell, attacked the city of Heimstadt in an attempt to seize a Primordial Stone that had unknowingly been stored in the vaults of Heimstadt Castle. This attack was thwarted by the valiant efforts of the Heroes of Light, in large part due to the aid of a band of Elven warriors known of the Sanguivani and the power of the Blade of Larethian. Both the loyalty of the Sanguivani elves and possession of the Blade itself were won when a member of the Heroes, Leo Hordebreaker, defeated the elves' leader in single combat.

Following the Battle of Heimstadt, the necromancer, Sarium Inoceem, was cleansed of Vecna's influence. Hoping to make up for his mistakes, Sarium joined the Heroes of Light in their attempt to find the other seven Primordial Stones before Vecna. Over the course of the next year, the Heroes traveled the world, collecting each Stone they could find; often clashing with the undead forces of Vecna in the process. Eventually, the Heroes lost what Stones they had collected when they were betrayed by the citizens of Thaloria.

Now possessing all eight Primordial Stones, Vecna's soldiers withdrew to Castle Ravenloft in the Shadowfell.  It was there that the Heroes of Light, aided by the Death Knights of The Order of the Black Rose, had their final showdown with the death goddess. It was then that they learned Vecna planned to use the Stones as a power source to transfer her soul into the body of the kidnapped Sarium, thus allowing her to enter The Material Plane. The Heroes were victorious in their efforts, preventing the rise of Vecna and crippling the forces of the Shadowfell, though Sarium did not survive the attempted ritual. Thus all of Allaria was saved from the Shadow of Undeath.

### Alternate Events

In the timeline on which the Flintlock Era occurs Leo Hordebreaker is never born. Without the orc, the Heroes of Light never defeat the Sanguivani champion. Without the elves or the Blade of Larethian they possessed, the Heroes were unable to defeat Sarium at Heimstadt. The Heroes were killed, the city was razed, and Sarium gained the Primordial Stone in the name of Vecna. Because of this, governments and heroes across Allaria were never alerted to the danger the Stones possessed. Within the year, each Stone had been easily collected by the Shadow and Vecna's revival occurred uninhibited. Now possessing the ability to enter The Material Plane, Vecna began a war against the entire world of Allaria.

## The Shadow's War

### Early War

The true war of the Shadow began when Vecna, now possessing a material body, launched her initial attack through a Planar Portal located in eastern Armonia. At the time, Heimstadt, and much of western Stonecrest, had already been conquered following Sarium's initial attack. With the war fought on two fronts, the Dwarves of Kosmia quickly found themselves trapped between two armies, and the nation of Dwarves was the first to fall to the Shadow. Each race of Irolas fought vigorously to stop the spread of the Shadow, but each fallen soldier added to the ever-growing horde of undead. The large swaths of land conquered by the Shadow came to be known as Blights. Within 10 years Vecna and her armies had conquered almost all the land on the Irolas mainland west of Stonecrest, with smaller Blights appearing at each portal to the Shadowfell, including western Wintercliffe, central Malachar, within the Red Mountains of Sun's Peak, and scattered throughout the Kyrosi Empire.

It was at roughly this time that nearly all advancement of the Blights halted. From that point attacks from the Shadow were incredibly rare, occurring only once or twice in a year at their most frequent. The reason for this change was unknown to the forces of Allaria, but they took full advantage of the situation. During this period large forces, commanded by generals known as Blight Wardens, were stationed in barracks all along the Blight Border to fend off the regular attacks. The world quickly grew accustomed to the Blights and became complacent under the belief that if they ignored the Shadow, it would do the same.

### The Coalition of Light

This supposed armistice continued uninterrupted for decades and ended due to the actions of a single man. Legend claims that Roshir Mandaragon was born on the exact 100th anniversary of the Battle of Heimstadt. Mandaragon began as an enlisted soldier fighting at the Blight Border. He gained a great deal of local notoriety following several heroic acts in combat, and due to his constant insistence to his superiors that the Blight should be pushed back and not simply held off. Mandaragon gained global renown when he was named Blight Warden before his 30th year, the youngest man to do so. Following the death of the King of Kentor in the year 201 A.E., Roshir Mandaragon, thanks to his popularity with commoners and soldiers of Kentor, was named to the throne.

King Roshir's first priority after gaining the throne was to increase attacks against the Blight in an attempt to regain the lands that once belonged to Kentor. The notion proved popular as enlistment in the armies of Kentor rose sharply, within the year Kentor saw major military victories against the Shadow. As a result of these victories, King Roshir proposed a true alliance between the nations of Allaria. Though each nation had provided some minor aid to one another in the past, the war thus far had primarily been fought separately by the armies of each individual nation. The proposal was widely met with contempt by the elves, Malacharans, and Kyrosi alike, however the gnomes and halflings of Ligos and the long displaced dwarves of Kosmia were quick to join what would come to be known as The Coalition of Light.

Over the next decade King Roshir, now referred to as The Stag of Kentor the world over, won many major victories against the Shadow. As a result, every race and nation of Allaria had joined the Coalition by 208 A.E.. By this point the Coalition was led by a council of seven heroes from the various races of Allaria, Roshir himself; Leijona Elviaveihi of the elves, a fearsome warrior and commander of the elite Lights of Heaven company; Grenthrun Tarbh of the dwarves, a talented spellsmith and chief among the Coalition's armorers; Llwyn Beltran of the halflings, whose band of scouts were famous for sneaking behind enemy lines; D'yavol Vithdaal of the dragonborn, an uncomparable strategist and the general of the Coalition's armies; Aderyn Lilwyse of the gnomes, leader of the Mage's Corp; and Kuzgun Sharptongue of the orcs, the Chief Clerk responsible for the organization of the Coalition's armies. The counsel included other, minor leaders and representatives from Malachar and Kyros, though they never gained the notoriety of the Seven.

### Wraithstone

As the Shadow's War raged on and the Blights were slowly pushed back, settlement and exploration into lands once held by the Shadow became more common. A variety of strange creatures, plants, and rock formations existed in the Blights that scholars theorized were actually native to the Shadowfell. The most important of these discoveries was that of Wraithstone, which, when ground to a powder and mixed with sulfur and charcoal, acted as a powerful explosive. The Bull's alchemists began to work to utilize this discovery to its full potential. The pinnacle of this innovation was the first cannon, which was immediately put into mass production for use in the war. The wraithstone mixture eventually came to be referred to as wraithpowder.

### The Final Battle

As the Coalition continued to push the Shadow, Vecna's forces began to push back. Despite years of docility, the armies of the undead quickly began fighting more ferociously than they ever had, fighting tooth and nail for every yard of land. The Coalition Council eventually devised a bold plan, in which the bulk of their forces would attack in an all-out assault against the Blight at Heimstadt. With the Shadow's forces distracted, the Seven Heroes, along with soldier's from the Lights of Heaven, launched a direct assault against the Blight Heart (located atop the Shadowfell portal in eastern Armonia through which the invasion began). Little is known about the exact events of this assault. However, legend states that the Seven Heroes fought Vecna directly while their token force held back the remaining undead defenders in the Blight Heart. During this battle, the Seven Heroes learned of Vecna's true plans. The Queen of Undeath had never intended to conquer the Material Plane, but had instead used the dead created by the war to create soldiers for her real purpose, to invade the Higher Planes one by one and slay her fellow gods. By the time of the Final Battle, she had nearly succeeded in this goal, having slain the gods of every faith and belief save for the demons of the Abyss. In the process she had also gained the powers of the dead gods, making her the most powerful being to ever exist.

Realizing that their cause was hopeless, the Seven raised up a last, desperate prayer to the gods, refusing to believe they were dead. Miraculously, their prayers were answered. The ghosts of the slain gods used the last vestiges of their magic to strip their power from Vecna and bestow it on the Heroes that stood to face her, this last act ensured that the gods were truly dead for all eternity. However, not all of the Seven Heroes were blessed by the gods, each member was judged and each was found honorable and true, save for the Raven. The gods sensed darkness and evil in his heart, and he was refused their power.

With their new strength, the Heroes were able to slay Vecna who, due to her bonds with her material body, was slain as truly as the other gods. However, this death came at a cost. Vecna's final strike against the Heroes, who were still weak in the use of their new power, was nearly enough to kill them. When the dust settled the only creature left standing was The Raven, spared from Vecna's strike due to his lack of godly power. Inspecting the battlefield, The Raven found his friends unconscious and near death. Amongst the fallen heroes, slowly fading into nonexistence was Vecna's essence, the physical manifestation of her power. Angered by the god's refusal to imbue him with power, and jealous of the strength of the other Heroes, The Raven sought to seize Vecna's magics and rise to godhood himself. He absorbed the energy, but the gods were right to fear The Raven's possession of godly power, he wasn't strong enough to hold the magic within his material form and an explosion of magical energy occurred, killing the Raven and the six unconscious heroes.

Following their own battle, during which the undead armies collapsed following the death of Vecna, the forces of the Coalition traveled to the Blight Heart. There they collected the few surviving members of the Lights of Heaven, all of whom had been driven mad by what they'd seen. The legend of the Seven Heroes was pieced together from the ramblings of madmen, and that legend became the basis for the primary religion of the Flintlock Era (described below in the section New Gods). This conflict (which occurred in 209 A.E.) came to be known as The Duel of the Gods or *Taistelun un Eldi* in Elven.

## Post War Allaria

### The New Gods

In the years that followed *Taistelun un Eldi,* the events that occurred there quickly grew from rumor, to folktale, to legend, and eventually an entire religious belief. By the year 212 A.E. the religion was formalized into the Church of Eight. The Eight, commonly known as the New Gods, referred to the seven heroes that had been raised into godhood, and the mysterious Eighth, the unknown ruler of The Abyss whom Vecna never conquered. The Church grew rapidly in belief and power, and by the beginning of the Flintlock Era, it was the predominant faith of Allaria. By Church law to speak the mortal names of the Seven Heroes is blasphemy, instead they came to be referred to by the nicknames they earned during the Shadow's War.

#### The Stag

The first of the New Gods, who was Roshir Mandaragon the King of Kentor in his mortal life. In the elven tongue, Roshir is the word for stag, because of this, the citizens of Kentor believed it was his destiny to one day be King, this is how he originally earned the title. The Stag is the chief deity in the Church of Eight and is widely regarded to be the successor of the gods Larethian, of the elven pantheon, and Pelor, of the Kyrosi faith.
The Stag is the god of truth, justice, and wisdom. He is the patron of rulers, kings, and leaders.

#### The Lioness

Leijona Elviaveihi was famous in life for her founding of the Lights of Heaven. This elite company would eventually become famous for participating in *Taistelun un Eldi*(as described above), but they were famous for an entirely different reason before the final battle.

Before the start of the Coalition of Light, Leijona and a select few companions succeeded in taming a handful of the few remaining wild drakes in the woods of Armonia. They used their newfound allies to battle the Shadow Dragons that Vecna's army had created as they conquered the elf lands in which dragons were still common. These conflicts gained Leijona and her friends great renowned and they were quickly swarmed with new recruits to join their ranks. Though they accepted recruits from every race and gender, the group remained predominantly composed of female elves. This was due both to elves natural affinity to taming animals and because the drakes were more maneuverable with lighter passengers. It wasn't long before the troop gained the name The Lights of Heaven and Leijona rose to become an important leader in the Coalition.

The Lights of Heaven's main purpose during the war was rapid response to surprise attacks from the armies of the dead. With members of the company stationed in every major city, the soldiers could make use of their flying mounts to quickly arrive at any battle location to provide aid.

The Lioness is the goddess of protection, watchfulness, and parenthood. She is the patron of guardsmen and families.

#### The Bull

Within the first few years of the Shadow's War, the country of Kosmia had been almost completely overtaken by the Blights, leaving thousands of dwarves displaced. These dwarves lived more or less as nomads for many years, in bands of various sizes with dozens of leaders. Some fled to the west towards the elves, others to the east towards humans, and still others set sail to the islands of Malachar and Polemos. It wasn't until the formation of the Coalition of Light that one dwarf, Grenthrun Tarbh, managed to unite the majority of the surviving dwarves under one banner. His promise to his people was a simple one, to fight alongside the nations of Kentor and Ligos to retake their ancestral homeland, or die trying.

Though Tarbh was a gifted warrior, his true talent was as a spell smith. As a member of the Coalition, he began a company of spell smiths (mostly dwarves and elves, though some humans possessed the talent) to arm and armor the soldiers of the Coalition in the war against the undead. It was Tarbh himself that led the team researching Wraithstone, among other products of the Blights. This team discovered the explosive potential of the stone and eventually weaponized it in the form of cannons. These new weapons were exceptionally effective against swarms of the undead, though the true strength of the weapons came from Tarbh's development of an ammunition known of an Anti-Magic Shot (see below). Wraithstone cannons would later form the basis for the first firearms.

Tarbh came to be referred to as The Bull due to Clan Grenthrun's insignia, a golden bull on a brown field, and because of his famous stubbornness. The Bull is the god of enchanting, creation and strength of will. He is the patron of craftsmen (particularly blacksmiths) and artists.

#### The Owl

Even during the darkest years of the war one major monument of the days before the Shadow remained as stalwart as ever. The College of Guiden was virtually untouched throughout the Shadow's War, though not from a lack of attempts from the undead. Following the fall of the White Tower of Nel Valin, the College was the only school of magic left in Irolas. In 152 A.E. the College famously opened its doors to all races to learn the arcane arts in an effort to maintain a steady supply of battle mages for the armies at the Blight Borders.

At the time of the formation of the Coalition of Light, the Headmaster of the College of Guiden was a gnome named Aderyn Lilwyse. She was famous the world over for her youth, the youngest Headmaster in history at the age of 86, and her strength in spellcasting. It is widely believed that she was the most powerful caster to live through the years of Shadow, rivaling even the great wizards Mordenkainen and Leomund. As a member of the Coalition, Aderyn and the College were given sole command of the Mages Corp for the duration of the war.

The Owl is the goddess of magic, education, and intelligence. She is the patron of spellcasters and teachers.

#### The Fox

Llwyn Beltran rose from humble beginnings to become a major leader in the Coalition of Light. Little is known for certain, but rumors from the years of Shadow claimed that Llwyn grew up an orphan on the streets of Crystalfin. Regardless of her past, Llwyn eventually gained a reputation for stealth and cunning after making multiple successful expeditions deep into the Blights. At first, these journies were for monetary gain. During the quiet years of the war, before Roshir began to push back against the Shadow, wealthy merchants and nobles were willing to pay good coin for artifacts of the Shadow. Llwyn quickly grew a reputation for her ability to acquire such artifacts.

After the formation of the Coalition, Llwyn was eventually recruited to make these journies to scout troop movements and plan attacks within the Blight. Her fame continued to grow as she eventually came to command and train the entirety of the Coalition's scouts. It was this position that earned her a place among the Council. It was Llwyn herself that scouted the pass through the Kosmian mountains that the Seven Heroes used to launch their final attack against the Blight Heart.

The Fox is the goddess of stealth, cunning, and trickery. Officially, she is the patron of scouts, merchants, and performers. However, in the underground criminal societies of Allaria, she is often depicted as a patron of thieves, criminals, and con artists.

#### The Dragon

Even before the Coalition was formed there were smaller groups and armies fighting a guerilla was against Vecna. One such group was led by D'yavol Vithdaal. D'yavol and his followers were known to camp for months at a time within the Great Blight of Malachar, his band would slay any undead patrols they could find, but their true purpose was to hunt down and kill the dark sorcerers that served Vecna.

D'yavol himself had made multiple attempts to unite the armies of Malachar against the shadow, and upon learning of the Coalition he was one of the first in Malachar to push for the nation to join. Thanks to his detailed knowledge of Vecna and her general's battle tactics, D'yavol was quickly made High Commander of the armies of the Coalition.

D'yavol was known for his harsh personality and strict discipline, and legend holds that his war against the Shadow began when his small village was conquered by a black sorcerer of the Shadow. D'yavol was forced to slay the undead bodies of his own parents, and swore to kill one black sorcerer for every member of his village as blood price. This reputation was magnified when legends began to claim that it was The Dragon that personally claimed the powers of Asmodeus following the final battl, and that he now rules the Nine Hells.

The Dragon is the god of war, vengeance, and punishment. He is the patron of soldiers, jailors, and victims of violent crimes.

#### The Raven

Before the start of the Shadow's War, the vast majority of the orcs on Irolas had been captured and jailed on the island of Polemos. However, within a few short years of the start of the war, the Kentori, Armonian, and Otikan governments agreed to free the orcs from their imprisonment on the condition that each orc swore a blood oath that he and his descendants would fight the Shadow above all other enemies. The orcs of Polemos quickly agreed.

By the time of the founding of the Coalition of Light, the orcs had managed to organize into a bare handful of clans, and many of those clans had carved out their own sovereign territory from lands they had reclaimed from the Blights. The largest of these clans was led by Kuzgun Sharptongue. Kuzgun was unique among orcs due to his ability to lead his clan, not through brutal strength, but with diplomacy and charisma. Kuzgun strove to make the other races of Irolas look at orcs not as rampaging monsters, but as peers. He did this by organizing his clan like an army and establishing true villages and towns within their borders. When the Coalition began, Kuzgun and his clan were amongst the first to join it.

Kuzgun's intelligence and diplomatic skills were praised by the other leaders of the Coalition, and he played a central role in bringing Malachar and Kyros into the fold. Eventually, he was named Chief Clerk and took on the responsibility of managing the supply lines, quartering, and logistics of the armies. At the start of the final battle, Kuzgun and his fellow orcs were seen as vital members of the Coalition.

Legend claims that, following the death of Vecna at *Taistelun un Eldi,* Kuzgun was overcome with greed and jealousy and seized the power for himself. This is the belief taught by the largest sects of The Church of Eight. Because of these teachings orcs are reviled throughout most of Irolas, though they were never rebanished to Polemos, and people curse by the name of The Raven. Many believe that by slaying Vecna the heroes had removed all evil from the world, and it only lives on today because of The Raven's actions. Some even believe that Kuzgun had secretly worshiped and served Vecna from the beginning. However, there are smaller sects within the Church that believe Kuzgun was acting with the good of the world in mind, knowing that a balance of good and evil was required in the universe. They argue that Kuzgun's actions were motivated by duty and self-sacrifice.

Depending on adherence to tradition, The Raven may be depicted as the god of greed, deception, and jealousy; the patron of liars and thieves. Or, as the god of diplomacy, banking, and legislation; the patron of law scribes, judges, and bureaucrats. Because of this conflict, many religious traditionalists see occupations dealing with bureaucracy, financing, or legality as immoral and shameful. These same people tend to transfer patronage of more acceptable careers, such as diplomacy, to The Stag.

#### The Eighth

The Eighth of the Church of Eight is not necessarily a single entity. It is rather a personification of all that is unknown in the universe. The Eighth represents the nameless, unknown demons of The Abyss, which legend holds was never conquered by Vecna. This makes The Eighth unique within the pantheon, as it is the only god that was never mortal and whose magics were not present at *Taistelun un Eldi*. The Eighth is commonly referred to by a variety of names including The Other, The Old One, The Many, The Unknown, and The Stranger.

The Eighth is the god of death, fear, and the unknown. It is the patron of murderers, morticians, and gravediggers.

### The Treaty of Light

Before the final battle, the Seven Heroes drafted a treaty that was signed by every leader of the Coalition. The purpose of this treaty was to ensure that, following the end of the Shadow's War, the world would be able to enjoy peace for a time. The treaty required that for every year of war the world suffered against Vecna, it would have two years of peace. The Shadow's War raged for 139 years, which meant that the treaty (signed in 209 A.E.) would remain in effect until 487 A.E.. As a part of this treaty, borders were redrawn between nations to allow for the slow withdrawal of the Blights, and no nation was allowed to go to war against another.

#### Magic Weapons

Another major feature of this peace was a stipulation that no magic could be used to create a weapon or piece of armor that could be used in warfare. The Coalition Counsel believed that, due to the increased production of magic weapons and armor for the war, there were already too many instruments of destruction in the world. They hoped that this rule (which expires at the same time as the rest of the treaty) would help to lower the total number of dangerous magic items in the world. They also hoped that this would limit nation's abilities to prepare for large scale war in the final years of the treaty, It should be noted that there is a clause allowing for this rule to be removed in the event of another extraplanar invasion, or similar event requiring mass production of magical weapons.

\*Note to players: this rule does not make it illegal to possess an item that has been temporarily enhanced by a spell or other effect. This law only applies to weapons that have been truly enchanted, a process that occurs only during the creation of the item, and can only be performed by a PC with proficiency in enchanter's tools. Effects such as the Magic Weapon spell, a Forge Cleric's Blessing of the Forge feature, or an Artificer's Infusions are perfectly legal in this setting.

#### Borders

As a part of the Treaty of Light, Kentor and Malachar gave up a significant amount of land to be used to reestablish governments that had been displaced by the Blights. Some of these land agreements are set to expire in 487 A.E. along with many other provisions of the Treaty. However, additional, permanent, exchanges were also made in the years following the end of the Shadow's War.

At the start of the Flintlock Era borderlines vary significantly from those that existed before the Shadow's War, and many nations are preparing for the border changes that will occur when the Treaty officially expires.

\*Note to players: I'll get you a map as soon as I get around to drawing one. The key takeaway will be that large tracts of land will be held by one nation, but are set to transfer to another nation at the end of the Treaty. This means entire villages being emptied and governments are rushing to drain the area of natural resources while they still can.

### Nations of Irolas

During the Shadow's War, and in the years that followed it, many of the nations of the world dissolved, merged, or were born anew. Below are short descriptions of each nation that exists during The Flintlock Era.

#### Kentor

Over the course of the Shadow's War, Kentor, which was merely a fledgling nation at the start of the war, grew to be one of the most powerful and influential on Allaria. This was primarily due to the fact that Kentor possessed very few Planar Portals to the Shadowfell, which meant fewer Blights appeared over the course of the war. Kentor continued to grow in power following the end of the war, offering up large tracts of land to their neighboring nations in exchange for mining rights, debt agreements, and favorable trade agreements. At the start of the Flintlock Era, Kentor has sacrificed a significant amount of the land it once held but is widely believed to the strongest military power, and the richest nation in the east, save for the Lightsteel Company.

Following the death of King Roshir Mandaragon, who had no children, Auborn Helton was elected as his successor. At the time he was a widely resented leader, often the victim of unfair comparisons to Mandaragon, who was quickly becoming a god to many of the people of Irolas. The Five Lords of Kentor soon took advantage of the unrest caused by Helton's rule and, following his death, elected to dissolve the title of King and establish themselves as High Counsel and sole ruler's of the nation. Over the next decades, the five members of this council, and their successors, established and consolidated their power within their respective provinces. As a result, Kentor now holds little federal power, and more closely resembles a close alliance between four independent nations.

Kentor, like nearly every nation, saw an explosion in diversity in the years following the war. This was primarily due to the relative safety Kentor provided during the war and the fact that Kentor was home to the headquarters of the Coalition of Light. Kentor soon came to be the home of members of every race on Allaria.

#### Malachar

Malachar established the first democracy following the war. At the start of the Flintlock era, citizen's of Malachar are eligible to vote only if they are able to provide documentation to prove their bloodline has resided in Malachar for at least 50 years (this regulation originally required that at least one grandparent of the citizen have been a Malacharan citizen, but it was eventually rewritten as more and more members of the Elder Races came to reside in Malachar). Each household can name only one voting member, and there is no limitation on age or gender.

Malachar is split into dozens of districts and, once every three years, citizens of a district vote for a single representative to the Conclave, the legislative body of Malachar. The Conclave is divided internally into multiple chambers, each with its own purpose. For example, the Chamber of Law votes to appoint justiciars (judges that determine guilt and punishment of criminals) across the nation. Other Chambers include (but are not limited to) the Chamber of Coin, the Chamber of War, the Chamber of Trade, the Chamber of Ships, and the Chamber of War. Each Chamber varies in size and has a single leader who is elected internally by members of the Chamber, and each leader has varying responsibilities. The office of Commandant, once the supreme ruler of Malachar, was altered to instead be the head of the Chamber of War and the highest general of the Malacharan military. The most important responsibilities of the Conclave are not relegated to specific Chambers but are instead voted on by every member. The greatest of these responsibilities is the creation of new laws.

Malachar saw similar increases in their diversity as Kentor during and following, the Shadow's War. This diversity primarily came from elven refugees and the consolidation of the dragonborn people.

#### Vithdaalmad

A city-state that began as a small village located on an island off of the north coast of Malachar. Originally known of Balaur, the village was the home and birthplace of The Dragon, D'yavol Vithdaal. The Dragon used the village as a base of operations for his guerilla force fighting against the forces of Vecna. Balaur was eventually razed and its people killed nearly to the man when it was attacked by a dark sorcerer. Not long after the town's destruction, the island was swallowed by the growth of a nearby Blight. After the war had ended and the Blights around the world began to shrink, waves of dragonborn people traveled to the ruins of Balaur to pay homage to The Dragon. Many of these dragonborn, a historically nomadic people, carried all their worldly possessions on their backs and chose to settle on the isle. In recognition of The Dragon's sacrifice and service during the war, the nation of Malachar eventual granted the island, along with a small parcel of land on the mainland's coast, to the people that had settled the land. These people chose to rename their new, sovereign land Vithdaalmad in honor of The Dragon.

As the Treaty of Light came to a close, Vithdaalmad remained a mostly insignificant city-state. What little land the nation possessed was used almost exclusively for agricultural purposes to feed the people of Vithdaalmad, and the only natural resource the island possessed was a small iron mine. Vithdaalmad is populated almost exclusively by dragonborn and is a highly reclusive society with little need for trade with outside nations.

#### Bailén

A secondary nation of hill dwarves, gnomes, and halflings. Primarily holding the lands that were once Ligos and western Stonecrest. A small, peaceful nation with relatively little power. Bailén gained its independence from Kosmia with the help of Kentor, with the hopes of creating a new home for the Little Folk that wasn't as isolated as Kosmia. Bailén subsists primarily from trade with Kentor and Kosmia, especially the sale of wraithpowder.

#### Kosmia

During the war, Kosmia almost ceased to exist as a nation. Sandwiched between the two largest Blights, the mountain homeland of the dwarves suffered the worst in the early days of the war. Eventually, the mountains were abandoned and the dwarves of Kosmia became refugees, taken in primarily by Kentor and Ligos. Before long, Ligos went the way of Kosmia and was consumed by the Heimstadt Blight. Following the war, and the land trades that proceeded it, the dwarves of Kosmia returned to their ancestral homelands. Over the next few years, Kosmia traded a significant portion of the mountains, to the United Alliance of Elves (see below) in exchange for the mining rights of some of the largest Blights west of the mountains. This land trade included a small Draíocht mine, the first time possession of such a mine was held by any race but the dwarves. By the time of the Flintlock Era, Kosmia was one of the smallest nations of Irolas in terms of landmass. However, they had perhaps the largest supply of wraithstone, Kentor being the sole competitor for that title, and as such remained a world power.

Immediately following the war, the diversity and government structure of Kosmia remained nearly unchanged compared to before the war, with leadership split between a multitude of families known as clans. However, many individuals found themselves without a family or clan following the war. These clanless individuals eventually joined together to form new clans, not bound by blood, as was traditional, but by mutual respect and trust. One such clan was known as the Lightsteel Company.

In the years following the war, the Lightsteel Company became the dominant clan in Kosmia. As the Treaty of Light came to an end, the Company held almost total control of the country, and the phrase "Lightsteel Company" was used synonymously with Kosmia. By this time, the Company was no longer a single clan, but instead had members from every clan in Kosmia. The leaders of the Company hold an oligarchic control of Kosmia, secure in the knowledge that no clan leader(s) of significant power would stand against them for fear of the removal of their clan's members from the Company. More about the Lightsteel Company can be read below.

#### United Alliance of Elves

Following the Shadow's War, the elves of both Armonia and Otiko found their population severely diminished. Many former citizens of these two nations had fled to Kentor or Malachar to start new lives, with no interest in returning to the Blight infested lands they once held. The remaining leadership of Armonia and Otiko chose to unite their governments to form the nation Oameni un Unedig Alianţă, commonly referred to as simply The Alliance. This union healed the divide between high elves and wood elves that first occurred at the end of the Ancient's War.

The Alliance is widely considered to be a strong economic power, but a relatively weak military power. This is primarily due to the fact that, following the end of the war, the Alliance quickly expanded its borders by trading away the mining rights to the Blights within their lands. These sales primarily went to The Lightsteel Company and Kentor. As a result, the Alliance has access to relatively little wraithpowder, and their armies remain reliant on magic and traditional warfare tactics.

Although elves remain the largest denomination of The Alliance's population, people of every race reside within their territories. This is primarily due to newer, faster methods of travel, the consistent presence of foreign miners working along the remaining Blights, and the relative economic stability the Alliance provides.

#### Valastus

A newly founded city-state that will be the primary setting of the Flintlock Campaign. Located on the eastern shore of Malachar, directly opposite Crystalfin (the capital of Kentor). See Valastus.