Ithenia

**Ithenia**is an ancient realm located on the continent of Eshtar. It is bordered by The Dead Lands to the south-west, the Sea of Storms to the west, the Abduan Sea to the north, Quaïth to the east and Araxia to the south-east. The land is made up of various cultural groups that share a common ethnic background as well as other ethnic minorities from the surrounding lands. It is dry arid land, with most settlements situated along river valleys. The Duru Mountains that make up Ithenia's eastern border, serve to protect it from land based threats, while the Sea of Storms prevents naval invasions from the west and south.

Ithenia has been inhabited by various cultures and civilisations throughout history, including the Halaqû people, the Mithani, the Asulaxi and the Drôhznians. Currently, the realm is controlled by Ithenian-Asratû cultural groups, formed into several independent states which various governmental styles. The largest and most powerful of these are the theocratic Zenonites, who inhabit the eastern provinces of Ithenia.

## History

### The Age of Fire

Prior to the Age of Fire, the lands of Ithenia were inhabited by the elves of Curinmdôr. These elves lived a nomadic lifestyle, acting as custodians of the land according to their divine calling. This all changed when the Dragons of Astafall began the Age of Fire. Blistering firestorms swept across the land, destroying all living things, including the elves. For the rest of the age, Ithenia remained a barren wasteland.

### The Arrival of Humans

After the Dragons were defeated by the Teldari Elves at the end of the Age of Fire, life started to return to Ithenia. The elves themselves did not return to the realm, but the floral and fauna of Eshtar gradually returned the land from the scorched landscape it had once been.

For over 7,000 years, Ithenia was void of any sentient life. The first sentient beings to migrate into Ithenia were descendants of the Thatumis people that had migrated from Quaïth at the end of the 7th Era. During the early years of the 8th Era, a group of tribes known as the Halaqû were forced to migrate east into the Erêri Desert at the roots of the Dûru Mountains by aggressive tribes from southern Quaïth. These tribes were driven into inhospitable lands and many started to die. The humans would have all perished if not for a sudden earthquake the opened a pass through the Duru Mountains in the 5th century 8E.

### The Halaqû Tribes

After the earthquake, the Halaqû tribes started to venture into the mountians to escape the eastern raiders and the deadly heat of the Erêri. As each tribe made their way up through the high mountain pass, they received powerful visions. Each member of the tribe saw strange and wondrous things, which they interpreted as the word of the divine. The pass would be named Abu-Ashra, Heaven's Gate. The first tribe to receive these visions became known as the Nassaq people. The Nassaqi held a gathering wherein all members of the tribe discussed their visions and offered interpretations to each other. This meeting would later be referred to as the first Asratû Council.

Over the following years, the Halaqû tribes of Erêri either migrated through the Abu-Ashra or perished in the cruel desert. As each tribe passed through the gate, they received their own visions, which the Nassaqi helped them interpret into their own divine callings. These visions laid the groundwork for the various Asratû religions that would develop in Ithenia over the centuries.

Between the 5th and 8th centuries 8E, the various Halaqû tribes migrated through the Abu-Ashra and into the valleys of Ithenia. During this time, the tribes formed agricultural settlements and abandoned their nomadic ways. The tribes eventually formed into city states, each distinguished by their unique religious views. Conflict was common during this time, as the states fought for resources, prestige and over religious disputes. The Nassaqi people attempted to quash these religious wars, as they believed that all Halaqû should be united by their shared revelations. Their efforts were in vain, however and they were eventually wiped out by their neighbours. The Nassaqi religion still endures, but it is a minority faith, with little political power in Ithenia.

### Th Asulaxi Kingdom

By the 8th century 8E, the states of Ithenia had developed into relatively advanced civilisations. They had spread throughout the unoccupied lands of Ithenia and flourished. Due to the growing religious disparities between these states, no centralised power had arisen, leaving the land easy pickings for foreign conquest.

Over the last 300 years, The Asulaxi people to the south had formed a strong kingdom and conquered all lands south of the Erêri. The Asulaxi state was built on strength and conquest, relying heavily on a large slave population. Hearing rumours of rich lands to the north, the Asulaxi army marched across the Erêri and into the lands of the Halaqû.

The Asulaxi conquest was short and brutal; centuries of in-fighting had left the Halaqû peoples woefully unprepared for an invasion. Each city-state could only muster a small force, which was no match for the large professional army of the Asulaxi. Within a few years, all of Ithenia was under the control of the Asulaxi Empire. The Asulaxi rule of Ithenia was a contentious time. The Asulaxi modernised the realm, bringing new technologies as well as political and bureaucratic institutions. These new technologies increased agricultural yields and provided better sanitation and urban planning. However, the reign of Asulaxi was also incredibly violent. Thousands of Halaqû people were conscripted into service, either in the military or as agricultural slaves. The foreign rulers also sought to suppress Asratû religious practices, demanding their subjects convert to the Asulaxi religion, or face persecution, violence and often execution. Many Asratû followers fled Ithenia, spreading their beliefs throughout southern Eshtar.

As the lands of Ithenia were separated from the Asulaxi homeland by sea and desert, it was difficult for the king to directly maintain control. The king appointed a class of bureaucrats known as the Massenu were tasked with the day to day administration of the Itheninan provinces.

The reign of Asulaxi did not last long, however. Just under a century after it conquered Ithenia, the Asulaxi King Mettadon died without an heir. The following power struggle served to fracture the kingdom, causing chaos across its holdings. The Massenu, seeing their opportunity to acquire more power, declared themselves independent from Asulaxi and immediately started warring with each other for territory an power. For the next few decades, bloodshed and civil unrest engulfed Ithenia. When the dust settled, only a few powerful Massenu rulers remained and an uneasy peace settled over Ithenia. For the next century, the Massenu led states consolidated their power and rebuilt after the years of strife and war.

### The Drôhznian Empire

In the year 974 of the 8 era, the armies of the newly formed Drôhznian Empire marched through the Abu-Ashra and into Ithenia. In the years prior, the Drôhznians had conquered the lands of the Asulaxi kingdom and had since turned their attention to Ithenia. After the chaos of the Massenu Wars, the people of Ithenia were weary of battle. The initial clashes between Drôhznia and the Massenu forces were completely one sided. Until the winter of 974, the Drôhznian forces had cut a bloody path across eastern Ithenia, never suffering a defeat. The tide of the war changed dramatically when Ithenia suffered one of the worst winters in living memory. The Drôhznians were ill equipped to deal with the deep snow drifts and freezing temperatures. The army lost all momentum and their supply lines were interrupted. The Ithenians, on the other hand, had spent the preceding years stock piling supplies and fortifying their borders. As the Drôhznians froze and starved, the Ithenians were able to regroup and dig in for long campaign.

Over the next eight years, the Drôhznians ground away at the defenders. After the initial lightning conquest of the first year, the war turned into a slow conflict of attrition. Sâlikhín dedicated thousands of troops to the war in Ithenia, hoping to win by sheer force of numbers. The Ithenians were hopelessly outnumbered, but the Massenu Wars had made them masters of defensive warfare. The war was slow and the Ithenians fought bravely, but eventually the sheer numbers of the Drôhznian force was too much and the land was conquered by Sâlikhín.