Valoren

The largest city-state of men, Valoren rules over many fiefdoms and plains that would otherwise lay unprotected: rewarding fealty with vigorous protection and full representation within the Republic of Valoren. While dozens of lands are included under the Valoren crown, the mainland of Valoren is a bustling and advanced city: boasting the finest steam-powered technology, xenological diversity, and education in the entire mainland.

Valoren operates loosely as a Monarchy, but due to its inland location and lack of natural resources, turns to a council of representatives from its blanketed fiefdoms, towns, and outlying provinces. The larger the contribution to the crown, the more speaking time and influence the representative will have on important Valoren matters. While the final say is made by the current King, Vinciain XIII, this balance has led to a prosperous uptick in Valoren control on the region, leaving them the undisputed Ahrdan superpower. Other important council representatives include the leaders of various crafting and trade guilds, the High Magister of the Schools of Magic, and the High Justicar of the Seven Sons.

The true power of Valoren will always come from the Church of the Wives, utilizing the influence of the full pantheon of gods and goddesses to appeal to any that would be a benefit to the Republic. Because of this, the High Cardinal of the church advises the King, but does not currently sit on the council, largely due to the suspicion of the seat of High Cardinal following the heresy of the wizard Cyndix during the reign of King Vinciain I.

While the zealots and snobby richfolk of Valoren can paint a bad picture of its influence, there is no denying it is, and will remain a gem to which all of the realms will turn to in times of need.

## History of Valoren

The earliest ages of men can only be speculated on, as little of their history was recorded before their alliance with the Eldiri. Though the basics of tribal organization, language, and technology were necessary to their survival, it was only upon meeting such an advanced people that their society began to take shape. Outside of ancient relics that only show a glimpse into their origin, the written records of men begin shortly after the Expansion of the elves, and can be traced to the area that is now Valoren.

Throughout the centuries, men began to organize their tribes into nations, and over more time, those nations began to develop their own culture and history. Valoren has always been at the center of the rise of humankind, due to their proximity to the landing of the Eldiri and some important innovation from truly bright minds.

### The Calendar – 300 BV

Though an afterthought of the current day people, men of Valoren were the first to invent a calendar, based on the position of the stars and the changing of the seasons. This was modeled on words spoken by travelers of Khii and Mutar, who used the stars to travel and predict the changing of the seasons; as well as the experienced farmers of the region and the neighbors of what is now Elun, who were able to use the behavior of their crops and nature around them to know when change was at hand. Combining this information, as well as having it adopted by tribesmen of the surrounding area, caused the area to flourish into an agricultural superpower and fund both the expansion of the nation, but drive more people to migrate to the area. It is unknown who created the first draft of the calendar, but the Engineers Guild of Cogskeep likes to guess that it could only be the work of one of their ancient ancestors.

### The First King Valoren – 0 FV

It is unknown how long Orcs existed, and indeed many scholars believe that no men knew of them because none were left alive to tell the stories, but for the first time in history, mankind faced extinction. With so many of their tribesmen gathered in a single spot, the orc hordes were driven to pure madness in their attempt to find camps to raid, and flesh to consume. When the orcs finally found the fledgling nation, a city filled with all of the families that before dotted the landscape of the continent, they descended on them with untold fury.

It is said that nearly half of humanity was killed in the first week. While men gave up hope and prepared to flee across the sea, the man named **Valoren** stepped forward and commanded the people. A natural air of authority and gift of cunning rallied the tribes of men to plant their feet, build defenses, and form structures of command within their ranks. Using every bit of technology, ingenuity, and friendship that the city had developed over their years, the race of men managed to halt the orc assault long enough for reinforcements from Falthoren to arrive.

Though the losses were great, the man called Valoren was hailed as a hero, a living vessel for the gods to channel their power. Between the alliance of the elves, and the newfound knowledge of the foes that lurk in the unknown lands beyond, the people of the nation now named Valoren worked to better their understanding of the world and protect its people. The lands were explored and mapped, roads and bridges were built to connect them, and the great undertaking of building the Phalanx to protect men from the marauding hordes of orcs began.

### The War of the Rift and the Schools of Magic – 125 FV

Sometime before the completion of the Phalanx, a relative of the First King Valoren took to exploring the archipelagos south of Eldiri. Later scholars blame the Eldiri for the lack of knowledge imparted about their lost cousins, the Adhren. This disastrous encounter on these islands caused humanity to have its first recorded encounter with a god: Gefh, the Huntress. Seeing humanity as barbarous and beyond redemption, she declared war on them. Were it not for the divide of the Elves and the Rift that followed this action, it is not known whether or not humanity would have the power or the means to have survived this war. As a stroke of luck, they ended up taking a back seat to the battles, and following the defeat of the Adhren, were finally imparted the knowledge from the Eldiri about their cousin’s past.

Wishing to avoid the corruption that even the brightest magicks can bring, the realms of men established the Schools of Magic within their flourishing nation. These schools teach control, signs of corruption, and a detachment from religion. Magic is not outright feared in modern Valoren, but its open use is subject to scorn or even punishment. The Schools of Magic are technically united, though sometimes popularity (or fear) of a form subjects new remote branches to open, as well as the occasional recorded destruction of a wing.

### The Wizard Cyndix and the Founding of the Church – 253 FV

Over a century after the founding of the schools, the High Magister of the organization rebelled against the nation of Valoren. Using mind-bending magics to influence the mind of the standing King Korinth II (as well as the standing council), High Magister Cyndix seized control of the nation and sought to spread his influence to neighboring nations. Using his bond with the gods Agni and D’kar, towns of people, women and children alike, had their souls torn from their bodies to fuel a wicked forge to create weapons of conquest.

It was then that the holy men of Valoren banded together to bring down this beast. Not wishing to sacrifice any of their flock, one champion was chosen for each of the wives and sons of Hūn. Even devotees of Agni and D’kar were chosen, to march for what was right for the men of the world and to prove no tyrant spoke for the entirety of their order.

They stormed Agni’s Godforge at the eleventh hour, the devotees of the seven sons donning armor stylized into the visage of their gods, while the worshippers of the seven wives wore colored garb and followed suit. The display of loyalty and devotion stripped Cyndix of his god-bond and imbued the powers of the deities into these holy warriors. Banishing the wizard to the planes of death and saving the land of Vigneau from imminent destruction.

Following this, the Church of the Wives was formed, and these blessed beings passed down their knowledge and duty to followers of their gods until this very day, leading clerics and paladins to the heights of their powers, while leading mass for the people of Valoren and providing hope for the future.

### The Battle of Blackreef and the Engineers Guild – 388 FV

After centuries of life on the mainland, Valoren and Khii were subject to an attempted invasion from men across the ocean. While their true name was never discovered (along with their intentions and country of origin), the Usurpers came on a massive ship pulled by two enslaved Leviathans. Settling in Blackreef between Khii and Valoren, the titanic ship disgorged winged beasts, rowboats full of pirates and cultists, and sea serpent riding shock troops to claim this new land.

The initial losses were great, as the threat of such an attack along the rocky northern shores was thought impossible, but soon help came from the most unlikely of places: the Engineers’ Guild. While magic was dispelled or absorbed by the black armor and the beasts of the attackers, the rotoblades and the blackpowder technology of the Guild proved intensely effective. While providing resources to the northern front of the war, Chief Engineer Willem MacCann worked with his top officials to create a weapon large enough to damage the titan of a ship. The device, called the Hand of Hūn, sought to absorb and channel the power of the Sun through phosphorus tubes and orichalcum lenses to cut through it’s black armor.

From the highest spire of Blackreef Keep, the weapon cut a gash in the hull of the ship many hundreds of miles away. The first blast fried the device, but left the titan unable to continue and  forced to retreat. Though the king Vinciain VI ordered the weapon fixed and ready for future attacks. Willem realized the destructive power of such a device and in the dead of night, ordered his men to break the massive device into five pieces and discard them at random points in the deep ocean. Vincian VI ordered those that participated executed, a rare and serious sentence in the realm of Valoren, though the Church and the High Magister reminded Vincian VI that the council should make the decision, and not the King. Citing the threat of Cyndix in the past, and that no man should wield that power, the trial was discarded and Willem was allowed to live, though he soon retired and has not been seen since.

### The Sacking of Taelos and the Feast of Medios – 416 FV

Four centuries after the first cataclysmic Orc invasion of Valoren, a horde led by the now infamous Rhogg the Red sailed down Tidus’ Trident to the city of Taelos. It was not known previously if orcs had even the most rudimentary technology, but when they came in force the lands of men were once again woefully unprepared. Their boats had been built for war and worship; massive totems to Medios the horseman stood on the back of ships that had no room for cargo, holding cells, or food for a return trip.

Taelos was a wealthy trading city around 416 FV, and the second largest city in the land next to Valoren itself. Outside of the Valoren empire, it was quickly overcome as the residents were brutally murdered and offered to the totems of the god of the dead. Word did spread, but by the time the armies of Valoren, Vigneau, Cagir, and Merganser were able to assist, the entire city had been razed and the orcs had marched north to meet them. The armies of men were met with an army of blood-crazed orcs wreathed in otherworldly energies, the unsent dead and beckoning of Medios causing the plane of death and reality to overlap. Rhogg the Red was twice the size of any normal orc, booned by his offerings to his god and his proximity to the plane of death, and he began to carve his way through the ranks of men.

Regretting riding to meet the horde in open combat, the Prince Whuutr of Cagir ordered his legions to flee, and many were cut down by the tireless hordes. Noticing the swelling power of the dead feeding the hungry Medios, the High Cardinal Fezzir II pleaded that Vinciain XII allow him to perform a ritual to send the dead to the afterlife, robbing the orcs of their power and saving a march on the nation of Valoren. Vincian XII agreed.

When the final words were spoken, the resulting energies being transferred to Medios and his accompanying ecstasy caused a shockwave of raw godly power, obliterating all life in the area. To this day the plane of death peeks into reality in the Wasteland that Was.

### A New Republic and a Time of Peace – 450 FV, Present Day

Though already a nation much larger than it’s capital city, the aftermath of the war made Vinciain XIII feel obligated to adopt all willing neighbors into the fold of Valoren. Honoring the sacrifice of his father and the Fallen of the Frontline, he worked on establishing new borders and roads, rebuilding towns and providing defenses.

* Farwatch was moved to watch the western-most edge of the Wasteland that Was, the now united people requiring vigilance from within as well as at it’s borders.
* Tidus’ Point was founded to watch over the inlet to the center of the nation, to prevent another Taelos incident.
* Gratch was formed in the center of the Wasteland that Was, filled with scrappy folks willing to scratch out enormous wealth in the now exposed salt mines beneath the harsh wasteland.
* The Shrine of the Dead was erected as a monument to the fallen King Vinciain XII and the Fallen of the Frontline, and as a symbol to all of the horrors of hungry gods.
* Taelos was relocated as Novea Taelos, a beacon of hope to show that those of Valoren blood have an indomitable spirit.

This age of reconstruction and peace all helped Vinciain XIII build the influence of Valoren and cement them as the one true superpower in the world. Though the borderlands of cities like Rhaal, Cagir, and Sicclia may be unhappy with their place in this new world, there are even more cities like Bhag, Lonn’s End, and Miriglio that provide more than their fair share to the wealth of the nation. And regardless of their locals sometimes surly attitudes or the griping of their representatives in the Council, they are all willing to accept the safety of the Valoren Legion and the might of the Church when it comes to dealing with outsiders and invaders.

## Notable Valorens

* Valoren I
* The Nameless King
* Korinth II
* Cyndix
* Vinciain I
* Vinciain VI
* Vinciain XII
* Vinciain XIII
* Whuutr
* Fezzir II
* Calvin I