Drahanim

The **Drahanim** were one of the earliest human tribes, and the first humans to settle in northwestern Morgaea. They are the tribal ancestors of the Nordishfolk, the people who live in the nation of Nordain. "Drahanim" is not a single tribe, but a loose coalition of tribes started by the Drahanim peoples. Besides the people of Nordain, who are descended from the Ketharri, there are the Cleve and the Welserine who exist in modern times.

## History

### Dark Ages

In **-2415D**, the Drahanim crossed the White Spine and settled in the lands that would become known as Nordain. According to their legends, they needed to find a new homeland because their previous territory was plagued by a being they refer to as a "shadow goddess". Scholars theorize the Drahanim were actually trying to escape from an unidentified natural disaster.

In **-1815D**, the Drahanim tribes living near what is known today as Lake Lontan separated from the rest, becoming the Cleve. They were founded, and led, by Ysolet Cleve-Mother, who defeated another Drahanim leader, Auden the Tall. The Cleve left the plains in favor of the mountains. Even after their separation, the Drahanim and the Cleve would sometimes form alliances. Thetsoll, a Cleve leader who controlled much of what would become western Nordain, married Sibylla, a daughter of a Drahanim chieftain. He led the combined Drahanim forces in the Crusade against the Adamantium.

In **-1415D**, another group of the Drahanim broke away, forming the Welserine tribes. They settled in the Welserine Wilds, and quickly adapted to their new home. Welserine wilders live in small tribes and cultivate shamanistic traditions.

### War with the Adamantium

Around **-715D**, the Adamantium launched several campaigns in an attempt to subjugate the Drahanim tribes in Nordain. They eventually succeded and took control of the area for a time. The Adamant Highway was built across the White Spine, leading all the way to Genedara; which would later be abandoned during the First Scourge when the Adamantium collapsed.

In **-620D** the Adamantines established Numidius (renamed Blackwall) across the sea from the Drahanim lands, as a slave trade hub. They again ventured into the Nordish Valley and often captured the locals, including the elves scattered in the area, but also humans, like Sibylla.

Though their lands were occupied by foreign powers, the tribes continued to fight with each other, for example in the Battle of Redfall that took place in **-355D**. However, in **-180D** they united against the invaders. As one people, the "barbarian horde" consisting of various Drahanim clans such as Ketharri, as well as Cleve and Lyriane tribes, crossed the Narrow Sea. The Adamantium, weakened by the Scourge, nearly fell to the force led by the former slave Sibylla, the armies of her Cleve husband Thetsoll, and the elven slaves led by Febrion who joined the Drahanim in **-171D.** The Drahanim used the Adamatine's own Adamant Highway to lay waste to their lands, all the way from Genedara to City of Adamantium. However, concerned that their victories would be short-lived, Thetsoll made a deal with Archon Janerius. He allowed Sibylla to be captured and executed, in exchange for a truce, and the lands that makes today's Nordain, Maudet, Anderlay and the Freemarks.

## Thetsoll's Fall

Thetsoll split the majority of the newly acquired territory among his three sons, while he continued to rule over the Nordish Valley. For their help during the Crusade, he gave the elves the Sylvandale to call their own. However, Thetsoll started losing support when he would not let his army attack further into Adamantine territory to avenge the death of his wife. His own people completely abandoned him when Archon Janerius converted to the Cult of the Watcher and revealed that Thetsoll was a traitor who let Sibylla die in exchange for the lands.

#### Anderlay

The youngest of Thetsoll's sons, Ranmeld, was assigned to rule the central Anamene. Ranmeld based his claim on his ties to Sibylla and Thetsoll, which backfired when the news of Thetsoll's betrayal spread. His entire court was murdered, though Ranmeld himself managed to escape with his life and fled to Maudet.

#### Freemarks

Thetsoll's middle son, Svogorn, was entrusted with the lands that would become the Freemarks. At the time, this area was inhabited by nomadic people. Svogorn was more concerned with spreading the words of his mother than ruling. When the truth of his father's betrayal came to light, Svogorn and his children disavowed their lineage and renounced their control over their holdings.

#### Maudet

The eldest son, Maeriand, was given the Lyriane lands to the west of the Nordish Valley. He united the Lyriane tribes into one nation, which he called Maudet. The Grand Unification happened in **-155D**. Maeriand was married to the Lyriane gothi Jesavi, who began plotting to have her husband killed, as she was angered by the upheaval caused by unifying Maudet. When Ranmeld fled to Maudet, Jesavi manipulated him into killing his older brother. Later, she married Ranmeld, who wanted to legitimize his claim to the throne. Through Jesavi's machinations, Ranmeld was also killed, and the gothi became the leader of Maudet.

### Civil wars

In 1A40, amidst the chaos of the Second Scourge, a Drahanim warrior called Heford united the tribes living in the Nordish Valley in order to drive back the Fiendish Horde. In **1A50**, the Drahanim leader defeated the combined forces of the Welserine and Cleve who hoped to take advantage of the Scourge and control the valley. Heford was proclaimed the first jarl of the Drahanim people.

Since antiquity, powerful warlords known as "thanes" had led the Drahanim in near constant struggle with their fellow tribes as each thane sought to widen his territory and influence. The term "thane" dates at least as far back as the Second Age.

During the Third Age the Welserine Wilders and other "terrible things" were led by Maevith's daughters, the Witches of the Wilds. This force invaded the south, and were all but unopposed until the hero Kodlak led an army of Drahanim fighters and Ondrathum dwarves. After a long series of dreadful battles, the Welserine were all but destroyed, and the witches burned. To this day, the Nordishfolk eye the north warily, regarding the Welserine with suspicion and hatred.

Since then, the Welserine have never left the swamps, nor have the Drahanim entered them. The Cleve took the hills as their land, and the remaining Drahanim stayed in the Nordish Valley, becoming known as "lowlanders" to the Cleve and the "grasslanders" to the Welserine.

## First Maudesian Invasion of Nordain

In 4A80, the Maudesian Empire invaded the Nordish Valley for the first time by crossing the White Spine, hoping to take advantage of Nordain's fractured state. By **4A83**, the Nordish jarls had set aside their differences to push the Maudesians back in a united front. The Maudesian's hope of taking the port of Seaworth was dashed when the fortress of Erencliffe held out too long, and winter in the Spine cut off their supply lines. By the spring, most Maudesians had either pulled out or been captured.

## Drahanim and Wargs

The foreigners visiting Nordain often remark that it smells of wet dogs. True or not, one thing cannot be denied; Nordain and dogs go hand in hand. It's said that the wargs were originally bred by Adamantine mages, but decided to stay in Drahanim lands after the Adamantine occupation was ultimately driven back. Ever since then, the wargs have had a strong presence in Nordish lands. Many of the Drahanim tribes kept their own wargs, and the tradition was maintained by Nordish nobles, many of whom claim ties to Heford, the first jarl, who was reputed to be a werewolf.