A History of Lucan

by Koios Glauxos

#### Geographic Parameters

The earliest civilization in western Rhyton centered in the fertile Loagh valley and along the shores of the inland Genfian Sea.  The dark, rich valley soil and the bountiful fresh waters provided opportunity for abundant crops and plentiful fishing.  To the south and west lay the perilous Brindleberk and Skyscar mountain ranges.  To the east Mount Vol, to the north Mount Calis.  To the northwest white cliffs and rocky shores met the Yalic Ocean, and beyond which lay the fabled lands of Gir and Mo.

Farther south and east there were also other lands suitable for agriculture and settlement.  But these lands were dangerously close to the poisonous Kulnath swamps to the northeast and the sinister Fellspawn Forest to the southeast.  Kulnath and the Fellspawn also served to cut the west off from greater eastern and southern Rhyton, discouraging all but the hardiest or most determined from migrating into the region.  None the less there were other pockets of civilization, such as the quite hamlets that would eventually become Bulgen in the southwester step lands and Vinsaan, Lucan’s perennial rival on the opposite shore of the Genfian.

There were also tempting prizes waiting in the wilderness for those strong enough or crafty enough to claim them.  Rich mines, such as the Blightmere in the southwest and the Vallgis in the heart of Mount Vol to the east.  There were also places of significant arcane resource, where mystic ley lines met and crossed to form significant patterns of power.  Sites such as these would continue to draw the attention of various and completing civilizations, both separate from and directly related to those who would eventually found the city of Lucan.

#### Pre-Lucan Cultures

Long before the founding of the city of Lucan, before the coming of the Folken and the Dökkálfar, there was already evidence of long lost goblin tribes and dwarven clans.  Relics and fossilized remains seem to suggest that these two races once peopled the region, including the Loagh valley itself.  In all likelihood they came into frequent conflict with one another and such clashes may have, from time to time, led to temporary alliances being formed along racial lines, but it is highly improbable that there actually ever was anything resembling the Dheurian Empire or the Kobaloi Kingdom that are still celebrated in dwarven and goblin mythology today.  What is more likely is that these races represented scattered and isolated populations that were gradually incorporated into the various post-Lucan civilizations.

#### Of Dragons

The role that dragonkin played in the history of Lucan and its peoples can easily be overstated, but none the less should not be discounted completely.  To be sure there were dragons in the land during the age of the founding of the city and later.  To be sure some of these dragons were the revered allies of the Folken.  And to be equally sure all dragonkind were the most hated enemies of the Dökkálfar.  But it must be remembered that by their very nature, dragons are possessed of a distinctly solitary mentality, often bordering on xenophobia.  Dragons do not socialize well with members of their own species and they certainly do not take a hand, or a scaled talon as it were, in the development or nurturing of the cultures of others.  Those few dragons who sided with (and later deserted) the Folken did so most likely for purely selfish and mercenary motives, as the tales of the outlandish tribute that the Folken paid to them in homage surely attest.  Once the fortunes of the Folken turned for the worse and the star of the Dökkálfar began to ascend, the dragons doubtlessly took their leave of the conflict and retired to that most draconic of activities:  Slumbering upon the golden bejeweled beds of their vast hoards.

#### Civilization:  The Folken (Ratfolk)

Simply put, without the Folken there would be no Lucan.  They unquestionably founded the city in or around the year 549, legendarily selecting the site for their first major surface settlement after receiving a prophetic decree from the great she-wyrm, Lucanlyariax.  The ancient dragon had led the Folken up from their ancestral burrows below Mount Calis and charged them with building up a great “walled warren” where the mountain’s dawncast shadow fell upon the banks of the Genfian.

##### Religion

To say that the Folken were a race of dragon worshipers and leave it at that would be a gross oversimplification.  Evidence suggests that there were numerous non-draconic deities in the ancient Folken pantheon, and even though nearly all of these would eventually morph into or be supplanted by the more familiar Dragon Lords of today, a few would survive into the modern era.  But to be sure, the chief gods of the Folken are all dragons, and their images can be seen carved and painted throughout the city.

First among the Dragon Lords would be Lucanlyariax, the great adopted mother of all Folken and Lucan.  Patron deity of community, protection and water, Lucanlyariax is said to watch over her children from beneath the waves of the Genfian still.

Closely related to Lucanlyariax is one of the few non-draconic deities worshiped by the Folken.  She of the Thousand Thousand Teets, Marma the Matron.  Personification of the virtue of Folken motherly love, Marma is depicted as a gigantic rat, perpetually nursing a great multitude of her flock.  She serves as Lucanlyariax’s handmaiden and functions as a sort of surrogate of her mistress’s nurturing will.  She is the patron deity of good and healing.

If Lucanlyariax is the caring mother of the Folken, then Vix is the vengeful father.  Called upon only during times of great crisis, Vix is patron deity of destruction, fire and war.  It is said that once the coals of his wrath have been stoked only the complete destruction of his enemies can quench the flames of his fury.

Next in popularity within the Folken pantheon, Hyllanorup is the god of air, luck and travel.  Often seen as a good natured trickster and depicted as a miniature blue dragon, Hyllanorup is the patron of peddlers, gamblers and – most interestingly – all those who bear the burden of weighty secrets.

##### Methods of Warfare

The Folken, like their rodent kin, have always been swarm fighters.  Excelling at large battlefield formations, their warbands have forever favored attacking en mass.  The character of those companies however has evolved over the centuries.  Early armies were frenzied hordes, devoid of stratagem or formation – a far cry from the orderly and cunning legions fielded by the Folken today.

Accustomed to facing opponents of much larger stature, standard field armaments have always centered around the use of pole arms.  Ancient Folken warbands wielded a bevy of spears:  A two-handed long spear would serve as their primary weapon and provide reach.  A one-handed short spear would be kept in reserve and also allow the simultaneous employ of a shield.  Two or three javelins would give the warrior a ranged option to hurl.  Finally, a long knife or short sword would serve as a last resort for the fierceness of close-quarters fighting.  Armor was light and crude, consisting mainly of leather and some scavenged chain pieces for the nobility.  The arsenal of the modern legionary can be traced back to this simple warrior’s kit.  Fire-hardened wooden spear tips give way to finely crafted lances and halberds, hide-covered round shields become iron-bound tower shields, leather cuirasses morph into steel breastplates.

But whereas the modern legions may boast superior arms and tactics, they lack that singular element which gave their ancestors their most famous advantage:  Dragons.  The mere sight of Folken light cavalry, astride death-spewing juvenile dragons, was more than enough to route most opponent forces.  And those rare times when such squadrons were not enough to win the day, heavy cavalry, made up of two to four Folken warcasters riding in armored platform-carriages atop young adult dragons, could unleash arcane destruction unparalleled in the ancient world.  Finally, and most terrible of all, were the great wyrms themselves, who never failed to deliver victory.  It was in exchange for these triumphs that the Folken elevated these elders to divine status.

Scholars have long theorized that there were ever only three or four dragons of such advanced age fighting for the Folken and that most if not all of the lesser wyrms were their offspring.  There is also a sizable gap between the youngest and the eldest dragons, with all age categories between young adult and great wyrms being conspicuously absent from the ranks.  The traditional explanation for this has always been that the great wyrms were unwilling to share the adoration of the Folken and jealously drove out all those that would be mature enough to challenge them.  Indeed, in all of Folken folklore, only a handful of dragons below the rank of the great wyrm are even named and then only in passing.

##### Government and Society

Much like any clannish culture, ancient Folken organized themselves along traditional tribal lines, with each tribe being ruled by a chief or the occasional shaman.  In times of trouble these tribes would come together and organize themselves into a great host under the leadership of a single supreme leader, usually again referred to as chief or high-chief.  Eventually as Folken holdings spread, this traditional decentralized form of government became counterproductive and was abandoned in favor of a feudal structure.  So in the year 338, the title of high-chief was officially abandoned with the coronation of King Parthalán the Dour and the fealty oaths of all of the other chiefs were collected onto him.

Sixteen years later, in 354, the highest religious office of the kingdom was formally created when Oisín Drakensire was named Patriarch of the Folken.  Legend states that Lucanlyariax anointed both men personally, choosing Parthalán for his strength and valor and Oisín for his piety and honor.  The twin offices of king and patriarch would carry on, often at odds but unbroken, until the time of the Great Drowsing, when in 801King Drustan the Impatient killed Patriarch Feidlimid the Desperate.

The Great Drowsing proved to be a crucial turning point in the history of the Folken kingdom and signaled the beginning of their decline into subjugation to the Dökkálfar.  Whether orchestrated by elven treachery or simply a staggeringly tragic coincidence, when all of the great wyrm protectors of the Folken began to spend increasing longer and longer periods of time in slumber, the Patriarchs found it more and more difficult to wield power – both politically and on the battlefield.  And when Culhwchlavlyra, the most active of the great wyrms was assassinated by the Dökkálfar, the entire priesthood lost their cohesive hold upon the faith of the Folken people.

The office of the king would linger on for nearly another century, but eventually meet a similar fate in the year 877, or The Year of the Hundred Crowns, when within a single year over two-dozen claimants to the throne would either be stroke down by their rivals or assassinated by elven agents.  And so when the final king, Llyr the Last fell in battle in 879, the Folken simply lacked the unity of will to choose another ultimate ruler and the kingdom dissolved, reverting once again to a series of barely connected tribal communities.  This was followed shortly by the Great Extermination, as the Dökkálfar were easily able to eliminate and enslave the now disparate and scattered Folken.

Going from the halls of power to the homes and hearths of the common warren, we see that Folken family life has much in common with Folken warfare:  Teeming swarms of youth led by experienced maturity.  Just as today, ancient Folken families were large –vast even - usually centered around the household warren, made up of several connected dwellings both above and below ground.  Little has changed in the past several hundred years.  The family is lead by the eldest male and female parents, often but not always being members of the same generation.  All authority and property is administrated by these elders, until a sort of critical mass is achieved and the family simply grows too big for its home, at which point a minor diaspora is encouraged where smaller family units break off in search of newer fortunes.

Trades are handed down from parent to child, with each family usually possessing two or three traditional occupations.  But on occasion, during those times of branching out, a new trade or new business venture may be taken up.  Social mobility has always been a rare thing among the Folken and it is usually at these times only that it has the opportunity to take place.

##### Construction and Engineering

Folken architecture has always enjoyed a very favorable reputation for durability and efficiency.  Indeed, even under elven rule, the Dökkálfar continued to employ Folken slaves as not only laborers but also as builders and architects.  Most of the structures making up the city of Lucan have, at a foundational level at least, been crafted by Folken hands.  Though they may admittedly lack a certain degree of artistic expression, these venerable buildings cannot be faulted in terms of sturdiness or longevity.  And throughout the known world, no other people has more skill in making the most out of a limited space than the Folken.

In terms of their tools and other artifacts, the Folken have always had a tendency towards utilitarianism and the eschewing of adornment.  This has led to a reputation for Folken wares as being plain or even crude.  These descriptors are a bit unfair however.  Certainly Folken craftsmanship is less sophisticated than the works of the elves, but in comparison to say the Uerco or some the more brutish human tribes its artistry far exceeds.

Dragons are, obviously, the most widespread motifs.  Also common are scenes depicting pastoral and idyllic family settings, featuring doting parents and plentiful offspring.  Intricate geometric designs are also found throughout Folken cultures, interweaving patterns rumored to be of esoterically spiritual import.