History

## Part I: The Old Continent.

It was not the mortals’ greed nor the violence that would lead to the fleeing of the Old Continent, but instead the impending Orc and Shaman Threat. The Shamans were powerful practitioners of the Dark Arts that had been corrupted by demons and evil spirits. The Orcs, unknowing of the Shamans’ great and evil power, had once turned on their own and were quickly united by the Shamans to soon come to realize that the other mortals were the true enemy.

At the same time, the Shamans were able to conjure a curse that stripped mortals of their magic, which led to the deaths of many Humans and Elves who were dependent on their magic to stay alive. Orcs, on the other hand, did not need magic due to their brute strength that outmatched the Humans’ and Elves’. They were able to dominate the landscape of the Old Continent and drive away the other mortals.

  The threat, at the start, did not mean much to the wealthier Humans and Elves, but to the lower classes, they knew the Threat would have the biggest impact on them. These lower-class citizens looked into possible reasons for the Orc Threat. They investigated the disappearance of the Dwarves and High Elves -- races that were once native to the Old continent, which was said to have fled a long time ago -- and decided that the best thing to do would be to flee.

  Merchants and coastal cities, who were eager to start voyages, sent refugees and the lower-class citizens, as losing such low-ranking individuals would do little to harm their wealth. Many failed voyages later, a few fleets had eventually set foot on new land -- the land that we now refer to as the New Continent. Word was sent out and more Humans and Elves fled to the New Continent. Although those with half a brain would join the others on the journey, there were a handful of mercenaries and thieves that chose to stay behind and live off the hellscape, looting the leftover wealth of the nobles who fled.

  One of the fleets, made up of mostly Humans, landed on the shores of the New Continent, and found themselves in a rich, mountain-crested valley which is now called Madrigal. One fleet landed in Kinswall, another in Atarah, and another in Port Aurum, though they began as small establishments by those who survived the voyages. Nobility was defined by the wealthy merchants who funded the voyages, hence the first Lord of Port Aurum would be a merchant who owned a large fleet used to bring Humans and Elves to the New Continent. A smallish fleet landed far away from the others, nestled in a valley along the shore, named Fernsworth -- though this city-state was entirely independent and was too small to support the war effort. The citizens of Fernsworth had no reason to expand; they were happy with where they were and were not affected by the war whatsoever.

  The construction of the new city-states began, and so Kinswall was established as an upper-class town for the nobles, Port Aurum as a port town atop an island with easy access to many trade routes, Madrigal as a bustling town nestled in the mountains, and Atarah as a resource-rich desert town with a dense population. The leaders and people of Port Aurum and Kinswall quickly bonded and had soon built up somewhat of an alliance with each other.

## Part II: The Lordaeron-Citystate War.

  Nearly four centuries to the current date, the Lordaeron-Citystate War would begin, though the war would only really begin around two decades to the current date. The conflict had begun to stir due to Lordaeron constantly attempting to take control of the city-states and driving native Centaurs out of their land. Since Madrigal was especially targeted by Lordaeron, Madrigal’s conflicts began decades before any other city-states’. Kinswall’s involvement began soon after, and Port Aurum followed. Atarah did not have much involvement throughout the war, though as the war progressed, they did trade gunpowder and other resources to both sides. However, due to its unstable government and conflict and corruption within Atarah’s walls, it did not have much of an effect on the war (and they did not have much of a reason to support the war effort, anyway.)

  William was a wealthy merchant who supported the city-states’ efforts and visited the Old Continent to save those who still resided on the hellish landscape (who in return gave him a portion of their wealth). He had had to adopt a guerrilla tactic of handling the demonic Old Continent creatures that surrounded his ship. Once he got back, he joined the Kinswall militia and quickly made his way up the ranks due to being educated and introducing guerrilla warfare to the militia. Though, he soon realized that even with these new fighting tactics, he would not be able to win the war alone. Knowing Kinswall and Port Aurum had a close alliance, he went to try and persuade Owen, the Lord Governor of Port Aurum, to join forces with him. He agreed, and together they tried to take down smaller Lordaeron troops in hopes of eventually outnumbering them, but in the end, William realized that he needed more recruits.

  He searched far and wide -- he went to the native Centaurs, who had been driven out of their lands by Lordaeron time and time again despite them promising they wouldn’t take any more land. The centaurs were very honorable people, so the broken peace treaties just fueled their hatred for Lordaeron. William also went to Dramis -- another fellow merchant who traded with the native Arachnia, Lamia, and Satyrs, and had built up a trust with them -- and had him convince the natives who were not as affected by Lordaeron join the war effort. The Satyrs were spread out along the mountains of Madrigal to reduce the population of Lordaeron’s troops. With such a diverse force now on William’s side, he managed to drive Lordaeron into a battle to end all battles; a battle in front of the palace, which at the time had not been completed, and was constructed to show off Kinswall’s wealth. Lordaeron’s troops had retreated, but at a cost -- the Centaur population was badly hurt. Many had been lost to Lordaeron’s army, and this upset William. He did not see this as a win and wanted to rid Lordaeron from the face of the Continent.

## Part III: End of the War.

William’s forces, along with political unrest within its borders, eventually led to the matriarchal knights overturning the capital of Lordaeron, Mirth. The leaders wanted independence and wanted Mirth to be recognized as a single city-state, and so it was. The war died down, the Lordaeron Empire fell, and Mirth became independent.

It was only around four to five years before the current date that the city-states were now able to rest, and veterans went home. William was recognized as a hero across the land for his efforts in the war, though the victory was not all positive. Many families, especially centaur families, had to mourn the loss of their sons and daughters, and most city-states had to recover financially due to war debt and destruction (especially Madrigal). But, at last, there was peace.