The Dauntier of Agaricus

**The Dauntier of Agaricus**, was a kingdom that occupied the four Mushroom Isles of Icaricus, Acadear, A’bel and Emerie for roughly 7 centuries. The history of the Dauntier is formed out of a loose collection of surviving literature.

The Mycelia were said to have come from the barren mycelium soil itself, first emerging from the Gol valley of A’bel. It is said that they began to bore into the earth and steal whole herds of mooshroom cattle from the valley. They also began to perform sacrificial offerings on the mountains to their gods. News of this event spread quickly and Mawun Chieftain Burun of the village of Ortosir moved Westward. Calling on his fellow tribesmen in the village of Qardas for reinforcements. Burun was killed in his first battle as Mawun’s stone age weapons and bows were no match for the newly forged iron blades of the Mycelia. The Mycelia then marched their forces to the village of Ortosir and occupied it, later renaming it Myconati. They then pillaged the village of Qardas (which would later become the city of Mawuna) which was the last stronghold of Mycelia resistance in A’bel, forcing the native tribes of Mawun to submit or flee to the other islands.

The two Mycelia visards (Mycelia governors) Porta’bell of Qardas and A’bel of Ortosir then carried a successful advance to the other islands of Emerie and Acadear. However they would suffer immense casualties when they attempted to sail towards Icaricus due to two violent storms that destroyed their ships and foiled two invasion attempts causing thousands to drown at sea in their hastily built vessels. These storms would later be attributed to the Icaricus chief Ona who claimed to have caused the storms with a staff given to him from the storm spirit named Buzbulut. Aims to conquer Icaricus were put to a halt after a great rebellion erupted in the isles of Emerie and Acadear by the native Mawun inhabitants roughly three decades after the Mycelia first arrived. Visard A’bel, now an experienced general, suppressed these rebellions and executed both of the Visards for their incompetence. Visard Portabel, after being told by a Lunuquan priest that they were chosen by the two Lunuquan gods of Decomposa and Infierie to unite the Mushroom Isles, would lead a mercenary army of Mawun from Qardas upset by Visard A’bel’s tyranny. They would defeat Visard A’bel’s forces outside Ortosir in the famed battle of Gol. Afterwards Visard Porta’bel would claim their divine right to rule, demanding that the other Visards of Emerie and Acadear submit. Visard Porta'bel would become the first Daunt and found the Dauntier of Agaricus.

## Reign of the Daunt Porta’bel

Daunt Porta’bel would rule from roughly five decades after the first arrival of the Mycelia until the middle of the 6th century of the Dauntier’s existence. The ascent of Daunt Porta’bel assured the survival of Mycelia power in the Dauntier, though the Daunt was initially met by the jealousy of the other Visards governing the other cities as well as the restlessness of the recently conquered Mawun people. Daunt Porta’bel would build libraries and teach writing in the Hyphapela script among introducing many other new crafts and trades to the Mawun people. Unlike the visards before him he was able to successfully introduce elements of Mycelia culture and the Lunuqua religion to the Mawun populace. Daunt Porta’bel would attempt to make both groups of people join together as equals by immediately performing a ceremony with several Mawun Shamans to bind the spirits of the Mycelia to the spirits of the Mawun and merge them as one kin. Legends say that this ceremony extended the lifespan of the Mawun since the Mycelia were reportedly immortal themselves. Initially supported by their mercenary army Porta’bel was able to deal with the many rivalries of the Mycelia aristocracy. Daunt Porta’bel would introduce reforms of the state, establish a judiciary system and divide the isles into four provinces. They also oversaw the construction of the city of Myconati in the style of Mycelia architecture and was noted for their clemency towards the Mawun and their faith. A decade into Porta’bel’s rule the Dauntier successfully thwarted an invasion by the Icaricus tribe and finally executed chieftain Ona. Some Mawun would begin worshiping Ona in secret as a hero claiming that he had become a spirit of rebellion. His mythic staff became a holy artifact guarded by the Awm shamans of Icaricus. Immediately after conquering the island and forcing the native Mawun to submit, Daunt Porta’bel proclaimed that they had fulfilled their prophecy by uniting all four of the Mushroom Isles.

## The First Era of the Dauntier of Agaricus

The First Era lasted from early in the first century to the early second century of The Dauntier of Agaricus. It was a period of time where Mawun and Mycelia would struggle to accept each other as equals. A period where Daunt Porta’bel would slowly begin to establish themselves as the one Daunt. In Icaricus the rocky peace with the Mycelia had ended as Mawun pirates began raiding the Icaricus city of Craterellus early in the first century. The Icaricus Visard Chanterelle dealt with these raids for roughly a decade until his untimely assassination which lead to a succession crisis and a rebellion that was brutally repressed, resulting in the decimation of many of the Icaricus Mawun population. Forcing Craterellus to employ Mawun soldiers from the other cities and increase taxation to support them. In the end, the city was a shell of its former self. Meanwhile other cities thrived, maintaining a mostly Mawun architectural style of small mushroom hovels and blue nether wart roofed Mycelia castles of blackstone. The old city of Qardas was practically rebuilt, renamed Hydnum and the new capital of Myconati produced Hyphapela literature and other luxuries of Mycelia life. Mawun were forced to speak Hyphapela or be excluded from business and were also forced to convert their language of Old Mawunan to the Hyphapela script which caused an initial restlessness among Mawun communities. Mawun who still followed the ways of their native religion of Awm but adopted the Hyphapela language would stage protests but largely to no avail as many Mawun eventually converted to the Mycelian religion of Lunuqua. There was a rebellion started in the late first century lasting until the early second century by the Awm shaman Saha that was able to fester due to the weakened status of the Visards of the islands of Emerie and Acadear. This rebellion even spread to the mostly Mycelian city of Myconati. There was a desire to start an Awm kingdom and Saha would attempt to take over the Acadear city of Leccinum but was deposed by Daunt Porta’bel.

## The Golden Age of The Dauntier of Agaricus

This period’s beginning is marked by the end of the Saha rebellion. At this point the city of Myconati had become the most cultured, richest and most heavily populated city of The Dauntier of Agaricus. It acted as a bustling hub for traders, architects, artists, and scholars from across the Dauntier. It was during this time that the Dauntier of Agaricus began to form an actual navy and discovered the island of Ashax to its far south. Although their boats were mostly driven by large teams of oar-driven canoes that had a difficult time crossing the tumultuous waters of the Warped Sea. This gave the Dauntier access to domesticated animals found on the island of Ashax as well as a new source of wood from its dense forest. This time period would last from the second century until the late fifth century and is largely marked by a long period of peace. It was also during this time that the library of Myconati had up to several hundred thousand books. This Golden Age came to an end when explorers from the city state of Duernhelm reached The Dauntier of Agaricus. These Duern traders would ship a flow of new ideas and foods that would cause The Dauntier of Agaricus’s population and technology to boom for a short while.

## The Decline of the Mycelia

The decline of the Mycelia and the Dauntier of Agaricus would occur from the early sixth century until the early seventh century. This decline is marked by the sudden death of Mycelian Visard Amanata of Hydnum in the early sixth century when their younger brother Olearius who inherited the position, lost control of the Duern mercenary generals their brother had hired and caused the Mycelia aristocracy to go against them after Olearius attempted proclaim themselves as Daunt Portabel’s successor. Olearius foolishly attempted a revolution but was unable to control the Duern mercenaries that sacked the city of Myconati and began to demand that they be given land in the Dauntier. After this event, harsh long winters would lead to widespread famines that greatly destabilized what was left of the Dauntier. The noble families of Myconati declared a republic and The Dauntier of Agaricus fractured into city states that began to be attacked by the newly formed Dauntier of Icaricus. The city states began to be conquered by The Dauntier of Icaricus only for it to fall as well when a deadly disease caused by blue spores called Ai’rea began spreading from city to city. Daunt Porta’bel lead most of the surviving Mycelia to the Infernium shrine in Myconati and according to legend dissolved thousands of Mycelia back into the earth claiming that he would return someday in the future. The Mycelia who refused to go back into the earth either fled on boats or were killed by Icaricus Mawun hellbent on revenge. As the spores spread, fires ran rampant and entire cities smoldered to ash. The only city spared from the great fires was Hydnum, relying on trade from the Ataelian city of Ferriflumine and the city of Duernhelm. Thousands of Mawun would leave to Hydnum as the last bastion of civilization. With the Mycelia gone, the city of Hydnum would be renamed Mawuna, which translates to many Mawun. Roughly two hundred years after this collapse the city state of Mawuna formed the North Sea Confederation with the city of Duernhelm.