The Colonization and Modernization of Emysstria

## The Colonization of the Emysstrian Continent

Emysstria was once a borderless land.  With that said, different parts of the continent were imbued with certain elements more strongly, and the different populations were more heavily segregated.  It wasn’t until human colonization that Emysstria truly unified as a singular continent, although this had different consequences for different species.

## The traditional placements of species in Emysstria:

* Alterra = land of the Goliaths and Giants, who have assembled into different tribes.
* Sylvonia = land of the Sylvans and other nature-based humanoids, and the connection to nature has allowed to domination of non-human entities that hasn’t really been challenged throughout history.
* Tescaro = land of the Elves, although they also lived predominantly in Sylvonia as well because of the basis in Naturae and the proximity to each other. There are also different subspecies of Elves; Wood Elves and Dark Elves are most common in Sylvonia while other Elves are more common in Tescaro.
* Corinth = land of the Dwarves.
* Hestille = land of the Elementals (and Gnomes, although they are less of an influence).
* The Malterne = a land where Celestials mixed with humanoids.
* Bursarzia = land where the humans in Emysstria originated and developed.

These ancient lands and populations have archaic dialects associated with their geography.  At the least, the differences are similar to the differences between American English and British English.  At most, these differences are similar to the differences between Spanish and Italian.  You can learn where something was located historically if you are able to determine the archaic dialect of a language used (Tescaran Elvish vs Sylvonian Elvish, for example) -> this point is used largely in the field of archaeology and anthropology.

## Humans in Bursarzia and Corinth

* The capital, Argosville, is named after its founder, the mythical hero known as Argos who slew the resident water dragon Phelousche, whose energies cleared the land and incorporated into the form of freshwater, strengthening the land’s connection to the Vodr element.  Bursarzia’s border was determined by the extent of this elemental spread, and was the first of the modern nations to officially be drawn onto a map.  While he is favorably regarded as a historical figure, Argos’s actions and the veracity of his legend are now questionable.

* In Bursarzia, humans split into different factions.  One faction stayed behind and developed a feudal society in Bursarzia, while the other faction moved west to explore the other lands.  Unable to successfully establish a community in Alterra and Sylvonia, this group eventually made its way to Corinth, where they incorporated themselves into Dwarvish communities, learned their ways, and then took over the lands when they had amassed enough power.  The Dwarves of Corinth splintered into different families, unable to completely unify in the face of unexpected and complete violence.  Some resisted, some fled, and some negotiated with the human colonizers.  Due to this, they were subjugated by the humans, who founded the Kingdom of Corinth as an absolute monarchy, which continued into the modern day.
	+ Although most dwarves are now free, this is because of intense social pressure and the monarchy has less of a use for them.  They are still re-establishing their communities centuries later, and some of them are still under the forced servitude of the monarchy to create weapons, armor, tools, etc.
	+ The colonization of Dwarvish lands is the most violent in Emysstrian history - the other nations were established through cultural and economic revolution.  This is due to the bias that humans had towards Elves, who they felt were closer to them in terms of appearance and culture.  Sylvonia was the last nation to be established and was the only one that wasn’t founded by humans - the Council of Sylvonia deemed it necessary to keep up with the changing status of the landscape.
	+ Rather infamously, the King of Corinth once attempted to besiege the tribes of Alterra, but his people were utterly annihilated by the Goliaths that lived there.  Ever since then, no humans have tried to send military forces to those lands, and it remains an Autonomous Region that rules itself.

## Expansion into the Southern Nations

* From Bursarzia and Corinth, humans made their way down the map to Hestille and Tescaro respectively.
* Hestille was home to elementals and gnomes who the humans believed posed no threat to them.  Due to the lack of overall structure in these pre-human societies, humans were able to establish themselves quite easily within these lands despite the harsh environmental conditions (which were actually more favorable centuries ago, as the climate of Hestille has actually grown drier and hotter over time).  The Church of Uasor soon took over as the main governing body and the nation was officially founded. Negotiations with Malterne created the border between the two.
* Tescaro was the land of the Elves, who had mini-nations and societies as different families had spread out across the country.  This would influence the later culture of Tescaro as a laisse-faire nation with no strong centralized government - different regions have their own subcultures and influences even to this day.  With that said, human culture is more adaptable than Elvish culture, which has a much longer established history and stricter set of traditions.  Humans soon dominated the land with their craftsmanship and economic strength, and the development of a marketplace society lent itself to the unification of the different regions and cultures under a loosely-consolidated nation.

* Interestingly enough, Malterne historically was a land where Celestials mixed with humanoids, and they had an established kingdom, until an incident where a portal to the realm of the Infernals (known colloquially as "Hell”) was opened.  The Infernals quickly spread through the region before the High Clerics of Hestille set up the Wall of Holy Fire between what is now named The Malterne and Hestille.  The High Clerics made a deal with the Infernals - they could have The Malterne as a piece of land under their jurisdiction on the material plane if they did not move past the Wall, and any Infernals found elsewhere in Emysstria would be smited.
	+ The ancient state of Malterne is where some races such as Aasimar, Kalashtar, etc. are descended from, and the incident there is why they are not as common as other species in Emysstria.