Adonia

Adonian flag, found in the Great Library of Adonia

Baltser

Tabnit

## History

Adonia was a thalassocratic civilization that existed in the eastern shore of the Twlloch Sea up until 824BKOR. Adonia was previously unknown up until recently, when workers building the Imperial University uncovered what was believed to be a vault, which ended up being the Great Library of Adonia. The Adonians were almost neurotic about record keeping, which is why so much is known about them since the discovery of the Great Library.

The Adonians were migrating fishermen, who wandered the shores of the Twlloch Sea, until eventually they settled down in what is now County Gronow. Their city, named Adonia, grew swiftly, and in 2123BKOR the Adonian civilization was officially established when Abdosir I was crowned king, according to ancient Adonian texts discovered in the Great Library. Over the next few centuries, the city of Adonia continued to grow, and the Adonians began exploring into the Twlloch Sea, establishing colonies on the various uninhabited islands, as well as establishing trade routes with the various tribes that inhabited the region.

In 1949BKOR, Adonia’s second city, Addir, would be built. The Adonians would go on to build several more cities along the eastern shore of the Twlloch Sea, including Hanno, Baltser, and Tabnit. Adonia encountered the Endiolaudiki civilization (whom they referred to as "Ashtzaph", meaning Westerner in Adonian), to the far west, in 1780BKOR, and would trade with them often all the way up until their fall, even going so far as to establish a colony in the western shore of the Twlloch Sea and the eastern shore of the Garman Sea in order to transport goods across the isthmus to trade to the Endiolaudiki.

In 1477BKOR, the Great Library of Adonia was built, to house thousands of books, maps, and documents that they had collected over the centuries. The Library would continue to be maintained and added to up until the official end of the civilization.

By 1000BKOR, Adonia had begun to regress as an empire and a civilization, with relations with the Endiolaudiki breaking down over the previous century. With relations falling apart with their primary trading partner, and several costly wars, the Adonian economy collapsed in 978BKOR. This collapse caused the Adonians to abandon their colony in the west, as well as several other key trading posts along the Twlloch Sea, including the cities of Baltser and Tabnit. In 924BKOR, Adonia was sacked by an unknown (even to them) barbarian tribe, and significant parts of the city were destroyed and roughly 75% of the population of the city killed. The Library, however, was spared. Following the sacking, King Baltasar IV moved the capital to Addir, the second largest city in the empire. A failed coup the following year killed even more Adonians, with the population now less than half of what it was at the empire’s height five centuries prior. The Adonians came into contact with a new tribe to the region in 877BKOR, who they referred to as “hailama”, or “foreigner”, as they did not believe they were native to the region. The “hailama” were early Kordynians, having just settled in the region. The Adonians and the early Kordynians had extensive contact, with the Adonians even translating Old Kordynian into Adonian (and visa-versa). In their final years, the Adonians wrote extensively on the Kordynians, learning of their origins, their language, their culture, and their religion.

In 824BKOR, an unknown plague broke out in Addir, believed by modern scholars to be the infamous Mernis Plague. This plague outbreak utterly destroyed the already fragile Adonian civilization, with virtually all of its population being wiped out by the end of the year. The last known writing by the Adonians is a scribbling written on the inside cover a book, which was discovered on the lap of a long dead scholar inside the library. The scribbling, which was dated for the end of the year in 824BKOR (1447 Adonian Calendar), read:

*“I’m all that’s left. The other scholars- they’ve contracted the plague. I sealed myself within the vault of the Great Library, both to protect myself and to protect our writings. I have only a limited amount of food and drink, and I don’t expect I’ll live much longer. I’d rather starve to death in this vault than die of that plague. I wouldn’t wish that plague upon my worst enemy. I will spend the rest of my days, though limited as they may be, attending to this library, so that one day, should it be found, it’s knowledge can be preserved and used. It is with deep, deep sadness in my heart that I believe our once great civilization has come to an end. This is the Gods’ final punishment for our hubris.”*

## Discovery

In 242, workers uncovered the vault on accident while constructing the Imperial University. In a direct order from Emperor Arthwr III, construction was to be halted to allow the Scholar’s Society to excavate the ruins. Upon entering the vault, the group discovered the main hall of the Great Library of Adonia. A tome (called the "Hailama Tome" by the Adonians) was eventually discovered, written in 866BKOR, which had translations from Adonian to Old Kordynian, which allowed the thousands of books to begin being translated.

Western States: Kingdom of Hybretia, Grand Duchy of Kolangrad, Cigaltria
Northern Reach: Neo-Kygonese Empire, Drekheim, Inaria
Southern States: Second Kingdom of Varsais
Other: Templari'i Republic, Prince-Bishopric of Saint Laurent
Old World: Gretian-Sidonian Empire, Lirrachan Republic, Empire of Tyris
Defunct: Empire of Kygon, Kingdom of Varsais, Republic of Kygon, Gorathic Kingdom, First Kingdom of Kordowyn, **Adonia**, Endiolaudum