The History of Midland

Like the rest of the world, developed races did not have their chance until after the disappearance of the Elden. All history before this time is deemed unknowable, and using the Dedarian Calendar, the first period of Midland's history (0 DC - 3,100 DC) is defined by the Age of Dragons as a period of time in which dragons far more powerful than those found today ruled the world. Following the decline of Dragon civilization was a disasterous age marked by the first recorded attack by the god of death Mythrix. After the banishment of Mythrix, giants ruled the land from 3,400 DC to 4,500 DC. The giants were overthrown by the lesser races (races that, at the time, were slaves of the giants) thus ushering in the Age of Freedom in 4,500 DC. The Age of Kingdoms followed from 5,300 DC - 5,998 DC, with the Age of Arania shortly thereafter, in which the Aranian Empire ruled over Midland.

## The Age of Dragons (0 DC - 2,800 DC)

The Age of Dragons marked a 2,800 year time period following the disappearance of the Elden in which dragons ruled the land in Midland. They saw little need for technological progress, and ruled over the other races with absolution.

It was in this time that the dragons were have said to create their children, the dracarian races of kobols and dragonkin. These creatures were to enact their will and keep their rule in check. Uprisings were crushed and the dragons reached the height of their power. Eventually, many began to either fall to old age, infighting, or became reclusive and melancholic in their boredom, and the Dragon Wars began, lasting 200 years.

The few dragons left to safeguard their reign were fragmented and weakened by the dissolving interest in rule. This weakness was further exploited when the race of giants banded together to war against dragonkind. Along with less developed races, the giants and their goloth did battle against dracarians. Over a thousand years of battle led to the near destruction of Midland, but eventually the dragons gave up the fight and retreated. The giants were victorious, and for the rest of Midland, their freedom was temporary as a new age of absolute rule took hold.

## The Age of Death (2,800 - 3,400 DC)

The Age of Death was marked by the Coming of Mythrix. Mythrix entered the world through a dragon hatchling sometime around the year 3,000 DC, and slowly began spreading its influence. It grew and became a threat to every living creature of Midland. Death and violence erupted, and many promising civilizations collapsed. Eventually, the peoples of Midland rallied against Mythrix with the aid of the dragons and powerful magics. Mythrix was defeated, banished by the power of three magical towers and soul gems.

In the wake of the conflict, millions were dead and the people of Midland were forced to rebuild once again.

## The Age of Giants (3,400 - 4,500 DC)

The Age of Giants was a reflection of the previous Age of Dragons. Giants and their servant class of goloth created massive cities, and their civilization flourished. Using lesser races as slaves, they managed to build architectural wonders and quell any insurrection or resistance to their rule. After establishing a stable society, the giants quickly fell in to war with each other. Slave soldiers and goloth were used to fight much of the battles, though giants also clashed in earth shattering conflicts, leaving little trace of their civilization.

### Eruption of Mount Vulu

Around the year 3,900 DC, Mount Vulu erupted, sending plumes of ash into the air. The giants used dwarven slaves to quickly build structures that would block the lava flow until more skilled giants could redirect the ash clouds and lava flow. For a whole year the giants worked to contain the damage caused by the eruption, though a large section of the Ironwood Forest directly north of Mount Vulu was destroyed, the land turned to ash. The storm giants had finally cooled the lava with forty days of rain, resulting in a new lake forming where the ironwood trees once stood. Today this lake still exists, known as Ash Lake.

### The War of Giants

After hundreds of years of rule, the giants continued to fight over the ruins of their kingdoms, slowly weakening themselves until they were but a shell of their former power. By 4,200 DC even their goloth children rejected their rule, and an uprising began that drove the remaining giants from Midland. Deadly battles took place, and what little civilization was left was destroyed by the fighting. For the first time, the land was free from mono-racial rule, and the Age of Freedom began.

## The Age of Freedom (4,500 DC - 5,300 DC)

The Age of Freedom was marked by the freedom of the lesser races to create their own societies and civilizations. Due to the constant enslavement and perpetual rule of races and creatures more powerful than themselves, the peoples of Midland were highly underdeveloped and were primitive in nature. During the intense wars of both the dragons and giants, remnants of the giants, dragons, and Elden civilizations were virtually destroyed, and very few fragments remained. Thus there was very little for the people to do but start from scratch.

Tribes united and became more developed societies. Eventually this led to larger conflicts and small wars between tribes and kingdoms. Remnants of the dracarians and giants that were still in Midland soon found themselves warring with stronger and more vengeful armies of the very people they had ruled over for so long. Still, there were areas of Midland where dracarians and giantkind lived in relative peace.

## The Age of Kingdoms (5,300 - 5,998 DC)

During the Age of Kingdoms, the reconstruction of Midland led to new alliances and the forging of kingdoms.

In 5,700 DC, the kingdom of Arania was founded by tribes in the northwestern region of Midland in unification against a remaining community of giants and goloth. The conflict ended in victory for the kingdom of Arania in the summer of 5,812 DC.

## The Age of Arania (5,998 DC)

The Age of Arania began in the year 5,998 DC as Arania grew stronger, conquering the remaining tribes surrounding them. Eventually, under King

### The War for Midland (6,102 DC)

In 6,102 DC, the Kingdom of Arania set out to conquer Midland starting with the Kingdoms of Gaelan. The War for Gaelan only lasted 13 months, as Arania was able to negotiate a treaty and absorb the kingdoms of Gaelan in to its empire. For the rest of Midland, this was a shock, as the Aranian Empire rivaled the size and might of Liante, the Nightborn kingdom in the south.

Another easy victory for the Empire occurred four years later in 6,106 DC when Aleyum joined the Aranian Empire as an ally in the fight against Liante. The kingdom of Liante countered by ending a conflict with Gaarzod and forming an alliance. Together, the two set out to take Farbora while the Aranian Empire worked on securing the northern lands of Nelheim.

Farbora unfortunately found itself torn as it had standing tensions with Sidherma for years prior. Sidherma saw the opportunity and attacked Farbora, effectively dividing the Kingdom in two. This only made both Farbora and Sidherma weak to Liante's forces, and Farbora was overrun in the spring of 6,111 DC with Sidherma soon to follow.

The Aranian Empire Had secured most of Nelheim, and was able to negotiate a treaty with Sidherma in which Aranian forces would aid Sidherma in defending their kingdom against Liante if Sidherma joined the Empire after the war with Liante was complete. Their combined forces managed to push Liante back anf out of both Sidherma and eventually Farbora.

In the summer of 6,119 DC the Aranian Empire included the Kingdoms of Gaelan (now united as Gaelan), Aleyum, all of Nelheim, Sidherma, and Farbora. Liante and Gaarzod were slowly pushed back to the south, and after a devastating defeat in which the Spider Queen was killed, the war ended in the winter of 6,122 DC.

### The Aranian Empire (6,122 DC)

Gaarzod and Liante were left alone, and given the grace of not technically being a part of the Empire. They were allowed to remain independent, but the Aranian Empire would be allowed free reign of their resources.

Through the entire conflict, the nation of Ilmadris remained impartial to the conflict. The Ilmadris mages, adept mages and wielders of Elden artifacts, remained untouched due to their reputation as a small yet frighteningly powerful nation.

In the time following the brutal War for Midland, the Aranian Empire now had to manage the lands they had conquered. Mercenary guilds became easy sources of sellswords that would be hired to protect local towns and conduct missions to clear areas of creatures and dangerous magics.

### The Return of Mythrix (6,167 DC)

In the year 6,167 DC, Midland was once again faced with the god of death Mythrix. Around the year 5,660 DC, the guardian of Tower Beiris, Beiryll, murdered his successor and deserted his post and broke his oath. Soon after around the time Arania fought against the Giantkind near their civilization, a man named Ferenor appeared and joined the fight. He seemed to age much slower than anyone else, and outlived generations of his peers. When the War for Midland took place, he had been promoted to Lieutenant General, and was placed in charge of Gildran when it was taken. After General Kinsington was killed by Liante assassins, Ferenor led the Aranian Army as its general.

Hundreds of years passed, and Ferenor plotted to bring Mythrix back from banishment with the help of two others: Auriel, a disgraced witch from the north, and Paetris, who was cast out of Liante for defiance of the Spider Queen and his people. Together they formed the Cult of Three in secret, and began plotting.

In 6,167 DC, Ferenor had Paetris and Auriel murder a dragon hidden near the Woods of Darlor. Auriel took the dragon and prepared it for a ritual to bind Mythrix to the corpse, while Paetris gathered beastmen and kobols to attack and raid villages and towns for soul gems. Later their efforts moved to filling the soul gems, murdering and slaughtering anyone they could find.

At the same time, Ferenor connected with his secret son, a man named Gavin Aldair. Gavin had never known his true ancestry, and was a leader of the Lion's Paw Mercenary Guild. Ferenor convinced him of his abilities, and told him of his plan to bring Mythrix back and control it, allowing them to rule all they could ever wish for centuries to come.

Meanwhile, Dench and Friends formed and began working under the Lion's Paw Guild. They became caught in the midst of the conspiracy, and soon found themselves working to stop the Cult of Three from completing their plans.

Glessile Sildur and Steven Ward were two more like Gavin, all three heirs to the Towers and fated to protect the land from Mythrix. Glessile and Steven narrowly escaped an assassination attempt by Auriel, and Dench and Friends escaped the Fall of Wheatriver. The group headed to the Tower Edanis to begin fighting back against the Cult of Three.

Following the Fall of Wheatriver, Auriel collected more than enough souls to summon Mythrix, and began the ritual. She used her necromancy to create armies of dead that would capture more innocents near the resurrection site and feed them to Mythrix to hasten the process.

At the Tower Edanis, Steven learned he was truly a gold dragon, and stayed with Elderon to learn and train. Elderon inducted Dench and Friends in to the Balhorguard, and granted the Black Rings. Meanwhile Paetris had reached the tower with his best mercenaries, and engaged Dench and Friends in a battle to the death. Dench and Friends came out victorious, killing Paetris. They proceeded to the next tower to awaken the silver dragon. On their way they were ambushed by Auriel, and managed to escape her lair after killing her as well. Dench and Friends also encountered the Vale Creature, and were forced to retreat and continue on towards the tower.

Once they reached Tower Aurumis, the silver dragon Scierene was freed, and Glessile's true nature was revealed as a silver dragon and heir to the tower. It was revealed through both the journal of Jasmine Underhill and Scierene that Ferenor was Beiryll, and that to stop Mythrix they would need to kill him. Dench and friends rushed to Gildran for the final confrontation.

Once in Gildran, they were taken to Beiryll, and fighting broke out. Beirylls true form was revealed, and Gavin came to assist Beiryll in killing his former friends. Gavin was killed by Ozey Lancaster and Dench Denchkins, while Beiryll was killed by Glessile when she transformed herself in to a dragon and fought alongside Steven.

Mythrix had already grown to a massive size, and was destroying everything in central Midland. It sensed the presence of powerful dragons in Gildran, and made its way towards the city, along with hordes of undead.

Using the power of the Black Rings, Dench and Friends temporarily transformed in to dragons to face Mythrix. Along with Glessile and Steven, the group took to the skies to weaken and stall Mythrix while Scierene captured the souls of Beiryll and Gavin to use at Tower Beiris. After wearing down Mythrix the towers were activated, and Dench and Friends combined their powers for a final attack that destroyed Mythrix and brought an end to the crisis.