Karden

The land of **Karden**, sometimes known colloquially as "The Kingdom," is made up of 7 provinces and 2 sub-kingdoms, which were created after the Resurrection of Ragnor. It is home to a variety of races, including Elves, Humans, and Halflings, and is believed to be the homeland of the Dwarves, an issue disputed by the eldest Elves of the region. It was overrun by monsters in the early years of its settlement, due to the actions of Ragnor the Plane Shifter, which remain a problem to this day. The continent remains rather cut off from the rest of the world, though recent attempts by the present King Alan Godric have worked to inspire immigrants in somewhat greater numbers.

## History

### **Background**

#### Before Unification

The Human influence in Karden began as a series of independent kingdoms that often fought, quarreled, and traded amongst themselves. The nearby Elven Empire, far to the east, was not nearly as big a threat to the early Human nobility as were other lords of neighboring kingdoms. Wars led to a decline in population, embargos led to famine, and only a couple of the larger kingdoms were able to survive.

This changed under the reign of Rickard Godric I, who earned his moniker "the Unifier" through his conquest of all six surviving Human kingdoms. He brought all the nobility together under his own banner in what became known as the War of Unification, and led to the creation of the First Human Empire, which he modeled off of his Elven neighbors.

#### Early Years

After the war, all the former kings swore fealty to Rickard I and pledged their lands, taxes, and levies to him banner. In return, he opened up trade among all peoples and drew the borders of the kingdoms he would rule. The people had no name for the united kingdoms at this time, and so Rickard's domain became simply known as "The Empire," despite the presence of an arguably larger empire of Elves at their doorstep.

Following Rickard's death, his son and grandson continued to reign as emperor, until the death of the death of childless Rhys Godric. All titles were contested by the descendants of the former kings that Rickard had defeated, and the newly born kingdom was set to face its first civil war without an emperor to lead it. Instead, the cousin of the dead emperor, Ryan Godric, proposed that all kingdom titles be dissolved, as they were held by a single man anyway, and that the title of *emperor* be replaced by a single title as "king of the united lands." Not desiring a drawn out war, the gathered nobility agreed with the plan and mapped out the borders of their old kingdoms as *provinces*, leaving Ryan Godric to become king over a host of Lords. The kingdom was renamed *Karden* in honor of the founding king, Rickard I.

Not long after, a war between Elves and Dwarves broke out, spilling into the Human lands and upending more than a few settlements. These scuffles led to increased tensions between the city-dwelling folk of all races and the more nationalistic Elves and Dwarves, who believed the assimilation of their peoples into Human culture was weakening their respective races. In response, King Godric issued an edict allowing any of the non-human races to join Karden in exchange for agreeing to refuse aid to any foreign soldiers or participating in the foreign war. Many Dwarves took the King up on his offer, fleeing west, away from the Elven Empire. These Dwarves would then call for the banning of Elves from Human cities, though the Karden Lords remained fiercely neutral. After the massacre of the Elves and the subsequent collapsing of the ancient Dwarven tunnels, thousands of refugees began to join under Karden rule.

With the surprise assault of monsters from the north, the Elven/Dwarven war ended as suddenly as it began, and the Humans rally together the three peoples to fight back against Ragnor's horde.

## Important People

### Kings

These are the kings of the realm.

Test Godric: First tested king.