The Expanse

The Expanse,
the second largest region of Magnamia, is separated from the middle region
grasslands by the **Armored Mountains**. **The Long Wash** flows along these
mountains into the **Salan Bay** and
marshes and wetlands that surround it. The
Dry River flows from this area in the Expanse and is the regions only
river.  South of the Salan Bay is the **Lawikas Woods.** The Expanse was once
home to the continent’s most fertile lands but during the Great Destruction
changed and is now made up of Mithilia’s largest desert known as **The Magnaran Desert** but has some
regions of grasslands still along the coasts and a mountain range in the
northern part of the desert known as the **Enercai
Mountains**. And despite being in the driest part of Magnamia, the
continent’s largest lake; **Lake Cypruine** lies
at the southwestern foot of the Enercais. Further east is **Lake Kal** which is much smaller but vital to the populations near
it.

Most of the
Expanse is now desert with exceptions of the lands north and northwest of the
Enercai Mountains, the eastern half of the **Jabal
Peninsula**, most of theYtek
Peninsula, and lands south of the Dry River as they touch the Salan
Wetlands. Other areas with water sources in the region are South of the
Enercai, **Nava’s Eye** (Navagos’ Eye)
and northeast, **Ty Lake** (Ty= 2 in
Yantuan as it is the second “eye”). From the **Tigany Sea,** north of the Expanse the **Lyzai River** flows south with its banks also creating areas of
grassland in the region up to its very stopping point at the edge of the desert
where the river simply grows smaller and smaller the further south it goes
until it diminishes to dry land.

## History

* **Tribal Period and the First Settlements**

The Expanse,
the largest region of Magnamia, is separated from the middle region grasslands
by the **Armored Mountains** (named for
being seen as the “Torso Armor” of the continental body and for it being the
main source of metals for the mid region and Eastern Expanse nations). **The Long Wash** flows along these
mountains into the **Salan Bay** and
marshes and wetlands that surround it. **The**
Dry River **flows from this area in the Expanse and is the regions only river.**
The Expanse was once home to the continent’s most fertile lands but during the
Great Destruction changed and is now made up of Mithilia’s largest desert but
has some regions of grasslands still along the coasts and a mountain range in
the northern part of the desert known as the **Enercai Mountains.** South of these is **Nava’s Eye** (Navagos’ Eye), a large lake in the arid desert that is
one of the regions only water sources.

Most of the
Expanse is now desert with exceptions of the lands north and northwest of the
Enercai Mountains, the eastern half of the **Jabal**
Peninsula, **most of the** Ytek
Peninsula, **and lands south of the Dry River as they touch the Salan**
Wetlands. Though not as fertile as they may have once been, they do provide
hydrated land suitable for some agriculture but is cautiously used so that the
grasslands sparse sources of water are not depleted.

As previously stated, the
Expanse region was once a large grassland with multiple forests and rivers that
ran through the whole region and it is even believed to be the cradle of all
civilization as most Magnamian civilizations trace their lineage to tribes who
inhabited the Expanse early in the world’s history. Before the Age of
Unification, not many specifics are known about human history but there is
proof that most of Magnamia’s tribes originated here and is also home to some
of the first permanent settlements; even before those of the Age of
Unification. What was once believed to be a time of purely nomadic tribes, is
now being described as the time of first permanent settlements and in fact
human history may go back even further than we believed as most of the
Magnamian continent wasn’t discovered by these sedentary tribes until later in
their history as there had been no need for them to leave the fertile lands of
the Expanse.

               The
Expanse had been home to thousands of different species of plants and animals
that provided an abundance of food sources for the nomadic and sedentary groups
in the area while the multiple rivers and lakes made fresh water easily
accessible in almost all parts of the region. The only part of the Expanse that
has been a desert since this time is the Enercai Mountains where the Darkmen
originated from and may have been living there since this period which would
give evidence to their dark skin color, given to them by the abundant exposure
of sunlight.

               The
Darkmen were undoubtedly part of the first groups in Magnamian history but it
should be clarified that they were not always one clan. In fact, the Darkmen
may have been dozens of groups that spanned all over the northern parts of the
Expanse as the area was avoided by the other Expanse tribes before the Age of
Unification. The Darkmen whose name seems offensive in a way was given to them
early on by the Yantuans (which is mentioned later) since they never identified
themselves to the southern tribes and kept to themselves. What little contact
they had with the others was often violent though there are some tales of
correspondence and trade.

For all others, the region provided
enough that that there was no need to travel beyond the Eastern Mountains and
put their livelihoods at risk. So far there is evidence of at least four
permanent settlements in the entire region; one being the Yantuan capital, Kai.

               Though
Kai still stands today, it is most likely not the original permanent settlement
and may have been built on top of the old settlement as there is no record of
the city originating from that long ago and instead having its founding date
sometime in the Age of Unification. As for the other settlements, none survived
through the Age but their peoples may have merged with other groups or possibly
died out all together in what may have been a smaller scalePeriod of Destruction that occurred in only the Expanse which may have even began to reforming
of the regions ecosystem.

               The
names of the groups/tribes that inhabited these settlements is unknown as they
splintered into other groups or died off but there is much proof of
cohabitation between two to three of them as artifacts found in one settlement
are also found in other. Only in the ruins of Kai, have no artifacts been founds
that resemble or match any of those in the other settlements. This may be
because of the distance from the others as Kai is the furthest from them all
but it may have also been a sign of feuds between the others. The closest
settlement to Kai is along the northwest coast of the **Ytek Peninsula.** The others are spread across the middle regions of
the continent in areas that were undoubtedly rivers or lakes at that time. The
eastern-most settlement is at the now southern point of the Lyzai River where
it is believed to have been next to a lake or that perhaps the river was much
larger then as it lies in a large basin. The basin even extends as far south as
the Dry River and may have connected to it at that time. Many other rivers are
also believed to have ran throughout the expanse with its many valleys and
basins that now lay barren.

               The most
astounding possibility that holds much weight is that all of these ancient
settlements, from Kai to that of the Lyzai settlement is that they all may have
shared the same or a very similar language. As the origin of names and words in
the Yantuan language are being discovered, more and more are being found to
have come from various parts of the Expanse before the actual formation of
Yantua and that the words and names are phonetically similar. The counter to
this though is that if this was the cradle of mankind and they all shared a
similar language; why did it not influence any of the languages of the rest of
the Magnamian cultures in any way? But even if this was untrue and the groups
did not share a common tongue, it is possible that they may have been linked by
something even stronger; religion.

               Despite
the Kai ruins bearing no artifacts from
the other settlements, it just so happens to be the exact same distance
from what is believed to be a great temple ruin as the Lyzai settlement, down
to the almost exact unit. Whether this was an act of divine powers or sheer coincidence,
it is undoubtedly a monumental discovery when examining these settlements and
their possible links to each other. Not only may the sedentary settlements been
connected to one another through this temple but perhaps the entire region as
there seems to be no proof of any other religions or deity worship from that
time. At the temple which is partially underground now as desert sandstorms
submerge the structure. Artifacts from all settlements are present at the
temple showing perhaps a form of tribute that each group gave to their god or
gods. This is the only site discovered so far tied to any kind of religious
practice in the region from that time and shows no apparent attribution to any
of the gods of Yantua or any nearby gods or goddesses so it may have been an
entirely different religion as there doesn’t seem to be any influence from it
on the major religions of Magnamia.

               There is
also no definitive evidence of violence between the settlements and/or the
other groups in the Expanse but weapons and what is believed to be bone armor
have been found throughout the region and there are signs the Lyzai and Ty
settlement were raided and possibly faced their end at the hands of attackers.
The Kai, Socay, and Ytek settlements though had no evidence of this same fate
though and are believed to have just faded out or migrated.

[There were seven major settlements total with various other
smaller ones throughout the expanse but only the major ones incorporated stone
structures. Socay, Lyzai, Ty, and two other settlements in the middle of **The Magnaran Desert** all did participate
in trade with one another. Contact between them was not very common but trade
parties seemed to make trips every year or so but most trade was conducted
between the small nomadic groups that traded their goods for the sedentary
settlement’s goods while also trading other settlements goods, thereby creating
a chain between them all. The Kai settlement was not included in this because
of their hostility towards the nomadic groups and even other settlements. The
Ytek settlement was abundant in resources and simply had no need for trade and
were also wary of the Kai group and stayed on their peninsula; not even
attempting worship at the great temple.

The Great Temple had been built by all of the groups even
before the flourishing of their own settlements when they were still primarily
nomadic. Starting as a simple shrine where it was believed that the god **Nytesh-ka** placed the first human being,
it was added onto year after year by the nomadic groups that returned to aid in
its construction. Once the groups had established their settlements in
correlation to the temple, they used their new found knowledge of architecture
to create the temple. Though not massive in size itself, the complexity of the
temples tombs were advanced for the time as it was required that all those
worthy of Nytesh-ka’s blessings had to be buried there. This included all those
that had partook in its construction and a mass grave surrounds the temple.

It was when the other nomadic groups of the expanse began to
pay homage and contribute to the temple that the Kai group began to turn
hostile. They felt that those who were not there from the beginning were not
worthy despite the other groups being accepting of them. The Ytek agreed with
the Kai’s but instead refused to worship there if unworthy people were going
to. Kai instead demanded that the temple only be visited by the groups at
specific times of the year which led to the first seasonal calendar in human
history. For a time it was followed until the other groups began to visit the
temple more frequently except when it was the Kai’s time.

It was after this that a period of drought struck the region
and caused many of the nomadic groups to travel further inland towards the
Torso. These were not the first to travel east beyond the mountains though as
more and more began to venture that direction as they looked to discover the
lands beyond. Many groups had looked to establish their own settlements after
seeing the success of those that settled in the Expanse while some foresaw a
time of hardship coming which came with the first draught and violence that
followed.

After many years, more hostile groups began to form around
the expanse and one year a group attacked and slaughtered a whole group of Kai
worshippers returning to Kai from the temple. There were no survivors so there
was no knowledge of who had attacked them but the Kai people were furious. It
was at this time the Kai began to actively seek out the nomad groups attacking
any it came into contact with. One of the first was the people of the Enercai
Mountains who would later be known as the Darkmen. It was at this point that
the Darkmen began its hatred for all other people in the expanse after
receiving no help from any of the other groups that were located nearby. The
Kai group also attacked and destroyed the Ty settlement in its journey for
vengeance as its warriors blood lust grew. Eventually the group though faded as
it attacked group after group until its demise and its people scattered to the
wind.

The Lyzai settlement had been attacked by another group as
the tribal period began to wind down and war tribes became the prevalent power
through Magnamia. Since many groups in the Expanse had already been unified
early on, this made war tribes target the outliers and specifically the Darkmen
tribes of the north which would eventually unite them into one amalgamation.]

               Through
most of this time of the first unifying groups in the Expanse, as mentioned
before, the Darkmen themselves were separated into various tribes who were
often at odds with each other over the limited recourse in the northern region.
The Darkmen though were bound to this region for an unknown reason at that time
and refused to migrate elsewhere as the other tribes did during this period. It
is believed that they were drawn their by supernatural powers most often
identified as the Dweller; their god of both good and evil. Though it is not
known if the different tribes shared the one belief like the southern Expanse
groups, there is no evidence of the Darkmen worshipping any other deity and
trace their religion back to their earliest ancestors whom they believed were
created by the Dweller himself.

* **End of Tribal and**

into Age of Unification

Ytek moved to the Kai settlement
establishing the current city of Kai and becoming the Yantuans. They were
joined by the remnants of some of the other settlements as they all faded and
were forced to unify to survive. It’s from this point that most of what has
been written about Yantuan history begins to develop. The expanse remained
fertile for quite a while the Tribal period came to a close and the Age of
Unification began. Most nomadic tribes joined sedentary ones or were wiped out
by the war tribes that roamed most of the continent and region. Compared to the
Torso region, the Expanse was actually more peaceful having already had a
history of cooperation and sedentary development. Despite starting from scratch
almost, the inhabiting groups still had some links to one another and were able
to develop some of the first actual trade networks between towns. The Expanse
would also be the first region to see the decline of war tribes as they found
difficulties with their way of life in the region. War tribes were also driven
east early on as well by the Darkmen of the Enercai region who became fierce warriors
at this time after facing near extinction before. They became extremely
territorial and incurred very rarely on any of the nearby settlements, what few
there were. Inadvertently though, they protected the nearby settlements by
driving the war tribes away.

The Darkmen were still divided into
various tribes through much of the Age of Unification but began to cease
hostilities towards each other as raiding war tribes had become their common
enemy. It was here they began to borrow and adapt fighting techniques and strategies
and began to develop fierce warriors that became feared by many. Some tribes
banded together but mostly only those that resided in the Enercai’s where the
following of the Dweller was strongest. Many Darkmen shamans practiced their
following deep in the seclusion of the mountains away from other humans as well
as from their own tribes and would return to their tribes every so often to
reveal new practices that were given to them by the Dweller in their seclusion.
It was around this time that the Darkmen blood trials began.

It was due to the Darkmen that the
city of Kai flourished as it did and was so successful in making the longest
trade network of the time from the northern point of the Expanse along the
coast southward and then east into the interior of the Expanse. However, this
was not the peak of Yantuan development and in fact growth was slow despite
their prosperity. The people of Kai, early on wondered what lie beyond the sea
that made up their western coast. Instead of developing and growing their city
and culture, they looked to the future in anticipation of leaving the land,
which many saw them foolish for. It was their new faith in the sea god, Navagos
that propelled these dreams and their faith in a land even better than the
Expanse. They were not the first to build boats but were the first that had the
intention of using them to travel a long distance across the sea. It was during
this time that some of the first ships left the Magnamian continent. Most if
not all of these are known to have never reached their destination of a land
beyond but it is believed that one may have made landfall and settled on the
Mithran islands but there is no solid evidence of this.

It was around this time that the
northern people of Hartham discovered the first large land mass beyond Magnamia
and word spread quickly to the Yantuans. The news of foreign lands led to
excitement at the potential of more undiscovered lands across the Great Sea.
This sparked the beginning of Yantuans attempts at sea travel beyond the coasts
of Magnamia as well as the construction of the Pillar of Light that would later
become known as the Pillar of Discovery. The Pillar took years to erect as it
stood over 100 lengths tall as it was used to signal their own and maybe even
foreign ships in the future. Even though this never came to be, the
construction of the Pillar of Light was a great feat for the Yantuans.

Yantuans develop first code of
laws that are adapted from religious laws that are upheld by government
that is composed of city elders who elect leaders to oversee specific areas of
government/social/economics. Addresses fairness in trade, social issues,
justice and penal system, slavery, etc. A local leader by the name of **Vyrathus**
is chosen as the first lord of social and civil issues and quickly becomes a
favorite among the leaders as his policies are quite effective and fair.
Vyrathus also instructed the construction of two more pillars, one on each side
of the Pillar of Light to create the Pillars of Discovery as Vyrathus was a firm
believer of life beyond Magnamia. He believed that that the gods themselves
lived across the sea and it was Yantua’s destiny to join them one day.

The Waniqlan, though not exactly
situated in the Expanse itself are lumped in with the history of the Expanse
due to their aversion to factions and groups in the Torso and their influence
on the Yantuans which would eventually be the dominant power of the Expanse.
The Waniqua people had also migrated from the Expanse originally and may have
been the remnants of one of the early few sedentary groups in the area that
were forced eastward but instead of going into the Torso traveled along the
coast to find the Salan wetlands where they settled. Driven from their homeland
they never wanted to face that sort of threat again and believed that they
would be safe deep in the wetlands along away from everyone. Adapting to the
wetlands was difficult but the group adapted quickly and soon had discovered a
number of new agricultural techniques and tools that benefitted their new
lifestyle that would spread across Magnamia over time.

The Waniqlan became well known by
the rest of the Expanse toward the end of the Age of Unification as the Yantuan
trade network spread east. Their foreign crops unseen in any other part of Magnamia
and the Cyner stones and Jewels of the Marsh they acquired from the creatures
in the wetlands were very popular in the Expanse. It wasn’t long though before
the Waniqua people created a more efficient way of transporting their goods
west. They had already been using small personal flotation devices in their
agricultural practices but adapted them into larger crafts that could transport
goods back and forth along the coast all the way to Kai and from then on the
two groups became close friends and allies.

Elsewhere in the Expanse, mainly in
the river valleys, settlements began farming on much larger scales than ever
before. The Expanse saw the first use of agricultural tools and irrigation
construction as settlements grew in size and trade increased amongst the towns
and cities. But as trade expanded eastward into the Torso to the settlements
that were facing the brunt of war tribe aggression, causing demand to increase,
more land and water were being used which depleted the land of its nutrients.
Slowly the large fertile lands were being destroyed unknowingly, setting up the
cataclysmic event known as the Western Fire.

* **The Western Fire**

               The Period of Destruction affected the Expanse more than any other region in
Magnamia. The whole continent suffered but it was the Expanse that saw the most
destruction to its culture and people. When the draught first began, the people
of the Expanse believed it to be another response from the gods but blamed the
people to the East over the Armored Mountains as the Expanse had saw its last
war tribes fade away or disappear from their land. They expected another surge
of fish and sea life to arise as it had many years ago but with each passing
year things got worse and worse. The crop growers of the river lands did not help
by continuing their practices even as the drought worsened believing it to pass
in time. But before it did, the rivers ran dry and there was no longer a way to
irrigate the fields. It was only a matter of time before famine struck and
people began to wither and die.

               The city
of Kai at first fared well as they were dependent on food from the sea rather
than from the land and even passed on their food imports to other settlements
after they saw the famine begin. But as the years passed, conditions worsened
and it became apparent that this was no ordinary drought or even like the one
before. Slowly towns and villages across the expanse began to wither away and
force people to look elsewhere to live. The cultural and trade connection
between the towns of the expanse helped many relocate at first but as more and
more flocked to bigger towns or ones with bigger storehouses, tensions began to
rise. It wasn’t long before towns began to shut out people looking for refuge.
And with each passing year, month, and day, more and more people perished.

               Even
years into the period as society began to break down and towns turned those in
need away, the people had avoided conflict as there was the consensual
knowledge that all were suffering and that resorting to violence and barbarism
would save no one in the end. This understanding and peace between the
scattered settlements was kept by the leaders of Kai dispatching messengers
across the Expanse with pleas of peace and cooperation in hopes of appeasing
the gods. The leaders themselves sometimes even ventured to other settlements
to speak to people personally and show them that all were suffering and all
must stand united. And though the fertile lands had been dry already for years,
there were small pockets of successful farming scattered throughout the region and
as the population dipped lower and lower, the food supply began to stabilize
again.

This was until the mass migrations of
people from Eastern Magnamia; mainly the Torso, began to cross over to the
Expanse in hope of finding fertile lands. The Torso had been facing the same
famine as the Expanse but those who dwelled east of the mountains believed that
the western settlements were hoarding their own food after they had stopped trading
with the East. This led to the desperate people surging west in hope of finding
what little food they could or fighting for it if necessary. Not all groups
were so violent but word of savage attacks and razing of villages spread across
the Expanse and soon the region fell into chaos once more. Most were locked out
of the settlements and those that did not continue their exodus west, fought.
Groups of hundreds and even sometimes thousands banded together invading the
weakened settlements across the Expanse and though many failed to infiltrate
the towns and cities, it did lead to wandering groups banding together and
resorting to the old nomadic and tribal ways.

The mass exodus of people not only
led to violence across the region but saw to the final destruction of the once
fertile lands of the Expanse as the ground was scoured and scavenged by any and
all who removed the last bits of agriculture from the land. The now dry barren
land now beaten by the dry hot southern winds turned almost the entire interior
region of the Expanse into a barren desert where no crops would be able to grow
ever again.

A sizable portion of the people who
left the Torso made it as far as the city of Kai and the coast. While many
settlements turned these people away, Lysyrus, the great grandson of Vyrathus
and now acting lord of social and civil issues in Kai brought them in. At
first, many were against this decision as they distrusted the people from the
East and were unwilling to share their scarce resources with foreigners but it
was Lysyrus leadership that saved these people and his own from destruction
through excellent allocation of resources. It was also due to the Yantuan army
stepping in to fight off violent groups throughout the Expanse to protect the
other settlements. In only a few years, the marauding masses had been quelled
and either killed off or dispatched to the fringes of the region where they
resided for the rest of the Period.

As one crisis ended though another
took its place and a cataclysmic hurricane struck Kai and most of the Western
coast of the Expanse which destroyed the city and killed thousands. All of
Yantua was in disarray. The hurricane had claimed the lives of many of the Kai
lords but Lysyrus survived and stepped into the position to rebuild the city
and now fractured nation. Immediately Lysyrus enacted a number of reforms that
saw to the unifying of Yantuans and migrants from the East in order to see
cooperation and peace in the rebuilding of their nation. It was at this hour of
need that Lysyrus reached out to all settlements of the Expanse to unite as one
nation to overcome this time of desperation. Not all answered the call but a
great many of the settlements did and together they began to rebuild and grow
their nation into something greater than it was before. It was a massive
turning point in Expanse history as Lysyrus also enacted the first military
reforms to restructure the Yantuan military which would lead to it being one of
the most feared fighting forces in the world.

Two of the Pillars of Discovery had
been destroyed by the hurricane as well but the original survived and because
of it, Lysyrus demanded that they be reconstructed. But this time he commanded
that they be made into massive sculptures of the Gods of Yantua; Rushar and
Navagos. The construction of the new pillars was not complete before the death
of Lysyrus but it was decided by his son and others to not only create the
sculptures of Rushar and Navagos but also construct sculptures in the image of
Lysyrus and Vyrathus as they were deemed the Lords of Kai. It was from then on
that the leader of Kai and Yantua would be known as the Kai Lord. The remainder
of Period of Destruction was spent unifying the Expanse through trade,
military, and civil practices while also finding the most suitable places to
inhabit in this new desert environment.

During the Period of Destruction,
the Darkmen were almost unscathed by the plights that affected the rest of the
Expanse as their food came from the hunt and mountainous foliage and in some
cases cannibalism; though this only occurred when people fleeing from the East
wandered into Darkmen lands. Cannibalism amongst their own was not permitted.
The divided tribes though began to unite as one as their cultural differences
were few and their enemies were the same. Most of the tribes receded into the
Enercai’s where the Darkmen villages had grown into sizable settlements. Still,
they were nowhere near comparable to the size of the Yantuan and southern
settlements but their numbers were growing as was their culture. Some tribes
though did remain in desert flats, mostly around Lake Cypruine and in the area
between it and Lake Kal as they were the only water sources in the whole
region. For a time this was a serious issue to Kai and the Yantuans as it
warded them away from the largest remaining grassland region in the Expanse
that was north of the Darkmen’s territory.

**The End of the Period of Destruction**

               As Yantua began to form into the great nation it would become, the marauding
groups that had been pushed to the fringes of the region also began to form
their own societies. Some stuck to nomadic practices as was the only plausible
way to survive in the barren desert, others settled along the coasts and began
to form city states of their own that would overtime become enemies to Yantua.
Some formed relations with others on this basis of opposition and even groups
such as the **Mumaka** and **Switin** of the
grasslands north of the Enercai Mountains allied with the Darkmen and worked
together to harass and fight the Yantuans.                Yantua’s
gaze though had been set upon its Eastern border as the second largest city of
the Expanse; **Syvitni,** was at the
edge of destruction at the hands of the mountain and nomad tribes that had
claimed the East Expanse for themselves as a type of alliance. Lysyrus himself
led the army all the way across the Expanse, dominating any group that would
not join their new nation or accept peace. The new Yantuan army that had been
formed out of most of the higher classes of Kai and Yantua were well equipped
and well trained as Lysyrus promised political opportunity in return for
funding of his new army and land to those of lower class. The rich paid for
armor and weapons and led the soldiers of the lower class. It was common that
the rich would actually purchase the armor and weapons for their own companies
of men and would then train them which created competition between army
companies. It was inspiration to be the best in all of Yantua and to solidify
their place in Yantuan society and solidify Yantua’s place in Magnamia.