The Golden Continent

## Regions

* The Empire
* The Dark Lands
* The Confederation
* The Golden Kingdom
* Clyngunn
* Aelyria

## Description

The Golden Kingdom is the most populated continent in the realm and is home to some of the oldest nations in the plane as well. Currently, there are three dominant powers on the continent, the Empire, the Golden Kingdom, and the Confederation.

The Empire controls territory in the northwestern portion of the continent. The palace at Imperium is the Empire's seat of government, and their influence frequently waxes and wanes throughout the Dark Lands.

The Golden Kingdom controls much of the northern and eastern portion of the continent. They too launch forays to gain influence in the Dark Lands where they skirmish with the Empire, and they frequently squabble over their eastern borders with the kingdoms of Aelyria and Clyngunn.

The Confederation of Free Peoples occupies the southern and eastern portions of the continent. With the Fourth Banking War raging, the Confederation's external ambitions have been halted.

## History

### Ancient Times

The Golden Continent was first settled by mortals in 90,000 B.A.. The earliest settlements on the continent were settled near present day Redwater by explorers from Avaria. Over the next 10,000 years mortal settlements spread across the southwestern portions of the continent.

### The Ember

Around 80,000 B.A., the magical artifact known as the Ember was discovered and quickly used by various factions as a weapon. The Ember's incredible power wreaked havoc on the early settlements and obliterated almost all life on the Golden Continent. Eventually, the Ancients intervened prevented an apocalypse, however, efforts to populate the Golden Continent were seriously hindered.

### The Rise of Nations

After the War of the Ember was concluded, various races began once again to colonize the continent. Elves, often persecuted in Avaria, travelled to the far end of the Golden Continent and founded the kingdom of Aelyria in 75,000 B.A.. The dwarves followed suit by founding Clyngunn in 60,000 B.A.. The next 20,000 years were a golden age for dwarves and elves. The age ended with the fall of Clyngunn to the Aelyrians after an extended conflict between the nations.

### The Rise of Man

Despite Aelyria's triumph over Clyngunn, Aelyria's power soon began to wane in the face of increasingly powerful human cities across the continent. Various human kingdoms rose and fell, but none suceeded in amassing enough power to directly challenge Aelyria itself. That changed in 7,854 B.A., when King Nelson I formed the Golden Kingdom in the City of the Sun. The Golden Kingdom quickly grew strong enough to rival Aelyria, and in 894 B.A., the great King Nelson XIII conquered Aelyr and subjugated the elves of the north. The dominion of the Golden Kingdom reached its zenith.

### The Confederation

In 621 B.A., a group of merchant princes in the southern region of the continent banded together to increase their economic influence, but they were quickly opposed by local forces in what became the First Banking War. To the shock of the entire world, the rebels defeated the Banking Conglomerate. They chartered the Confederation of Free Peoples in 615 B.A. to launch a radical experiment into democratic government. The path to stable government was long, but they were eventually successful.

### The Empire

In 213 B.A., a young man named Cleon from the untamed Dark Lands began to unify the nomadic tribes of the region. He founded the Empire and declared himself Emperor Cleon I. Cleon and his heirs went to great pains to conceal their existence from the powers in the east. By 157 B.A., Emperor Cleon III controlled all the vast stretches of the Dark Lands, and he set his sights on the prosperous kingdoms of the east.

### The First Imperial War

Cleon III never fulfilled his dream to attack the east, but his grandson Cleon V finally struck in 13 A.B. The Golden Kingdom was weakened by the revolt of Aelyrian elves and an impotent king in Nelson XXIV. The Confederation was weakened by internal strife caused by the Third Banking War. The Empire won a string of victories and plowed eastward. They reached the gates of the City of the Sun itself before they were finally beaten back by the Golden Army. That victory, coupled with the succession of Queen Catherine I to the throne, heartened the eastern forces, and a coalition army crushed the Imperial troops at the Battle of the Tower. The Empire was swiftly and mercilessly driven back across the borders and the eastern fores were victorious.