Zavalli History

Zavalli (Singular: Zavallis) are a race of anthropomorphic wolves that currently resides in the mountains between the Elven Heartlands and the Kingdom of the Three Rivers. They have a long standing hostility with the Elves. While in the past they have fought against humans, in recent times Zavalli-Human relationship has been mostly amicable.

## **History**

### 1000 PA

The earliest recorded Gucuzavan of the Zavalli dates back to here. The early Zavalli lived in the east of the Elven Heartlands. As their land was mostly grassland with little of value at the time, the Elves left them be. Some of the Elves even employ Zavalli as mercenaries to fight against the Orcs.

### 496 PA

With the establishment of the First Elven Empire, the Zavalli also join as a privileged vassal under the Empire. They pay tribute to the Empire in the form of mercenaries. The relationship between Elven and Zavalli reaches its most amicable point, before or since.

### 2 MA

With the discovery of arcana, the Zavalli also make some discoveries in the field. The Zavalli find that they too can wield True Magic. The field was not pursued further at the time, as the ruling Gucuzavan considered arcana an unnecessary distraction.

### 60 MA

With the Orcish threat receding, a wave of Zavalli mercenaries were discharged and returned to their homeland. With the plunder earned serving in the Orcish Wars, they fund the construction of the city of Lycaon, which then serves as the capital of the Gucuzavan.

### 80 MA

The Elven Empire begins the conquests of human lands, and levies Zavalli mercenaries once more.

### 200 MA

After over a hundred years of conquest, the Zavalli have dedicated entire generations of their young warriors to the Elven conquest. Around this time, Elven scholars discover deposits of magic stones inside the Zavalli homeland.

### 256 MA

With the establishment of the Magic Circle, demands for magic stone rises. At the same time, massive deposits of high-quality magic stone has been discovered by Elves within Zavalli territory. When the Elves demand to mine the stone however, the Gucuzavan declines as the land is ancestral and holy in the eyes of the Zavalli.

### 300 MA

After numerous unsuccessful negotiations with the Gucuzavan, undertaken against a backdrop of ever-increasing demand for magic stone, the First Elven Empire concludes that the only way to take the deposits is through force. The Empire pulls back some of its forces from the ongoing campaigns, leaving most of the Zavalli troops in the field, and assaults the Zavalli capital, which is largely undefended. The incident will later be known as The Great Betrayal by the Zavalli. The resistance of the capital's inhabitants infuriate the Elven armies, which expected a surrender or only token resistance, and the assault turns into a massacre. Lycaeon is transformed into a ghost town, the ruins painted red with blood. The surviving Zavalli flee to the mountains in the east.

### 301 MA

News of the massacre reaches the Zavalli mercenaries on campaign, who, in a rage, assault the Elven units of the Imperial armies. However, the Elven units at the front have been forewarned, and given orders to eliminate all who revolt upon hearing the news. The mercenaries fought their way back to their ransacked homeland, though only a handful of the thousands of Zavalli survive the journey. The mercenaries run out of food quickly, as their provisions were previously provided by the Imperial supply lines. The mercenaries resort to eating the flesh of killed Elven soldiers to survive. This leads to the legend that Zavalli eats Elves as their normal diet, a myth which persists until this day in anti-Zavalli propaganda.

### 302 MA

The Zavalli hide in the mountains, and over the decades become more proficient at navigating the mountain terrain. As the previous Gucuzavan died in the Great Betrayal, numerous claimants to the title arise, each fighting against the other as they all deem themselves the most worthy to lead. These fights tend to be between Gucuzava and their most dedicated followers, as there is neither the appetite nor capacity for a massive civil war.

### 515 MA

The Gucuzava War continues, leading to skirmishes, resulting in pointless deaths. During this time, Zavaanka, an organization first formed by the mercenaries retreating to the mountains during the Great Betrayal, negotiate between the Gucuzavas. This results in the Lucorm, a maze, being built. The maze features an array of deadly traps and puzzles; in this maze, the Gucuzavas compete with one other, and the first to finish the maze will becomes the Gucuzava.

### 530 MA

The Lucorm has been completed, and on the night where the full moon rises above the Lucorm, the first Lunara Festival starts. The original Gucuzavas who agreed to the competition have, by and large, aged beyond their prime, so most have their sons replace them in the competition. At the end, Cemtimu won, while his foes all perished. Cemtimu becomes the first recognized Gucuzava after the Great Betrayal. The Zavaanka swears loyalty to the new Gucuzava.

### 559 MA

Under the rule of Cemtimu, the city of Lycos is constructed above the Lucorm. The Gucuzava also introduce edicts to increase population. With the increasing population, raids into Elven territory become more common in this period. Typical Zavalli raids are conducted at night, to take advantage of the Zavalli's low-light vision.

### 1000 MA

In the 500 years after the establishment of the new Gucuzavan, numerous wars push Elven forces further and further into the former Zavalli homeland. The Zavalli launched a campaign to recapture their old capital, but was met with fierce resistance. This resulted in the greatest loss of Zavalli life since the Great Betrayal. In the aftermath, the ruling Gucuzava committed ritual suicide. The subsequent Lunara Festival yielded a young Zavalli, Zezotlan, as the new Gucuzava. The new Gucuzava would implement the biggest shift in national policy. Instead of small scale raids towards their old capital, Zezotlan directs his armies towards the northern edge of the mountain range, where Elven settlements are sparse.

### 1100 MA

Although the tactics adopted by Zezotlan are effective, Zavalli only managed to control the mountains, with the flat lands and their old capital still in Elven hands, as the Zavalli cannot engage the Elves in their native woods without sustaining horrible casualties. A stalemate develops. During this period, trade relations with humans intensify. Weapons are smuggled in from Elven-occupied human lands, but the Zavalli find human weapons unwieldy. Some Zavalli smiths imitate human designs with variable results.

### 1563 MA

After the Elven Emperor's assassination, the Zavalli mobilize their forces to retake their ancestral capital. Along the way, they conduct a series of massacres in a similar fashion as to what the Elves did to their ancestors. However, the Elven Civil War ends far more quickly then the Zavalli anticipated. The Zavalli retake their ancestral capital for two days, but are encircled and besieged. The siege is brief, and thousands are killed. The Second Elven Empire, eager to discourage any others from seizing on their perceived weakness, march the surviving Zavalli up into the mountains, and, at the border, kill the captives in the most humiliating way possible for a Zavalli. Punitive raids are ubiquitous in the Elven-Zavalli borderlands after this.

### 1719 MA

As the War of the Alliance breaks out, Zavalli mercenaries join the human en masse. Some of the mercenaries settle in the human-dominated Steppe Commonwealth after the war.

### 1723 MA

After the peace treaty between the human alliance and Elven Empire is signed, Zavalli border clashes with the Elves intensify. The Elves begin infiltrating Zavalli society using druid magic, or disguising themselves as humans. Although most of the Elven agents are caught, it remains a concerning development.