County of Varainé

### Ethnic Groups

Originally Esmari Human majority with notable Elf and Half-Elf minorities. Eventually, various other minorities such as Gnome, Halfling and Orc

## History

### Preceded by

Kingdom of Esmaria

**Varainé** was a county in the region of Esmaria, part of the Empire of Anbennar, It was particularly well known for its expertise in potioncrafting and skilled alchemists.

## History

### Early History

While evidence shows that groups of people had lived and visited the area of The Green River since before the Day of Ashen Skies, the first settlements in the area that could be considered progenitors to Varainé were estabilished around 474, with the collapse of the Damerian Republic. These settlements consisted mostly of small villages near The Green River, who worked early forms of alchemy and herbalism, and were subjects of the Kingdom of Esmaria.

### Estabilishment of Varainé

During the War of the Sorcerer-King, the settlements in Varainé received numerous refugees from neighboring Esmari nations, boosting their population drastically. After the Treaty of Anbenncóst in 1021, Esmaria was divided between the remaining Esmari kingdom loyalists and warlords from the League of Free Realms. Varaine itself was founded as a holding under one of these warlords, Leslinpár. Following this, Varainé started to receive Elven migrants from the recently arrived Remnant Fleet due to influence from their new overlord.

Around this period, due to the refugees and elves, the settlements near the Green River became large enough to warrant the creation of proper administrative holdings for the region, which resulted in the creation of the Barony of Varainé and the city of Sorn ("south" in Elven) Varainé,

Eventually, with Leslinpár becoming a part of the re-unified Kingdom of Esmaria, Varainé would also be once again part of the Kingdom, and after the founding of the Empire of Anbennar in 1121, the Grand Duchy of Esmaria. As Grand Duke XXX consolidated power, The County of Varainé was created and split off from the Duchy of Leslinpár as a way to regulate Párian power within the Grand Duchy.

### Lilac Wars and Age of Greentide

With the death of XXX in 1365 and the following Esmari Succession Crisis, the Kingdom of Esmaria was shattered into it's constituent duchies and counties, and Varainé oficialy became an independent County under the Empire of Anbennar. This newfound independence was threatened by Varainé's former overlords - Leslinpár- , which pushed Varainé to aligned itself with the Rose Party and Lorent in the following conflicts of the Lilac Wars as a means of protecting themselves.

The advent of The Greentide during the Fourth Lilac War and the great increase of adventurer companies in response were a great boon to the Varainé, as potion exports to Escanni adventurers presented a source of both income and experienced military contacts, both of which were essential to the county during the conflicts against the Moon Party. This also had the effect of making the County of Varainé decently wealthy, despite its recent estabilishment and small size. This additional wealth helped grow Varainé's holdings, leading to the merging of the Barony of Varainé and the city of Sorn Varainé into the City of Varainé.

The Lilac Wars resulted in great loss of life for Varainé, but the Victory of the Rose Party in 1443 secured the county's independence for the foreseeable future.

### Age of Unraveling Onwards

After the development of the Corinite religion, although Varainé did not officially convert to this new faith, the County was friendly to its worshippers, granting religious freedom to its citizens and refusing to participate in the Imperial Religious War. This acceptance extended itself from the religious to the racial, as Varainé actively incentivized the growth of its racial minorities, resulting in the development of significant Gnome, Halfling, Dwarf and even Orc communities in the county.

Simultaneously, alchemists and potionmakers grew more and more important in Varainé, both economically and politically, and in 1613 the Academy of Alchemy, Herbalism and Potioncraft was officially founded, representing the first major impact alchemists had in the local government. This impact would reveal itself again a few decades later, when in 1634 the alchemists pushed for the creation of the Alchemical Exploration Corps, and again with the Corps taking over Varainé's diplomacy.

Varainé was also very accepting of the Ravelian Society, and after the discovery of the God Fragment, the county officially converted to Ravelianism, while retaining religious liberties for its citizens.

## Important Features

### The Green River

The Green River is Varainé's namesake (In the Elven language, "Var" = Green, Ainé" = River) and its most distinguishing natural feature. A stretch of the Logrodainé river (itself a tributary of the Esmar River), The Green River presents a distinctive green-yellow color due to the accumulation of sulfur from mineral deposits in and around Mount Havoral.

This sulfur, besides giving the river its color, was also used for the development of several Varainéy industries, such as the production of gunpowder, alchemicals, glassware, and eventually fertilizers and pharmaceuticals.

The Green River still exists to this day, though increased mining activities in the Havoral Divide by the Dwarves since the 18th Century has reduced the sulfur concentration of the river considerably.

### Potioncraft, Alchemy, and The Academy

In part due to The Green River, Varainé had long been a gathering place for alchemists and herbalists, even before the region was properly settled. These gatherings remained mostly informal until The Greentide in the 15th Century, when potion exports to adventurers in Escann became a major source of income for Varainé. In response to this increased demand, the local government began to actively encourage the activity of potionmakers and alchemists, promoting gatherings and providing infrastructure.

This culminated, in the 17th century, in the creation of two of Varainé's most famous institutions, which cemented the role alchemists played in Varainéy economy, society and politics: the Academy of Alchemy, Herbalism and Potioncraft, and the Alchemical Exploration Corps.

The Academy was a higher education institution created to instruct individuals in the subjects of potionmaking, alchemy, and the military applications of these sciences, as well as furthering research in these fields. The Academy is credited with the development of many well known potion varieties, such as Giant's Strength, Flight, Trollskin and even Fire Breath.

The Alchemical Exploration Corps were a diplomatic group established with the intent of mapping out new sources of ingredients and new customers for Varainé's potions, and who's success propelled the group into becoming the de-facto diplomatic representatives for Varainé, and in some parts of Halann, of Cannor as a whole.