The Fallen Lands of Chalanth
The lands comprised between the north-eastern face of the Range Tower Mountains (to the west), Dragonspear Ridge (to the south and west), the Delhuurin River (to the north; which feeds Lake Delhuur), Arandor (to the south and east), the Marshes of Sorrows (to the south and east), the Highflows River (to the east) and the Redrock Mountains (to the north) have always been settled in one way or another as far as human memory can remember. Lost fabled empires such as Macremia (fall: c.a. -13000 A.R.) and Lankharh (fall: c.a. -10000 A.R.) are known to have erected cities in these lands, although evidence of such cities are themselves lost. Indeed, other cities have been built over their ruins throughout the millennia so as to have erased any traces of Macremian or Lankharhan presence in these lands.
Likewise, the knowledge of those cities and nations which arose in these lands following the fall of the last known empire, Lankharh, is itself rather fragmented and mostly lost to the millennia that have come and gone - although it is accepted wisdom that numerous tomes detailing the history of such cities and nations are to be found in the deepest vaults of the biggest libraries of Arandor, the oldest enduring nation of the Crystal Sea. Nonetheless, the names of some of such lost cities and nations are still remembered to this day, if only in myths and fables:
The recorded history of the region (at least which still survives to this day) begins with the foundation Menarath in -837 A.R., on the shores of Lake Delhuur. This city grew in strenght and influence, eventually carving out its own kingdom which was named Chandalar (proclaimed: -679 A.R.). More or less in parallel, another city, Gelduras, was founded in -804 A.R. at the foot of the Redrock Mountains and likewise carved out a kingdom named Geldanth (proclaimed: -658 A.R.). In the ensuing centuries of their existence, Chandalar and Geldanth often contended, and sometimes warred, against each other. But as time passed, the two kingdoms came to respect each other, even becoming close allies and friends, their combined economic and miitary might constituting a strong, stabilizing force for good in the region. Thus it came to be that the two kingdoms formally united in 21 A.R., creating a single nation they named Chalanth, with Chandalar constituting the western province and Geldanth constituting the eastern province, and Menarath becoming the nation's capital.
Throughout the ensuing centuries after its inception, the large and powerful nation of Chalanth remained a shining beacon of civilization and stability in the region, being ruled by a dynastic monarchy where the rulers bore the title of Overking. However, it came a time when corruption and evil slowly poisoned the noble houses of the proud and majestic nation, gradually becoming despotic, belligerent and outright expansionistic - even going as far as seeking to conquer Arandor. This tragic state of affairs came to a boil at the three month-long Battle of Sorrows (1215 A.R.), when the brunt of the chalanthian army was eradicated by the arandorian army in the Marshes of Sorrows.
Such a terrible and crushing defeat brought much turmoil within the evil tainted and corrupted Chalanth, with rival noble houses seizing their chance at grabing the throne and the power. This internal stryfe and civil war caused the sundering of the nation in 1247 A.R., reverting back to the individual kingdoms of Chandalar and Geldanth. In turn, Chandalar further succombed to anarchy, quickly fragmenting into warring baronies ruled by ruthless lords, robber barons, bandit lords and rogue lords, which are collectively known since then as the Bandit Kingdoms. Geldanth likewise fragmented - however, its instability encouraged hordes of goblins and orcs to swarm down from the Redrock Mountains, casting down, ransacking and burning the ill-fated kingdom, thereafter becoming known as the Broken Lands. Since their advent, the Bandit Kingdoms and the Broken Lands remain known together as the Fallen Lands of Chalanth, in memory of the defunct nation's former glory (before it became corrupted by evil).
Today (1396 A.R.), the ever anarchic and unstable Bandit Kingdoms are still a collection of warring baronies ruled by thugs, brutes and bullies. Rule of the strongest and most ruthless is the law in these dreary lands. The former capital of Chalanth (and of Chandalar), Menarath, was ransacked and burnt during the civil wars - however, it was eventually rebuilt by the survivors, renamed Spearcastle, and is now the seat of power of the first and foremost of the robber barons of the lands, a cruel Rogue Lord named Erath Scareye. Another city of note in the Bandit Kingdoms is Swordmeet (formerly the chalanthian city of Mindath), which is the seat of power of Scareye's chief rival, a Warlord named Vargon Blacksoul. As for the Broken Lands, these remain overrun by goblins and orcs, the invading humanoid hordes having opted to settle in the lands they ransacked and ravaged, continually warring against each other for dominance. The former capital of Geldanth, Gelduras, lies in crumbling ruins as a testament to the passing of humans and human civilization in these now-chaotic, humanoid-own lands.
The Bandit Kingdoms and the Broken Lands are yet to constitute a part of the adventuring locale of a Realmz scenario.
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