The Third Age of Man on Duria

Most modern scholars agree that a little over a century prior to the foundation of Zeth on Aurea and the start of the Third Age of Man, Neptag (later Neptaris) was founded on the Inner Shore of Duria by an Aebasan adventurer known as Zarakos of Taranio. Early on, Neptaris was befriended by a group of elves known as Arisian elves, though it is not known for how long those elves inhabited southern Duria prior to Zarakos’ arrival. Unfortunately, a dispute with the humans of Neptaris eventually lead to the extermination of Arisian elves, so much of their (primarily oral) history is now lost. Early Neptaran records do report that there were some human tribes in the area, with the Kamaros being one of the most prominent.

Though much of Duria was unaware of it at the time, the city of Zeth had begun its meteoric rise to power on Aurea, throwing off its tyrannical dictators and establishing itself as a Republic that was slowing growing in power and influence. One of the Republic’s most powerful wizards, however, was well aware of Duria. Frustrated with the restrictive guild structures among wizards in the Republic, Davalor went into a self-imposed hermitage, wandering the continent of Duria in search for what he called “the Seat of Power.” He eventually stopped in what would become Lun Dorak, founding a nation of wizards and sorcerers that would later help bring about the fall of the Third Age of Man.

By the fifth century of the Third Age of Man, King Larstat II of the Tracini tribe on the Divian Peninsula had requested aid from the growing power of Zeth to fight against a mysterious people called the Xaclos. The Republic legions, under the command of Marcus Argentis of House Zetar, not only defeated the Xaclos but began conquering the other neighbors of the Tracini, ostensibly to ensure that no other groups could threaten the Republic’s allies. Marcus Argentis would see the Tracini first become his clients, then the territory become a subject of Zeth itself. Less than a century after the death of Marcus Argentis, the Zetian Republic had become the Great Empire of Zeth.

At its greatest extent, the Great Empire controlled territory that included almost the entirety of the Inner Shore of Duria, including present-day Dakra, Illyria, Norlund, Ciritasnia, Koramia, Pelusia, Nagos, Enesia, Numentora, Kamara, Cambrecia, Daredonia, Auteria, Malvetia and even, for a short time, the city of Neptaris itself (one of the few times in its long history that city was subject to a foreign government).

About three centuries after the arrival of Zeth on Duria, a young boy named Garimund of Ryard discovered a flying ship, the Glorious Galleon, flying in the skies above the flock of sheep he was (poorly) tending in a rural pasturage now located in Koramia. After chasing after the drifting ship for several days, he finally found a hilltop high enough to allow him to board the vessel. He found the ship itself empty, though in a small room at the aft of the ship he discovered the rotting corpse of a man in strange, alien armor gripping an ancient tome. The tome, when it was finally translated by Imperial scholars, contained the stories and lessons of Vortumnus, god of chivalry. Most importantly, however, was the retelling of the Tale of the Last God, wherein Fides, god of oaths, and Meliboea, goddess of justice, were fleeing the wrath of Lord Ptharos for violating his prohibition against procreation. As in the Aebasan and Imperial traditions, the story faithfully told how Lord Ptharos found the two lovers just as Meliboea was giving birth to Vortumnus and, recognizing the nobility in the newest god, his wrath melted away and he forgave the sin. However, this new tome revealed that Lord Ptharos, shameful of the wrathful dictator he had become, was so impressed by the nobility and wisdom of Vortumnus that he turned over his scepter, crown and orb of rulership to Vortumnus, making him King of the Gods.

The response in Zeth was immediate… the teachings of this new book, called the Koram in some unknown tongue, were heresy and those repeating the stories found within would be put to death. Unfortunately for the Emperor, copies were made of the Koram and the original disappeared from the temple stores. Word spread like wildfire across the Divian Peninsula… and the god that Zeth had called Emperor of the Gods was no Emperor, perhaps the Emperor of Zeth himself was not their rightful ruler.

The rebellion against the Empire was initially small, with only a few skirmishes with the Imperial legions across northern Duria, usually when a local adherent to the Koramian Heresy was found by inquisitors and executed (or martyred, depending on the point of view). Eventually, however, the Great Empire found itself unable to sustain its Durian colonies and slowly began to withdraw its legions. Modern Koramian scholars suggest it is no coincidence that the Empire’s legions were first defeated by the Narbar on Aurea a mere ten years prior to the discovery of the Glorious Galleon by Saint Garimund of Ryard… the first real threat the Empire faced on Aurea in centuries. It was their war with the Narbar that resulted in the slow withdrawal of the Empire over the next four centuries. When the last two Imperial garrisons in present-day Koramia declared their independence around the eleventh century of the Third Age of Man, only the colony of Cambrecia remained loyal to the Emperor.

Cambrecia’s loyalty to the Great Empire made it something of a political anathema among those young nations that rose up in the wake of the Empire’s departure. Neptaris, in particular, became a rival of Cambrecia and the two states fought several wars with mixed results over the centuries. Unfortunately, the loyalty of the nobility of Cambrecia to the Empire (and to the Potentate of Zelos) resulted in the slow erosion of secular power in the nation. By the fifteenth century of the Third Age of Man, Cambrecia had become the Holy See of Cambrecia, dedicated to Zelos, god of the state, and ruled over with an iron fist by his Potentates.

Northward, the former colony of Cimmeria along the Divian Peninsula became fractured, with several petty Kings and Barons rising up to claim power over this region or that. These conflicts continued for centuries until, in the last half-century of the Third Age of Man, the Divian Peninsula (with the notable exception of Illyria) is unified under the divinely inspired King William I “the Greysword” of the newly founded nation of Koramia. The heady time of the Conquest would prove to be the last flickering light of greatness of the Third Age of Man in Duria… and, in some ways, would lead to the fall of mankind on the continent.

Four decades after the reunification of Koramia, the Imperial Fleet again took sail eastward, bringing its legions to reconquer Duria. The Empire had finally settled its northern border, allying with the nation of Ywys and defeating an orcish horde that threatened the Empire’s territory. With the frontier safe, the Empire could again focus its energies on retaking Duria. Unbeknownst to many at the time, the Empire’s new aggression was the result of the machinations of a talented young Koramian sorcerer named Lucas Chamberville who had been kidnapped by the mages of Lun Dorak and trained as one of their own.

Under the guise of Lucius, Chamberville was instrumental in engineering the peace between the Empire and Ywys, a feat for which he was recognized and rewarded by the Emperor Publius Antonius of House Zetar. Lucius quickly became one of the Emperor’s closest advisors and, upon the death of the Imperial heir, adopted Lucius into House Zetar.

As Lucius Augustus of House Zetar, Chamberville was granted leadership of the Imperial Legion in Koramia. Under Chamberville, the flower of Koramian chivalry was driven back by the relentless march of the legions. The Imperial legions made their way quickly to Paeldain, the capital of Koramia, and set siege to the great city. King William I, who had promised to return when Koramia most needed him, organized the defenses of the city, but few expected a Koramian victory. At the height of the siege, however, the recently reformed Dragonknights arrived in the midst of the battle with a Koramian knight at the helm of the legendary flying ship, the Glorious Galleon. The Imperial legion was decimated and, for a time, Paeldain was saved. Chamberville was not so easily dissuaded from his plans, however. Soon after the First Battle of Paeldain, Chamberville obtained the legendary sword of Davalor himself, the Magesword. He reformed the legion within a year, this time with mysterious foreign wizards to provide tactical support. He again attacked Paeldain and, in the Second Battle of Paeldain, the Empire finally took the city. The Greysword and much of his family were slain. As the Koramian forces retreated to the mountains, a nephew of the Greysword, Gawyn Asheva, was crowned King of what remained of Koramia.

By the end of the second year of the war, Publius Antonius lay dead from a mysterious disease and Chamberville was raised to the Purple as Emperor Lucius Augustus of House Zetar. It was only after his coronation that he revealed that he was truly called Lucasa, the Mage-King of Lun Dorak. His plans revealed, Lucasa formally moved the capital of the Empire from Zeth to Davalor and directed the armies of both nations to conquer Duria once and for all.

The free people of Duria proved unwilling to lay down as slaves to the Mage-King. Under the leadership of the Dragonknights, the humans of Koramia and Illyria allied with the dwarves of Gundag and Derlos, the elves of the Webwood Forest and even the orcs of Vor Midal, who were unified under the strong hand of their first Great Khan in centuries, Gar’dun. The combined allied force fought its way to the gates of Davalor itself. In the titanic battle that followed, the city was laid to waste and many on both sides lost their lives. When the dust finally settled, the Mage-King Lucasa was defeated… not, it is said, from any military genius of the allied forces, but from a mystical disease, perhaps a curse placed on him by Abaris herself for his hubris in her name.

With the Mage-King defeated, the Alliance quickly tore itself apart. The Dragonknights receded from Duria. The Great Empire, now without a clear heir to the Purple, fell into its Fourth Succession War. Those legions remaining in Divia quickly coalesce around a charismatic commander in Koramia, occupying an area they call Ciritasnia. Seeking to keep the Great Horde unified, Gar’dun turned against his former allies, first slaughtering the elves of the Webwood forest (and burning much of the forest to the ground) before moving through Illyria, Koramia and the newly founded Ciritasnia before finally settling on the western shores of the Divian Peninsula, founding the nation of Vor Scheral. Meanwhile, people across Duria rose up against the wizards and sorcerers that had oppressed them, burning every Dorakian mage they could find at the stake, murdering more than a few mages who were not involved in the Dorakian Empire. Even those arcane spellcasters who had fought against the Dorakian occupation were subject to the backlash against mages.

Amidst this chaos, the Crimson Plague, a mystical disease that began on the continent of Gallorea, first struck in Neptaris. The Plague spread slowly at first, but soon priests across Duria (and across the world) discovered that they were abruptly without their powers. What would come to be called the Recession of the Gods had begun. The Third Age of Man came to a close in an apocalypse of disease, bloodshed and fear.