History

Early History - The Age of Magic - The Age of Spirit - The Age of Law - Present Day

Timeline from Second Dark to Present 

Early History

Arascon is the oldest country in all of Amb and was founded in the 2nd Dark Time by the First God-Blessed Warrior Wilhelm Arascon. He unified the warring peoples of the northern lands and the islands to form the country. The Myths say that he was the son of the high god and a human. This lineage gave him the power, prowess and charisma to unify the lands. Wilhelm drew together the races to banish the Chaos brought on by the Void and lift the land out of the Dark Times. He was the first mortal to do so. Legend says that the time of first darkness was banished by the Gods.

With the help of the elves and dwarves, he built the city of Lilurline which was the first capitol of the country. Wilhelm held no prejudice against any of the races and even welcomed the orcs into the country. He founded the Red Dawn Navy of Arascon and was willing to let anyone serve.

When Wilhelm died, he was entombed in a coffin of gold and sent to sail across the seas, to forever wander the world, keeping the Void at bay.

Wilhelm’s Great-Grandson Trevor became the first High King of Arascon. He led the council of Five Kings and brought about a new era of enlightenment to the country. He abolished slavery (which Wilhelm had exploited to build the grand city of Lilurline) and opened the first Magic Institute of the land. He decreed that any man could study at the Institute and his study would be free of cost if he served two years in the Red Dawn after he passed his courses.

Thus rose the Age of Magic in Arascon which lasted for 300 years.

Arascon's Coat of Arms

From the ashes of darkness, we will rise reborn in the light.

Age of Magic

While the land became enlightened for men, women became more oppressed. During the Age of Magic, it was forbidden for any female to wield any blade longer than their hand or use magic. Only a widow with no children could own property and when she died, said property was left to the Lord of the lands to distribute how he saw fit.

These laws remained in place for 300 years. During those 300 years, thousands of women were stoned to death for the crime of wielding a blade. Thousands more were drowned or burnt upon the crossed pyre for wielding magic. Women were seen as little more than slaves in this time. Few could read and even fewer received a formal education of any sort.

During these 300 years, the country fought in two major wars: The Golden Revolution where they tried to acquire more land on the main continent, and the Ten Years War which was fought to keep the land they already had. During the Golden Revolution, the armies of Arascon tried to take over the lands to the south that were ruled by warlords, kings and knights. This war eventually failed and the country of Gildensol was formed in these southern lands. The second war came only 30 years after the Golden Revolution when the Second King of Gildensol tried to invade Arascon. This war, dubbed The Ten Years War, failed when the Red Dawn cut off all trade routes to the Gildensol Armies, leaving them to starve or surrender. As the name denotes, this war lasted for ten years and caused massive casualties to both countries.

It was during the Ten Years War that the Capitol of Arascon was moved to Amberlin, away from the bulk of the fighting. Gildensol unconditionally surrendered to Arascon when their King was captured and decapitated on the steps of the abandoned Castle of Lilurline by a knight known as Sir Gavin Toril. He was the Nephew of the High King of Arascon. Because of his deeds in battle, he was adopted into the Royal family and made the next successor of the Seat of High King.

As High King, Gavin brought new prosperity to the Kingdom. He disbanded the Red Dawn as a Navy and made them the army of the High King. The strongest warriors of the Red Dawn Army are the personal guard to the King known as the Red Dawn Watch. To this day, the members of the Red Dawn Watch are considered to be the strongest, most loyal warriors in the country. He reorganized the Navy under the banner of the Gold Star. He opened two more Magical Institutes, one in the City of Amberlin and another in the northernmost city of Arascon at the time; Whitegrove. His reign lasted for nearly 30 years and by the time of his death, he was already considered the 2nd God-Blessed Warrior of Arascon.

The End of the Age of Magic came after the reign of High King Darch Toril whose only legacy to history was that he died in a storm at sea having only bore three daughters to succeed him. The oldest of these children was Tama who became the first High Queen of the Arascon.

Her rise to power was marked by turmoil. She allowed women into the Red Dawn and the Magical Institutes. Because of this action, Commander Troy Regent of the Red Dawn tried to overthrow the Queen with the Red Dawn Army. This later became known as the Red Dawn Revolt. In response to this action, the Queen recruited an entire army of women who became known as the Black Dove Militia. The strongest women of this Militia were formed into a group similar to the Red Dawn Watch and called the Black Dove Guard. Not only did the Black Dove Militia hold back the Red Dawn, but they completely routed them in one battle after the next. Queen Tama ended the war and gain equality for the sexes what she personally took the head of the Commander of the Red Dawn in a skirmish in the City of Amberlin. Through this action, it was widely accepted that Queen Tama was a God-Blessed Warrior and she became the 3rd God-Blessed Warrior of Arascon. (it was also during this action that one of the ten holy weapons was formed.)

Soon after the decapitation of Commander Troy, the Red Dawn surrendered to the Queen’s Black Dove Militia. All the remaining officers were dismissed from the force and stripped of any nobility they had earned. However, their families were allowed to keep their titles and lands. It was this act of benevolence that preserved Queen Tama’s rule and prevented further uprising. She allowed the privates in the Red Dawn to stay if they agreed to be placed into a battalion led by one of the women of her Black Dove Militia. She named Dame Corinna Scofield her new Commander of the Red Dawn Army and many of the Black Dove Militia transferred into the Red Dawn Army. However, Tama kept the Black Dove Guard active, decreeing that they should always be the personal Guard of the Queen of Arascon, no matter who sat in the throne of the country.

The Rise of High Queen Tama ushered in the Age of Spirit.

The Age of Spirit

Queen Tama ruled Arascon for nearly 50 years and is considered to be one of the finest rulers who ever sat upon the throne. She had three sons and two daughters. Many expected her to leave the throne to one of her daughters, but she left it to her middle son Addington. During her rule, she commissioned several public works, including irrigation channels, highways and the Rainbow Bridge which joined the cities of Amberline and Pastine together over the straights.

Queen Tama commissioned the building of many churches to the various Gods and instituted the Order of the Gentle Sea. The Gentle Sea is a group that trains clerics, priests and even the lay-person. As it evolved, the Gentle Sea became the basis for the system of education in which most of the population of Arascon is taught under. While The Gentle Sea originally preached a religious message, they became the historians, scribes and educators of the land. This order was and is widely respected.

They started forming schools around the country, all paid for by the Crown, to educate the people during Queen Tama's rule. During this early stage of the Gentle Sea, there were two levels of schooling, one for those who wished to become Clerics or Priests and one for everyone else. This Order gave access for all people to education. It also ushered in a new age of Spirituality in the people. Thus, why the Age was named as such.

It was Addington Toril who decreed the Capitol of Arascon to be Amberlin-Pastine, in honor of his mother who joined the two cities together. Addington had a short rule, living only 4 years after the death of his mother. This passed the rule onto his brother Basil. Basil was an incompetent ruler. He squandered much of what his mother built up, made enemies with the neighboring country of Gildensol by refusing trade and instituted tuition fees to the Magic Institutions. It was no surprise when Basil was found mysteriously deceased 3 years after he took the throne. There is still debate as to who killed him. Some say it was the assassins of Gildensol, others maintain that it was disgruntled mages.

This passed the rule onto his son Arden. Arden repealed the unpopular laws his father instituted and otherwise did nothing with his rule. Arden’s rule as High King ushered in a long line of boring, do-nothing rulers.

This long period of stagnation led to the War of Wilting Tulips. The ruler of Arascon at the start of the war was the High Queen Penelope Toril the II. The war started when the Chief Advisor to the Queen, Melopene Primder, conspired with the head of The Gentle Sea to overthrow the government and establish a Republic. The Head of the Gentle Sea was called Turgan Mooregrove. He thought the path of stagnation was leading to eventual destruction and wanted to prevent that. The people too, were restless. Most were educated enough to know that nothing significant had happened in Arascon for over 100 years and they thought the Kingdom was becoming weak in the eyes of the world.

The War of Wilting Tulips ended in the defeat of Turgan and Melopene. However, while the revolution was a failure, the idea had been planted in the hearts of the people. It was Queen Penelope’s son, David the IV, who instituted an elected body to help govern the Country. He called this body the Sodality. It consisted of 25 elected officials, one from each province of the country. The Sodality replaced the Council of Five Kings (which had become largely ceremonial).

The five 'low' kings became the five houses of the Gran Duxi, the highest level of nobility in Arascon. The five houses of the Gran Duxi are House Magen, House Abernathy, House Marino, House Illem, and House Pastin. Each house prides themselves on being advisors to the Crown on one thing that their house has excelled at and based itself on since the founding of Arascon. House Magen is the house that based itself on the study of sciences and peace. House Abernathy is founded on the principals of warfare and strategy. House Marino is the richest of the houses, priding itself on its knowledge and ability in merhcantry and trade. House Illem prides itself on its magical knowledge and skill. The House Pastin prides itself on its commission of the arts - literature, painting, theater and music.

The Sodality was instituted to create laws governing trade, education, magic, and other common laws. However, the High King or Queen had the right to veto any law they passed without question. Any person who owned property was allowed to place a vote in their Province to choose who their Ambassador would be.

The Age of Law

The first action the Sodality took was to create a Court of Common Law complete with a jury. This Court would try those accused of crimes (though all were considered guilty until proven innocent) and issue punishment for the crimes. The formation of this Court eventually led to the Order of the Balanced Scales. This Order went on to become one of the most influential Orders in all the land. This Order trains Judges, Lawyers and lawmakers. This Order, while powerful, is also extremely well respected. They are considered to be unprejudiced, impartial and wise.

This age became known as the Age of Law.

Then there was 300 years of relative quiet, peace and growth. Slowly, the Sodality gained in power and the Crown relied on the groups more and more for advise and local governmental duties. A Treaty was signed with Gildensol when the High King Wilhelm the XIV married the Princess Silia. This marriage sealed the pact and ensured peace between the two countries.

The Gentle Sea and the Balanced Scales continued to grow in power, bringing learning and invention to the people. Because of this, the Institutes of Magic became overrun with students seeking more magical training. So, five more Institutes were built during the Age of Law, giving rise to a huge Navy (the Gold Star). Many of those trained in the Magic Institutes became engineers and Elementalists for the Navy, making the Gold Star of Arascon the most powerful and feared Navy in all of Amb.

This led to the Kanon Revolution. Many of the non-mage naval officers began to resent their mage counterparts and aimed to put a stop to them. They did not like the 2-year service because of the quick turn over in crew. They felt this led to an inefficient Navy and it would be exploited by the country's enemies.

During the Kanon Revolution, countless mages were slaughtered and eventually, rumors arose that led to mistrust of arcane magic in general. Young Admiral Grey Stephen led the Kanon Revolution and aimed to get law passed that would ban mages from being allowed on boats in the Navy. This was never put into law as most people saw it as foolish. However, The Sodality passed law that all those attending Magic School had to serve not two, but five year terms in the Navy. This appeased most of the officers, but angered many of the Mages who didn’t want to serve a longer term. Eventually the High King stepped in and removed Admiral Grey from command of the Navy and instead appointed him Chief of Naval Activities along with a flourishing Magus named Fyrgen. Together, they were put in charge of hashing out the terms of naval servitude. Eventually they came up with a compromise: For every year of training in the Magic Institute paid for by the crown, a Mage had to serve one year in the Navy. A student could choose to pay a tuition rather than serving in the Gold Star.

This law was passed by the Sodality and it ended the Kanon Revolution. On a side note, most people who train at the Magic Institute stay for four years. This compromise between mundane and arcane people ushered in the Age of Compromise.

Present

It is currently the year 951 ASD (After Second Darkness) in the Age of Compromise.

Never before has there been a time when the five knights of the Red Dawn Watch and the five of the Black Dove Guard all were master over one of the Ten Holy Weapons. The weapons choose their wielder and never before have all ten been in use at once. When it happened, rumors started flying about the end of times.

The High Queen Marchelle Toril the IV and King Jasper sit upon the throne. Their reign has been a relatively peaceful one with only minor border skirmishes. High Queen Marchelle is considered a fine ruler with a balanced mind and a compassionate heart. She has ruled Arascon for close to 40 years. She and Jasper have two children, a son and a daughter. The Son is the elder and will be the one to inherit the crown. His name is Percieval Adal. He is currently unwed and childless. Queen Marchell's daughter's name is Bellasyn Adel. She is wed to the Gran Dux Pastin and they have four children together; three boys and a girl.

Timeline from Second Dark to Present