The Kingdom of Diam was founded in 1653 A3 by a group of Stradovi humans who grew tired of the mountain folk's savagery, Diamas sits atop the highest mountain in the spires of Melbikash. Initially a simple fort, Diamas became a thriving city over the next century and its inhabitants populated the mountains to the south and the river lands to the east. The Diaman people found a hero in their leader, Borgrum Dallo, for establishing trade routes to other nations and elevated him to the status of King in 1745. The Dallo line would continue on for nearly three centuries.
The city of Diamas lies at the ruined epicenter of the once great human kingdom. In 2136 A3, King Tharken Dallo made a pact with a dark god. He pledged his servitude in exchange for eternal life for himself and his subjects. The god granted his wish and instantly struck down the population of Diam, raising them from the dead to serve for eternity. This event marked the end of the Third Age.
The Diaman Expansion Wars began at the beginning of the nineteenth century, Diamas’ military force rivaled any other on the continent. King Aavor Dallo decided to expand his borders. In 1812, Aavor marched his army of 430,000 south toward Shandus. Shandus’ defense force of 40,000 soldiers was eradicated and the city was surrendered to Aavor within the first day of the siege. Aavor left some 2000 soldiers to care for his new city and took the rest eastward toward Habira. Aavor acquired each minor settlement on the way. Upon reaching Habira City, he demanded their surrender. The Habiran military boasted 50,000 firelancers and 130,000 slave soldiers. They did not surrender, and told Aavor to lay his siege. Without an attacking fleet, the Habirans were not worried about running out of supplies. Aavor walked back to his line and minutes later his troops brought forth some kind of shielded siege engine. They marched the engine up to the Habiran wall under a hail of arrows, rocks, and tar. The Diamans then retreated with haste as the Habiran guards naively cheered. In moments, a thunderous explosion tore through the wall and many of the soldiers. When the smoke cleared, Aavor marched his army through the city and slaughtered any who opposed. He set fire to the buildings and took everything of value. He told the slaves that they were free, so long as they swore allegiance to him. Nearly all of them accepted and turned against their former masters. Satisfied with his victory, Aavor took his army north to Figan. The small city on the Lake surrendered to his might.
The Diaman King set his sights higher, toward Stradov, their motherland. He took his army into the mountains, stopping to camp near ft. Yaralla. Aavor sent a messenger to the fort, demanding audience with the Stradovian half-orc king, Traxda. Traxda accepted and met with Aavor on a nearby bluff. Aavor told Traxda of his conquest of the west, but confessed that he had no interest in waging war against Stradov. Traxda rebuked that Aavor had already declared war by bringing his army into the mountains. Aavor suggested that Traxda add the might of Stradov to his own and help him conquer the entirety of Ciel. Traxda declined, knowing that nothing good would come of war with Leodra. He told Aavor that he “would be wise to follow in the footsteps of [his] ancestors and leave Stradov.” Aavor took the warning and retreated from the mountains.
Aavor pushed eastward until his army was halted by the Leodran Shield Wall. Again, he sent in his explosive vehicles. The Leodrans, however, were wise to his tactics and set fire to them before reaching the wall. For 3 weeks, Aavor laid siege to the Wall. Each day he tried a new way to break the defense. Catapults hurled explosives which were ignited midair by Leodran wizards. Tunnels were dug in many places, but each was found and flooded. Troops were outfitted with flying devices to infiltrate the forts and open the gates, but each attack was repelled. Other tactics employed by Aavor included poison gas, rabid flying animals, mind control, earthquakes, teleportation, acid, grappling hooks, and ladders. Each attempt proved as ineffective as the first. Aavor realized the futility of continuing the assault, so he retreated. This marked the end of Aavor’s conquest. The King enjoyed his new lands for 14 years before dying to illness and being succeeded by his nephew. The new king, Jeric Dallo, tried to maintain control over his vast territory, but without the charisma or tactical mind of his predecessor, simply could not. Countless rebellions over the next century would eventually drive the Diaman military out of Habira, Shandus and, later on, Figan.