Misty History
Songlight's Ekele
Long ago, the world of Velgarth was ruined by the period chronicled as the Mage Wars. After the great cataclysm that was unleashed at the end by Urtho, the Mage of Silence, mgic in Velgarth ran wild. Urtho had set off one cataclysm in his tower, and another at his enemy Ma'ar's stronghold. Ma'ar's lands became a huge lake, Lake Evendim. Urtho's lands became a great smoking hole of glassy rock, later resored and name Dorisha Shin'a, Plains of Sacrifice.
Velgarth was then ruled by the mage-created creatures, both those created a-purpose, and those created by accident. Only two groups of humans survived. The Kaled'a'in in the west, and the people of the various small kingdoms.
The Kaled'a'in were soon locked in a great debate over whether to use magic. The fight could not be resolved, so before it turned to feud, there was the Sundering of the Clans.
Five clans went west into the Pelagirs Wilds, the clans Falcon, Owl, Raven, Eagle, and Fox. They called themselves Tayledras, Brothers of the Hawk, and were given a gift and a task by their goddess. The gift was magery, and the task was to cleanse the land of wild magic. And now, they go, an dset up a Vale(A mage-created stronghold) and clean the lands. when they are finished, they move on. This goes on and on, an endless cycle. They are now known in Velgarth as K'Chona and K'Vaia in Valdemer, K'Treva in Rethwallen, and K'Vala and K'Sheyna in Jkatha.
The four that remained, Hawk, Wolf, Grass-Cat, and Deer, cast away magic. They too prayed to their goddess, the Star-Eyed, for a homeland. She came, and told them the price for restoring the plains, to guard the unused weapons under the ruins of Urtho's Tower. She gave them the name Shin'a'in, People of the Plains, for they were never to leave the plains. So they stay, guarding their dangerous secret against Outlanders, and those who would use them for ill. They stay there and guard, until the Mage Storms begin anew.
The other people fled east,and built a massive empire. The power grew to tyranny, and groups of people ran west, rather than face the Emperor. One of these was led by Baron Valdemar, and that group ran for years until the Baron deemed them far enough away from the power of the Empire.
Baron Valdemar was then made king by his people, and his kingdom accepted people from all walks of life, so their motto was, There is no "one true way."
Valdemar and the surrounding kingdoms went through several turbulent periods, which can be read about in Mercedes Lackey's books.
Valdemar is not alone in the west anymore. To the east is Hardorn, and to the est of that is the Eastern Empire.
North and northwest is the Forest of Sorrows and the last of the Pelagirs.
To the northeast is Iftel, a mysterious land protected by a Sheild-Border.
To the west is Lake Evendim, and to the south is Rethwallen, Valdemar's strongest ally.
To the southwest is Karse, ruled by preists and at war with Valdemar for centuries, though there is a tenative treaty now.
South of Karse and Rethwallen are Ruvan, Jkatha, Seejay, Velvar, and so on down to the Haighlei Empire and White Gryphon.
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