Written history extends back many thousands of years toward the origins of civilisation on the continent of Midgard. it is rich with detail and well preserved, in both official documents and literature, as it passed from generation to generation. The purpose here is to briefly familiarise the player with major events in the history of the known world which bear on the way the continents are today.
We begin at that period known as The Great Whirlwind. Midgard historian Kevin Boda defines that time as 5,600 to 5,920, in the Epoch of the Crystal. That period ended nearly 2,000 years ago. Ancient peoples in many parts of midgard began to shift from a clan centred life to today's feudal civilisation. There were many wars, the greatest being the War of Assumption, which spelled the end of the Kamuji clans. These wars reduced the population, leaving three major powers who forged an alliance called the Triune Council.
The Triune Council is commonly thought to have consisted of the ancestors of the modern Boda, Roder and Getham families. In reality, it was comprised of the war leaders of those three great clans, now victorious after hundreds of years of struggle, plus representatives from most of the minor clans. The Council members each had extensive holdings and vast governing structures built upon shaky and shifting alliances within the huge 'families' which composed each clan. As the Council struggled to govern the known world and to establish order, they had to contend with internal politice which could unseat them. They chose to establish a system of land grants which would legitimise the power of their constituent families, while making them responsive to the central Council. The Triune Council announced their plans in a document entitled "World Pronouncement" in the spring of 5,925 Epoch of the Crystal.
Also on this date conspirators within the Boda, Roder and Gethem families agreed to wrest control of the council from the old war leaders before those leaders could make other clans powerful by granting vast holdings. Two weeks later, in a bloody and swift coup, the three families were now truly in power. By the year's end, all resistance was crushed and any rebellious clans were driven into the hills. In a ceremony on the last day of the year, land and governing rights were parcelled out to thousands of the family members. many historians call the time, after the bloody rise of the three families, the Golden Age of Midgard, a millenium and a half of peace. Indeed, the last day of the year is still called Loyalty Day.
It was in the Golden Age that the southern continent of Kalamar was discovered and settled by the people of Midgard. Their efforts in the south perhaps weakened the Factions of Midgard as the Golden age drew to a close.
We skip the other events of the Golden Age, though it richly influenced the evolution of modern Midgard, and go to the first known contact with Imperial Forces. In Northern Frostmarch stories were rife about hunting parties that had gone into the woods, never to be heard from again. Rescue parties of five hundred men had gone in, hoping to rescue a lost or injured group of hunters, and found nothing. Finally, in 7,437 Epoch of the Sky, an expedition led by Frorat Boda, then General of Muse, left for a sweep of the same ares. He had over 1,000 soldiers, 300 of whom were excellant archers. Expectations were that a band of barbarians, the probable cause of the recent dissapearances, would be found and slaughtered. The expedition was prepared to search for 2 months, if necessary. General Boda returned to Muse in one week with only 20 men. Badly wounded, he passed command of the remaining forces to the Mayor of Muse and died. Two days later the first of 22 Imperial Armies swept around and through Muse.
The vast Imperial armies were efficient, ruthless and unstoppable. The armies of the Council, augmented by the Nobles who held their title in exchange for military duties, were no match. By 7,504 Epoch of the Sky, Imperial Armies held the vast majority of the countryside. We omit details of the many heroic battles. With the feudal system apparently smashed by an Imperial organization of vast strength, the world relaxed into a benevolent Pax Imperium. Hating the Factional feudal system, the Imperial Governors began to build roads and establish standards in units of measure, coinage, and laws. It was a healing process designed by the Emperor to bring a measure of prosperity back to the land after the war and the death of clan, family, and feudal organizations. It worked.
In less than two hundred years, the Imperial Governors had made great progress. The land was prosperous and they saw no threat on the horizon. They should have looked closer. A social order several millenia old dies a lingering death, if at all. The three great families of the council were gaining strength along with the economy. They secretly planned one last desperate gamble to regain their former status (and lands). In this, they were aided by the three main churches, now devoid of power at the hands of the Imperials. The families had only one chance and they knew it.
The planners in the Boda, Roder, and Gethem families had studued the causes of their defeat at the hands of the Imperials. They felt the central elements were surprise, better weapons, centralized control, better training, and concentration of forces. They reasoned that the Imperial forces still had better weapons, and possibly better training. However, after years of careful preparation, they held the advantage of surprise. Further, through the use of the newly formed Heliographer's Guild they had a chance to establish centralized control. The last factor, concentration of forces, was also in the favour of the families. The once vast Imperial Armies had fanned out to control the cities and countryside, leaving only five standing armies of any size. The stage was set for the Great Harvest Uprising.
War is dependant upon manpower and manpower is dependant upon food. The planners wanted to prepare for a longer war, if necessary, and were also worried about the starvation of the non-combatant portion of the population. Two weeks after the fall harvest in the year 7,677 Epoch of the Sky, Imperial forces in all the known world were attacked by forces of the Three Families. The Families fielded over 400 clans. The results were immediate and bloody. In less than one month, the majority of the Imperial holdings were recovered. More than 50,000 Imperial troops perished. Hundreds of isolated units fought bravely, and some managed brief local victories. The Imperial Armies were able to hold onto all of the Imperial Preserves, so named because Imperial Citizens were the only ones to ever enter the gates, and a number of scattered cities. The five standing armies spent the first weeks rescuing what outposts they could and improving their own strength. Early in the second month of the was, the string of victories ran out for the families.
Angered and frightened by this disastrous turn of events, the Emperor set his remaining armies into motion. They met the combined forces of the Boda, Roder, and Gethem families in the plains west of the Frostmarch Imperial Capital. The combined armies of the resurgent Council numbered about 140,000. The Grand Army of the Imperial Capital massed 80,000 men. The Battle of the Great Plains began with a sharp attack by the Imperial Grand Army on the encampment of the Roder Family forces. The night attack thoroughly confused and broke the Roder forces, who fled in panic. Actual casualties were small. The Imperial Governor, Governor Lavan Kae, manoeuvered for a follow-up attack and pursuit. As this was happening however, one of the freak accidents of the war occurred. the Governor was thrown from his horse and killed. The next in command, Deputy Vian Moss retired toward the Imperial Capital to reorganise and await the expected arrival of the Seventh Imperial Army.
For the phase of the battle, the Council rounded up and reinforced the badly shaken Roder forces and prepared to ambush the Seventh Imperial Army, approaching from the North. After starting fires in the grass and making use of gullies and shallow depressions for concealment, the Council moved its main body to ambush the oncoming Imperial forces. In a hard fought engagement, the Seventh Imperial Army was nearly half strength, numbering 16,000 infantry and about 4,000 horsemen. Worse, they had driven themselves in an effort to join up with Deputy Moss. In a simple and crushing direct assault, the forces of the Council shattered the proud Imperial Army. Isolated groups of Imperial troops frifted into Frostmarch Imperial Preserve for weeks.
The last phase of the Battle of the Great Plains found the Imperial Capital under attack. Reinforcements from the Council had arrived a week after the initial battles. Through excellant organisation, much of the army was reassembled and the Council could now count on a strength of nearly 200,000 men. They wasted no time in attacking the Imperial Preserve.
Imperial Preserves are protected by the best walls in Midgard. Numerous light seige engines are maintained along the top of the walls. Many towers, placed at intervals, reach even higher, almost out of range of light missile weapons such as bows. Against this formiddable fortress, the Council now directed an attack. It is a measure of the fury of that attack that the defenders could be seriously threatened. In the end, however, the Council was repulsed with frightful losses.
The Imperial Governors in the beleaguered Frostmarch Imperial Preserve were practical men. They knew that over time, the best they could hope for would be one inconclusive battle after the other. They reasoned that neither side had the strength to eliminate the other. Unknown to the families and the church forces, word from the mysterious Imperial Homeland had been received. There would be no reinforcements beyond the forces currently engaged. In all, the Imperial armies numbered less then 200,000. In a historic move, the Imperial Governors proposed a negotiation between the families and the Imperial Government. The resulting treaty, The Treaty of Frostmarch is still in effect today.
The Treaty of Frostmarch specifies a recognition by the Imperial Governors of the right of the three families and three religions to operate their holdings free of Imperial interference. It grants the Imperial Governors rights to their remaining holdings in the known world. It recognises existing Imperial Standards of coinage, etc., and grants cities the right to do business with any party. Finally, the treaty allows the Imperial Cities and Preserves to remain closed to all but Imperial Citizens.
The three great religions of Midgard were hardly idle during the centuries of Imperial expansion. Nor did they remain in the background during the conflagration of the Great Harvest Uprising. In the years before the oprisings, the Families had been careful to cultivate the support, or at least neutrality, of the three faiths which all claimed direct descendant from the one "true" religion of ancient Midgard. Their efforts, however, enjoyed mixed results.
The Boda family won the support of the mystic Ring Religion diviners. In exchange for military support, the Ring agreed to help cement Boda control over a number of cities in Midgard. And the prospect of the active commitment of Ring armies to battle helped persuede the Imperials to propose The Treaty of Frostmarch.
The Banner Religion, convinced that Imperials and Families alike were heathens, observed the bloodletting with satisfaction. While appearing to co-operate with the Families to overthrow the Imperials they only sent a token force, holding their armies back and waiting for their opportunity. That opportunity came with Lavan Kae's rout of the Roder. The Banner swiftly struck at unprotected Roder cities throughout Midgard. The enmity between some members of the Banner and Roder factions survives to this day.
The leaders of the Gift Religion were appalled at the carnage and destruction wrought by the Imperials and secular families. Rigourously holding Gift forces out of any contact, they resolved to husband their strength for the period of rebuilding to follow the great war - Gift construction crews promised to be much in demand.
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