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A Brief History of Syphain, Part 3

Argog the Nephilim

Not everyone arriving from the north was good-natured, however. Not very long after Benethir was established, it was ransacked by a group of pirates led by a man called Morgwat. He took over the port town and reigned - in terror - for many years. He had complete control of the trade routes and, working with the Aelnid, began taxing all of the port towns and their goods. This shut down many of the port towns. Eventually, Morgwat was murdered by his own mates and the town was given back to the public. Ever since then, Benethir has held an annual festival in honor of their freedom, called the Festival of Change, which also signifies the Autumnal Equinox, which is a very productive season for Benethir.

Many treasure hunters and entrepreneurs gather at Benethir. It is a place of gossip and dealings, and a large portion of this takes place in the Tan Squall Pub, the only pub in town. It’s a famous, multi-floored establishment run by Bender, whose family has owned it for generations. Mauntu came here from the northlands at a very young age. D’nel and his childhood friends Brak and Haram grew up here. Kirana moved here when she was quite young.

Far to the south, things were changing. In years past, the settlement of Fanos had been inhabited by elves. The elves, however, had been wiped out by a nomadic tribe from the southlands. This tribe practiced sorcery and worshipped a Nephilim called Argog. Legends speak of the Nephilim as holy creatures that descended down into the world before Aelnid and elves existed. They created many wonderful things - they shaped mountains, dug ravines and filled the sky with clouds. They also created many beautiful trinkets and treasures. Many of these treasures are said to be hidden across the world and contain magical powers. There are many groups that worship the Nephilim, but only one that worshipped the rogue Nephilim Argog, the “Serpent God”.

Supposedly, Argog had enchanted a group of men in the early years of the world and protected them by giving them magical powers. Their job was to guard Argog’s treasures. The descendants of these people were the nomads that invaded Fanos.

So it was, around the time this band of Argog-worshipping nomads had taken
over the village of Fanos, there was a group of Aelnid men that ventured off to the
south in the hopes of starting a new colony. This group consisted of Aelnid military
heroes and had the blessings of the Aelnid royalty. They traveled south until
coming across the town of Fanos.

Once the Aelnid pioneers arrived, they were brutally murdered by the nomads. The nomads sent back the decapitated heads of the pioneers to the castle Da’ar. The Aelnid were furious. After a while, when it seemed like those in charge were doing nothing in response to this outrageous act, there was an uproar and a small rebellion. The people wanted justice, and were questioning their leaders.

The head of this rebellion was General Heridius. The uprising didn’t last, and the rebels were banished to the far east of the Cairnon Fields. Here, the rebels set up their own town, and called it Fort Benos Nos. This was named in mockery of the elven town Benos, who had been at war with the Aelnid empire years earlier. General Heridius was named leader of Fort Benos Nos. Over a short period, he built his own army. In a surprise move, Fort Benos Nos ransacked the Da’ar Aelnid castle, and General Heridius usurped the crown and became the supreme king of the Aelnid Empire. He was a mighty and renowned king who reigned for many long years. When he died, the lineage he had begun continued with his son, Galius. Galius bore two children - a son called Sasha, and a daughter called Nessa. The children were from different mothers - Galius had a secret affair with an elven woman, and Nessa was the product of their love. This was not known to the public, however. An affair such as this would have been enough for Galius to be ran from his house and executed.

A Brief History of Syphain, Part 2

Settlements

The Aelnid were the first of the pilgrims to arrive on Syphain. They arrived on the southeast area of the continent, after traveling for months over icy terrain. They quickly set to work to build the first human settlement on Syphain. It was named Damogoth, and was ruled by King Halabuck the Great. Halabuck had a large castle built in the middle of the settlement. For a while, the Aelnid were peaceful and content, but eventually a small group revolted. They fled Damogoth and built their own settlement to the north, called Derogoth. After many years of war between the two towns, and after many lives were lost, the towns were abandoned.

The survivors traveled north into the Cairnon Fields and settled there. This is when the Aelnid first came upon the Mantars. The Aelnid burned their villages and ran the Mantars off. This began the formation of the New Aelnid Empire, and their reign over the land of Cairnon. Cairnon was split into three regions, each ruled by an Aelnid group. There was the Da’ar Aelnid, the Sa’an Aelnid, and the Ca’an Aelnid. The three lived in harmony - mostly. Many of the Aelnid also populated the Majesty Mountains.

It was at about this time that the Elves arrived on Syphain. Unlike the Aelnid, they did not slaughter the Mantars or the Klavians. Quite the contrary, they befriended the Klavians, whom they came into contact with first. Many of the elves actually lived with the Klavians in their villages, although a great deal more settled in and around the area west of the Central Plains. Eventually, the elves would build ships and inhabit the small islands on the northeast coast of Syphain.

The elves built many settlements, including Geld, Pan, Talon, Fanos, Terrence, and Eres, but these paled in comparison to the great city of Telamir, the largest of the elven cities. Many elves would travel across the Central Plains to catch a glimpse of the grand city, and would usually end up staying there. Telamir rivaled the Da’ar Aelnid’s entire nation in size.

The greatest achievement by the elves, however, was the Port City of Benethir. This is where trade between all the races on Syphain originated. Even the Aelnid were allowed here. Klavians loved to go there and learn the art of ship-building from the elves. Mantars would often visit and share stories with the elves. Many people from the northlands would travel down to Syphain and arrive via Benethir. Many cultures and celebrations in Benethir began to mirror the lands to the north. Thanks to the influence of Benethir, many port towns began to be built on Syphain.

A Brief History of Syphain, Part 1

THE PILGRIMAGE


The western continent of Syphain was “discovered”  two years after the Great Freeze. The recording of years was begun by men in the far east and this was around the time men began to travel by sea and discover new lands out of necessity.

The worldwide catastrophe known as the Great Freeze had been caused by the earth stopping its rotation around the sun, leaving half of the land in darkness. This forced people to move eastwards to find habitable lands.

Many groups fled to Syphain in order to survive. The largest of the groups were the men (or “Aelnid”) and the elves. The elves came from a frozen tundra known as Mipone, and the Aelnid from the wastelands of N’ar Tirren.

Prior to its discovery, Syphain was inhabited for immeasurable years by a variety of flora and fauna, but the only two speaking races were called the Klavians and the Mantars. The Mantars populated the northeastern portion of Syphain, in a large area now called the Cairnon. Their capital was Majerhaus. It was surrounded by smaller villages, of which Canyffe was the furthest south. When man arrived and travelled northwards, this was the first of the Mantar villages they found. They burned Canyffe to the ground and overtook the capital of Majerhaus.

Because of this event, the Mantars were pushed eastward, and they formed the small villages of Lu and Bi. In the year 247 after the Great Freeze, the village of Lu became mysteriously empty. All of the inhabitants had died of a possible epidemic. Only the town of Bi is what is left of the grandeur of Majerhaus. The Mantars continued to settle in different areas on the outskirts of the Cairnon. They eventually travelled further west and began to integrate with the elves and the Klavians.

The Klavians lived in the far west of Syphain and remained relatively untouched for a while, until nomads began travelling there from other islands. There was a large group of nomads that settled in the south, in the land of Fanos. They worshipped a minor god called Argog, and it was in his name that they wiped out the native Klavians. More groups settled, and eventually a full third of the Klavian population west of the Central Plains was wiped out in a matter of a few years. Since this event, the Klavians have remained close to wooded areas, and have more or less stayed hidden from civilization.