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.