“Without a
sign, his sword the brave man draws,
and asks no omen, but his country's
cause.”
Homer, The Iliad
 |
| A New Land |
They found the Olman, who they took to be southern Flan, dark of skin and straight of hair; then the Touv, darker still, almost ebony, yet blue of eye. Those peoples could not have been more different. Where the Olman fought among themselves, raiding and slaving and fighting among themselves, the Touv were organized and learned; and where the Suel found great temples to serpent gods amid abandoned Olman cities, they found the Touv joined in a great nation, The Kingdom of Kunda.
Unsure of either, the Suel kept largely to themselves. Mostly. A few mixed with the Olman and Touv; had they not, those fair-skinned newcomers would not have survived this land of jungle and disease. They built their cities along the coast, then inland, and ever so slowly, they adapted to their new land and lost touch with their original culture and history.
This not to say that they lived in peace.
-252 CY
 |
| The Cult of the Serpent |
In
-252 CY, a disguised priest of Meyanok worked his way into the inner circle of
advisors to the [Kundali] Jolani prince and began to poison his mind and body. [SB - 50]
Why?
Because it is Meyanok’s way.
Meyanok,
born of darkness and pain, is the progenitor of all other evil gods of the Touv
pantheon. [SB - 40]
Priest
and shamans of the serpent god are reclusive and don’t often deal with
strangers, at least not openly. They work through agents, many of whom are charmed,
to disrupt civilization and harm the worshipers of other gods, and have been
known to make human sacrifices. [SB - 41]
-250 CY
It was the beginning of the end of 1200 years of the
Kingdom of Kundali.
[The
Jolani] prince was so deluded that he believed that his other advisors and the
king were plotting against him, so he declared his city-state independent of
the Kunda Kingdom in -250 CY. Appeals and diplomatic measures from the capital
were turned aside or twisted by the snake-priest, and the secession precipitated
similar acts from Ichamamna and Byanbo. [SB - 50]
Barely
checked resentment burst forth in two other Kunda city-states, and they also
seceded.
Trouble
within the capital prevented the king from acting, and his successor was unable
to reunite the states. [SB - 37]
The
snake priests also destroyed one of the northern cities by a magical famine;
even now, the land is cursed and few willingly travel near it. The famine
provided a distraction for the city-state of Ichamamna, which had long sought
to take over the once Olman yuan’ti city of Xapatlapo. [An] army of Touv
warriers stormed the Xapatlapo, but fell to traps and poison, while yuan-ti
turned their friends and family into snake-men, as well. [SB - 37]
-246 C
Back on the Tilvenot Peninsula, the Scarlet Brotherhood was
patient. And persistent. Within two hundred years of their having found purchase
there, their careful whispers and guidance found a foothold, and then a home,
and before long the directives of the Scarlet Brotherhood had almost completely
subsumed the goals of the Suloise Council of Noble Houses.
By
5270 SD the council’s goals were almost entirely subsumed by Brotherhood directives,
with most council representatives chosen by indoctrinated families. [SB - 4] (5270 SD)
-245 CY
 |
| Civil War |
The
last three Houses clutching at an independent identity attempted a coup in 5271
SD. The Tilvanot erupted in a brief civil war, which end with a series of
assassinations and two public demonstrations of the monks’ dreaded “quivering
palm” ability, performed on the rebellion’s generals before their assembled
troops. The surviving nobles of the three Houses were captured, tortured and
executed as examples. [SB - 4] (5271 SD)
-243 CY
The three remaining independent Suloise Noble
Houses had fought a valiant, but ultimately doomed rebellion against the
insidiousness of the Scarlet Brotherhood’s control. The other Houses should
have joined them. Had they, the Suloise people might have followed a different
path, a kinder, gentler path. But that is unlikely. They were always a cruel
and haughty people, and the ideals of the Scarlet Brotherhood had long been
theirs, as well. In any event, they did not. And the independent Houses fell.
And then, so too did the rest. And the Scarlet
Brotherhood assumed formal control of Tilvanot government, calling the
peninsula "The Kingdom of Shar."
In
5273 SD the council was dissolved and the hierarchy of monks, assassins and
thieves controlled the government as well as in deed. [SB - 4]
[The]
Suel race continued to practice the evil deeds of their forbears. Enslavement
of other races was an everyday practice. Holidays and celebrations were marked
with ritualized torture. Dark sorceries were embraced to advance the cause.
Such actions were performed in the most secret parts of the hidden city; the
rare visitors from the outside world saw only a stern nation whose citizenry
suffered from no more than patriotic extremism. Any visitor discovering too
much disappeared, “volunteered for torture or to serve in the breeding programs
for inferiors. [SB - 4] (5273 SD)
-240 CY
The Harvest
King, ruler of Kunda strained to hold his kingdom together. He tried diplomacy,
but to decadence and snake worship had begun to infect his cities. He had no
choice but to resort to force, for the evils of the serpent could not be
tolerated. He raised his armies, and marched against the centres of the snake,
where the Yuan-ti and the sauhagin walked without fear. Ichamamna fell to his
wrath, but not Byanbo and Johan.
 |
| Transmutation |
The
fragmentation of the [Kunda] Kingdom […] came as a disappointment to the
Anatali, but they have maintained friendly relations with Kundanol and are
cordial with the other city-states. They have increased their patrols near
Alocotla, hearing reports that the snake-men are taking people for some dark
ritual. [SB - 47,48]
-217 CY
What of the Oeridians?
More specifically, what of the Aerdi, the fiercest of those mighty peoples? It
came to pass that the people of Aerdi had reached the end of the world and
looked upon the sea that birthed the sun.
The
strongest tribe of the Oeridians, the Aerdi, settled the rich fields east of
the Nyr Dyv and there founded the Kingdom of Aerdy, eventually to be renamed
the Great Kingdom. [Folio - 5]
In
time, the Aerdi arrived at the shores of the great eastern waters, their long
journey at an end. They named that vast ocean the Solnor (literally, "the
birthplace of the sun"), and along its shores they founded a series of
small states. These were largely tracts settled by individual noble houses of
the Aerdi, such as the mystic Garasteth, the noble Cranden, the mercantile
Darmen, the calculating Rax, and the militaristic Naelax. These small
principalities accomplished little under their loose confederation, as they
were individually unable to take on the Ur-Flan and Suel, so they quickly
gathered under a single banner. [LGG - 23]
When
the Aerdi completed their drive to the eastern coast of the Flanaess nearly a
millennium ago, it became clear to most of them that their journey had finally
come to an end at the shore of the Solnor. Their first permanent settlements
were soon founded along the coast of the Aerdi Sea, between Pontylver at the
mouth of the Flanmi and the Gull Cliffs in the north. After decades of battle
with the native Flan and treacherous Suel, the Aerdi noble houses sought a
place to call their own, and these places included settlements at Roland,
Ountsy, and the largest of all at Rel Astra, the site of a small abandoned Suel
settlement. [LGG - 93]
-216 CY
With most of the known world conquered, the
greatest of the tribes of Oerid drew the others into its fold, becoming one
nation. In truth, they already were, and
had been as they swept across the Flanaess. One House had risen to the fore,
claiming lineage to Johydee. Whether that was true or not was debatable, but
who could say? It might have. Indeed, most houses claimed Johydee as their
mother. No matter. House Garasoth has risen to the fore, and to the throne; and
those houses that might have contested the claim had long since bent the knee.
And thus, Lord Mikar, scion of House Garasoth, became the first grand prince of
Aerdy. (428 OR)
In 428 OR (-216 CY), the scion of House
Garasteth, Lord Mikar, became the first grand prince (equal to a king). He
ruled a land now called the kingdom of Aerdy ("aer" meaning
"sky" in Old Oeridian). [LGG - 23]
Empires need a capital from which to rule.
But where? One might think the centre of their lands would serve best. But the
Aerdy had gazed upon the sea that birthed Sol, and found the lands there to be
temperate and beautiful. (428 OR)
In 428 OR (-216 CY), these small states
finally united under a single banner, and the kingdom of Aerdy was born. Rel
Astra was chosen as its capital. The scion of Garasteth was the grand prince of
the Aerdi at the time, and he set about building an impressive seat of
government. A grand palace was constructed in the heart of the city and heavy
walls were erected to enclose what is known today as the Old City. A large keep
adjacent to the shore housed the admiralty of the kingdom, though the interest
of the Aerdy turned decidedly west over the next few centuries. [LGG - 93]
Did the Aerdi command all the Flanaess? No.
Would they? No. Some lands were as fierce as they. Some harsh. Some lands were
far removed and inaccessible. Or altogether unknown to the Aerdi. The truth is,
some lands only added people to the fold, and little else, and were thus spared
the benevolence of Aerdian rule.
The founding of the Kingdom of Aerdi in
5299 SD changed little in the Kingdom of Shar. A civilized neighbor to the
north allowed the Brotherhood to trade for food and other resources, and
offered them a foothold in the Flanaess where they could learn about the other
forming nations. Over time, spies planted in the Aerdi kingdom moved to other
lands, strengthening the Brotherhood’s information network. [SB - 4]
-194CY
Having reached the sea that gave birth to Sol,
the host of humanity wondered, what lies there? Exploration of the Solnor
Ocean beckoned. But such an endeavour was not for the feint of heart. It was
vast. It seemed endless. And it was riff with dangers.
In eastern Oerik, some small
but farsighted groups living near the Gull Cliffs of the coast developed some
skill at maritime travel. The travelers were of mixed stock, Oerid and Flannae,
and part of the newly formed kingdom of Aerdy. The persistent Aqua-erdians
generated two major seafaring explorations, both of which successfully returned
with news of land far eastward. [Aqua]
-171 CY
The Flannae could only watch as the Aerdi flooded
into the east, a relentless tide that had no ebb. They sought to parley with
these newcomers, for there was an abundance of uncultivated land and room for
all. But, the Aerdians saw the fertile lands of the Flannae and meant to take
them for their own. The Flan sought to defend them, but their cause was
hopeless compared with the fierceness and resolve of the Oeridians.
They clashed at Chokestone, and
the Flan fell. (473 OR/ 5345 SD/ 1980 FT)
The Battle of Chokestone
 |
| The Aerdi Cometh |
-122 CY
The Aqua-erdians struck out east across the
Solonor Ocean.
Disenchanted by a warlike
turn of events in their homeland, most of the remaining Aqua-erdians left Aerdy
by sea, migrating eastward across the Solnor Ocean. Those who remained became
the ancestors of the Sea Barons, now virtually independent, but swearing fealty
to the Overking at Rauxes. [Aqqa]
-110 CY
The Battle of a Fortnight’s Length
The Aerdi struck north, for the
land there was rich, the soil black, the woods tall. It mattered not a whit
that the tribes of Nyrond had no wish to enjoy the wealth and security of
Aerdy.
[The] Nyrondese cavalry was
defeated by Aerdy forces commanded by nobles of House Rax, during the Battle of
a Fortnight’s Length. Shortly, all the lands from the Harp River west to the
Nyr Dyv swarmed with Aerdi famers, hunters, fishers, merchants, bandits, and
soldiers. This conquest changed the character of the Kingdom of Aerdy, which
saw its destiny as the rulership of all the Flanaess. [TAB - 57]
After the Battle of a Fortnight’s Length, the Duke of Tenh pledged fealty to
the King of Aerdy, giving the Aerdian monarch authority over the duke and his
personal holdings in Tenh and the Coltens, thus ending Flan dominion over the
Flanaess.
Not all nobles and officials of
Tenh bent the knee to the King of Aerdy, maintaining Tenh’s independence, but
without support and armies to field, their declaration was tantamount to
posturing. They were living in the Great Kingdom now, regardless their
delusions of the supposed continuance of a bygone age.
After several decades of increasing growth, power, and prestige, Aerdy
embarked upon a series of conquests, the greatest of which was the defeat of
the Nyrondal cavalry squadrons at the Battle of a Fortnight's Length. Thereafter, Aerdy was known as the Great
Kingdom, whose monarch held sway from the Sundi swamplands in the south,
westwards along the shores of the Telfic Gulf and the Sea of Yar, to the Nyr
Dyv and from thence northwards through the Shield Lands and beyond the Tenh.
[Folio - 5] (534 OR/ 5406 SD/ 2041 FT)
-107 CY
The Ur-Flan remembered the days of Vecna and
Keraptis, and how the world quaked at the mere mention of their name. They
chafed under the benevelance of those “good” and “righteous” people, the Aerdi.
Who were the Aerdi, after all, but scavengers picking at the carcass of their
once great nation? A menagerie of ill-equipped, and ill-prepared Ur-Flan
insurgents attempted to assassinate the King of Aerdy by summoning a
"winged horror."
It was their last fruitless gasp
at freedom.
 |
| Ambush |
It occurred in the year 537 OR (-107 CY), when an attack upon the
traveling train of the king of Aerdy was foiled by a group of young men, primarily
woodsmen and farmers from a nearby village. Ur-Flan insurgents released a
winged horror upon the royal tent city in an effort to assassinate the leader
of their conquerors. The young men of the village thwarted the attack, at the
cost of most of their lives. The king was so impressed with the courage of the
survivors that he raised them up as his "Knight Protectors." [LGG - 157] (537 OR/ 5409 SD/ 2044 FT)
1st Century BCY
What remained of the Flan
nations fell one by one. A few took up arms against the Aerdi, but for the most
part, the Flan bowed to the inevitability of their fate. The Flan Kingdom of
Ahlissa was one of the last to fall, and their lands conquered were later form
nucleus of the South Province.
After the Aerdi first
conquered the lands surrounding the lower Flanmi and founded the kernel of
their empire along the Solnor Coast, their ambitions soon turned to the
southwest, where great riches awaited. The Flan kingdom of Ahlissa was
conquered in the [fifth century OR] and eventually became the core of mighty
South Province. The lands farther south were controlled by the Suel, but a
series a brutal wars brought regions such as Idee and Sunndi into the
burgeoning Aerdi kingdom (as part of South Province) over the next century. [LGG - 80]
-46 CY
The Aerdi continued to march beyond Ahlissa,
unto the Suel land of Onnwal. The blue waters of the Azure Sea beckoned them,
and they, thike the Suel before them, understood manifest destiny. But Onnwal
was not to be bowed easily. Their lands were as rough and rocky as they
themselves, their command of the seas uncontested until then, but they were few
against the tide of Aerdy, and after long and bloody conflict, their shores
surcame to their inevitable fate.
In 598
OR (-46 CY), Onnwal was taken after a long and bloody conflict that ended with
the establishment of Irongate and final control of the Headlands for the Aerdi.
[LGG - 80]
c. –9 CY
Could the conquest of Nyrond and Ahlissa and
Onnwal have occurred without Leuk-O, or Lum the Mad, and their Mighty Servant
and Machine? Or without the Orbs of Power they wielded? Whom can say? All one
can say is that those two had taken a hand and the world had fallen to their
power. Then they faded away. But not before leaving wonders and terrors in
their wake, for all great powers leave such in their passing.
It was around this time that the
last contact between the inhabitants of the Belching Vortex of Leuk-O and the
hill folk of what are now called the Hestmark Highlands occurred.
The
folk of the Hestland Highlands hold many secrets, but perhaps none so enigmatic
as the great portal known colloquially as the Belching Vortex of Leuk-O. Named
for an ancient Oeridian general who is said to have entered the place and
emerged with unheard of treasure. The Vortex appears as an undulating black,
leprous membrane set against a sheer cliff face on the mountain known as
Vashal-Tul in the language of the dwarves who once made their homes in the
craggy hillsides nearby. In the days before the Kingdom of Aerdy, a small band
of hill folk established a small colony at the foot of the membrane, which
ancient texts refer to as a smooth opalescent barrier, soft to the touch but
impenetrable even by magic. At some point, however, the gateway degraded, as
did the village. Now, little more than eroded foundations can be found at the
site, along with the time-buried remains of a people set upon by a terrible
wasting disease. Leuk-O is said to have fallen victim to this illness, which
caused his skin to turn sallow and his hair to fall from its roots. Those who have visited the Vortex […] report
a wasteland bereft of animal of plant life. Occasionally, it is said, the black
membrane opens suddenly, expelling an invisible gas that can strip flesh from a
man’s bones. [LGJ#1 - 6]
What of Shar, you ask? Shar remained a
mystery. Because they wished to remain such. But they were aware of the Great
Kingdom and its conquests.
Even when the Great Kingdom
swelled to its greatest size in 5516 SD under Overking Nasran, Shar was
protected from land assaults by the Vast Swamp, and from naval attacks by the Brotherhood’s ships and powerful magic. [SB - 4]
They remained free. They sent
out many of their most able to ensure they remained so.
One must always give credit where credit is due. This History is made possible primarily by the Imaginings of Gary Gygax and his Old Guard, Lenard Lakofka among them, and the new old guards, Carl Sargant, James Ward, Roger E. Moore. And Erik Mona, Gary Holian, Sean Reynolds, Frederick Weining. The list is interminable. Thanks to Steven Wilson for his GREYCHRONDEX and to Keith Horsfield for his “Chronological History of Eastern Oerik.”
Special thanks to Jason Zavoda for his compiled index, “Greyhawkania,” an invaluable research tool.
The Art:
Light-Patrol by wacalac
Serpent-Cult by northernhermit
Red-Army by femire
Yuan-ti by draggyness
Legio-X-Equestris by quintuscassius
Ambush by icerider098
Red-Hood by benedickbana
Sources:
1015 World of Greyhawk Boxed Set, 1983
1064 From the Ashes Boxed Set, 1992
1068 Greyhawk Wars Boxed Set, 1991
2011A Dungeon Masters Guide, 1st Ed., 1979
2023 Greyhawk Adventures Hardback, 1988
9025 World of Greyhawk Folio, 1980
9253 WG8, Fate of Istus, 1989
9399 WGR 5, Iuz the Evil, 1993
9577 The Adventure Begins, 1998
9578 Player’s Guide to Greyhawk, 1998
11374 The Scarlet Brotherhood, 1999
11621 Slavers. 2000
11742 Gazetteer, 2000
11743 Living Greyhawk Gazetteer, 2000
Ivid the Undying, 1998
Dragon Magazine
OJ Oerth Journal, appearing on Greyhawk Online
LGJ et. al.
Greychrondex, Wilson, Steven B.
Greyhawkania, Jason Zavoda
The map of Anna B. Meyer
Serpent-Cult by northernhermit
Red-Army by femire
Yuan-ti by draggyness
Legio-X-Equestris by quintuscassius
Ambush by icerider098
Red-Hood by benedickbana
Sources:
1015 World of Greyhawk Boxed Set, 1983
1064 From the Ashes Boxed Set, 1992
1068 Greyhawk Wars Boxed Set, 1991
2011A Dungeon Masters Guide, 1st Ed., 1979
2023 Greyhawk Adventures Hardback, 1988
9025 World of Greyhawk Folio, 1980
9253 WG8, Fate of Istus, 1989
9399 WGR 5, Iuz the Evil, 1993
9577 The Adventure Begins, 1998
9578 Player’s Guide to Greyhawk, 1998
11374 The Scarlet Brotherhood, 1999
11621 Slavers. 2000
11742 Gazetteer, 2000
11743 Living Greyhawk Gazetteer, 2000
Ivid the Undying, 1998
Dragon Magazine
OJ Oerth Journal, appearing on Greyhawk Online
LGJ et. al.
Greychrondex, Wilson, Steven B.
Greyhawkania, Jason Zavoda
The map of Anna B. Meyer
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