The Fall of Mediah - Occupation by Savages

The conflict between rivals Calpheon and Valencia saw many countless lives perish. Mediah, located between the two countries was an unfortunate victim in the war. The rule of King Variz the Second, one of the most incompetent kings throughout Mediah’s history, did not help to alleviate the situation.

# Year 235 - Elion Calendar

At the precipice of Valencian ambition against Calpheon, King Variz declared he had no intention of getting involved in war. In an attempt at a diplomatic solution, Variz allowed passage for Calpheon to invade Valencia and only offered words of regret to the Valencian delegation.

In the midst of this political development, there was an Alchemist by the name of Neruda Shen, the head of the Median Merchant Guild who saw an opportunity for himself.

He rounded up skilled blacksmiths and made a deal with Calpheon. The Merchant Guild of Mediah would supply Calpheon in exchange for any black crystal shards Calpheon acquires during the war. Not truly aware of the real value of the black crystal shards, Calpheon accepted the deal.

The merchants used the molten pits at the bottom of the Mediah Lava Cave as a natural furnace. They used small lava craters inside the cave to melt iron and black crystal shards and were able to produce quality weapons within short amounts of time. Once the war supplies were shipped to Calpheon, the guild received the same amount of black crystal shards they used in production.

Calpheon was too absorbed with their ongoing expedition that they didn’t realize they were suffering losses. Meanwhile, diplomatic delegations from Valencia came to meet in secret with some Median merchant guild officials.

Median Merchant Guild payed a share of their earnings from Calpheon to Valencia, in exchange for trading rights and protection.

As Calpheonian production technology developed and improved over time, they finally realized that the deal was a mistake. Feeling deceived and cheated out of their rightful treasure, they tried to buy the shards back from the Merchant Guild but were swifty denied. To add insult to injury, Altinova - previously a place of religious freedom, declared faith in A’al, a Valencian god. It was becoming increasingly clear that relations between Valencia and Mediah were growing against Calpheonian interests.

# Year 266 - Elion Calendar

Despite prosperity, Mediah had to succumb when faced with natural disasters. Alternating typhoons and droughts forced savage tribes to flee their villages in the highlands and across the desert. Some of them chose to settle down in Mediah, where the devastation was less severe. This caused fractures within Median society and societal pressure from the influx of migrants. The Lava Cave and mines were soon abandoned due to incidents involving attacks by savages.

# Year 273 - Elion Calendar

With all the wealth that Mediah gathered between Calpheon and Valencia, the Mediah Merchant Guild started the construction of their capital city.

That is how the city of Altinova came to life, and became a central point that Mediah never had. The moment the city walls were raised, merchants and villagers from near and far started to settle in there. Even the troublemaking savages were strangely quiet at that time. Everything was calm, expect for Altinova.

No one could imagine that the small movements in the outskirts of Mediah would turn the whole place into lawless chaos.

# Year 268 - Elion Calendar

There was a fatal disaster looming in the shadows in Tarif.

Tarif was a small settlement located in western Mediah on the banks of the Junaid River. Secluded from the rest of the world, it seemed that villagers in Tarif were never interested in the world outside all that much. Around 300 years ago, the Sorcerer Cartian lead a group of sorcerers from the east and established a small settlement in Mediah which became Tarif.

The laws and customs of Tarif were based on the Book of Cartian. This magical text contained all of Cartian’s power and included all rules and customs that the sorcerers of Tarif needed to obey.

It wasn’t long before Cartian’s writings became a burden for the sorcerers as they were slowly being drained of their powers. Those who acquired the powers contained within the Book of Cartian became overwhelmed with its power and started to fall into physical and mental disrepair. A new version of the Book of Cartian was rewritten and the old book was sealed, never to see the light of day.

Since then every new leader in Tarif would add a new seal to the original text. The purpose of which was to ensure that the unimaginable power of Cartian’s Book will never be unleashed onto the world.

# Year 273 - Elion Calendar

A woman named Ilezra was next in line to be the leader of Tarif, after Ahon Kirus. However, she was the one who violated the rules and broke the seal of Cartian’s Book. Even though it almost killed her, she managed to acquire the power of the book and barely escaped Tarif.

After Ilezra fled Tarif, she instigated corrupted followers of the fallen god Elric and used them to dominate the savages. In the end, she built a tower in the outskirts of northern Mediah that engulfed the region in black fog resulting in a deafening explosion.

# Year 277 - Elion Calendar

At the hands of Ilezra, Mediah Castle was left in flames. For four days Mediah was covered in pitch darkness. The clouds were so thick that was no light from the sun or moon. The people of Mediah lay helpless, trembling in fear. Altinova was not an exception. Some citizens started fighting with each other while others ran away fearing for their lives. Amidst the darkness, the only light they saw was the distant glow of Mediah Castle burning in the background.

It came as no surprise to anyone that the rule of the Median monarchy fell during this period. While some grieved the death of Variz II, the news of the youngest prince’s survival was not met with much enthusiasm. After this incident, Ilezra disappeared without a trace, only leaving lingering speculations about her identity and whereabouts.

 

# Year 280 - Elion Calendar

Rumors of Ilezra’s return started to surface. Upon hearing these rumours, hordes of savages wearing black capes who spoke the language of humans claimed Altinova for themselves, invoking the name of Ilezra.

Hordes of violent Sezec hunters from the northern forests of Mediah soon followed the savages.

# Year 281 - Elion Calendar

Once a beacon of order and prosperity, Altinova was left in a state of chaos. Unable to force the savages out or to welcome them, the Mediah Merchant Guild had no choice but to begin a period of uneasy coexistence with them.