Minaria

Introduction
Minaria is the continent upon which Divine Right is set. It does not constitute the entire world, but little is known about the lands beyond Minaria. It is a storied continent, with a rich history of magic and culture. But it also has a history of strife and destruction. Since the Cataclysm and the fall of the Lloroi Empire, the many kingdoms of Minaria have seen much hardship, and they seem to war with each other more often than they are at peace.

The Cataclysm
Little is known of pre-Cataclysmic Minaria outside of the information provided in a few surviving histories compiled in Lloroi times. The Lloroi were a highly advanced race, more akin to the present day woodland Elves than to Men or Dwarves. Out of the earlier kingdoms and barbarian lands, the Lloroi forged a great empire.

The two thousand year period following the conquest of Minaria is remembered as the classical period of Minarian culture. It was a time of great artistic and scientific development; a time of peace and tranquility marred only by the long rebellion of the Scarlet Witch King and occasional strife.

Then came the Cataclysm. Its causes remain unknown, although some blame it on the results of the extensive magical research conducted by the Lloroi in defense against the Scarlet Witch King. At any rate, the world literally turned upside down. Tempests, earthquakes, tidal waves, volcanic eruptions, and giant meteorite storms shattered the land and wiped out the Lloroi Empire. When it was over, barbarism overwhelmed the survivors and tribal warfare raged among the ruins - the New Dark Age.

The highly developed Lloroi society was unable to adapt to the new world. What remained of the Lloroi ruling class swiftly dwindled into insignificance as short-lived barbarian kingdoms rose and fell in a seemingly endless succession. Fortunately, not all Lloroi culture was lost during the centuries of the Dark Age. The people of Minaria grimly fought to preserve what they could of the glory and wisdom of the past. In the last few hundred years, new and powerful kingdoms have advanced upon the foundations laid by the work and sacrifice of their forebears, bringing about a new order to the continent.

Eventually, eleven kingdoms and two sorcerous principalities grew up to form the political entities of the West. Most of these are feudal monarchies, generally lacking the political and economic base for territorial expansion. However, border strife and raids for plunder are common.

First Millennium AC

 * 01: The Cataclysm destroys the Lloroi Empire; the peninsula of Umiak submerges, destroying the Lloroi capital of Niiawee. The Golkue, Thores and the Isle of Fright remain above water. The lands of future Mivior rise from the sea floor. Vultelina (ancient Pon) is warped by mountain-buildings; the cities of the South Plains hold on to civilization.
 * 02 - Mid 300s: The Elves reestablish a central government under High Prince Seolan and his successors. The Conodras people develop a tribal society enduring many centuries. The Dwarves develop an advanced type of tribal life in the Mountains of Ice. Village life survives in Kalruna-Sasir (ancient Muetar) and its people prosper for a time; eventually the communities quarrel and cannot unite against the barbarian menace. The Tower of Zards survives the Cataclysm and stands shunned for many centuries. The Goblins drift into the Nithmere Mountains from the northland. The ancestors of the Miviorians maintain civilization in the country of Skarabrae in Reiken. Ancient Pon is a site of deep barbarism. The Immortal Lord takes power in Khuzdul; elsewhere the South Plains cities are governed by democratic councils that are gradually replaced by monarchies. The ancestors of the Miviorians flee the Luwamnas of Reiken and arrive at the Isle of Boliske.
 * 250 - 450: The Miviorians prosper on Boliske. Trade begins between the cities of the South Plains; a strong merchant class develops.
 * Late 300s: The Trolls arrive at Stone Face and choose Apashag as king.
 * 400s: Elfland enjoys an advanced civilization. The Trolls dominate Soraskier (Ancient Hothior).
 * 452: Mivior founds the town of Boran. The Trolls encounter the Miviorians at Boran; centuries of border conflict begin.
 * Early - Mid 500s: The merchant class takes power on the South Plains. Zefnar and Parros form merchant fleets. Barbarian hirelings revolt and seize Kalruna-Sasir. The Ogres force many human tribes out of western Minaria. Humans enter Soraskier and struggle for possession of its territories. The ancestors of the Vidarna tribe inhabit the area south of the Well of Lered. Barbarians force the Dwarves to migrate to Alzak, in the Barriorr Mountains.
 * 524: The Immortal Lord is driven from Khuzdul.
 * 527: The Miviorians found the town of Colist.
 * 543: The Miviorians make contact with Zefnar.
 * 565: Displaced by Ogres, the Sion Hac conquer Elfland.
 * Late 500s: Singing Dream, Hierophant of the Temple of Kings, establishes the Order of the Walkers (the Eaters of Wisdom). Authari and Euin lead the new Vidarna tribe to Lake Carth.
 * 585: Zefnarite slave-raiding forces Archon Barnas to build a fleet.
 * 600: Mivior conquers the area north of Colist; Mivior builds its own merchant fleet.
 * 609: Parrosian seamen discover the Golkus and Thores.
 * Early - Mid 600s: The Elves struggle for independence from the Sion Hac. The Trolls are driven to the north of Bad Axe Forest. The last of the Dwarves leave the Mountains of Ice and start the village of Rosengg in the Barriorr Mountains. Slave-raiding and disease decimates the natives of the Golkus and Thores. The cities of the South Plains prosper.
 * 661: An earthquake destroys Boliske.
 * 662: The capital of Mivior is moved to Colist.
 * Late 600s: Pirates set up bases on the Golkus and Thores.
 * 689: The Sion Hac capital of Pheridad falls; Elfland is liberated.
 * 690: The Elves begin building a new capital, lder Bolis.
 * 696:  Zefnar establishes Rocazha, a trading post in Soraskier.
 * 700s: The western peoples are concerned primarily with local matters. Adeesi traders enter Zehr-hu-Pon (early Pon). Elfland rebuilds its society, but persecutes the mixed-blooded (human and Elf) Ercii minority. The conquerors of Kalruna-Sasir settle down; later in the century new barbarians, the Mueta, invade from the east. Rivalry develops between Mivior and Zefnar for the right to establish trade with the Soraskiers. The Bisini tribe wins dominance in Zehr-hu-Pon.
 * 766: Adeese wars with Khuzdul over mining rights; Roton Shojut organizes Minaria’s first band of modern mercenaries.
 * 775 - 778: Mivior and Zefnar fight the Soraskier War.
 * 799: The Milkyaten tribe revolts and drives the Zefnarites from Soraskier. Yakami is made ruler of a Milkyaten kingdom.
 * Early 800s:  Zefnar builds a new trading center at Castle Lapspell. Many small kingdoms have developed in Kalruna-Sasir; the Mueta grow in power in the east. Adeesi traders discover a tin mine at Marzarbol. The pirates of the islands become a serious menace for the next century.
 * 811: Joyous Hand robs the library of the Temple of Kings of numerous magical scrolls; is driven to his death by demons.
 * 815: The Fane of the Walkers is established at the Well of Lered.
 * 823: Orenburt the Wise becomes king of the Milkyatens.
 * 838: The Muetar leader Oyaro seizes Basimar and founds the Oyarostar dynasty of Muetar.
 * 844: The Bisinis revolt and massacre the Adeesi mining colony.
 * Mid - Late 800s: The Leredgard Heresy spreads among the Order of the Walkers. Orenburt unites the kingdom of Hothior under his scepter. Muetar begins a gradual expansion to the west.
 * 846: The Black Knight leads the Adeesi army in an invasion of the Bisini territory. Mivior launches the first of its new-model deep-water vessels, the lamash. 
 * 848: The Bisini surrender; a century and a half of colonizing begins.
 * 858: The Hothiorians capture the Zefnarite town of Castle Lapspell.
 * 883: Mivior conquers the north coast and founds Addat.
 * 884: Mivior conquers Serpent Bay and sacks Stone Face; the Trolls begin a long period of guerrilla resistance.
 * 885: The Elves attack Addat and are defeated by Mivior.
 * 887: Elfland and Mivior make peace; High Prince Elir of Elfland begins a religious revival.
 * Late 800s: Some persecuted Half Elves leave Elfland and become the Wandering People. Trade in the Sea of Drowning Men is depressed by the pirate menace. Barbarian activity disturbs the southern borderlands.
 * 888: The Wisnyo tribe, under Simir Raviev, captures Parros.
 * 889: Simir Raviev captures Jipols.
 * 892: Simir Raviev captures Zefnar.
 * 893 - 894: Simir Raviev assails Khuzdul, but is held at bay.
 * Early - Mid 900s: The capture of Parros and Zefnar curtails maritime trade; only Mivior can provide the pirates with rich loot.
 * 905: Using the fleet of Zefnar, Simir Raviev invades Hothior, conquers southern Hothior.
 * 907: The aged conqueror, Simir Raviev, dies, leaving an empire.
 * 933: The Miviorians destroy the pirate bases on the Golkus.
 * 937: The Trolls make an alliance with the Sea Serpents against the Miviorians.
 * 946: The last Wisnyos are expelled from Hothior.
 * 948: Yemojagg of the Trolls agrees to a ten year truce with Mivior.
 * 949: The “abominations of the land and the horrors of the air” devastate Hothior. The invasion of “abominations” devastates Mivior. The king of the Wisnyos is murdered while fleeing from reported “abominations”; the cities of the plains throw off Wisnyo rule and set up republics — which fail to recapture the vitality of earlier times.
 * 950: The “abominations” destroy the Fane of the Walkers.
 * 951: Leredarg heretics take control of the Order of the Walkers, the Eaters of Wisdom break with the Temple of Kings. The “abominations” drive the Vidarna tribe northward. The “abominations of the land and the horrors of the air” reach Kalruna-Sasir.
 * 958: The truce between the Trolls and Mivior expires; war resumes. The Trolls successfully invade weakened Mivior; Boran is sacked.
 * 980: The Invisible School of Thaumaturgy admits students.
 * 981: Teredon of the Vidarna tribe enters the Invisible School.
 * Late 900s: Hothior lays prostrate. The Trolls win back their ancient boundaries. Muetar annexes the territories of those neighbors weakened by the invasion of “abominations.” Beleaguered Mivior ceases to be a viable power. The lack of merchant shipping forces many pirates into other trades. The cities of the South Plains find it increasingly hard to pay their mercenaries or control their unruly demands.

Second Millennium AC

 * Early 1000s: Huardar takes the throne of Elfland and reorganizes the Elven army. Hothior is invaded by Muetar. The Muetarians drive the Vidarna north of Lake Carth; Teredon returns to the Vidarna tribe to introduce the worship of the god Anshar; the western Conodras territories are subjugated by the Elves. Muetar reaches its present-day boundaries; the Muetarians occupy eastern Hothior. The Dwarves are troubled by increasing Goblin and barbarian raids; the movement toward Dwarven unity gains momentum.
 * 1012: Esheq the Ginnui leads a mercenary revolt and takes power in Adeese, ushering in the Age of Tyrants.
 * 1014: The Adeesi general Kedron takes Marzarbol and is made its duke; Adeesi control of Zehr-hu-Pon ends.
 * 1015: The Ogres destroy Addat.
 * 1020: Marko Steelknife labors for a united Rombune and builds the fortress of Port Leeward, later called “the Golkus”.
 * Mid 1000s: All the cities of the South Plains succumb to tyrants. The Hothiorians begin an insurrection against the Muetarian occupiers. Anshar-worship replaces that of the old faith.
 * 1040: Eorpwul is chosen king of the united Dwarves.
 * 1044: Men start to disappear in the Forest of the Lurking, inspiring the legend of the Mist Monsters.
 * 1051: Rombune is united under King Marko Steelknife.
 * 1060: Kharkem is chosen as the first king of the Vidarna people.
 * Late 1000s: The Eaters of Wisdom work to improve their military resources. Kharkem and his successors put military pressure on the Muetarian border; the Vidarna dukes begin to make private conquests in Conodras territory.
 * 1087: The last Luwamnas lord of Reiken falls.
 * 1098: Walkort becomes king of Hothior and expells the Muetarians. Mivior’s fleets defeat those of Zefnar, Parros and Rombune at the Battle of Marooner’s Island.
 * Early 1100s: The Dwarves mount extensive expeditions to explore for mineral deposits. The Vidarna kingdom troubles Muetar’s northern border; Muetar’s defeats abroad cause dissent at home.
 * 1101: The Eaters of Wisdom war with the Muetarians and test their magic bridge.
 * 1102: King Harus Tarpaulin outlaws piracy in Rombune.
 * 1111 - 1112: The War of the Three Tyrants is waged between Jipols, Khuzdul and Adeese.
 * 1119: Peoples fleeing from Gyhara conquer the city of Jipols.
 * Mid 1100s: The filibusters of the Westward Islands become a menace.
 * 1133 - 1135: War between the Elves and the Dwarves for possession of Aws Noir; Dwarves enlist barbarian aid; war ends by treaty and the mining of gold at Aws Noir begins.
 * 1139: The Black Knight and the fleet of Parros defeat the filibusters.
 * 1142: Rombune invades the Westward Islands to set up a protectorate; The Westward Isles' struggle for independence begins.
 * 1147: High Princess ldeh of Elfland dies mysteriously; a period of political instability is initiated.
 * 1153: King Nectano of Rombune is forced to abdicate; Janup Goodcargo is elected king and ends the war in the Westward Islands by treaty.
 * Late 1100s: Hothior starts a small merchant marine; royal horsehide tanneries are established in Port Lork. The Vidarnan dukes impinge upon the Elven sphere of influence in Conodras territory. Baronial unrest and a series of weak kings sap the strength of the Muetarian kingdom. Mivior regains its long dormant power and recovers some of the land lost to the Trolls. King Janup and his son restore Rombune’s prosperity; the filibusters are slow to recover from war with Rombune. Strife keeps the cities of the plains weak.
 * 1188: Muetarian hunters discover the Witches’ Kitchen.
 * Early 1200s: The Dwarves cease exploring for foreign ore deposits; Dwarven politics are disturbed by factional recriminations. Muetar troubled by raiders from Immer, Zorn, Hothior, the South Plains and Zehr-hu-Pon. Mensmal becomes chief of the Gakstetter Goblins; he establishes dominance and order in southern Zorn. The Goblins make the first report of the appearance of the Black Hand in the Shards of Lor; later the Dwarves confirm the story.
 * 1205: The Eaters of Wisdom encourage Mesilim of lmmer to extend his royal power to the north. The barbarian Shucassamis enter southern Minaria.
 * 1209: Mesilim and the Eaters of Wisdom capture the fortress of Agada.
 * 1210: Mesilim moves the capital of lmmer to Agada (now Castle Altarr).
 * 1214: The Shucassamis capture Jipols; a long period of raiding begins.
 * 1228: Mesilim dies; the Vidarnan dukes reassert their power.
 * 1230: Etirun of Elfland provokes the government of Immer.
 * 1231: The Ducal War begins.
 * 1234: Etirun of Elfland is captured and forced to make peace.
 * 1235: The last rebel dukes surrender to the king of Immer.
 * Mid 1200s: Social turmoil wracks Elfland. The Hothiorians press upon Stone Face. The Trolls draw up permanent borders with Mivior. The government of the Oyarostar dynasty is paralyzed by domestic disorders and foreign raiders. The Goblins become the leading slavers in the north; the worship of Nergil, the Ram God, spreads through southern Zorn. The filibusters set up Slave Island.
 * 1247: Erdwa becomes queen of the Dwarves.
 * 1248: Erdwa poisons Leofog of Alzak; civil war explodes in Dwarfland. Gronek the Goblin offends the Black Hand and is punished by madness.
 * 1250: Greystaff helps Adeese defeat Proerno of Heap. An earthquake shakes the Barriorr Mountains. A tidal wave strikes the Sea of Drowning Men. Catastrophic flooding in Immer.
 * 1251: Marzarbol and Heap become a united dukedom under Lango.
 * 1252: The Shucassamis capture Adeese, founding the Shucassamite state.
 * 1254: A usurper murders the Oya royal family and mounts the throne; Egalon of Pennol raises the country against the upstart. Khuzdul falls to King Beniyan of Shucassam.
 * 1255: Egalon is anointed emperor of Muetar.
 * 1256: Egalon destroys a host of Longmir Goblins at Tanglefoot.
 * 1257: Erdwa’s faction wins the civil war in Dwarfland; a period of social ferment and disillusionment follows.
 * 1267: Daring Goodcargo becomes queen of Rombune.
 * 1269: King Beniyan of Shucassam attacks Parros and Zefnar. Rombune allies with the cities against Beniyan.
 * Late 1200s:  Egalon and his son Besor restore Muetar's strength and prosperity. Economic problems upset Zorn’s social order; impoverished Goblins increase their raiding abroad; Nergil-worship spreads throughout Zorn. The Ygelis tribe dominates the demoralized barbarians of the Border Forest.
 * 1271: Queen Daring weds Galiz Tabir, the tyrant of Parros.
 * 1272: Rombune and Shucassam sign a treaty; Parros becomes a protectorate of Rombune. Shucassam annexes Zefnar.
 * 1283: The Ygelis attack Dwarfland and are destroyed at Ram Mountain; their fall initiates a new power struggle in the Border Forest.
 * 1284: The Dwarves destroy an army of raiders from the Border Forest.
 * 1286: Besor scourges the Border Forest barbarians.
 * 1287: Diivois of Pon extends his protection to the Border Forest.
 * 1288: The Gakstetter Goblins attack lmmer and are defeated by the Eaters of Wisdom at Warlock’s Hill.
 * 1289: The northern barbarians accept Sangaru Black Hammer as Great Chief. Diivois of Pon orders the castle of Crow’s Nest built.
 * 1290: The northern barbarians attack Zorn — the Great Barbarian War.
 * 1291: Ducal unrest follows the succession of Sinda to the throne of Pon.
 * 1294: Archduchess Sinda weds Duke Altias, founding the loljan dynasty of Pon.
 * 1297: Boewenn the Bard seizes the throne of Elfland. The Black Hand helps the Goblins defeat the barbarians under Sagaradu Black Hammer at the Battle of Stone Toad Forest.
 * 1298: Zorn expells the last barbarians.
 * 1299: The Eaters of Wisdom discover the Air Dragon calling spell. Ockwig is made sirdar of a united Zorn.
 * 1300: Boewenn captures Aws Noir; the Dwarves declare war.
 * 1302: Boewenn invades Mivior and Hothior — Boewenn’s War begins.
 * 1303: Boewenn captures the Invisible School and invades Immer; the Goblins defeat the Elves at the Battle of Twilight Moor. The Trolls invade Bad Axe Forest.
 * 1304: The Hothiorians defeat the Trolls at Copper Pond. The allied kingdoms invade Elfland and sack lder Bolis; Boewenn slain; the allies place a puppet, Gwawl, on the throne of Elfland.
 * 1307: The last foreign occupiers leave Elfland; Gwawl is slain in a riot; Maenor takes the Elven throne and initiates government reform.
 * 1319: Vimar, chief of the Markarakati, is assassinated by Mahalay.
 * 1320: Nystul of Zorn attacks Rosengg, but is defeated by a Dwarven-Muetarian alliance.
 * 1322: The adventurer Ortwir initiates the Brothers’ War in Zorn.
 * 1324: Reglissar intervenes in the Brother’s War in Zorn.
 * 1325: An agent of the Goblin rebel Ortwir assassinates Reglissar. Ortwir is defeated and forced to flee Zorn.
 * 1341: Juulute Wolfheart returns to the Markarakati territory to vanquish the monster that oppresses it; Mahalay dies and is succeeded by Durvas.
 * 1347 - 1350: Shucassam invades Pon for control over southern trade routes, but after an exhausting struggle the parties grudgingly draw up a peace that settles no issues.
 * Early - Mid 1300s: Maenor’s policies make Elfland a more open and prosperous society. The Eaters of Wisdom reform and recover from the losses of Boewenn’s War. Melwert suppresses the independence of the Hothiorian nobility and enhances crown authority. The Trolls settle their differences with their neighbors and attempt to modernize their society. Dwarven society regenerates after its long nadir. Muetar is recognized as Minaria’s strongest power. The Black Hand maintains contact with Minaria’s governments. The Goblins settle their domestic problems and win respectability among nations. Mivior remains the greatest sea power, but keeps watch on ambitious Rombune. Pon competes actively for control of the southern trade routes. Rombune attempts to enter the Reiken trade; several naval clashes with Miviorian warships ensue. Shucassam becomes Minaria’s richest state; a bitter rivalry for the southern trade develops with Pon.

Recent History
A decade ago, a great earthquake in Eastern Muetar diverted the mighty River Wanderer south, leaving a truncated stream that locals now call the Waning. Groat, once an island, is now surrounded by swamps. Though the Wanderer's course change has impoverished large areas of Eastern Muetar, the loss has been partially made up by Muetarian industry dredging the Deep River to allow larger vessels passage for increased shipping.

The temporary upset of the Muetarian kingdom following the earthquake allowed Immerites to move on Irredentist claims against the north shore of Lake Carth. They have not yet succeeded in seizing the territory, but have extended the Disputed Lands. On the other hand, while engaged against a weakened Muetar, Immer suffered the loss of Choked Chasm Pass to the Goblins. This reverse redoubled the importance of Gap Castle as a fortress, which was accordingly strengthened.

Great changes have occurred in the vicinity of Shucassam and Pon. The saline Sea of Zett, has expanded now that it is fed by the rerouted Wanderer River, extending it to Grugongi in the east and Jipols in the West. Luppi, reacting swiftly to opportunity, has improved the defenses of Grugongi and built a fleet to safeguard the increased trade across the Zett.

Meanwhile, the earthquake weakened the kingdom of Shucassam enough to allow the irreconcilable ethnics of Jipols to successfully revolt with the help of Rombune, effectively ending Shucassamite control of the lands immediately to its north. Currently, Jipols is a protectorate of Rombune, who has remade it into a port to allow construction of a fleet to ply the sea of Zett. Increasing pressure from a reviving Shucassam has made Jipols more dependent on Rombuni help and most observers regard its independence is a sham and consider it a part of the Rombuni kingdom.

As a check against their great rival, Luppi of Pon has supported Rombuni influence in Jipols until Ponese ships began to suffer attacks by corsairs based in Jipols. Nonetheless, the Archduke's ambition causes him to support the independence of the free port of Bartertown, from whence Pon is able to draw richly upon the trade of the south. To deal with enemy activity and to capture this commerce for its own, Shucassam has launched its own Zett fleet. The maritime feud between the three states grows ever more bitter.

Increasingly Mivior must answer to new challenges against its maritime hegemony. Independent shippers and smugglers divert trade from its mercantile houses by way of Freeport in the Waterless Downs. Pirates, growing ever bolder, raid far and wide. The most vulnerable ports of Mivior's rivals, such as Parros and Port Lork, have been strengthened by military engineering and her neighbors are no longer intimidated so easily. Once the most promising of Minaria's kingdoms, factors beyond the ingenuity of its leadership have allowed Mivior to stagnate to a surprising degree.

The Trolls, tired of defending fixed boundaries and strongholds with restive troops, no longer claim exclusivity in Trollwood and have dismantled the rude walls of the Face. Its royal treasures, such as they are, have been hidden in secret wasteland vaults. The Eaters of Wisdom and Black Hand, too, have wearied of acting in the uncongenial role of landed sovereignties. They have cut loose the surrounding wastelands that they once jealously claimed for themselves. Likewise, in times of national weakness, Shucassam is sometimes unable to exert its national claim to the entire length of the Old Caravan Road and failed to oppose brigands and even entire armies moving between the Banished Lands and the Wastes of Vah-Ka-Ka.

Distinct groups, such as the Ercii, Ghouls, Selkies, Shadowolves, and Tail-People, have grown in prominence. Magic is also better understood. Magic devices are catalogued and studied like never before. Alas, curses have grown to be so common in Minaria as to become a social problem. Not even the will of the gods have remained immutable; perhaps to counter the flood of evil magic, the divinities of the Temple of Kings are much more willing to loan their precious gifts to those who are of noble heart.

A new Enlightenment floods through Minaria from Neuth, following the capture of the ancient libraries in Ider Bolis. New philosophies circulate amongst even the humble. In part the rising prosperity is responsible. Where once charitable orders, such as the cult of Huisinga, showed their benevolence by supplying basic sustenance and medical care to the wretched, the lightened burden on the peasantry now allows priests and missionaries the luxury of addressing higher abstractions, emphasizing the idea of the gods' love for the individual. The change is evident in the frequency that peasants flee the land to become mercenaries, vagabonds, or sailors. And it is also evident in the waxing tension in rural villages. Where heroes appear to exploit the discontent, local risings will follow, as will their violent suppression. There are changes without Minaria, too. In the West, the Ogres become even more intrusive, but somewhat more tractable. Minarian contacts with the southern subcontinent of Girion grow ever closer. Pon, Rombune, and Shucassam outstrip all others in capitalizing on the new trade and the cultural exchange, but stronger ties also tend to embroil the insular Minarians in the strange and violent doings of the southerners.

There are ominous rumblings in the East. Wyrms are now permanent residents along the southeastern borderlands, where earlier their existence was only hearsay. Even more dangerous to the border kingdoms are the Eastern Horsemen, spilling over the frontier to lay waste far and wide. There are also rumors of something worse behind the barbarians - a merciless empire building in the Far East with a monarch possessing world conquering ambitions and who, it is said, has already sent his insolent emissaries to Minaria's courts, demanding tokens of submission and tribute.

Whatever else may be said, the end of Minarian history is not yet come.