Introduction The World of Sidria is a vast landscape covered in unnumbered continental masses. Any history of the entire world will necessarily be abbreviated, as the amount of information available is voluminous, covering some 15,750 years of recorded histories, in the reckoning of the Silver Brotherhood and the Bards of Melnerithon. The earliest records held by the Brotherhood are retellings of earlier writings by elven bards and sages of the Dreaming Isle. These writings cover the early centuries of the world when the elder races, Mourns, Elves and Dragons ruled all. Pre-History In the beginning Sidria was a garden world, with no wastelands or poisonous fens. The time before formation of the Bards of Melnerithon in 15752 BP (Before Present) is known only through the vaguest of legends. In those days the Dragons were an organized society ruled by a great golden dragon who was rumored to be a direct avatar of Drakken himself. The elves were an undying race of creatures that resembled modern elves only slightly, being creatures of almost pure light. The Mourn, a race that no longer exists, were planar travelers, said to come from some neutral outer plane. Legends of those times tell of great magics affecting large areas of the world. The Mourn were said to be masters of arcane and psionic energies, while the elves and dragons were masters of arcane and divine magic. All three races were able to coexist peacefully for untold ages. When the Bards of Melnerithon were formed by Celeric of Melnerithon there was as yet no formal calendar or means of tracking the passage of time. The bards devised the system of grouping the repeating seasons into years, and dividing those years into the convenient months and fortnights used even unto today. Once time was divided into units the bards were able to record events in a logical system. This ended the time of legends and began the recording of histories. The Great Dissolution The most psionically aware of the Mourn began to feel concerned about the bardic scheme almost as soon as it was instituted. By systematically organizing time a control was established over the way beings perceived themselves and their universe. This led to most of the dragons and elves leaning towards a more lawful way of viewing things, and threw off the psychic balance which had allowed the most powerful Mourn psions to prevail in Sidria. Within a year after the bardic system was instituted the Mourn began to feel a significant diminishment of their psychic powers. They reacted strongly, denouncing the bards in open councils. The elves and dragons belittled this complaint at first, as they were not closely acquainted with psionic powers. The Mourn quickly became desperate and, for the first time, a war began. The Great Dissolution, as this first war was termed, did not last long, as the bards reckoned it, but it was devastating. The Mourn, still powerful in their mental energies, took control of many elves and dragons, turning them against their neighbors. They also used combinations of psionic and arcane magic to create lesser races to serve as front line troops for them. These races, the Umberhulks and Illithids were imbued with powerful mental energies themselves. As such, they were very intelligent and soon learned the use of magic and psionics. In turn, the dragons began creating races of their own - dragonturtles, lizardfolk and dinosaurs were developed and deployed. The elves called upon their Gods to help them, and the Gods put dwarves, gnomes and the fairy races into the world. The Great Dissolution raged across the face of Sidria, laying waste to vast lands, opening great rifts in the earth and blasting wide areas into molten ruin. It lasted thirteen years. At the end of it the Mourn were destroyed. For many centuries it was assumed that none of the Mourn survived. The dragons, elves and the newer races looked about them and were ashamed. The Diaspora The Great Council of the Gods of Sidria looked down from their seats in the outer planes and decided as a group that a lesson must be taught. The utter destruction of a wise and powerful race was not to be left unpunished. They split the elves and dragons into warring clans - divided against themselves. They raised up the newer races and made them numerous, to challenge the previously mighty elders. They left the devastations of the Great Dissolution as warnings to the future generations that no such war of genocide should ever be waged again. Then the Gods of Death and Destruction saw their chance, and they took the devastated areas as breeding grounds. They perverted the races of Sidria and divided them into multitudes of corrupted spawn - the goblin races, giants, and innumerable monstrous concoctions were spread at this time. They also approached many of the clans of dragons and elves and convinced them of the profit of the way of evil. The council of Gods was thus broken as well, at this point. The Gods representing the powers of life and good saw that the evil Gods had acted against them. They could not agree on a reasonable means of dealing with this action, and split into factions. With a last act of concerted effort the neutral Gods gathered and created a neutral race with the potential to set the chaos of Sidria straight - the humans. Humans were created to have lesser powers than any of the older humanoid races, but they were given the potential to learn at a rapid rate and adapt to various situations more effectively than any previous folk. Humans were placed across the face of Sidria in lands both fair and foul, to give them the opportunity to attain their potential. In this way human societies developed in contact with every other race - gaining information from and influence over all of them. The First Laernean Empire After the Diaspora the dragon races were split into warring clans according to alignment. The Gods saw fit to label the dragons by altering their scale color to reflect their clan - thus creating the evil chromatic dragons, neutral gem dragons and the good metallic dragons. The most powerful and wise of the good dragons saw that it would be beneficial to have some control over the evil dragons. They contacted as many of the neutral dragons as possible and made a pact. Then this organized force approached the haunts of the elves. They found a diminished race, also divided into warring clans. The grey elves and high elves were now but a shadow of their former selves - no longer creatures of pure light, but only reflecting the light a little. Others of the elves were even less like the true elves - the sylvan and wild elves being more neutrally oriented, and the dark elves harboring truly evil intentions. The dragon pact approached the grey elves and proposed a government - a system of establishing control and order on a society. The elves agreed and over a period of seven years the group forged an empire which spanned more than 60% of the land area of Sidria. They called this great nation the Laernean Empire. The Laernean Empire was ruled by a council of dragons and elves. They developed magics almost as mighty as their predecessors had wielded before the Dissolution. Great towers and keeps were grown out of the solid rock. Cities were built and roads lain across the continents. The Empire lasted over 2500 years. In this time the elves and dragons discovered the true extent of their fall from grace, as they realized that they now grew old and died of disability - something unheard of in the time of legend. Gradually this understanding caused them to become bitter. In addition, the action of the Gods' punishment became obvious, as the younger races developed in vast numbers - far out-pacing the elders. In particular the humans spread - until they were a cancer on the face of Sidria. Humans had been building towns and villages of their own for centuries, living in places not ruled by dragons or elves. Many joined the empire and learned the powerful magic of the elves and dragons A great company of these mages gathered at the council of Sebendaris and formed the Silver Brotherhood. This organization of arcane artists sworn to uphold justice and life continues through to this day. But far more humans developed their own nations outside of the Empire. Finally the balance of power was clearly shifting. Evilly aligned humans were working with dark elves beneath the ground - delving out deep areas of underdark that lay far below the dwarven mines. Human slaves served in th forces of great illithid nations that spread even further and deeper within the earth. Humans were allied with goblin races on the surface, and were interbreeding with the sylvan and wild elf populations. Humans were interbreeding with and allying with giants. The world was becoming crowded with these short-lived humans and their ever-increasing spawn. The combined dragon, elf, dwarf and gnome population of the Laernean Empire was unwilling to act in force against the humans - seeing that possibility as leading towards another Great Dissolution. The humans, however, were not inclined to be so worried. Three powerful kings gathered in secret to plot against the sprawling empire. They gathered sympathetic folk from a dozen human nations, as well as powerful mages and clerics who had learned from the dragons. They summoned forces from the armies of the evil Gods and they called upon their allies in the underdark. Together this massive confederation assaulted the Laernean Empire. At first the ruling council could not believe or understand what was happening. By the time they realized that they were truly in peril the damage had been done. The humans, demons, goblins, dark elves and other organized and disorganized armies struck in many places at about the same time. They assaulted keeps held by surprised elven mages and razed cities peopled by overconfident citizens of the empire. In the end the ruling council of the empire dissolved into bickering over laying blame. The elves and the dragons fought amongst themselves. The human-led forces were countered in many places by powerful elven mages or resolute dwarven armies, but the Empire was no more. The Age of Confusion For centuries after the fall of the first Empire Sidria was left in chaotic ruin. Thousands died of warfare, disease and famine. Most of the powerful magical knowledge of the first empire was lost. Scattered monasteries kept knowledge of the Gods alive, so that divine magic did not perish from the world, but arcane magic was almost entirely lost. In the scattered wastelands various races gained power for a few decades or a century or so, but soon lost that power again. Towers of stone were built and flourished, then were left to ruin. The tide of humanity diminished and the sylvan elves, dwarves and gnomes regained some of their lost population. The dragons hid in secret mountain lairs, forgetting much of their past glory in their shame over losing it all twice. The grey elves and high elves likewise split into scattered communities, never regaining much population. During this age of confusion the arts of war were expanded, so that powerful fighting techniques were developed. The monasteries developed orders of monks who studied fighting techniques not dependant on the quality of weapon available. Towns and cities left without the protections of their powerful mages turned to developing a professional soldier and guard class. Weapons were invented and armors were developed. Some great nations began to rise and persist. The Society of Sorcerers was formed. It was also during this time that certain humans and a few other races rediscovered some of the lost art of psionics that only the illithids had kept alive after the fall of the Mourns. It was this reawakening psionic activity which brought the beholders to Sidria. The Beholder Wars Starting about 9500 BP the Bards of Melnerithon began recording instances of unexplained disappearance of entire populations in various town and village areas. At first this was attributed to the ravages of the illithids, for it was noted that the struck areas always had one or more psionically active adventurers living in the area. Over a period of six years there were dozens of assaults scattered across the continents where the Bards had influence. It took this long before these scattered assaults were recognized as a continuing and interrelated problem. Then the assault on the city of Balphegor brought the problem to the attention of even the most skeptical. It was the year of Cleric's Sorrow in the reckoning of the nation of Granthor. There was a great gathering of priests and loyal followers of The Lady at the capital city of Balphegor. The king of Granthor was concerned over security and had contacted a sorcerer of his acquaintance who also was a psion. This sorcerer gathered twenty-seven psions together to provide security for the festival. It is recorded that nobody had seen more than a half-dozen human psions in one place before. Not since the days of the legendary Mourn had so much psionic power been in such close proximity. It is apparently this that led the beholder force to Balphegor that day. At the height of the festival there was a chorus of screams as several planar portals opened around and amongst the crowds. Eye tyrants of various sizes and powers poured forth in great numbers and began laying waste to the city and its inhabitants. The large number of spellcasters present prevented the assault from being a complete massacre. They were able to slay several of the beholders and beholder-kin and to save a number of the citizens. Still some fifteen thousand attendees lost their lives in that assault, and the city was laid ruin. In addition, the amount of damage done to the beholder force by the gathered priests, mages, sorcerers and psions led to an apparent declaration of war by whatever beholder organization was behind the scattered assaults. Over the next few weeks beholders boiled forth from every cavern and swamp for hundreds of miles around. Beholder forces opened planar portals into towns and cities and laid them to ruin. Tens of thousands died and the nation of Granthor was completely erased from the landscape. Over the next several months beholders continued to spread their devastation across a widening area of Sidria, until at last the Silver Brotherhood, The Scarlet Hand and several other guilds of magic, including some secret societies whose names and provenance have not been recorded, gathered and decided to oppose the beholders en masse. A great host of mages, sorcerers, priests and psions were gathered in one place to set a trap. They awaited the assault of a beholder force, and when it occurred as they expected, they sent several hundred powerful adepts of the various arts through the portals back to the Beholder's place of origin. None of the great ones who went through the portals ever returned, however the Beholder Wars were over. No more portals were opened, and the beholders who were already in Sidria apparently were abandoned, to survive as they might. Beholders continue to spread destruction where they exist, even to this day, but they have never been an organized and massive threat since that time. The Second Empire One of the longest existing human nations was the Kingdom of Aelentia, built up from a single city to spread across nearly one tenth of the land area of Sidria. Aelentia started on the ruins of the city of Sebendaris (where the Silver Brotherhood was founded) at the beginning of the Age of Confusion. It spread slowly during that chaotic time, and was not terribly affected by the Beholder Wars. After the Beholders were thrown back Aelentia began to spread southwards, eventually encompassing an area now known as 'The Seven Cities'. The great trading port of Atalon already existed at this time, being one of the few cities to continuously survive from the time of legends. For a brief time from 8951 BP to 8878 BP the Kingdom of Aelentia and the Kingdom of Eastmarch were united under a dragon ruler who was seeking to reforge the Laernean Empire. This dragon, a Gold/Silver hybrid named Minar held the new empire together long enough for the Bards to take notice, but he was finally brought to ruin because he fell in love with a red dragon. The enemies of Minar saw his love as a fatal flaw. They drove him and his empress from the throne. Aelentia continued as an independent nation, although it was thrown into a period of unrest and civil war. Eastmarch fell into ruin for several decades, only to be reformed by a great warrior king named Ardenn. The Progeny of Minar Minar's liason with the red dragon, Kalathra, lasted for many years. Finally, they produced one clutch, of which only one of his progeny survived - a Strange, red-gold dragon named Lareth. Lareth dug out a vast lair in the face of the Golden Mountains, and was a scourge on the central parts of the Aelentian kingdom, causing the southern reaches to split away about 7150 BP and form the Confederation of the Seven Cities. Lareth lived to be an Elder Wyrm, and was a constant plague on the region. He had several dozen offspring, most of which died young fighting Aelyntian knights. Some dozen or so, though survived to reproduce themselves. The Greater Reevorn Forest and the Mountains of the Sunrise are still the home of descendants of Minar and Lareth. One great grandson of Minar, however, is still a concern today. Lareth's daughter, Nyldrikar, took Lareth's lair when he died. She was a wiser dragon than Lareth, showing more of her grandsire's intelligence and forbearance. Nyldrikar gathered the great horde of Lareth and offered much of it to the troubled peoples of the Tanader region, which was the ruined realm laying between the Aelentian kingdom in the north and the rising Seven Cities in the south. She thus forged a pact with them that made up in a small way for the ravages of her father. In doing this she attracted the attention of a gold dragon living not far away in the Golden Mountains. This dragon, Klindrith, approached Nyldrikar and spent many years in friendship with her. About 2400 BP they moved beyond friendship and mated. Finally, their fourth clutch of eggs produced one surviving offspring - a gold-looking dragonette with reddish highlights to his scales. They named him after his ancestor Minar, shortening it slightly to Min. This great dragon survives to this day, holding the lair of Lareth as his own. He has proven a noble, if somewhat unpredictable neighbor to the surrounding nations. Now an Elder Wyrm in his own right, approaching his 2000th year, he is a force to be reckoned with throughout the region. The Fall of Aelentia In 803 BP the Kingdom of Aelentia was in the process of enthroning a new king when a powerful sorcerer named Sordoth attempted a coup by way of raining destruction down on the capital city. His spell got out of hand, however, and he summoned a very large meteor, which not only destroyed the city of Aelentia, but also laid waste to the countryside in all directions for some miles. The fist of Sordoth left a boiling lake of mud along the coast of the Sea of Tharan, and destroyed crops and forests over a large area. The central control of the kings of Aelentia was destroyed. The various Dukes attempted to return central control for several years, but within three decades the kingdom was truly dead, divided into seven quarrelling kingdoms that were all former duchies. As the power and influence of Aelentia fell, the power and influence of the Seven Cities grew. Now Atalon is likely the most powerful city in Sidria. The Seven Cities sits astride a major north-south trade route and controls the roads and sea-lanes through the area. The Great Bridge of Kings, in Atalon is the only reasonably clear and civilized connection between the Desert Kingdoms in the south and the multitude of nations in the north. Present Day - The Third Empire? About six months ago reports began filtering southward about a major uprising in the northern lands. The Kingdom of Deseret - a former duchy of Aelentia, has apparently fallen to swelling armies of hobgoblins, orcs and dark elves. The dark elves have apparently found some massive magical tome from the time of the first empire and are laying claim to the elven heritage of that day. They have made a pact with several evil dragons of the region and claim to be reforming the Laernean Empire - only this time as an evil regime. In response, several dragons of the Golden Mountains have announced their intent to reform the true Laernean Empire themselves. Mages, Sorcerers, Priests and Psions of all stations are being recruited to aid in the conflict that will inevitably result from these efforts. The cities of the north are gathering warriors and scouts to aid in their defense against the spreading cloud of darkness coming from Deseret and Granthor Fen. This conflict has not yet had a significant effect in the Seven Cities. Life remains much as it has been for several hundred years. Nevertheless, the rumors of wars are beginning to spread. The Foggy Mountains, west of the Seven Cities are seen to be swarming with ever more humanoids of all sorts. Bugbears and trolls have appeared in areas closer to Atalon than noted in centuries. Just last month a large force of men, led by druids from Hawk Isles assaulted a known ogre and hobgoblin stronghold where negotiations with dark elves were ongoing. This bodes ill for the possibility of remaining aloof to the brewing wars. It seems a time of troubles is upon us once more!