King Arturias
Even in the midst of this Dark Age a flicker of hope emerged. A boy is born, nurtured by a wizard of considerable power (Merlin). His name is Arturias, and in his veins flows the blood of the once proud line of Emperors of Namoria. Where his father, Uther, failed, Arturias (or Arthur, as his name came to be pronounced in the emerging 'Westron' tongue) succeeded, forging an alliance of petty rulers on the border of Wendar and Bretonnia. By 577, he had won over nearly all of the former Western Imperial provinces of Bretonnia, Wendar, Reynardy and Darokin. Though some of this was through force of arms, much more was achieved through diplomacy and Arthur's personal charisma and vision. Simply put, the people were ready to believe that there was something out there better than the dread they had endured through the fall of the Empire and the darkness that followed. Ultimately, Arthur is crowned king of this 'Holy Empire' and sets about rebuilding and recovering much of what had been lost—starting with the security of the people under his rule. To this end, he establishes an order of Knighthood unlike anything the world had ever seen—dedicated to the defense of the people rather than their own interests. Great knights arose from this order: Lancelot and Roland of Reynardy, Gareth and Gawain of Bretonnia, Oliver of Darokin, The Warrior Maiden Bradamante of Wendar and many more. Arthur forges strong alliances with non-human races as well. The Kings of Daengar and Sylvanor (dwarves and elves) see in him a rare foresight most humans (to them) seem to lack. Indeed, the Elven population of Wendar throw their wholehearted support behind the young king.
600 A.C.
The Fall of Camelot
Arthur's Holy Empire halts the downward spiral of the West. But alas, this shining time was not to last. Even from the start, the Arthur was plagued by enemies. In 578 he turned back a Ylari invasion through Spaña. Roland fell here, guarding a mountain pass against a vicious Ylari counterattack. In 588, an Ethengarian Horde makes another attempt at an invasion of the West—but they too are shattered by Arthur and his knights. In 590, Nordian barbarians once again begin to raid the coasts. But through it all—and through increasing hardship at home—Arthur and Camelot endured and prospered. It would all come to an end, however, in 600. A massive Denagothian army of humanoids, evil knights and fell beasts under the banner of Arthur's bastard son Mordred and his mother Morgana assail the kingdom. In the final, titanic battle—fought at the gates of Camelot itself, both armies were devastated and Arthur himself was slain. What was left of the Denagothian army was driven back into their lands, but the damage had been done.
643 A.C.
The New West
Though Camelot was not to endure, Arthur had succeeded in bringing Europe out of the dark ages. His Holy Empire fragmented after his death, but even fighting between the various would-be kings did not cause it to slip back too far. In 643, the Kingdom of Reynardy is formed under Charles, a powerful knight and warrior. This would be the first of the large, feudal kingdoms that would spring up in the wake of Camelot—most of which were actually modeled after Arthur's mold (though none would quite achieve its glory).
700 A.C.
The Shires
More than any other land, Wendar suffered from the fall of Camelot. The entire realm had served as a battleground for the war between Arthur and Denagoth. Only a few small towns survived. The Elves living in the Eastern reaches of Wendar retreated into their forests to try and recover their strength. The men gathered where they could to try and rebuild. And into this vacuum came a people who, until this point, had been without a homeland of their own. Most races called them 'Halflings', but these little people called themselves the 'Hin'. They had long lived in the shadow of other nations, most notably in wendar and bretonnia. A simple, agrarian people by nature, Hin were also notable for their surprising resilience and ingenuity (when pressed). Like many displaced by the war against Denagoth and the subsequent fracturing of the holy empire, the Hin were just looking for a safe place to try and rebuild. They found it among the ruins of a de-populated Wendar. Growing from a single, small settlement, they soon took possession of a large portion of West-Central Wendar—dividing the lands into five different shires. Some brutish local barons (human) tried several times to 'annex' the shires or even drive out the 'invaders', but the Hin proved remarkably adept and stubborn in the defense of their new realm. They were here to stay. Many of the other residents of Wendar welcomed the presence of this staunch ally—seeing the Shires both as a bulwark against villainy and a breadbasket to help supplement their own meagre food supplies.
714 A.C.
The Nordian Empire
In the early 700's, a power-struggle among the Jarls of the Northlands ultimately resulted in one ruthless man coming to power as the first overall 'King' of Nordia—Sven "Forkbeard". He was not simply content to raid the 'weak' southern states of 'civilized' mankind. He wanted to extend his rule. And thus he fell upon the land of Bretonnia, conquering its most powerful ruler Ethelred (hereafter known as 'The Unready'). But even as he took possession of these lands, rebels in his vassal states back home broke away from the Tyrant Sven. Vestland, Kernmark, Soderfjord. Sven quickly found it was more difficult to maintain an Empire than it was to gain one.
723 A.C.
Birth of Kingdoms
Following the lead of Reynardy some eighty years earlier, Darokin is finally unified under a single King, Ansel. Years later, in 742, Nordian rule of Bretonnia was finally broken as well and a single King, Eadmund, ruled the unified realm. In 780, the far off realm of Kranovia was finally unified—modeled after the Namorian empire, complete with a 'czar' (caesar) on the throne. Also during this time, the Ylari possession of Spaña had been challenged, with vatic Knights driving the 'moors' (as they called them) further south down the peninsula. Three minor kingdoms, Leon, Castille and Aragon are formed during this time.
803 A.C.
Changing Times
Even as Kingdoms flourished across the face of Europe, new iterations of old ideas began to creep into some realms. The Dwarves, having lived with the same government and social order for centuries, found an unfamiliar change overtaking them. Contact with the outside world had brought new ideas as well as an unexpected population growth due to trade. But with the uncertainties of human politics, food from outside was not always assured. Thus a new caste of worker had grown up—Farmers in the great lake valleys of Daengar. This was a very 'undwarflike' profession. And despite the practicality of it, Dwarven farmers—and indeed even those traders and craftsmen who spent more time above ground then below—were seen as second class citizens. As such, this growing class found themselves without a voice in the Dwarven council. And so it was that a new clan was formed, the Wyrwarf, to speak for these disenfranchised 'hill dwarves'. Though initially resisted by the other, established clans, the Wyrwarf were just as stubborn as their kindred and were eventually (no matter how grudgingly) accepted onto the council of clans. But Daengar wasn't the only place to see change. On the Minrothad Isles, the feudal government was quickly overtaken by powerful merchant guild families who took over rule through a council of guildmasters. In Darokin, their King Sandthrall II is killed in battle with Mountain Orcs—dying without an heir. Rule of that realm falls to an Oligarchy of powerful nobles and merchant houses.
866 A.C.
Reynardy and Bretonnia
Being two of the earliest organized and most powerful kingdoms in Europe, it was bound to happen that Reynardy (France) and Bretonnia (England) would eventually come to odds. After years of border skirmishes and political maneuvers, it was the Reynardians who took the first decisive step. In 866, Duke William of the Reynardian province of Normandie, led an invasion of Bretonnia and quickly defeated it's king Harold. Thus began Bretonnia's mixed Norman and Breton heritage that would give the culture the unique flavor it has to this very day. This would also mark the first major point in the 'feud' between the two nations. For despite William's status as a Reynardian noble, his loyalty, and that of his heirs, would soon lie with their own Kingdom of Bretonnia, rather than their ancestral homelands in Reynardy.
895 A.C.
The Crusades
Despite the 'settling' of the contentions between Reynardy and Bretonnia, much of Europe was plagued by low-scale conflict on the borders between the various realms. Many saw this as the byproduct of too many young Knights and not enough immediate enemies for them to prove themselves against (this was a debatable theory, however, considering the number of humanoid and monstrous menaces still present in the wilderness regions of Europe). In any case, the Vatic church finally decided to do something about it—to try and focus this energy to a more productive cause. Of course by this time, the Vatic church as an organization was perhaps not as true to its calling as it had been in the past. Some churchmen now took their positions to enhance their own worldly power—and wealth. And so it was that the Crusades began—driven on by Religious fervor and a veiled greed for wealth and dominion. The first Crusade was launched in 895 in response to a call for help from the Emperor Gabronius of Namoria, who was losing ground in his struggle against the Sindians. Thousands of Westron knights answered the call. Marching across the breadth of Europe, they finally reached the borders of Sind. Alongside the Namori, they not only turned back the assault, but drove on further into the desert realm to sack and conquer many of its western cities and towns. Though some Crusaders took these dominions to rule as their own, most eventually reverted back to Sindian control, either through force-of-arms or abandonment by Westron rulers.
The Second Crusade was launched in 947 against the Ylari remaining in the Spañan peninsula. They were driven back to their southernmost refuges in Corduva and Grenada, and the Kingdom of Castille made great gains in territory. In the wake of this Crusade, a particularly extreme religious movement first organized. Calling itself the 'Inquisition', this group of fanatic priests set about trying to convert or kill any who did not accept the Vatic faith. The rulers of the Spañan kingdoms turned a blind eye to the Inquisitions increasingly brutal tactics, partly because they served their own needs, but also out of fear of this shadowy organization.
In both cases, these crusades began with righteous zeal on the part of many participants. But in both cases, many involved lost their way, and the moral high ground, by falling to greed and material gain.
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