The Second Age

Asmalur, Land of the Dragon
Back in 1423 in the Second Age, Asmalur was ruled by a single kingdom; Kaza (in the ancient Kazian language, Kaza means "Dragon-Folk"), a strong, human community. Asmalur was filled with the magical beasts of the sky, and the Kaza had the unique ability to tame and communicate with the dragons. The people of Kaza offered the dragons pig sacrifices, and in return, the dragons offered their service in battle. Due to this alliance, Asmalur was a peaceful land during most of the Second Age, with the only human population being the Kazian Kingdom. At the head of this kingdom in 1423 was King Artir II, who was the fourth king of the Kaza family bloodline. Artir II was a bold man who had the utmost confidence in his army. He believed no one army, not even the army of the Nether, could stop him; especially with the protection of the dragons.

~ The Great War ~
In 1425 of the Second Age, Kaza was attacked by the Elves of the Eastern Sea. Artir II, enraged that the dragons were not there to aid in Kaza's defense, traveled to Silver Peak, where the dragons reside, to demand their assistance. However, when he arrived, he was appalled to see that the dragons - every single one - had been slain on the mountain side. He immediately turned around to deliver this grave news to his men, and he knew the truth; Kaza would have to rely on the courage of its soldiers to fight off the Eastern Elvish Armies.

Whilst preparing his troops to meet them at the shores of the great sea, Artir II received a message from his head advisor, Omtur son of Calidyrr. Omtur informed Artir II that the Dwarves of the Western Mountains were planning to attack Kaza at its western wall and, if the information was true, would leave Kaza fighting a war on two fronts. Artir II was too proud to take military advice from Omtur, and decided to send all of his troops to the Eastern shore to fight off the Elves.

Omtur's intel was correct, though, and the dwarves, led by Rohun the Great, sieged the western wall in late 1425. Luckily for Kaza, their army was powerful, and they managed to fight back both the Elves and the Dwarves, who were never to attack the city again.

~ Revolution ~
Howerver, the incident that had just occured caused Omtur to grow impatient of Artir II's boldness, and in early 1426, Omtur started a revolution against the Kaza family. For two years, the Kazas were at odds with the Calidyrrs, as they came to be known, but no blood was shed, as it was the Kaza way to settle familiar disparities with speech, not sword. Then in late 1428, a friend of Omtur, Laurisis, came into the picture. He tried to settle the differences of between the Kazas and the Calidyrrs, but his efforts were in vain, because both Omtur and Artir II were too proud to accept their differences. Laurisis gathered his belongings and with his family and a few other Kaza citizens, left the city in search of a new future.

~ Citizens Begin to Leave Kaza ~
They traveled south, past the sea and desert, until they found a forest near a small river, and decided to make home there. Word returned to Kaza that Laurisis' group made shelter in a peaceful location, and more citizens left Kaza and began a life with Laurisis. Under Laurisis' careful watch, the small village turned into a larger one, and the villagers were so please with how Laurisis watched over them that in early 1429 they officially declared him royalty, and constructed him a palace on the hill. When he died in 1446, his son officially named their city Laurisis, to respect the great man and what he did for his friends and family.

~ Great Migration ~
Back in 1429, the revolution was progressing. Omtur's brother, Lictur (the architect of the Castle Kaza and most of the residential housing), grew tired of the unstable government. He left with his wife, Sibatrona, and his children, to begin a new life, far away from the corrupt system that had engulfed the once honorable Kazian way. A multitude of citizens (some say near 200) accompanied Lictur on his journey. They found a massive pine forest to the far east, and began using their resources to construct great houses and a tall watch tower. But in 1430, Lictur's wife, Sibatrona, grew very ill. She knew that while she was alive, she was endangering the others, because they might contract her illness. She committed suicide in 1430 so that the lives of her companions would be prolonged. Lictur moved to name their new settlement after his wife, and a unanimous decision was reached that their new city would be forever known after his wife, Sibatrona.

~ An Unprofitable Situation ~
When the Kazian government was in complete turmoil in 1430, a group of wealthy businessmen began to hold secret meetings to decide where they would obtain new income. Kaza had nearly lost all of its income, and none of the profits that the city made could be dispersed to the peasants. Then, a man by the name of Alastair Derelict came forward and suggested that it would be in the best interests of the businessmen to leave Kaza and find a new source of wealth, because there was obviously no future for them should they remain where they were. They departed Kaza later in 1430, heading north, and nobody heard from them for another 8 years, when Alastair arrived in Calidyrr with a strange new building material that he called "The Brick of Nether", which he intended to sell to the Calidyrrian government. Despite Lord Omtur of Calidyrr's persistent requests, Alastair would not divulge the source of these bricks. Alastair did, however, comply with Lord Omtur's request to visit his new home. Alastair took him on a journey that lasted a year, and in 1439, Lord Omtur of Calidyrr was introduced to a city constructed entirely of this mysterious brick called "Nether Brick". Alastair told him that he called this city Ntk-xed-kil (due to this incredibly obscure name, historians have proposed that Alastair was given the city's name in a divine dream) but it was more commonly known as "The Hold" due to its imposing structure and strong architecture. Alastair died in 1498 of the Second Age, and his son, Alverous, took the reigns. The lordship of The Hold is decided strictly by bloodline, and the current director of The Hold is Artinious Derelict.

~ The Last Dragon ~
Lictur's oldest son, Celtar, a captain in the Kazian Army, decided that he wanted a life apart from his family. During the cover of nightfall, he abandoned the caravan of travelers. He found Laurisis and his family, stayed there until 1431, then continued farther westward. He built a small home in the plains west of Laurisis' camp, and for years, lived off of what he could find or farm. He grew very knowledgable in the art of farming. On one fateful summer night in 1437, Celtar awoke to the sound of an earthquake outside of his house. He threw on his garments and grabbed his sword and headed outside. When he exited his home, he nearly collapsed in shock of what he was viewing; it was a dragon - black and white with small wings and a long, snake like body with a silver underbelly.

The dragon told Celtar that his name was Shuriboa, that he was the most honest man he had ever observed, and said that its kin once had a commitment to the people of Kaza. Shuriboa told Celtar that he would honor that code of allegiance, and in a flash of lightning and a burst of thunder, Shuriboa caused the earth to erupt, throwing large portions of the ground into the air. Celtar braced himself, knowing that these giant rocks would soon crash to the earth behind his house, possibly collapsing the building. But they didn't. The islands hovered there, and Celtar stared in amazement as a golden staircase descended from the floating islands to the base of his home.

"I grant you these mystic islands for your endeavors, and you will also receive my eternal protection. I cannot, however, live forever so I must use my powers to turn myself to stone. When you are in despair, I will awake, and those who threaten you or your descendants shall be met with a vengeance," Shuriboa told Celtar.

Before Celtar could ask what happened to the rest of the dragons, Shuriboa had already turned itself to stone; an enormous figure of a dragon, curled around the golden staircase, standing guard for the Kaza, one last time. In an attempt to honor the slain dragons, Celtar named this floating landmass Soarren, after Shuriboa's father, the leader of the dragons.

~ The Fall of Kaza ~
The year was 1432, and Kaza was in disarray. The loyal citizens and soldiers who remained still held on to a sliver of hope that a change of government could hold their grand city in tact. King Artir II was growing old, however, and he did not have the strength to continue leading his peasants. On his deathbed, King Artir II begged Omtur to lead the rest of the Kazians south, to start anew. Artir II warned Omtur that without the dragons, the Kazians would be vulnerable to attack, especially since most of the citizens had departed and spread out over the past few years. He died months later, and so was the life of King Artir II, fourth king of Kaza.

~ A New Kingdom ~
Omtur led the Kazians south, as he was requested by the late King Artir II. He encountered Laurisis and his already successful village, and decided to start the new Kaza north of the river. Only he decided to name this new city Calidyrr, after his father, a powerful and knowledgeable mage who was trapped in the Nether by a dark wizard. Under Lord Omtur's rule, Calidyrr progressed extensively and quickly. By the coming of the Third Age, Calidyrr was popularly known as the most technologically advanced kingdom. He instituted a systematic republic, where the Lord (decided by bloodline) would requestan action from the Calidyrrian Senate (5 elected citizens of Calidyrr). It was a system of give and take, and that institution allowed Calidyrr to become the most powerful realm by the Third Age.

~ A Permanent Residence ~
Following their defeat during the Great War, the some Elven soldiers decided that they did not want to return home to their island, Elwien. They transformed their battle camps into the city of Tyrcilnn. During that time (some say around 1440 Second Age) a small sapling planted by the Elvish farmer Halikir grew, overnight, into a massive tree, taking up so much space that the trees around it had to be cut down. The Elves of Tyrcilnn saw this as divine intervention, and declared the tree as a holy site. This tree demanded so much water that the Elves were forced to spend 40 years digging a massive canal from the sea to the tree to keep the Great Tree constantly healthy. Since then, the Great Tree has been the centerpiece of worship and celebration in Elvish folklore and events. Thousands of elves every year make a pilgrimage to the tree to sacrifice to the Elven god Iljika. Since that day the Elves have not been slighted by disease or war, and many believe that it is because Iljika (by method of the Great Tree) is protecting them.

~ A City to Remember ~
After the Dwarves were embarrassed in the Great War, Rohun the Great led his troops west and found a large mountain and out of anger ordered all his troops to begin hollowing out the mountain. Many soldiers and miners died during the excavation and their bodies were buried in the walls. After they had extracted all of the minerals in the mountain, Rohun the Great ordered a city to be built out of what they collected. A 30 year construction took place, and finally the underground city was finished in 1498 2A. Rohun the Great ordered the city to be named after him, and the city was called Bonrohun in 1499. Rohun the Great passed away later that year.

Asmalur, the modern age
Over 1300 years have passed since the events of the Great War and those that followed it. Some cities and towns still stand, some have fallen into ruin. Now within the Third Age, and the seeds of civilization have been sown across the land. Find your place in Asmalur. Endure many tribulations and glory shall be forever yours, as your nation stands above the rest.

But which nation will that be?