A Brief History of Iskitaan
When the creatures of Chaos overran the Nation of Enshalla, the people of Enshalla fled through high mountain passes to a new paradise the god Rama scooped from the earth for them. This land was christened Iskitaan, and became the refugees new home.
The lands of Enshalla became known as the Chaos Lands. Much has been lost of the events of the first few hundred years after the Exodus, but it is known that the new nation the Enshallens founded was betrayed by a traitor who stole the son of the Enshallen King and had the King assassinated. The traitor left behind a prophecy that the Kings Heir would return to claim his throne in a thousand years. He would be known by his golden eyes.
The great nation became hundreds of city-states and small territories ruled by warlords and bandits. Kingdoms came and went, wizards were bought and sold, armies raised and destroyed, yet no one was ever able to restore the former glories of Enshalla. Iskitaan remained divided into these little realms for almost nine hundred years and the prophecy was forgotten.
In 934 AE a little known wizard named Amadis became the chief advisor for the ruling lord of the City-State Claren. Through his innate organizational skills and natural charm, he convinced the Lord of Claren that Enshalla could be reborn, with Claren as the capital. As Claren grew in size, so did Amadis in power, until he eventually deposed the Lord and assumed the title of Emperor.
Amadis came to be called the Dark Emperor for his rule was one of an iron fist. He became fearful of other wizards, afraid they would try to seize power from him once he united Iskitaan. So he outlawed magic, and put a bounty on wizards, sorceresses and the like. Many wizards were executed as a result, and magic became something to be practiced in hiding. Before Amadis had completely conquered Iskitaan, a mercenary company from the small realm of Perovia began striking some serious blows to Amadis’ forces. Led by Meagnar the Black and the Raman priest Kurt Punyer, the company was composed of many heroes and warriors who had sworn to die before they would let Amadis conquer their homeland of Perovia.
Their dedication and the assistance of a mysterious outlander wizard named Kristof allowed them to crush Madiston, the Emperor’s capital. They failed to capture the Dark Emperor there, but they pursued him back to a Black Elf fortress in the Vileshall Sea known as the Dark Rock. In 954 AE, in a climactic final battle at the Emperor’s new stronghold, Amadis was killed and his twenty year reign of terror ended.
Without Amadis’ superior organizational skills, his empire crumbled and Iskitaan returned to the small warring kingdoms it had been for most of the millennium. On the thousand year anniversary of the Exodus, a force of Black Elves, Orcs and Skitterlings led by a previously unknown wizard named Maddas invaded the city of Mersone. That was the humble beginning of the reign of the second Dark Emperor. Over a ten year period, Maddas did what the first Dark Emperor wasn’t able to do, unite Iskitaan under one rule.
His rule was no less forgiving than Amadis’ rule was, leaving many to speculate Maddas was Amadis’ son. Like Amadis, Maddas outlawed magic, offering a bounty for wizard’s heads. He went one step further and outlawed the worship of Rama, executing every Raman priest and Sister of Life his forces captured. Not complacent with his accomplishments, Maddas decided that he could conquer the Dwarven and Elven realms as well. This folly tied his troops up and allowed Maddas to be caught unprepared when a group that called themselves the Companions of Light, led by the wizard Kristof, declared they had found the prophesied King with the Golden Eyes.
Skirmishes with the Companions developed into full blown battles until finally, when Andrell Morgonson took the rediscovered throne in Nushalla and declared himself the King of Enshalla reborn, a full blown revolution began. Maddas’ first of many defeats at the hands of the Companions was the Siege of Taran in 1017 AE, where two of his best generals, Arian and Dexter disappeared. For the next six years, Maddas suffered loss after loss to AndrellMorgonson Andrell’s forces, until Mersone finally fell when General Nishella betrayed him by having her forces open the city’s gates and let the Companions and their forces ride in unopposed.
Though his empire had died, Maddas wasn’t defeated yet. Still operating from his stronghold at the Dark Rock, his remaining forces harried and harassed the new King’s forces. Finally, in 1024 AE, a group of the Companions leading some of Andrell’s best men stormed the Dark Rock, and slew Maddas, though at great cost to themselves.
Unlike the Dark Emperors before him, Andrell did not seek to dominate the other kingdoms, but worked with them to promote peace and harmony amongst the nations. With that in mind, he began calling himself High King, and did very little under his rule to disrupt the noble hierarchies that were already established. He was more of a mediator than a ruler, always wanting disputes to be settled at the lowest levels possible. His kind and benevolent nature, along with the generosity of a seemingly endless treasury, won Andrell the hearts of most of the people. His seventy five year reign was prosperous for everyone, from the lowliest serf to the wealthiest noble.