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Age of Expansion
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The cult started by Undah spread over 300 years like a wildfire, and soon controled
the central basin of the Danoshorvas continent. The Witches of the northeast made
themselves a nation and declaring themselves the Witchlords of Vorgaa, quickly conquered
the western lands of Danoshorvas.
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With the Witchlords looking to add the northlands to their holdings, the Northmen
eventually united under Rhuarc the Bold from his walled fortress of Kark, under
the guidance of the Dyrwdd priesthood and strengthend by several orders of Spellweavers,
giving birth to the Karkallian Confederacy. These three nations would prove to be
the great Empires of the Age, expanding outwards rapidly from humble beginnings.
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Meanwhile the two Empires founded in the previous age, the Zha'irian Union and Ullu'shu'ra,
did not grow much in physical dimensions, but continued to grow in power and stability.
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Towards the middle of this era, the Machtig-Baelvolkerung grew strong and their
numbers grew many. Initially they spread east and southward from their homeland
but eventually stopped expanding after about 300 years at the urging of their Druids,
who counseled balance; they claimed a time of settling was called for to make what
they had taken truly theirs and to incorporate the new peoples they had conquered
into a Macthig culture enriched by their addition.
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Concurrently with the Machtig's cessation of expansion, the Morgathi reached a sort
of critical mass, and expanded their borders at a rapid pace. The Morgathi practiced
no restraint and showed no interest in assimilating the cultures they overtook.
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Due to the destruction of the Morgathi in the Cataclysm later in history,
it is unclear what their reasons for expansion actually were. Regardless, the Morgathi
subjugated all that they defeated and grew in power. Each opponent that fell was
a potential new addition to their legions of Undying warriors.
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During this Age of mighty Empires, some smaller nations sprang up and managed to
avoid being incorporated or conquered by a greater nation. Some have since fallen
or collapsed such as the island nation of Hortash. Others were left remnants of
themselves during the Cataclysm which occured later in history such as Aruthol,
and Gorosh. Only a few still exist into the modern age, such as Chur'an and Kaer-Na.
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The end of the Age of Expansion can be traced to the point in time that the encroaching
forces of the ever-expanding Morgathi Imperium encountered the lands of the Machtig-Baelvolkerung.
The two antithical nations squared off to a furious struggle that left the lands
of the Machtig despoiled by the Necromantic forces of Morgathi.
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The Machtig inflicted terrible casualties and wreaked massive harm upon the Morgathi,
but the Legions of the Undying were said to be uncountable, with the accumulated
numbers of many centuries worth of dead warriors from conquered nations.
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The Druids, realizing they could not defeat the Morgathi via normal means, counceled
the Machtig to take to the Ocean with as much as they could float and flee their
homelands. This was done, with only a brave reargaurd of a few thousand warriors
and a circle of the most powerful Duids remaining behind to buy the fleeing Machtig
time.
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After the boats were well off, the Druid circle performed a terrible ritual, calling
on the natural forces of the world itself to smite the Morgathi, whose dark malevolence
would eventually swallow the world into Undeath if left unchecked.
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As in the Age of Opposition, once again the planet writhed, but this time in a deliberate
attempt to rid itself of a black cancer that consumed all it touched. The entire
eastern continent of Runorshorvas was tilled by great quakes and finally sucked
down unto the core of the planet, causing the Oceans to swell and rise in what would
come to be called the Cataclysm.
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The Morgathi were destroyed, the Necromancer elite and their living subjects wiped
out save for a few in mountainous regions which were not wholy submerged or which
happened to be away from their homeland. With the descruction of the Necromancers
most of the Undying sunk beneath the waters by the Cataclysm would eventually
collapse without the necessary maintenance of the dark magic that drove their evil
existances.
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To the west the small continent of Iandras was fractured into numerous islands,
the island nation of Aruthol was left with a small fraction of it's former size
after over 90% of it was submerged, and most notably the Gersage land bridge was
flooded, creating the Gulf of Tears and the Straits of Upinthia, expanding the Sea
of Osloanda by half again it's size and drowning the northeastern stretch
of Zha'irian cities in the process. In the wake of this, Danoshorvas and Ullushorvas
became seperate continents.
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Further, many parts of the world along the equator became much hotter for no reason
understood by mortals, including the northern expanse of Ullushorvas. The nations
of Ullu'shu'ra and the Zha'irian Union lost the northern half of their lands outright.
Ullu'shu'ra was able to continue to exist in a diminished state, but Zha'ir collapsed,
fracturing into smaller nations.
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The survivors of the Machtig were pushed by strong currents to the west for many
months, along the equator and eventually through the new waterway of the Straits
of Upinthia, and directly up through the Sea of Osloanda to land upon the beaches
of what the Machtig came to call the Vold, near Borshioc, the beleaguered capital
city of the Undari. Borshioc was located on the delta where the Unter-Calish
River gives way to the Sea of Osloanda and had suffered extreme flooding and a loss
of some portions of the lower city during the Cataclysm.
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The Machtig soon encountered the Korvashi, a fallen subrace of Var that claimed
portions of the Vold as their own, as well as the Undari in the form of a
slaving force come into the Vold to capture Korvashi to use as laborers in the repairing
of their flooded capital city. The slaving party encountered a band of Machtig exploring
their new land for suitable settlements and took them as slaves as well.
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When knowledge of this came to the leadership of the Machtig-Baelvolkerung, scouts
were sent to discover more about this new enemy. The scouts returned with horrid
tales of the Undari death cult and their systematic human sacrifices, but didnt
realize that Borshioc was the capital of a vast Empire, or that if given time the
Undari could marshal forces from far and wide to wipe out the remnants of the Machtig.
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Fearing that they had left behind the Morgathi only to find yet another enemy steeped
in death magics, the leaders of the Machtig decided that their best hope lay in
a single devastating assault upon this city of death, leaving no survivors. And
so it was done.
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One fine midsummer day a force of 8,000 plus Machtig warriors, a few hundred Druids,
and a handful of Obermancers assaulted Borshioc, the capital of one of the largest
Empires the world had seen in several Ages. Easily entering the partially destroyed
city where its defensive works had been claimed by the Cataclysm, the Machtig poured
in to the suprised metropolis.
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The Druids outnumbered the Thanomancers in the temple 3 to 1 and were able to prevent
them from working most of their evil magics outright. Deprived of their weapon of
terror, the Thanomancers were helpless before the savage barbarians. The Macthtig
overwhelmed the High Temple of Undar, killing every Thanomancer and wiping out members
of their feared personal guard as necessary. Though they took some losses, the Machtig
were easily victorious.
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As news of the High Temple's fall spread, it touched off a massive uprising of the
oppressed peasant caste of the Undari, who had been kept under heel and used as
sacrifices for almost four millenia. In Undari cities across the continent, mobs
of thousands charged the Temples and massacred the Thanomancers inside. Within three
months of the destruction of the High Temple, the Empire of Undari was shattered.
A few Thanomancers were said to survive, but never became a power again.
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Meanwhile to the east the Witchlords of Vorgaa and the Karkallian Confederacy culminated
their 4000+ year old struggle with the final massive War of Vengeance, which had
drug on for 3 decades prior to the Cataclysm. As the earth shook and the ground
cracked from the aftershocks of the destruction of the continent of Runorshorvas,
the Witchlords thought that the Spellweavers of the Karks had unleashed some new
mystical assault upon them, and decided to use a terrible Magical weapon held in
secret for many decades, for they knew that its use would cause vast destruction
and should only be employed as a last resort.
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However unbeknownst to the Witchlords the Spellweavers knew of their weapon, advised
by their ability to interpret omens and portents, and had made plans of their own.
When the Witchlords unleashed the power of the Cauldron of Doom to fuel a mighty
ritual that would have caused destruction to walk amongst the warriors of the Karks,
the wards of the Spellweavers caused the device to backfire and explode.
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Aside from having the immediate effect of killing anyone near the Cauldron, the
explosion also created the Blasted Lands of the White Sand Desert which still exists
in the modern age.
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Since most of the Witchlords had gathered to take part in the ceremony and were
instantly killed in the explosion, the Empire of Vorgaa soon collapsed into fueding
states. The warriors of the Karkallian Confederacy had been bled dry by decades
of war and were unable to press their advantage. .
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Soon, without a strong opponent against whom they had to maintain a unified front
for continued survival, the tribes once again fell to internecine struggles and
ceased to be a single Empire within another decade
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With the collapse of seven Empires, the Age of Expansion came to an end.
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