History

Major events before the present day, and the debate over Mat Sellah

The Distant Past

Long ago, there was an Unnamed Empire, which ruled from the land where the Democracy currently holds power. They were a theocracy, based around a powerful King seen as chosen by Builder itself, who created numerous monuments in his image, asserting his power across the lands. And the emphasis, here, is on the pronoun 'he'. The Unnamed Empire was a sexist, homophobic, transphobic state, based around the core principle of humans as racially superior. For this reason,such attitudes are abhorred by all the Factions, as they bring back memories of the oppression of the past. Those who behave in such manners are called out, and have a tendency to last nano-seconds in the positions that they may have attained. Women were erased from history, suppressed and voiceless. Ozgur were a slave race, bred to fight and labour, and this period was a dark one in the race's past.

Some time before the present day, the Ozgur led a slave's rebellion against the Unnamed Empire, resentment building up to a peak with the death of 'The First Free', a nameless slave (due to the Empire's methods) who rejected her orders. This was furthered by the Church of the Explorer: under a society dedicated to Builder, society was dedicated to the concept of the King as the peak of civilization, anathema to the very concept of the Explorer. Indeed, Explorer missionaries passed messages, acted as runners, and some even died as martyrs in the final days. In the end, though, the Ozgur were triumphant, and the former officials of the Unnamed Empire were expelled from the Imperial city as it was razed to the ground.

From this, a large number of disorientated groupings emerged. The Democracy were the first to form coherently, quickly centralizing around the lands that they had taken from their oppressors. In this way, they suppressed its memory, taking and destroying almost all that could be used to revive such a state again. In the lands that were to be the Hegemony, . Meanwhile, the Vendicsal, who had mainly been kept quiet by the power of the Unnamed Empire, upon realizing its fall began the raids that would make their name synonymous with sea-based terror.

The Churches, other than the Explorer Church which found a natural home in the lands of the Democracy, became divided .The Builder Church is mainly focused around the lands of the Hegemony, with one notable Cathedral in the lands of the Democracy (although they are mainly ignored). The Aspirant found places wherever it could maintain a hold, in caverns or mountain-top temples. It is only recently that it's power is becoming clearer, used to working in the shadows. Meanwhile, Celebrant's major structure, the Golden Hall, is found to the north among the Vendicsal.

The War of Igimund's Rift

It has been two decades since the War of Igimund’s Rift. A portal to the Beyond opened, drawing magi, priests and academics from across the three Nations and further afield. In defiance of the custom that Portals should be available to all, Clan Igimund of the Vendicsal seized it, sure that they could use its power to make recapture too expensive. Their extortion attempt failed, but not before each Nation, Guild and Church’s research delegations had called in reinforcements, triggering a confused and bloody fight as each Faction saw others as trying to steal the Portal. The war was ended with a combined Ozgur and Explorer Church peace deal that sought to determine responsibility for the conflict and prevent another. This deal was known as the Treaty of Ozgur Sehir.

The Discovery of Mat Sellah

A recent Hegemony expedition to find a rumoured Fourth Continent came across an island chain curiously not visible from the shore despite its relatively close distance. Divinatory Rituals uncovered a new Portal in this archipelago, and the expedition quickly returned for a larger group to explore the interior. They found a land dotted with ruins of a fallen civilisation, with no settlements other than the occasional village that claimed descent from shipwrecked mariners. These villagers called the archipelago Mat Sellah.

The Nations, Guilds and Churches have all sent delegations to Mat Sellah. Fortunately, the reefs surrounding it make a direct invasion close to impossible, as only small boats can safely navigate through. Despite this, fear of treachery is ever-present.