Mhirdrun | The Thradhel | Linothor | Sundering Isles | Sea of Calingwai |Gwathia | Sulgate | The Blasted Wastes
All land south of the Thradhel, to the east of the Orodrain mountains and Ingbahl Sea, and north of the Sarazor mountains, is named by the Elves as Gwathia, the Far Land. For many an age has Gwathia remained a mystery to the peoples of Linothor and Sulgate, for much of it is closed to them, being girded all around by mountains that act as a wall which none can cross, and crowned with the Thradhel, which few dare to enter. There are but three ways known of gaining entry to Gwathia overland: from above, via the Thradhel, a perilous journey; from the Ingbahl sea, against a hostile eastern coast and impassible mountains beyond it; and through Sulgate, via the land of Daedina in its northeast, through a single tower which at all times is guarded against intruders. One pass was there from what is now Grimgaud, but it has since been destroyed.
Yet another manner of passage remains still, in the fashion of any mariner, through the waters beyond sight of Sulgate along thenorthern Rhunaear, and following along the coasts of Gwathia, which for many leagues are rendered impassable as above. It is known that mountains form the most of the character of the land, ere they break into lush valleys and finally bays upon which sailors can make port. Further east from the continent, lies also a great island country, but between them roam many storms of the sea, and few mariners will to contend with them, even for the richest trade, of which it is said these lands bear much.
From these mariners and the merchants only do stories of these lands come, and those stories are arrayed here, though they are to be hearkened to with great suspicion, for has been aforesaid the tongues of sailors especially are never to be wholly trusted.
Three empires, it is told, coexist in Gwathia, one of them rising from the land, one of them rising from the water, and one of them sunk below. That which rises from the land is known as the Elieú Empire, ruled by the Sian Dynasty, a family of Men connected not by blood but by a cup. That empire which rises from the water is the Tàán Empire, ruled, it is said, by the "God-man" descended from the Sun itself. That empire which dwells below is Diruzbad, the Dwarven Empire. The beginnings of all of these empires, it is told, are tied fast to each its race from the earliest days.
On the Origins of the Empires Elieú and Tàán, They Being Entwined With Those of Man
It is believed widely that Elves had settled the lands of the West ere the coming of Men, who arose from the deserts of Sulgate. Elves, having already possession of many masteries in the ways of the land and in the making of objects of great use, loomed in the grandeur of their ingenuity over these Men, as Men now do to lesser animals, and this is a circumstance Elves made use of, to terrible effect. Those Men who remained in Sulgate found themselves under the yoke of a harsh Elven rule for many ages, which drove them to undertake great labors on the behalf of their masters, and Men were bred too, it is said, in the matter of livestock, and as cattle were they herded hither and thither to the satisfaction of Elven whims, and only by the folly of the Elves themselves, in the height of their own pride, were Men freed of this bondage.
However, those returning from the east claim that not all those of the Race of Men remained in Sulgate, nor were they all of them herded by Elves to Linothor or driven to the Thradhel. They tell of a tale in which the emissaries of the Elves appeared from the west, numbered four, but two also came to Man from the east, divine beings of no known race. The Elves were otherworldly and beautiful and offered many compliments, and each of them presented a gift, but the the two unknown beings, though most alike to Men, one of them male and the other female, were dressed simply and offered nothing, though the man wielded a torch in each hand, and the woman a cup. The man they called The Master, and the woman they called The Matron (these are believed to be the first aspects of Lathander and Siamorphe revealed to Orben). The Elves offered Man great ease, with much wealth, if only they should steal the torches and the cup from the Master and the Matron, for the Elves feared them, while the two beings bade Mankind to follow them on a journey through darkness and much peril, on the faith that their trust would be rewarded only with happiness. Most of Man desired wealth over happiness, and on the last night ere they departed a Man stole from the Master a torch while he was asleep, but the master awoke and frightened him off, so the thief ran to the west, and with the others made an offering of single the torch to Elves, who became angry and enslaved Mankind.
But a great host of Men, taking heed of the wisdom of the two beings, followed as one mass as they were bidden, and the Master drew up his remaining torch, and he and the Matron led them far to the east, beyond where even Elves might reach. During the journey they passed for ninety years through deep, dark tunnels with only the light of the Master as guidance for the whole host, and the only food and drink that offered from the cup of the Matron, which was never emptied, and they were required always to grip the shoulder of another ahead of them so as not to lose their way, and with their second hand pass the cup down the line and back so that each might sup from it. When finally they emerged it was yet dark, so that they still could not see but for the light of the Master. However these Men could feel the freshness of the air and the freedom of open land, and smell the salt of the sea, as they had all of them emerged along a great ocean of nothingness at the end of space, and though the Master bid them to continue, much of the host refused to follow, and tarried by the shore. The Master then grew angry and threw his torch over the sea and in this was himself destroyed, but the torch fell upon an island to the east which he had chosen for the people, and some of them developed a great longing for his light and traveled onward in pursuit of it. Thus they were divided, as one people remained, possessed of a great trepidation toward the dark sea, but another people were fearless, and followed the light o'erwater, across the dark sea, and to the distant isle which the Master had selected. The Matron remained behind to guide the people who had ended their journey, and thus did the wayfarers set out alone.
The people which remained on the coast were never in want for food or drink, but as the light of the Master left them, they became distraught and were filled with anguish, for their chosen land was barren and empty, a formless void but for the smells and sensations, and otherwise devoid of life and hope. Taking pity on the people, the Matron emptied her cup, turning it to the ground, and let it fall, and the cup was shattered and its fragments scattered to the wind, and thus did she die. But her body became the land, and the cup's shards reacted with the vapor of the void and all was sundered, and from this rift came all otherwise of creation, and the seasons, and from summer heat came fire which coalesced into the sun, and from winter cold came water which coalesced into the moon, and as did the cup burst upon the void, so did water burst upon fire, and its essence was also scattered to become stars. Then from where the cup spilled was drawn a great river which traveled through all of the land to provide life. The people had never before beheld a river alike to the one borne from the Matron's cup, having seen only ever deserts and tunnels and void, and so moved were they by the sight of it that the named the place Elieú, the Riverland, and themselves the Elirén. While they forgot all of their grief for the loss of the Matron and explored the land, one among them, named Sian, undertook to find every shard of the Matron's cup, and restore it, for he foresaw that the people would be yet in need of her guidance ere long. But Sian and the Matron were soon forgotten in the tumult of joy and discovery.
Freed from the authority of any other race, and seizing with alacrity the providence of the Matron, the Elirén soon built many towns and cities, and o'er time, spanned all the land. However as the towns and cities grew they touched their borders, and fell to strife, for though the Elirén wanted for nothing, with the land providing all they should need, the passions of Men desire little provocation before becoming inflamed, even against another of the race of Men. War at once threatened to overtake the land, but in this moment Sian returned, having restored the cup of the Matron, and in wielding it was granted great power, that of Divine Authority. Thus did the Elieú Empire emerge, and the Sian dynasty, for it is named as a line of Emperors which hold the cup of the Matron, and who are not all of them related by blood, for the cup selects each successor by its own will, and forsakes also those emperors who become unjust or corrupt, and thus ruled has Elieú ever been a land of peace.
But the tale has yet to conclude, as another like it extends concerning the followers of the Master who were still adrift. For ninety nights more did the second host traverse the waters, and being without the food and drink of the Matron they were given to much hardship, and required from the void sea its dark fish, and having no drink they drank the life waters of those creatures also, and this sustained them, but did also grow within them a taste for blood. As the final night ended they arrived at last to the shores of this island, just ere the torch had fallen, but it was hidden still from sight. As all of them arrayed on the shore, a man named Okami was fastest of all of them, and rushed ahead, and the others climbed a great hill to follow, and when the last of them had reached its summit the first had retrieved the torch and lifted it, and thus did he become the Master, descended again to the world. In his hand the light rose from behind the crest, as the people were overlooking the land, which became suddenly awash in gold, and in seeing again the glory of the light as it bathed everything aglow, they were smote with awe, and they called the torch Tàán, the Light, and thus did they discover Tàán Deǔdì, the Land of the Light, and from that day they called themselves also the Tàánrén, the People of Light.
As with the Elirén, the Tàánrén fell to strife, as Man again was crowded always against Man, and where they touched they provoked one another. The Tàánrén however were much hardened by their journey, and having tasted blood they saw need of violence, and without the guidance of the Matron's cup, they came to war. Okami had yet to perish, but stayed among the people, carrying his torch always aloft, which granted him amazing powers, and he allied himself with the causes he felt most just, which made the wars only the more fearsome, for though his power was great, the Tàánrén against him, being fearless, fought to the death. This lasted for many ages, and Okami bore three children, two daughters and a son, and fearing that his opponents would discover them, he hid them away. The most beautiful daughter he called Ohiru, the son was called Koto, and the second daughter, who was most unruly, called Ano. Okami bound all of them to hiding with his power, but he longed much to see his children again, and so to deny himself the temptation of revealing them, he put out his eyes with his torch. Thus blinded was he finally defeated, and in defeat his light was again hurled away, and his magics riven.
Ohiru, Koto, and Ano emerged from their hiding, and were summoned to the light by the spirit of Okami ere it left the world, and the spirit related to them their purpose to love Mankind and always to aid it, though they may grieve for its actions. Ano was overtaken by a great anger at the slaying of their father, and so she went to sea and her wrath became storms, and with these she smote upon the land of the Tàánrén. Koto was overtaken by a great sadness, and so he went to the heavens where they were darkest in his despair and became the moon, and he wept, and his tears became stars. But the fair Ohiru took up her father's torch, and with it inherited his spirit, and out of love for Men she bore a son and rose to the heavens, to wield the torch as a light in the sky so that Man may every day be renewed by the dawning sun.
The son of the Ohiru went on to found the Tàán Empire, and rule as its emperor, and though never was there peace, he held for his people always the light of hope. And seeing him and his descendants as kin Ano hearkened to this line of emperors, and turned from violence upon the land to protect the waters around Tàán Deǔdì, though at times she was also wayward, and remembering her grief would turn against them, but such is her way.
So goes the tale of the Elirén and the Tàánrén, and their empires, and it is known only in these stories, for few except those of the merchant classes may see these lands, and return with the tales of them, though tales are always slanted in the retelling, the source being so far removed, and behind many a winding tunnel, and o'er many a cresting wave.