History

At the beginning of written history the land was home to three races; humans, elves, and keidrani. Then the Ancient came, bringing along several of his race. While the Ancient quickly took a place of power, those who came with him began to spread among the populace, taking mates. From this came the Hernmey (humans), the Trel'domai (keidrani), and the Raicleach (elves). From the many offspring that came of this, he set up a council of those that had proven to be leaders, those that would make sure that the many races lived in peace.

Among the first of his own offspring was a Raicleach whose name has been lost to history. He was known simply as the Grand Elder and took the leadership role among the council and kept control for millenia. The Council and their influence kept the realm safe from outside control, although due to the volatile nature of men, many wars broke out among the citizenry, often turning against the dragons themselves. It was due to these wars that the Ancient disappeared into legend, falling into solitude while the Grand Elder maintained the Council, even after the fall of the Ancient’s kind to the bloody campaigns.

After the second Great War, the Trel'domai were exiled from the council and left the surface lands, taking to the mines beneath Cailean and throughout the islands. From the two remaining races, three major bloodlines stood above all others. The first was the Fathar line, a powerful, influential group of hernmey who took over the northern lands and built their keeps in the snowcapped mountains. The second line was that of the Denashia, Raicleach who took control of the more populated southern regions and became the rulers of the realm. The last of the three stood at odds with the others, another group of Hernmey by the name Kashir. They were relative newcomers, but quickly rose to influence when they struck out at the other two in what would become the bloodiest war the land had ever seen.

The war’s apex saw the death of Vinfeal Fathar, leader of the line, as well as his heir’s intended bride Christine Denashia, daughter of Guardian Victoria and heir to the throne of Deamhan. Baliarth Fathar took his father’s place and led one of the most violent, brutal counterattacks ever seen. The Kashir line was very nearly eliminated, though several were allowed to live, particularly the young children of the fallen Kashir Lord. In order to find peace among the families, the eldest of the Kashir children promised his first-born to the Denashia. When Rasim was born and came of age, he was married to the newest Guardian, great granddaughter of Victoria, Sophia.

The emergence of a new bloodline hailed a new era for Deamhan as Sophia also took the young Marin Ealasaid, a Raicleach, as a husband. With these two mates, Sophia bore two daughters, Arishnel - daughter of Marin - and Sonri - daughter of Rasim. However, not long after the birth of Sonri, both girls vanished and were presumed dead. This tragedy brought out the darkness that dwelled within Rasim and in his rage, he killed both Sophia and Marin, taking over the throne of Deamhan as the first King in history. Until then, it had always been daughters of the Denashia line that held the throne, as Guardian.

This began the one of the darkest periods in the history of the realm, one where Rasim expanded his reach and became a tyrant who brought about the return of the Grand Elder and the Council, who fought to end his reign. During this long war with the Council, many died, but Rasim had taken a new wife who gave him a son. When Rasim was finally defeated, his son had already earned the loyalties of his men and Michael pushed back against the Elders. It was believed that he would be victorious. However, early in his reign, the emergence of a proper heir changed everything. Sophia and Marin’s daughter, Arishnel Ealasaid came forward and with the backing of the Council, fought back against Michael.

The war carried on for some time, but soon, when both Arishnel’s daughter and Michael’s son succumbed to a spreading illness, the war ended abruptly. Michael vanished and hasn’t been seen since, while Arishnel finally took her rightful place at the throne. This began an era of peace, until once more, tragedy struck and Arishnel disappeared as well. With the sudden appearance of a massive white tree in Cailean, rumor quickly spread of the Guardian’s demise, that the tree sprouted from the remains of Arishnel herself.

Fed up with the violence that plagued Deamhan, the Grand Elder and his Council - now on its third generation as many had fallen in the wars - took over the kingdom. In secret however, the Council had kidnapped the heirs of Arishnel and Michael, using the spreading illness as cover. These children, the Raicleach Nora Ealasaid and the half-breed Gerald Kashir, were brought up to rule under the Council’s influence as king and queen. These plans changed however when the former advisor to Arishnel sought out aid from outside Deamhan. With the arrival of King Orion and his army, the weakened council didn’t stand a chance. All but one elder, who had proven herself loyal to the young heirs, were slaughtered by the invading forces. Upon discovering the captive heirs, Orion chose to allow Gerald and Nora to take the throne and to support them. Since then, Deamhan has known peace.