History of Man in Four Books: Introduction

By 3000ey the mighty Vyrum Empire had come to end. It’s last ruler, Io the Great, went into exile. The remaining Princes were pried out from behind their impregnable walls of stone and were led way in chains. The great alds were left abandoned and ripe for the taking.

The vassal rulers among the five races were left in uneasy peace. For 150 years they had known only war – first against the rise of the Old Ones and then, beginning even at the Battle of the Dry Rift, against each other. The eventual end of their conflicts is fixed as 2991ey. They did not end by treaty, but instead from a general unwillingness to fight any longer. Constant struggle had depleted the treasuries and armies of the Besnir. Their mighty Cavaliers -- guardians of peace and justice for seven centuries, were no more. Into this whimpering peace the human race came to the fore.

The rise of man was noted first by the Hierophants of the Continuum. They sent emissaries to each of the remaining Ranes reporting that the wild primitives who had long been in the shadows were now coalescing into bonafide tribes and putting down roots in permanent settlements. The humans were observed having ceremonies for their dead and though they had an unknown tongue, it was nonetheless language. At the Peace of Dovaris in 3024ey, the Grand Hierophant declared to all the assembled Besnir that the 7^th Age had begun. This was not a popular finding among them, and least of all the Urok – for they had long anticipated their own return to power.

In the Four Lands of Northrun, Southrun, Eastrun and Westrun the tribes of man slowly ascended.

Roll 003

3010    Vetran

Then came Vetran.

The Rolls of the Lords Continuous

The Betrayals of the Stoneborn: the Fifth Betrayal

The Fifth Betrayal

When the greatest of these Wars had come to an end, it was believed by many that Moradin would apologize to the Stoneborn and allow them to take charge once again. But he was ever silent and no apology ever came. In his silence, the Young Race has risen upon Erenth. Some hold that the Young Race are a new people made by the Ere of All, but others with longer memories and great knowledge insist that they are just the other offspring of the Children of Berronar and have no right to rule. On this matter, the failure of Moradin surprises none.

The Benediction

The last age of Erenth looms, and the Stoneborn await the restoration of all things. Justice will prevail for the Children of Moradin and the rightful heirs of Erenth. For we are the Stoneborn!

Battle Song of the Fell

The Urgamesh were a tribe who apparently worshipped the elemental powers of one they called Mother Earth, along with her sons, Wind and Fire. Their unnerving repetitious chant was heard by all at the Battle of the Black Princes in 3012ey. However, it was preserved as nothing more than a beat or cadence with nonsensical grunts by the Northruner skalds who were there. Those skalds passed it down in their oral histories -- mostly to bring color and fear to their audiences at the appropriate time.

Apparently the Urok had a greater audience than anyone suspected. The song was also adapted by several goblin hordes. In 4224ey, animated with a religious fervor, goblin armies returned with the so-called Chanters' War. They believed that the endless repetition of the chant rendered them all but invulnerable. 

Again at the Battle of Wanderhalt 5284ey, Northruners fought alongside of Westruners against goblins. Over a period of six days, this song was heard time and again. The skalds were dumbfounded to hear the same battle cadence they had preserved, and when it was over, had the lyrics translated. Learned Westrun sages gave them the true words and their meaning from the Fell Speech.

In practice, the first two verses are sung by lonely voices in their vast horde. Perhaps one in one hundred are singing, while the rest are quiet. The third verse is joined by all and at the conclusion of it, the horde surges forward attacking. The final chants are made until the battle is won or they are beaten off.

A Song of Urgamesh: a chant of Earth, Wind and Fire.

Behold the battle before us
Behold the mighty wind
Behold the raging fire
They will be with us bringing death
Returning ash and blood to earth

See how the gods will fight with us?
See how we win the spoils of kings?
Ride all the wind and fire
True warriors bring earth its due
Leave all the ash and blood behind us

We attack screaming like true heroes
We fight the foes who stand before us
Ride all the wind and fire
The gods go with us and are pleased
Feel their power of blade and brand

Ride all the wind and fire
Ride all the wind and fire
Ride all the wind and fire
Ride all the wind and fire

The Hundred Year War

From 3090ey to 3190ey, the long-nursed grievances from the previous age erupts between the faction of Drow Elves and the faction of Duergar Dwarves. The two declare open hostilities. What begins as a minor conflict eventually pulls all the Elf and Dwarf factions into the fray until there is global war between the two races.

The Halfling Withdrawal

In 3073ey, the three halfling races are born when the Hobbit Warchief Drofo Drumbeater dies and leaves charge of his people to his three sons: Hairfoot, Tallfellow and Stout.

Unable to agree on much concerning their people, the three divide their people into three clans. Two take their leave of the first. One settles a mere day's travel away, the other settles one year and a day away.

The Fracturing

In 3066 ey, the Ancient Council of Elves is officially dissolved over their disputation over their importance of man. While many Elf scholars recognized that man is the promised race of creation, some feel he is too weak and unimpressive to be what was foretold.

Others believe he is an accident of nature or else some cast off portion of the Aenire, perhaps even akin to the Twisted Ones. Henceforth, each of the six Elf families will have its own king and keep its own counsel.  In time, all the elder races will follow suit and face the same arguments.

A History of the Tribes of Man in Westrun

At the dawn of the 7th Age in the 30th Century, Westrun was home to two distinct subgroups of humans, the Nandi and the Tren. By the end of the 40th Century they had been joined by the Meni and the Fahr. Together these four people groups and their struggles create the Eight Kingdoms of Man in Westrun.

NANDI
The Nandi roamed from the Silverlodes Mountains to the Dagger Sea in tribes. Most of their names are lost to history. Those names that are still familiar -- such as the Nadi, Sahna, Numin, Shina, Anis, Duvi -- come to us as place names. Sak and Rath now give their names to whole kingdoms in the modern era. There are many, many more which have been lost to antiquity.

All of the Nandi were hunters and gatherers who made war with one another continuously. Tribes rose and fell, splintered and merged. Life among them was an ongoing struggle for survival against the unyielding land, the elements, and especially the elder races which still tarried from the previous ages. It was not until the common threat of the Goblinkind, that the Nandi were able to unite and eventually coalesce into states under the Eight Kingdom's Pact.

TREN
While the Nandi were roaming in hundreds of nomadic tribes, the Tren, were another race of so-called civilized men. Once held captive by the Dragon Prince of old, they were eventually entrusted with the matters of their captors and in due time inherited the entire Principality of Treft from its exiled ruler. Though they could not maintain the height of Treft's former glory, they were able to hold the walls of its capital city against those slavering Hordes who would rise against it.

After the Dragon Prince was exiled, the Tren lived under the rule of a long succession of their own unpopular monarchs. A rebellion saw to the death of their last king, Etru III, and the Nine Elders who remained banished the monarchy. In its place they created a system of government in which each property owning inhabitant would be permitted to cast votes in a general assembly. Thus the strange democratic government of that city/state was born. The date of that government's founding is commonly given as 3600EY.

MENI
The year 3413EY saw the settlement of the Meni in Westrun under the leadership of Tal the Just. The Meni were refugees from the principalities that lay across the Dagger Sea. A one hundred year long struggle between two of the more powerful city/states had come to its end with the total defeat of Lanaria. Thousands of Lanarians were slaughtered. Many more were evicted and forced to live as wanderers -- their fields were salted, their noble city destroyed. To this day, many Lanarians still wander the Provinces in caravans with a reputation not altogether wholesome. Others made their way East and South by ship.

Several hundreds of Lanarians heeded the call of Tal -- a lesser son of the old ruling house. Together they migrated across the Dagger Sea and settled on Westrun's shores. Once landfall was made they intermingled with the Nandi they encountered. Their descendants were less nomadic, preferring to settle up and down the coast before eventually spreading inland on the plains. The inland group of Meni founded the kingdom which still bears their name: Menea. Those who spread Southward along the coast eventually divinized Tal their founder. They grew from a monarchy into a theocracy.

FAHR
Many long decades after the settlement of the Nandi, in the year 3300EY the first of the Fahr from Northrun came down and founded Wanderhalt and began to settle on the Southern slopes of Mount Oromir. By 3400ey, Sudhall would be raised and this settlement would eventually grow to become Peakshadow. The Fahr of Sudhall and the Meni moving north from Menea intermingled and eventually give seed to Bolden. The people of Sudhall intermarry with the Nandi of the plains and in time came to see themselves as a different from the Fahr of Northrun. Under the Eight Kingdom's Pact, the massive Northrun holdings of the Jarls of Wanderhalt swear fealty to the Lord of Sudhall and become the Kingdom of Colonia.

A Catalog of Ancient Humanity: the Nandi and Meni

The first humans known to history were a loose collection of tribes known as the Nandi or Painted People. They were primitive and brutish without a written language or permanent habitations. They were nomads who followed the migration of beasts in each of the lands that they were found. The Painted People lived by hunting and gathering. Little mention of them is found in any of the histories of the first five ages. It may be that they were regarded as little more than beasts by the Elder Races.

During the Sixth Age, the Dragon Princes elevated some of these humans to servanthood. They were clothed, taught High Speech and civilized -- some were tutored in the arts and sciences. These Meni lived and bred apart from the Nandi and by the end of that age were almost a race unto themselves. At the conclusion of the War of Four Lands, having taken no great part in the conflict, these civilized Meni were positioned to inherit that which was abandoned by their masters.

In most places, the Meni were eventually reabsorbed by the Nandi, but some continued, in notable pockets among their distant cousins and were distinguished from them by their propensity to settle, develop agriculture, and animal husbandry. Among these were the Tren of Westrun, the Shan in the great valleys of Eastrun, the Fahr in the Ice Plains of Northrun and the Saba on the Sea Coasts of Southrun. Each of these went on to develop cultures and languages that were distinct from one another.

The most prosperous of the Meni, however, were those who lived near the seat of power of the rapidly eroding principalities in what is presently called the Provinces. Their speech and culture was heavily flavored by their former masters and their way of life. While they were never able to rise to the glory that had been their estate, they lived on in close approximation of it and only slowly lost ground in the arts and sciences.

The Story of the Seabirds of Wood

The Story of the Seabirds of Wood
translation by E.T. Daniels

Hear now the story of Our Clans. It is the story of our fathers and it is the tribute of our children. Listen now to the story of Our Clans.

When the sun was young and the mountain tops were still white with snow, Our Clans lived far in the North, in Aldheim beyond the Ice Sea and it was a Heim of many Hearths. Our Clans knew not the Glorious Lady, nor feasted in her honor. Still the Lady brought plenty and spoke wisdom in the ears of all who would hear.

Our Clans sowed in the Aldheim and hunted great furred beasts that moved over the hills. But after the War of Ten Summers the soil grew tired and would only bring forth pale grain. The great furred beasts also grew scarce and Our Clans grew weak and lean.

Then the Vafthrud came and made war upon Our Clans and spared none while there was still strength in their arms. So many of Our Clans were carried off and slaves were made of our women and of our sons.

There was no Jarl of Jarls at that time, our men would make a Meet and each would listen in turn and do what he felt was right. All would remember how each had decided. So it was that Armsgleme, a great warrior and Jarl with a bloody spear and many rings of silver stood up at the Meet and said, “The time has come for Our Clans to seek a new home, for we shall surely die if we are determined to stay.”

Our Jarls scoffed and said, “Where then shall we go? The Unpassable Mountains lie to the South and East, the Vafthrud are to the North and the Sea lies to our West. If we were birds we might take to the air, but we are not, we are men and we should stay until we have grown strong.”

But Armsgleme stood again and said, “You say that we are not birds that we should fly, but we might make be as birds that light upon the waters and float as some do, to the shores which must lay beyond the sea.”

And then, the one whose name is forgotten, rose and besought Our Clans favor with these words, “We cannot make ships which will survive such a journey. For who among us is a crafter of such things? We are a people who grow grain and who hunt great furred beasts. We know neither the way of ships nor how they are moved. If we follow Armsgleme, we shall surely die.”

Armsgleme thought long before standing and saying, “I know not how a seabird floats, neither do I know how a tree floats, yet I have seen it and know that it is so. Therefore let us lash many trees together in the likeness of a seabird and go in this manner. For if a tree floats and a seabird floats, then a seabird made trees will surely float.”

Then the one whose name is forgotten stood among the Clans and laughed, “Armsgleme speaks madness, for these ships will surely sink and if they do not, there will be tribes who surely spear us when we have made land. If they do not, they shall take our women for slaves and then we shall know only misery.”

So Armsgleme stood again and his eyes were like coal afire and he lofted his great spear demanding that the one whose name is forgotten should pay ransom for his words of insult. He said, “I am not mad as you suppose. Only words keep us from crossing the sea. But if those words should prove true and death awaits, then we who have gone shall die with spears in our hands instead of blankets.”

The one whose name is forgotten jumped to his feet and beat his breast saying, “I shall not pay ransom for my words, and neither should any pay ransom for the truth. For he who speaks madness, is mad indeed.”

So Armsgleme buried the point of his spear in the earth and vowed, “I shall not again lift this spear until I have lifted it against you. May the Truth choose between you and I.”

The one whose name is forgotten also lifted his great stone axe -- for in that day all the axes were made of stone and no man of Our Clans knew the Secret of Steel. That one swore the oath saying, “May the Truth choose who might live and who might die.”

In that day, as now, no battle could be joined at any Meet, so our men argued long until all those present decided to stay or take to ships of the sea. Some sided with each, though most sided with the one whose name is forgotten. When the Meet had ended, Armsgleme rose and drew his spear from the earth.

“See here, as you have spoken first,” Armsgleme said, “I again offer to take ransom for your words. For you can see how our passion has faded with the fires of our Meet. My decision does not harm yours, neither does your decision prevent mine. I will accept one ring for the ransom of your hasty tongue.”

However, the one whose name is forgotten, refused and cursed Armsgleme and those with him. “I shall not pay any ransom. You are mad. Your words are madness. You have taken others sick with your madness. You will all surely die as you deserve.”

So it was that the two of them began to fight, and bitterly. Armsgleme had his spear and the other, whose name is forgotten, swung his great stone axe, and had the better of it. For his blows rained with fury and speed that could not be matched. Armsgleme could only just ward off his blows with the shaft of his spear.

Now in that day the spears of Our Clans were long and used for hunting the great furred beast. They were borne by the strongest men and were grasped only with both hands, but never thrown. Then the one whose name is forgotten split the spear of Armsgleme with his axe, and so made it shorter and thinner.

Then Armsgleme drew back his damaged spear and threw it at the man whose name is not spoken. And its shortened haft bit deep into his chest. So the latter fell to the ground and dead. When the battle was over he stood before Our Clans and said, “I have killed a man and shall kill no other until I have crossed the sea, unless anyone here seeks to prevent me.”

None of our men rose to prevent him, so Armsgleme crossed to the shell of the one whose name is forgotten and lifted his stone axe. “I shall use this stone axe to fashion a ship of wood and I shall keep it as a ransom for the words this man has spoken against me. If I should die either in crossing the sea or on the opposite shores awaiting, may the name of my rival be remembered forever. But if I live, so long as I keep this stone axe, so long as it is passed to my children and grandchildren, may his name be forgotten forever.

So it was that Our Clans left the Aldheim. We built great seabirds from the trees and came South across the Sea of Ice and made a new home in the shores of the Heim. And whatever became of the Clans who stayed has never been known.

Heard you now the story of Our People.

The Story of the Greathearth and the Jarl of Jarls

The Story of the Greathearth and Jarl of Jarls
translated by E.T. Daniels

Hear now the story of Our Clans. It is the story of our fathers and it is the tribute of our children. Listen now to the story of Our Clans.

When Our Clans came from Aldheim, we found a place of many trees and the ground was hard and could not be tilled. Now, no Strangers had yet come to meet us in those days and Our Clans knew them not. So our Jarls purposed to move south in search of fields to till and of great furred beasts to hunt. But some of Our Clans stopped and would not be moved from the shores of the sea until they had made the Jarl of Jarls.

In that day there was a man named Armsgleme, who was a great warrior and Jarl. He was strong of arm and heart and there was much cunning in him. He lifted a spear against many foes and kept The Stone Axe among Our Clan and so he was loved of all.

“Armsgleme live forever!” Our Clans shouted. “Lead us to battle and to safety. Be Our Jarl of Jarls. Be an arbiter of what seems right and what is not. For surely you have found favor with the Glorious Lady. So tell us now, the words that your heart whispers to you, since we are so far from our Heim which was her Hall and she visits us not.”

So Armsgleme thought long and at last relented. “I shall be a Jarl of Jarls to you, but first call a Meet and find for yourself a Lorespeaker who might remember the words you and I have spoken and those we will speak in the future and so hold all of us to all of them. I will indeed lead you to battle and to safety. I will be your Jarl of Jarls. I will be an arbiter of what seems right and what is not. I will tell you whatsoever I know since we are so far from the Hall of the Glorious Lady.”

So then a Hearth was made and the stones of it reached twice the height of the tallest man. A great fire was kindled therein and a Meet was called. Then stood one who was called Skald and he remembered stories that others had forgotten. He stood as Lorespeaker and listened to the plea of Our Clans and the promise of the Jarl of Jarls.

But there were those who would not swear such an oath. Neither would they leave from Greathearth. Unto Armsgleme that Clan said, “We would stay here and live on the shores of this sea, rather than to know a Jarl above all Jarls. We shall keep the old ways of Our Clans. We will make Meets and each will listen in turn and do what he feels is right. Each man shall remember how he has decided.”

So the Meet was ended and Armsgleme said, “Your decision has not harmed mine, neither does mine prevent yours.” Our Clans agreed and made the sign of peace and swore that the mercy of the Glorious Woman should protect all.

So some of Our Clans left Greathearth and continued south to the Heim, but the Clan of Greathearth remained and became fishermen and settlers upon the rocks of that area, for their necks were stiff and would not be bowed before a Jarl of Jarls, no matter what. To this day many of them travel in Seabirds of Wood and live from the whales which they hunt as we once hunted the great furred beasts.

Heard you now, the story of Our Clans.

The Story of the Making of Five Hearths

The Story of the Five Hearths
translated by E.T. Daniels

Hear now the story of Our Clans. It is the story of our fathers. It is the tribute of our children. Listen now to the story of Our Clans.

When Our Clans came to the Heim there were great hills and five valleys between us. Upon the hills, forests still stood and the soil was difficult to yield, but no Strangers had yet come. So the Jarl of Jarls called for the Lorespeaker and said, “I have decided to make Hearths for each of five Jarls. Find for yourself five companions who will remember the oaths of the Jarls who receive them.” So it was that five Hearths were laid and great fires were kindled therein and a Lorespeaker was found to remember the promises of each Jarl.

Then Armsgleme spoke his blessing on four Jarls in turn and said, “May the Glorious Woman speak wisdom to you in this valley and visit your Hearth in your turn.” But to the fifth Jarl he said, “May you find favor with the Lady and know only her laughter in the walls of this valley, may she visit your Hearth in your turn.”

Our Jarls kept those Hearths and called Meets at them. They cut trees for wood around them and they built great Halls near them. Then we scorched the Heim and tilled it until it gave forth fruit. There grew fields in each valley about the Hearths that Armsgleme had made. The Lorespeakers recall it all.

So it was that Armsgleme built the Five Hearths and these are their names: Wanderhalt, Oldscane, Everskeep, Blackhearth and Ladiskeep. And the first of these is not forgotten, though the men of the South wish it were so.

Heard you now, the story of Our Clans.

The Story of the Stone Axe

The Story of the Stone Axe
translated by E.T. Daniels

Hear now the story of Our Clans. It is the story of our fathers. It is the tribute of our children. Listen now to the story of Our Clans.

After the time of Armsgleme’s reign, when he had grown old and could no longer lift the stone axe that he took from he whose name is not remembered, the Jarl of Jarls called a Meet and summoned the Lawspeaker to hear it and the Lorespeaker to remember it.

“Watch now,” Armsgleme said, “and witness that I can no longer lift the Stone Axe which I earned with my spear. See how I have become weak of arm and my eyes are dim. Know then that Our Clans are strong and that there are many Strangers in this Heim who will take our women and make slaves of our sons. One of my Jarls must become the Jarl of Jarls in my place and must swing the Stone Axe.”

So the Lawspeakers and Lorespeakers listened and the Clans brought forth their Jarls and all such who were mighty. These they gathered before the bright light of the fire of the meet. And each of these took a knee before the Jarl of Jarls.

Then Armsgleme stood as one tired and said, “Our Clans must always have one who can swing the Stone Axe, though we have learned the Secret of Steel. The Stone Axe will become the ransom of the Jarl of Jarls. For it was by the Stone Axe that we learned the secret of building seabirds of wood. And it will be by the Stone Axe that he will show himself able to lead you to battle and to safety. By the Stone Axe he will be your Jarl of Jarls. He will be an arbiter of what seems right and what is not. By the Stone Axe he will tell you whatsoever he knows since he will hear the voice of the Glorious Lady.”

“By the Stone Axe he will call the meets and hear the wisdom of the men and heed the lament of the women. By the Stone Axe he will show you who may rule. And all who swing the Stone Axe, will rule but little, so that all his words can be heard by a Lawspeaker and remembered by a Lorespeaker who shall remember all things. These words he shall carry to your sons, and their sons, and all who yet to be born.

So it was that the Lawspeaker held the Stone Axe above the head of each Jarl and strong man. So the cheers of all the meet did signify who should become Jarl of Jarls. This the Lawspeaker witnessed and this the Lorespeaker remembered. So the Axe became a prized thing, much more than many bands and rings of silver. For it showed who was Jarl of Jarls, and he who swung it was seen to rule over all others, even if no contest be made between them.

Hear you now, the story of Our Clans.