History of Man -- Book 1: Westrun Part 6

In the 600 years since the proclamation of the Grand Hierophant at Dovaris, mankind had indeed proved himself to be the obvious successor to the Vyrum. While they lacked the sophistication and learning of the previous age, they had an obvious gift for fertility. Three times, the more experienced and more tactically sound Urok had been repelled by the men of Westrun. Those victories were based on attrition as much as on any other factor. While the Urok had fought themselves to near extinction after three conflicts, the armies of man were able to completely rebound within twenty years.

Not only did they have numbers on their side, but the human capacity for death and loss proved to be greater than any the Besnir had ever seen. The Urok were by no means alone in this observation. Factions of the Dwarves and Elves were horrified by the way in which many humans abandoned their dead and even failed to mourn them for the decades required in Besnir society. Among the Besnir it was not uncommon for a mother who lost a child to forego the rest of her years of fertility. 

Most frustrating to the Realms was that within a decade, mankind could forget alliances and treaties and even a state of war. Agreements made between a Rane and a human king might not survive the birth of the king's first heir, let alone his coming to power. Treaties between the Mistwood and Sak were in a state of continual reinforcement, with the elder race providing reminders by way of gifts. In this way, their borders were made sacrosanct. The Dwarf of Oromir and the Lord of Sudhall memorialized their treaty with a construction of a massive keep using the artistry and craft of the Dwarves, which no man could gainsay. 

Rath too was beneficiary of such an arrangement. When the King's men uncovered a centuries old well-intended, but sacrilegious burial of Dwarves, he returned those remains to Dynkyr. This single act was well-received for there were many still alive who missed their kin and wondered about their final rest. In this way, the King of Rath earned great respect and gratitude from the Dwarves though there were few enough humans who even remembered that Dwarven militias had helped at the Third Urok War. The prevailing opinion that mankind had no memory, compounded the generosity of this gesture rather than diminish it.

All was not peace in Westrun during the 36th century. Small scale war continued between what few Urok remained and the tribes of the Balduren Confederacy.

3600ey the monarchy of Treft was toppled after the assassination of its king who did not leave a clear heir. Various pretenders to the throne rise and fall before the city declares itself a democracy and the light of the world.

In 3605ey the Jarls of Northrun cast a jealous eye on the growing prosperity of Wanderhalt and Sudland. A decade of raids and war followed. During the height of these conflicts, the timber fort at Wanderhalt was taken and its lord was sent into exile, not to return on pain of death. The Lord of Wanderhalt went through the Silverlode Mountains into Sudland and appealed to the Lord of Sudhall for assistance. 

In 3618ey at the Gathering of the Fraternity, the Lord of Sudhall petitioned the Rangers to retake Wanderhalt for its exiled lord. In stirring them to action, he also extracted an oath of everlasting fealty from its lord. Two years later, Wanderhalt was retaken and the daughter of the Lord of Sudhall was married to the son of the Lord of Wanderhalt -- linking the two nobles thereafter.

3622ey Arepos, the former court magician of the King of Treft resided in the Mistwood since the king's death and ingratiated himself to the ancient Llormaster and librarian there. After stealing the ancient Scrolls of Alobal and taking them back to the kingdoms of men, he ignites a war between Treft and the Elves which leads to a one year siege of the ancient ald. To resolve the siege, the City of Treft consents to surrender every scroll and slip of paper in the city, loading them on carts and sending them out to the waiting Elves. The scrolls are not recovered.

3627ey The Dweomersecte is founded with a tower in Talir. Within weeks of completion, this tower is burned by what some say are Elvish saboteurs. In 3647ey the second tower of the Dweomersecte is completed in Menea. This tower is also burned within weeks. A third tower is located near Sudhall and comes under the protection of Oromir, after negotiation between Elves and Dwarves, this tower escapes damage, but Arepos himself is found dead (believed assassinated) in 3651ey. Sarseer is declared the new Archmage of Westrun.

In 3686ey the Urok make an unholy alliance with the Dweomersecte. Under the Dread Foulness, they begin to give themselves over to simple, savage propagation -- hoping to beat humanity at their own game. This magical reproduction gives rise to animalistic goblins who hate the banishment of their forebears and eventually vow eternal war on all the other races. In one hundred years, no Urok will remain and all will have been replaced by their goblinoid descendants.

On the Urok and their Foul Offspring

Goblin is an appellation somewhat misapplied by the good and civilized people of Erenth. Strictly speaking, the word only belongs to a specific species of humanoid foulness -- the diminutive flat-faced, broad-nosed monster with pointed ears, wide mouths and small, sharp fangs which seem to be as abundant in some areas as the bushy-tailed squirrel. More commonly that that, however, the word is applied to all creatures of the so-called goblinkind, including bugbears, bullywugs, flinds, gnolls, hobgoblins, jermlaine, kobolds, lizard men, mongrelmen, ogres, ogrillon, orcs, orog, troglodytes, trolls, urd, and hill giants. It is true that all of them in all their monstrous varieties are descended from the same common ancestors. They are all the foul offspring of an ancient and proud people. 

The Urok were once a race closely resembling humans. They were of the same average height, but were stockier (like Dwarves) and had pointed ears like Elves. They also had ridges on their brow which narrowed to the point just above the nose. They were strong and hearty, and some might say, born for war. 

The Urok were marked by laconic speech and austere lifestyles. Long after the other races had settled into cities, they eschewed them preferring nomadic lifestyles following game. Their strongest and brightest were marked for the warrior upper class. Those who were weak remained part of the servile underclass. 

It is said that at one time the Urok were the dominant race on the planet. If that is true it occurred long before the knowledge of anyone living. What is not in doubt is that the Urok were a contentious people who were prone to raiding and war throughout all of history.

By the time that the human civilization had dawned, learned scholars among the Urok had deduced that man's greatest strength was his birth rate. In league with dark forces, their scholars undertook a fertility program that came to be called the Dread Foulness. 

An evil mage named Niktalor, introduced an extra planar creature known as the cloafly to the so-called Goblin Kingdoms. This invasive species assured the fecundity of the Urok race, but also permanently changed its nature. Over time the actual Urok were outbred by the Dread Foulness and the goblin races rose in their place. Every successive generation of them is more inbred, more mutated and more ill-tempered than the previous.

Of the original Urok, none remain. There are adult male goblinoids and their grotesque wormy breeding pits. While some lairs seem to be rife with "children" and "females" those creatures are really just the runts of their litters. Scrawny and stunted, they are relegated to domestic and servile duties... and in times of want they become food. 

While there are no female goblins, the males are capable of reproduction in the usual way, but the only race with which they seem still capable of breeding are humans. This has given rise to half-orcs and half-ogres. Such half breeds can expect to live 40 years on average and are stronger than their fully human peers, but somewhat more difficult to look at.

The goblin descendants of the Urok do believe that they should rule the world. It is almost their sole animating principle. They believe that all the world was stolen from them and handed over to "the shorts." While the rule of the world has passed from race to race since then, it has never returned to them... its rightful heirs. Their civilization has no records. It relies instead on orally transmitted "tells" of dubious accuracy.

The Dread Foulness

In 3686ey the last of the Urok make an unholy alliance with Niktalor the Archmage. Under the auspices of the Dread Foulness, they begin to give themselves over to simple, savage propogation.  This dilutes the blood of the Urok and further poisons their souls. It also gives rise to the foulest of offspring, the many races of animal-like goblins -- who still hate the banishment of their forebears (the only history they care to remember) and vow eternal war on all the other races.

The Books of the Archmagi of the Dweomersecte vol. 1

3600 Arepos I the Great - A human male sometimes called The Archmage's. Arepos was the first to begin to make a systematic study of the ancient elven llor. He began his career as the court wizard of Etru, the last king of Treft. When that early monarchy was overthrown, he was sent into exile and found his way into the Mistwood. Making a friend of the Elven Rane, he rose to prominence in that court and came under the sway of an ancient llorfiril (master of song). He was eventually banished from that elven realm and sought out others to further his knowledge. His travels took him eventually to the shores of the Dagger Sea in present day Bolden, where he raised a tower and started the Dweomersecte around the ancient Scrolls of Alobal. It is said that his actual knowledge of magic was extremely poor having little more than the ability to Read and Detect Magic and perform paltry illusions. Nonetheless, he was giant of his time. His death was eventually attributed to frequently attempting spells beyond his mana capacity.

3652 Sarseer the Burning - A human male, the student and adopted son of Arepos. He took up the Scrolls of Alobal when he answered the riddle of his master in order to prove his worth. Sarseer unlocked the mysteries of magical fire and then grew in power through a pact made with an otherworldly power -- as would become a recurring theme among the wizards of note. Less a wizard in the modern sense and more a devotee/priest of the Unperishing Flame. Because of his influence, himself and the next few wizards would come to be known as the Fire Magi. He perished, ironically, in flame, having come to believe that the element held no danger for him.

3679 Niktalor I the Hideous - An urok male, who shared his master's fascination with, and devotion to, the element of fire and the Unperishing Flame. He is also responsible for the Dread Foulness, an alliance between the Dweomersecte and the Urok Hordes. His death is believed to have come at then hands of his successor and chief rival for the affections of their master.

3693 Daenalus the Angry - A half elven male, he considered himself the proper heir of all things llor. He is widely attributed with having killed his predecessor and setting up the system now observed, known as The Trials. Under this system, no Archmage may rise, save one who answers the riddles put by each of the previous Archmagi. Daenalus was eventually slain by the red dragon he had attempted to tame and raise from birth.