Laurdia

Elaeur'dia, was the name of old given to the land that broke away from Drakoria and drifted north into Fnordica, creating the Great Dragyn Rage Mountains. Fnordica was subdivided into Kuthgard, Laurdia and Quesalia, and the new country settled peacefully into its new setting. But peace was not to be its potion. During the Age of Dust, the giantkind had created a new specie of mankind, the first gharkins. Known as "dragynslayers," this gharkin army swept across central Laurdia towards Peregorne's eastern coast, hunting the wyrmkind and seeking their destruction for their masters. In the wake of this battle such turmoil was wrought across the land that the Great Laurdian Desert was created. The last major territorial holdings of dragynkind in this area were destroyed in the Battle of Wyrmsead and the epic war resulted in yet another rend to Beade's tender bosom, forming the Fenwyllen Mountains.

It was during this time of upheaval that the myth, whether truth or fantasy, arose about the creation of the orcs. It is said that while in retreat, the dragynkind sought for a champion to battle the dreaded "slayers" and tried to mutate a group of captured gharkin, adding goblin-like traits to give them extra agility and speed but botching the job so badly that the metamorphosis resulted in a creature so foul that the wyrm abandoned the horror they wrought. These creatures, filled with malice, hated the dragynkind, giants, elves, daun, Beade, even their own kind, quickly developing into vulgar barbarians that plundered the land and its people.

Bastardizing the language of the dragyns, they renamed the country they overran Laurdia, and began to fashion it into their homeland, destroying whole forests and pushing the unmutated Valek gharkins that remained to the extreme south. The sylvani Byra that dwelt in the beloved forests, wept at the irrational obliteration of their forests and pressed to the northwest, protecting the last great forest left, the Westron Woode, while the Boggin gnomes ignored the stinking spawn of the dragyns and delved into the mountains, creating homelands there, unaffected by the violence that was being inflicted above.

The orcs now content to war among themselves became even more brutish, each tribe trying to outdo the other in random acts of bestiality and had taken to even cannibalism, believing that to dine on a vanquished enemy was to ingest its power into one's body. The language they communicated with was a transmutation of dyari tones mingled with what gharish they recalled from their original tongue. They destroyed more of the land and one tribe, lead by Morgrush the assailant, built a huge stronghold on top of Urgeladh, the largest mountain in the Dragyn Rage chain, that was manned by the most rank of the specie. It is said that they even had rogue il'lthye wizards and sorcerers helping them create machines of great power that they could use to enslave other races and more befoul the lands.

With Laurdia almost completely contaminated, the Valek decided they must take it on themselves to fight the oppressors before they lost their cherished "Yavrimme" territories. Although herders, following game and the seasons as they come and go the usually peaceful Valek had incredible stamina and were able to run extreme distances without getting tired. With their camouflage hides, which tended to blend into their surroundings, and waving spikes, they were able to obscure their strikes behind a mass shadow of moving tendrils. Overpowering the orcs, the Valek were able to press them back, keeping them to the mountains and some low-lying desert and opening up Laurdia to expansion.

Being held at bay, the orcs battled among themselves until Ghash'naz, a leader of a black orcan clan, was able to take control of the warring factions and establish himself as Talone of the tribes. Under Ghash'naz' reign, the orc spread towards Peregorne and Quesalia, not in full force, but as small regiments, bringing destruction and brutality wherever they roamed and warring on the cities and steadings all through the central empires. Still ruling the orcs, the Talone is picked through an ordeal of strength and cunning and every candidate must pass through vigorous trials and tribulations before he can lead the orcan nations, but once elected he stands supreme.

It was during this time when the orcs were occupied elsewhere that the daun tribal chief, Sagroud of Hespiatelon, invaded the coastal settlements along Sodalian sea in southern Laurdia and established the first great daun empire. The Sodalians created the city-states of Nassedania. Each Nassedanian state had advanced public buildings, markets, workshops and water systems. There was a royal palace and a "sazzurad," or tower, on top of which was a shrine dedicated to the god or gods of that city. Around the public buildings were houses and beyond these lay the farmer's fields and the marshlands of the Nassedanian rivers. Beside themselves with this invasion of their lands the orcs were powerless to take back the territory but contented themselves with steady invasions and attacks.

Today, the lands of Laurdia are much the same. The orcs under the Talone rule the northern territories and pollute the Dragyn Range Mountains, building factory-like camps filled with slave laborers who work to build their machines of death. The hardy Boggins live under the mounts, delving for precious stones and metals as the peaceful Valeks stand guard, protecting the south from invasion. The dauns still reside in the city-states of Hespiatelon and Igurak in Nassedania, but for the most part, the small towns have been deserted as they migrated to Indrejan, where there is less threat of orc invasion.