Mystonian History

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The Beginning (Before 300BT)

The original inhabitants of the Isles are the elves who presently make their home in the Red Forest. Differences in philosophy led to a division in elven society: one group remained within the Isles' forests, while the other moved into the open plains and developed an advanced urban culture and explored sorcerous magic. Mystonian scholars have dubbed this civilization "Old Myst," and long assumed that it was a human culture due to its dissimilarity to the Isles' modern elves. It was this civilization that built the great marble city which now survives as a mist-shrouded ruin between Rak and Larmian, as well as the mysterious faceless statue in Mysthaven. The "Old Myst" civilization was destroyed approximately a thousand years ago, when a magical cataclysm destroyed their magnificent capital city, and horrible plagues ravaged the survivors.

The Coming of the Dwarves (300BT-307)

Following the destruction of Old Myst, the remaining elves returned to their ancestral ways and lived a simple existence undisturbed for several hundred years. In the year 312 BT, a stream of humans, Mingits, and dwarves fled to Arangoth by sea. Several refugee ships were blown off course by a storm, ending up near present-day Kishant on the Isles' northern coast. After fierce debate, the dwarves decided to take their chances in this unknown land, while the others were determined to make repairs and continue on to Arangoth. The presence of ships off the coast attracted the attention of the elves, and a delegation from the dwarves successfully defused a potential conflict, and secured permission to settle in the Key Peaks. Humans from various nations made periodic attempts to colonize the islands, but these settlements either failed, or were driven off by the elves. Pre-Nypin human settlements are a subject of ongoing debate and speculation among Mystonian scholars, though archaeological research has provided little concrete evidence.

The Founding of Myst and the War with the Elves (307-340)

Thalanthus Nypin, an Arangothian mercenary captain and adventurer, hit upon a plan to establish a new trade route between Secca and the Southlands Peninsula that avoided the Hell's Eye. While studying sea charts, he spotted what looked like an ideal spot to found a city on the southern coast of an island marked "Myst. Isle." While this was the cartographer's abbreviation of "Mysterious Island," Nypin took this to be the name of the place. He outfitted an expedition in the year 307, and located a suitable place to found a settlement on the site of what would become MystHaven. On landing upon the beach, he declared the islands to be the "Kingdom of Myst," and proclaimed himself king. He returned the following year with greater numbers, promising his soldiers and their families grants of land in his new kingdom for accompanying him. He founded the city of Mysthaven, and worked tirelessly to make his new kingdom succeed.

The elves of the Red Forest had been observing this new human settlement warily from a distance, and had resolved to allow them to come no further inland. War erupted in the year 310, when elven rangers loosed arrows upon a human scouting party, killing several of the explorers. The humans were outraged by what they considered an unprovoked attack, while the elves maintained it was a justified defense of their borders from encroachment. For the next thirty years, humans and elves engaged in a series of conflicts, raging from mutual raiding and skirmishing to full-blown warfare. The dwarves of the Key Peaks might have changed the course of the war had they intervened, but a devastating combination of famine and plague forced them to retreat to their mountain strongholds and remain neutral.

Although the conflict inflicted heavy losses on both sides, Nypin's control of the seas ultimately proved the deciding factor in the war. The insular elves had no navy to speak of, and were unable to prevent Nypin from landing a steady stream of supplies and reinforcements from Arangoth and Tollor to continue the conflict. The humans slowly pushed the elves north toward their bastion of the Red Forest, but were unable to penetrate the borders of the elven heartland. Prince Kirsah`Ilan, the younger son of the elven Adaron, took command of the elven war effort, and fought Nypin's army to a stalemate with a switch to defensive tactics. Karan Auliath, the dwarven ruler, brokered a peace treaty between the elves and humans, granting the elves and dwarves virtual autonomy in exchange for a nominal acknowledgement of Nypin's authority, and levies of troops for the common defense of the Isles.

The Golden Age (341-408)

Following the war, King Nypin granted lands to his soldiers and ennobled his officers. He sent out proclamations to attract subjects for the fledgling kingdom, offering grants of land to settlers and incentives for skilled craftsmen. The era from the year 341 to the year 408 is recorded as the "Golden Age" by most Mystonian scholars because of the amount of trade flowing from Arangoth, Secca, and the Southlands to the Isles.

While this was a time of great prosperity for the new human kingdom, the elves and dwarves did not fare nearly so well. The elves were still reeling from their losses from the war, compounded by those dissatisfied by the terms of the treaty choosing to migrate to Elvendeep rather than remain on the Isles with the human conquerors. The Dwarves suffered huge losses during the great earthquake in the year 359. The Dwarvish population, which outnumbered the humans 2 to 1 in 341 were outnumbered by the humans 3 to 1 in 400.

Thalanthus Nypin reigned until the year 352, when he died after being poisoned by a concubine. Having no surviving sons, the issue of succession was in doubt until his daughter Atiara Nypin claimed the throne. Her husband was Duke Rennaltin Molentia, Nypin's former cavalry commander, and the combination of her political acumen and her husband's popularity with Nypin's troops secured power peacefully. Queen Atiara sent aid to the dwarves in the Key Peaks following the great earthquake, and is credited with improving relations with the dwarves. A number of pieces in the Mystonian crown jewels were created by dwarven smiths for her in gratitude.

They ruled side by side as King and Queen until Rennaltin's death in 369. Queen Atiara continued to rule alone until failing health forced her to cede power to her son Norlonth Molentia Nypin and name him Prince Regent in the year 386. After her death in the year 391, Norlonth was crowned King.

The Mystonian Civil War (408-411)

King Norlonth proved to be a capable ruler, but his heavy-handed methods won him many enemies among the kingdom's gentry. After the King's allegedly accidental death in the year 408, his brother Algor Nypin made a bid for the throne backed by Norlonth's political enemies. Norlonth's son Milneth levied the charge of regicide against his uncle, and the Isles were rent asunder in bloody civil war. Algor Nypin seized control of Mysthaven and the royal residence of Castle Nypin, while Milneth set up his rival court on the Molentia family estate in the north. War raged for three years across the Isles' central plains, until Algor's forces surrendered at Mysthaven in 411. Algor was placed on trial, and executed for regicide and treason. His fellow conspirators in the assassination were stripped of lands and titles and exiled. Milneth was crowned King in 412, styling himself King Milneth Molentia, and renamed the royal residence Castle Molentia.

The Post-War Era (412-470)

The Isles recovered quickly from the effects of the war under King Milneth's able leadership. Ironically, the assassination of King Dorn of Arangoth and the Arangothian civil war in 415 was at least partially responsible for the Isles' return to prosperity. Kishant and Mysthaven assumed increasingly important roles in the continental sea trade, as merchants wished to avoid becoming embroiled in the instability in Arangoth during and immediately following the war. The Molentia clan reigned supreme, and soon there was a baby boom in the late 430s.

King Milneth died of a fever in 442, and his son Rennaltin Molentia was crowned King Rennaltin II at the age of 17. He proved to be an energetic and extremely popular monarch, known to his subjects affectionately as Redbeard. He traveled extensively throughout the kingdom during his reign, visiting even the smallest villages. He undertook a policy of rapprochement with the elves, establishing a regular correspondence with Asidriel, and encouraging trade between humans and elves. Airethond, the Adaron of the elves, made his first visit to Mysthaven during Redbeard's reign. Perhaps the most successful measure of his policies is the growing population of half elves on the Isles, many of whom were born during his reign. An avid hunter and outdoorsman, he led a life of vigorous activity, so it came as a great shock to the kingdom when he died unexpectedly of a heart attack in early 470.

The Present (470--)

Following Rennaltin's sudden death in 470, his daughter Janessa Molentia was crowned queen. The young monarch faced immediate challenges to her reign, dealing with a famine during the spring of 470 immediately after her coronation. Later that year, she allowed Ellurian refugees fleeing their war-torn homeland to found the settlement of Vekkelmaril. Janessa continued her father's policies concerning relations with the elves, making the radical decision to appoint Prince Kirsah`Ilan as the General of the kingdom's combined military forces. In late 471, the Queen traveled to the Alesian Imperium to personally negotiate a trade agreement with the Emperor Glindor Paralor. She returned home in early 472, and announced her engagement to Prince Corvarath Paralor, one of the Emperor's sons. The surprise announcement spurred a flurry of rumors, and some feared that the kingdom might become a puppet of the Imperium. These fears soon proved to be unfounded, and the Queen and her husband-to-be made the first ever visit by a human monarch to the elven capital of Asidriel.

The couple wed in Last Seed (August) of 472, and Queen gave birth to their first child, Prince Joshua Ryder in First Seed (March) of 473. Soon after this happy event, the Isles were rocked by the murder of Airethond by an unknown party. For a few tense weeks, the Isles seemed on the verge of a second war between men and elves. King Corvarath made a personal diplomatic mission to Asidriel to meet with Lauciian, and succeeded in convincing the new Adaron of House Molentia's good will. The true culprits were the cult of the mysterious god Jacinto, engaged in a plot to throw the kingdom into chaos. The Mystonian army was marshaled against this threat to the kingdom, and dispersed the cult and razed its hidden temple. In Hearthfire (September) of 476, the Royal Family welcomed its newest addition, Princess Atiara. Queen Janessa and King Corvarath are the rulers of the Isles of the Myst to this day.