History of Outer Arangoth

Outer Arangoth
Geographical Information
Geographical Features:	Kahlahra, Elvendeep, Zul Kiras
Significant Resources:	Mining, Farming
Civilization
Region In:	Arangoth
Colonized By:	The Order of the Beady Eye
Notable Settlement:	Caern

Location

Outer Arangoth was originally a rough-and-tumble northern extension of Elvendeep, into which outlaws and undesirables migrated from civilized parts further south. Outer Arangoth is a bowl, a gargantuan valley bordered by mountain ranges. To the east are Kahlahra and Arangoth, to the south Elvendeep. To the northwest is Zul Kiras proper, and north is the human country of Caern Rhia.

Origins and History

A thousand years ago, Elvendeep warred across this valley--what it considered appropriate exiling grounds--with a community of exiles, the Nymrya. The resulting destruction of the little principality introduced its surviving remnants, the Nimm, onto the plains. Soon, dwarves had moved in as well, and humans, too. With a short break of order under the Beady Eye Knights of Arangoth, Kayern had been a lawless march where caravans traveled at their own risk. Caern itself, built atop the ancient skeleton of an enormous giant, was a lawless citadel where successive bandits--Nimm, humans, dwarves, and mixed bands of all three--played king-of-the-mountain. Wizards like the reprehensible Rewop chose the delightful chaos and desolation to build their towers.

Their ranger, a representative of those ancient exiles and bandits, the warrior Nimm, came first. Allamayn Brulei, of the Nimm Brulei, had tightened his kaffiyeh to just above his eyes, so that the paint upon his face would not fleck and run with his sweat into his eyes. He gritted his teeth and thought of the vast vista before him. Once it had been his people's home, in a way. Certainly they'd had to share it with dwarves and humans, but in such a vast space there was not only room for all, but room for an elf to be free. Only now it was held in the iron grip of the orc; the rabid jaws of the Northern Wolf. No man, and especially no elf, could be free here.

Outer Arangoth was conquered for the Arangothian Kingdom by the Order of the Beady Eye and made into a new province, governed by the Order for about a century. In the year 415, with the disintegration of the Old Kingdom, Outer Arangoth began its descent into anarchy as central authority vanished. After the destruction of Hornath-ul-Dinthoss in the year 423 by an orcish invasion from Zul Kiras, the Order of the Beady Eye withdrew from Outer Arangoth, and left the region with no governing agency whatsoever. It became a refuge for outlaws and exiles, as the region borders Arangoth, Elvendeep, Kahlahra and Zul Kiras. No serious attempt had been made to restore royal control over this wild territory during the reign of BLKDRAGON and AngelSin.

There have been a few warlords or other persons with strictly local authority, often bandit leaders who have managed to accrue some amount of wealth and followers. Further west, the evil magician known as Rewop had a castle until the year 466 (December 1996), which was abandoned after his brief seizure of the throne of Griffon's Aerie from King Karos IV.

In Mid Year of 471 (June 2001), a group of evil knights, recently driven out of Drache, appeared in the lawless countryside of Outer Arangoth and, aided by dark magic, raised up a city in honor of their dark god. From here the powerful Knights and their summoned infernal servants moved against Caern Rhia, a free and peace-loving nation to the north of Outer Arangoth. Arangoth and other nations' careful neutrality in such a strange conflict led Caern Rhian Prince Tarion to turn to Zul Kiras for aid.

Orcish War-King Vazhak Bloodhammer was only too happy to oblige, and in less than two weeks, an army from Zul Kiras had crossed the border into Outer Arangoth. The swiftness of the orcish response has made some speculate that the United Clans had already been preparing for an invasion, and Tarion's plea for help gave them the perfect opportunity. By the end of Sun's Height (July), the orcs had captured Kamhorna, destroyed the Black City, and liberated Caern Rhia from its otherworldly invaders. Since that time, the orcs have laid claim to the western half of the region, and have been settling the area. Recently, there have been rumors that the orcs have rediscovered the ancient dwarven mithril mines that adventurers had been seeking for the past few centuries.

In response to the Zul Kiran occupation, Elvendeep and Arangoth have enlisted the Khalar Sherkhen and several tribes of Nimm to aid in the creation of a ranger patrol of the free half of Outer Arangoth. The March Knights of Kayern are composed mostly, though not exclusively, of half-elves from each of the four nations. Using Khalar ponies, Arangothian spyglasses, and Nimmish tactics these rangers criss-cross the non-orcish territory to lay claim to long-unclaimed territory.