History
Fretheod: Legend tells of a vast empire once known to have covered the face of the world: The Fretheod. Great in ambition and equally skilled in magic, they were inveterate explorers and signs of their civilization can be found through various pillars and obelisks left in the countryside. The Fretheod were also known as the Sons of Aelther. One of the ancient cities, Wudamund, forms part of the foundation of Dargon Castle.
Baranur-Beinison War (1012-14): In the year 1012 B.Y., the Kingdom of Baranur defended itself from an invasion by its neighbor, the Beinison Empire. The war ravaged much of Baranur, including all the cities along the Laraka River, and threatened the capitol city of Magnus itself. A comprehensive review of the war can be found in DargonZine 6-3.
Relations between the two nations have improved, but they are still wary of one another. Some of the damage from the war remains, but most everything has been rebuilt. A population boom would have ensued, with towns full of children in 1019.
Red Plague (1007-8): The Dargon equivalent of measles. It ravaged Duchy Dargon particularly bad around 1007.
Shadow Wars (980-998): A series of battles during the reign of King Darian of Baranur. House Northfield mounted an insurrection against the King's alleged excesses.
Great Houses War (897-909): Following the death of King Stefan II, civil war broke out among the ten Great Houses of Baranur for control of the throne.
The Great Houses consist of:
- Arval
- Asbridge
- Equiville
- Monrodya
- Northfield
- Quinnat
- Redcrosse
- Tallirhan
- Welspeare
- Westbrook
Recent History
In the year 1014, Baranur defended itself from an invasion by the Beinison Empire, which stalled after the untimely deaths of the very young Emperor Untar and his chief wizard, Mon-Taerleor. The war ravaged much of Baranur, including all the cities along the Laraka River, and threatened Magnus itself.
The war also affected Dargon. A Beinison fleet landed at Dargon itself and damaged much of the town, before being turned away by forces led by Clifton Dargon himself (who lost part of his left arm during the fighting).
After the death of the Beinison emperor, the enemy forces withdrew from Baranur, but still occupied much of the duchy of Pyridain. To compensate the refugees from Pyridain for their losses, King Haralan of Baranur gave them a tract of land at the intersection of the duchies of Dargon, Narragan, and Asbridge. This territory was called Nulain, and the town of Northern Hope was established there a year or so after the war.
For the next four years, Northern Hope fell victim to one disaster after another. Parris Dargon, an ambitious cousin of the current duke, hired the fabled wizard Anarr to discover the cause of the town's bad luck and bring it to Dargon. Anarr discovered a cursed idol of the Beinison war god Gow, warded its deadly curse, and brought it down the Coldwell River from Kenna. However, the idol's curse was released, and the barge carrying the idol smashed into Dargon's bridge over the Coldwell, killing many and leaving the town struggling to get people and goods from one side of the river to the other.