View source for The Crown of Alahan


== Chronology ==



''~ 370''	Gathering of the Kahlen Plains; appearance the Chimera
''398''	Battle of the Lion
''~ 400''	Foundation of the Alahaar Kingdom
''418''	Battle of the Chastisement; death of Leonid; his son Alcyd becomes king and the first paladin
''419''	King Aclyd marries Veliane when she hands him Oriazur, the standard of the Lion; the second Battle of Eclipse Pass
''517''	King Alcyd disappears; his son Gyanor is crowned
''572''	King Heïan and the prophet Arcavius meet
''675''	Betrayal of the Barony of Acheron
''683''	First Miserable War
''684''	King Aldemar is murdered along with Queen Heladia and their eldest son, Bahrad; Second Miserable War; the king’s youngest son, Kaïnus, is crowned; King Kaïnus is married to Ysÿlle; regency of Queen Ysÿlle
''767''	Death of King Kaïnus; Queen Ysÿlle chooses Tÿllian as consort
''801''	Death of Queen Ysÿlle; her son Irwyn is crowned; agitation in the baronies; Irwyn disappears and becomes the Invisible King
''909''	Revolt of the Dark Muse
''911''	Return of King Irwyn, the Invisible King, to the throne
''999''	Briareus is freed
''1000''	Battle of the Lost Hearts
''1001''	Second Battle of Kaïber; four of the eight barons abdicate their titles
''1002''	Battle of Tenseth
''1004''	The orcs travel through the Kingdom of Alahan; Battle of Camarane
''1005''	Destruction of the Barony of Laverne. The fleet is driven away from the Ephren Sea
''1006''	Opening of the gates of hell. Battle of Kallienne; the pirates of the Ephren Sea are crushed after they attempt to land in Alahan

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T2	The sun has a meeting with the moon

While the people of Kel had only just arrived in Aarklash, one of the clans moved deep into the continent seeking free land. The Lahnar clan headed south and soon reached rich land, yet it was regularly assailed by creatures of Darkness. The Lahnar picked up the gauntlet. They fought with courage, finding strength in Arïn, their sun god.
However, it was written that they would not fight alone: a prophecy revealed to another clan, the Ylliar, that a terrible danger was slumbering in the south and that it had to be dealt with. Religion was a barrier between these two clans, making alliances difficult. The Ylliar worshipped the moon, Yllia, or Selene depending on the tradition, while the Lahnar worshipped the sun. Distrust led to disputes, disputes to skirmishes and skirmishes to battles. During the Battle of the Eclipse, the moon and the sun collided, which was unfortunate for all mortals. Weakened, the two clans could no longer fend off the assaults of Darkness, while Darkness continued to grow in the south.  
It was the time of the Atrocities, creatures of Darkness capable of assuming a tangible shape or possessing the bodies of mortals. The most powerful among them was so dangerous that even uttering its true name was lethal, and only its esoteric symbol was recorded in the annals in history: XXI. 
Supported by legions of monsters, the Atrocities threatened to wipe out the Lahnar and the Ylliar. In the face of danger, the two clans tried to ally before the tide of Darkness overcame them.
The men chose to gather on the plain of Kalhen, on the bank of a tributary of the Alundth River. While the camp was slowly being built, in an atmosphere of despair and distrust, a young woman of incredible beauty appeared in the setting sunlight: the Chimera.
Every word she spoke warmed their bodies like a ray of Lahn, heating the souls of the warriors; each of her moves was as reassuring as the moonlight guiding weary fighters home.
When the Chimera reminded them that the moon and the sun sometimes shared the same sky, the Ylliar recognized the infinite wisdom of the magician. When she added that the solar and lunar bodies had equitably shared day and night between them, she convinced the Lahnar they were dealing with the envoy of the gods. With wise advice and her virtuous aura, the Chimera shaped around her an alliance of both clans.
Over the days and nights spent in negotiation and learning, many wonders occurred.  Barhan culture was being shaped.
When the Ylliar taught the Lahnar their astrological knowledge, the latter received this precious present coldly, since this exercise is possible only at night. The Chimera in turn showed them how to polish gems of Light to craft chimerical lenses to watch the stars in a sky lit by Lahn, Ley and Lith.
In return, the Lahnar taught agriculture to the Ylliar and unveiled the first calendar, essential to know when to sow and when to harvest. The worshipers of the moon considered the gift with disdain, as it required measuring the cycles of the suns. The Chimera then showed them how they could precisely count the number of moons past and the influence the suns could have on their predictions.
The tide of the war suddenly changed. United, the Lahnar and the Ylliar flew from victory to victory. The most decisive was the Battle of the Lion, during which the Lahnar warlord Leonid defeated the Atrocity known as Zekudim the Gaunt. It was the first time ever such an event had occurred. This powerful omen definitively convinced both clans of the usefulness of their union. So the Alahaar came to be. They gave their name to the largest and most powerful kingdom on Aarklash: the Kingdom of Alahan, the land of the descendants of the sun and moon peoples.

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T	Battle of the Lion

Year 398, on the banks of the Migol River (future Barony of Icquor)

Leonid led his men into combat. Unwilling to watch her people lose, the Chimera demonstrated her supernatural powers. She summoned all the wild animals living in the region and channeled their ferocity to change herself into a fabulous lionness. The Lahnar and the Ylliar were galvanized by her transformation. The Chimera charged right into the obscure legions, summoning a powerful form of magic never seen before: the magic of Light. Making the most of this change of tide, Leonid engaged Zekudim and, after what would become a legendary duel, he banished the Atrocity.

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The Atrocities were defeated, one after the other. The Alahaar, always moving south, conquered gigantic stretches of land and discovered peoples that had been surviving there, surrounded by the lands dominated by the Atrocities. These were years of victory and hope for the Alahaar. Leonid used these good times to found the Kingdom of Alahan. He built his capital, Kallienne, on the prairie that had seen the alliance of his clan with that of the Ylliar. Finally, he married the Chimera.
Their son, Prince Alcyd, set out on adventuring as soon as he was old enough to carry a sword. His journey and many adventures inspired La Chanson d’Alcyd, one of the most famous epics of the kingdom. Upon his return, he found his father’s fortress under siege. 
Aware that there was nothing he could do to save his father and king, Alcyd was forced to watch XXI triumph. His display of wisdom changed the young king and made him the very first paladin. He then traveled the country to gather an army and find a spouse worthy of his rank. His gold and blue clothing, which had become his personal hallmark, became the symbol of endangered royalty. It allowed him to meet his wife: Veliane. A Ylliar magician of great wisdom, she presented him, in the name of her clan, with a standard bearing his colors. When Alcyd received the present he offered to add silver to the banner in honor of the Ylliar who had fallen trying to protect his father.
Veliane then showed him a lunar symbol that proved she was about to speak in the name of her kinsmen. She requested that he did not do it, because some time in the far future, the Ylliar would need to blend in among the Lahnar. Alcyd accepted, but only if she became his wife. And so it was. A few months later the crown was proud to announce the birth of an heir to the lineage, a prince who further united the Lahnar and Ylliar. 
Having secured the future of his bloodline, Alcyd gathered his forces and marched out to challenge the ultimate Atrocity in Eclipse Pass. During this battle, the Second Battle of the Eclipse, Alcyd the Paladin slew XXI and granted the gift of peace to his people. 

T2	Pax Lumina

After their victory over the Atrocities, the Alahaar completed the conquest of the southern parts of Avagddu. Alcyd the Paladin showed himself up to the task. He organized the fiefdoms, charted the baronies, and appointed his most valorous commanders to lead them. The Kingdom of Alahan traced its definitive peacetime borders.
Some nomadic tribes became farmers on the fertile plains generously watered by countless rivers and streams. Chivalry was instated. The first metal mines were discovered. The customs of the various clans that the war against the Atrocities had united mixed into a single tradition. The cult of Paragon, dominated by Arïn, was enriched with multiple divinities that were always welcomed with benevolence as long as they defended Virtue and Light. 
Within a century, the Alahaar built a rich and powerful feudal society founded on courage, honor and chivalric virtues. The Ylliar blended into the Kingdom, thriving as discreetly as possible to avoid any trouble with the Lahnar. Soon the memories of the two clans faded slightly. Unity was sown so deep into the fabric of society that the word Alahaar eventually fell into oblivion and was replaced by the word “Barhan”, meaning in the tongue of Alahan “those who live in the baronies.”
Nevertheless, the Barhans never forgot about their brothers who had remained behind in Avagddu. When the Minotaur found itself at war with the Clan of Poison, affiliated to the Stag, King Gyanor, son and successor of King Alcyd, decided to support the Sessairs against the ignominy of their enemies. The Poisonous War was the first conflict in which the Kingdom of Alahan officially participated.
Nothing seemed to threaten the prosperity of Alahan when, for the first time, the shadow of dissension loomed over the baronies. 
Arcavius de Sabran (see Army Book : Temple) had the revelation of the cult of Merin. Leading a seemingly endless procession of converts, he obtained an audience with King Heïan. The two men had a long interview and were visited by an angel of Light. With the support of such a being, Heïan could only admit the genuine nature of this revelation. There was land left to conquer to the east. Virtue required Arcavius be allowed to found the Empire of Akkylannie. And so it was. The exodus was not painless as faith tore children from their parents, vassals from their overlords and friends from companions. The humblest commoner to the most powerful lord, no one could know when a relative would leave everything behind to move to Akkylannie. The most outrageous example was Kelgar the Pious. Indeed, Baron of Kallienne at the time, he abandoned his wife and children, gave up his title as baron and went away to found the seat of Internal affairs, forerunner to the dreaded Inquisition.
A century later, treason struck the kingdom right in the heart. Sheltered behind the Behemoth mountain range, the Barony of Acheron was home to a gruesome order: the Black Togas. These magicians stopped at no evil to gain power and magical knowledge. Having pledged allegiance to the Meanders of Darkness, they gained control of the barony and seceded. Within a matter of days they gathered an undead army and sent it down Kaïber Pass, the only viable road connecting Acheron with the rest of Alahan. The First Battle of Kaïber was barely won by the Ways of Light which allowed them to seal the pass with a fortress built to fend off the felons’ assaults
The kingdom would survive. But seeing the treason of Acheron as a sign of weakness, the goblin Emperor Kharbôxyl XIX decided to descend upon the fertile lands of Alahan. During the First Miserable War, he sent hordes of settlers into Avagddu. King Aldemar responded firmly, driving back the settlers so that, in the end, the invasion failed.
The king, the queen and their eldest son were mysteriously murdered years later. Only Prince Kaïnus survived the massacre. What followed was a period of political instability, during which the new goblin Emperor Phylobakther took the opportunity to succeed where his predecessor had failed. This was the Second Miserable War that saw the goblin armies attack Alahan simultaneously through the passes of Laverne, the coasts of Doriman and by using Elemental portals of Air. The kingdom was saved only by the order of the Chimera, an organization of mages loyal to the crown.  
The mages repelled the goblins and then vanished, having gained the population’s support. With the support of the Ylliar, the child-king was married to the only elf ever crowned queen of Alahan: Ysÿlle. Under the enlightened rule of this queen, the kingdom overcame the treason of Acheron and consolidated the Alliance of Light with the Cynwälls and the Akkylannians. These armies recovered their lost power and worked hard to bear Light anywhere Darkness loomed over Virtue.
Unfortunately, this period did not see the triumph of Barhan ideals. The long running regency of Ysÿlle disgruntled much of the nobility, notably the courtesans. After the death of King Kaïnus, when the queen chose a half-elf named Tüllyan as consort, the court started making itself heard. When their son Irwyn was crowned, the dissent was joined by some of the Lahnar barons threatening to overthrow the throne.
Some nobles began declaiming their Lahnar roots, stigmatizing the families that had “too much” Ylliar blood for their support towards the elven impostors. Orders were created to defend the purity of solar magic against the “grime” of lunar magic.
Faced with this perfidious evil, King Irwin… disappeared.
The vacancy of power lasted for a century, forcing the barons to organize themselves into a council to manage the shadow of a transitory government. During this period the plotters grew bolder, revealing their ambitions. The barons fell back to their fiefdoms without any further consideration for the other baronies.
Irwyn, known as the “Invisible King” by his subjects who never lost hope of seeing him return, remained hidden. He was waiting to see what evil forces were at work in his kingdom and whom among his vassals would rise in arms against this threat. While the council of barons was bogged down by indecision and dissension, an Akkyshan agent known as the Dark Muse stirred up a major peasant revolt. Contesting the legitimacy of the council of barons, the movement set the country ablaze from Laverne to Allmoon and from Doriman to Kallienne.
Considering the extent of the threat, the council put its quarrels aside and the barons united under the royal banner, despite not having a king to lead them. The Dark Muse was crushed at the Battle of Manilia.
The barons understood the folly of their selfishness, as well as the danger represented by the courtesans’ intrigues. The Invisible King returned, a whole century after his disappearance, without having grown old; as if Virtue had protected him from the assault of time. Irwin took the reins of a kingdom unified behind its new-found king. The Chimera then gave him a son: Gorgyn. Irwyn continued to rule for another twenty years. His entourage announced that he had died of sickness and his son became king of Alahan. The new king married a famous magician called Trys the Divine. He had very little time to enjoy the taste of bliss as the kingdom was about to experience its darkest hours.


T2	The Rag’narok

For many, the Rag’narok began in the year 1000, when the Meanders of Darkness gathered in the Syharhalna to celebrate the completion of New Shamir. For the Barhans, it started one year earlier on a desolated island south of Allmoon: Tycho.
This island was home to descendents of a group of hardcore Ylliar who had refused to ally with the Lahnar. Masters of the magic of Water, these selenites perpetuated their cult of the moon goddess they called Selene. Forgotten by the rest of Aarklash, they lived as recluses, having but only few contacts with the wolfen. Without knowing it, they were unwillingly protecting a terrible secret: they were standing on the lair of a defeated Atrocity called Briareus.
Unfortunately, another Atrocity had returned to Aarklash: Araxe. Appearing as the Gorgon (see Army Book: Acheron), Araxe went searching for her kindred. In 999, see discovered Briareus caught in the ice under Tycho. She manipulated the Swords of Lahn, a brotherhood of magicians of Light who hated the Ylliars, and set them loose on their hereditary enemies, the selenites. Using this diversion, the Gorgon woke Briareus from his slumber. For Barhan scholars, this resurrection is the true starting point of the Rag’narok.
The king was quickly warned of the return of the Atrocities. The troops of Alahan rose in arms. Gorgyn called upon the Alliance of Light and launched the campaigns of clarity: he sent his knights anywhere injustice and Darkness threatened the continent.
This is the time when the Red Lioness started her ascension in Barhan society with the tragic events of the Battles of the Lost Hearts. The return of the Atrocities exalted her warlike ardor. However, some victories shared the bitter taste of defeat. 

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T	Battle of the Lost Hearts

Year 1000, at the foot of the Behemoth Mountains (Barony of Daneran)

The falconers of Alahan had located troops on the move in the Behemoth. It was not the first time the Acheronians attempted to skirt around Kaïber. A small detachment of falconers and reapers was sent to meet the enemy.
Far more numerous than first thought, the Acheronians were led by a powerful Skull warrior. Driven by her usual fieriness, the Red Lioness challenged him to a duel. The survivors all told the same tale: while the opponents were duelling, they suddenly ceased the combat. They exchanged a few words, letting a few tears out before charging one another. The Red Lioness smote the Skull warrior in a terrifying burst of Light.
Ever since, her hair has been as white as a shroud. 

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Besides these warlike adventures, King Gorgyn led his own adventure of another kind, affective and political, heroic and military. With the return of the Atrocities, the order of the Chimera gained an unprecedented strategic role. Its leader, Trys the Divine, Queen of Alahan and wife of King Gorgyn, became the center of much attention. Agents eventually reported some worrying disappearances of his wife, her suspect behavior and strange powers, well beyond those a regular magician. Gorgyn trusted his queen and did not wish to unveil a secret his wife deemed useful to keep from him: Trys the Divine is an Immortal of Light. For centuries, she has been observing the Barhans and the order of the Chimera in secret. 
The King also had to fight his own battles. Exploiting the absence of most Barhan heroes, who had been sent all over the continent, the Limbos of Acheron launched a major campaign against the fortress of Kaïber. The coalition of the forces of Light won the Second Battle of Kaïber, but suffered heavy losses. The fortress itself was ravaged and lost most of its advanced defensive fortifications. 

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T	The Second Battle of Kaïber

Year 1001, Fortress of Kaïber (Barony of Daneran)

Feyd Mantis had concocted a wicked plan to overthrow the Fortress of Kaïber. With the help of Cyraël the Pallid, a necromancer leading a pack of wolfen zombies, he planned to get troops inside the citadel. There Cyraël would raise the corpses of the dragons kept in the towers of the fortress.
The first stages of Feyd Mantis’ attack went according to plan: Cyraël made it into the fortress allowing Sorokin de Vanth to corrupt the draconic remains. While the undead dragons attacked the troops of Light from the inside, thousands of skeletons and zombies stormed the walls of Kaïber.
Light was only saved by the feats of three heroes. The Inquisitor Eschelius the Fervent showed heroic resilience in the foremost fortifications of Kaïber. Syd the Cynwäll later known as “de Kaïber,” freed the draconic corpses from the influence of Darkness. All the while, Dragan d’Orianthe fought on the frontline every second of the battle, displaying admirable courage and exemplary behavior in every charge and every fight.
The fortress was saved once again.

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Realizing how close the Kingdom of Alahan had come to total disaster, King Gorgyn decided to reorganize his armies. He summoned all the barons to Kallienne and explained to them that the time had come to roar like lions and truly engage in this merciless war. He explained that, despite the qualities that made them excellent barons, some were shaped for the Rag’narok and others were not. He asked who was ready to die on the battlefield far from Kallienne, forgotten by their own kin. Valdenar de Doriman, Methrain d’Algerande and Dragan d’Orianthe were the first to answer with a nod. Mirvilis d’Allmoon then followed, explaining that death was only a passage. Finally, Kelgar de Valady joined them too. The four other barons, Egeus d’Icquor, Kamis d’Amirat, Sihran de Montvert and Telior de Gabriac, remained silent, and handed in the coat of arms of their barony to the king.. No one saw this gesture as a sign of cowardice. On the contrary, the barons and the king understood the courage of their peers. The king gave them a final mission: finding a hero able to understand and lead their former subjects.
The news shook the whole kingdom, but the personality of the newly chosen barons was enough to comfort the Barhan population. With such exceptional men and women leading the armies the campaigns of clarity resumed, with their share of victories and defeats, such as the Battle of Tenseth.


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T	The Battle of Tenseth

Year 1002, city of Tenseth, Syharhalna

Tenseth was chosen to shelter the Athanor, one of the most powerful Syhar artifacts. In 1002, the disciples of the Beast decided to capture it and attacked the city. The forces of Light seized the opportunity and advanced on Tenseth from the Akkylannian Temple of the South (see Army Book: Temple). King Gorgyn sent a company led by Alahel the Messenger and including many other Barhan heroes such a Misan the Clairvoyant and Danil the Brave.
One contingent was sent to the city gates while another advanced through underground tunnels. The first collided with the Devourers, the second met the clones. Eventually, even though the Akkylannians and the Cynwäll had finally made it to the gates of the sanctuary of Arh-Tolth, the forces of Light were forced to pull out.
Since the Battle of Tenseth, the Athanor has disappeared. 

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Under pressure from the Ram army, the orcs of the Behemoth decided to join those of the Bran-Ô-Kor by travelling through the lands of Alahan. Their emissaries were turned down by the barons: they were told that the Kingdom of Alahan knew who its allies were in the Rag’narok and the orcs were not among them.
A string of battles ensued in Icquor. The barons, steadfast in their determination, suffered defeat after defeat while their own troops began murmuring against them. Where was the virtue in all this? Did the orcs have to be decimated in the name of law, or protected in their exile according to the virtues honored by the Ways of Light? Personally called out by Vijkhal, the leader of the orcs, the King eventually had to settle the question, authorizing the orcs to pass through, despite his vassals’ objections (see Army book: Behemoth).  
The tragedy of the Minotaur also occurred during this period. The Sessairs in the east and south of the Plains of Avagddu were defeated by the clans that pledged allegiance to Darkness. With nowhere to go, the refugees broke against the northern fortresses of Alahan like waves against the rocks. The Drunes took the opportunity to overwhelm the defenses of the kingdom and raided the lands of Laverne and Luishana. It took several months for the army of Alahan to reorganize its defenses and repel the Drunes beyond its borders, having both received and inflicted dire losses. Victory was largely achieved thanks to the intervention of the orcs who were grateful to King Gorgyn.
The Barhan troops chose to push their luck further toward Tar-Haez, where the monstrous Flying fortress of Acheron had crash-landed. The Obscure used it as a base to launch raids on the plains of Avagddu.
Ill advised was the king when he issued such an order! Realizing their flying fortress was doomed, the Acheronians took off for a final flight. After several hours of painstaking progression, harassed by Barhan ballista units, the artifact exploded just above Laverne, killing all of the city’s inhabitants. The explosion was so strong not a single acre of the barony was left untainted by the abominable pollution that ensued. In a heartbeat the kingdom had lost one ninth of its territory, turned into a wasteland.
Any other nation would have quit fighting after such a disaster.
After the Second Battle of Kaïber and the destruction of the flying fortress, many Barhan commanders believed the Barony of Acheron would have pulled out of the Rag’narok. However, it was only a respite: on Feyd Mantis’ birthday in 1006, the servants of Darkness returned from the dead. Cults that had infiltrated several baronies and most of the rest of Aarklash opened portals of Darkness, the gates of hell, out of which marched nightmarish armies.
Legions of demons and undead suddenly appeared and brought war right to the heart of the greatest Barhan cities, including Kallienne.  
This was not the only place Alahan was to fight for survival. On the Ephren Sea, a fleet formed from the alliance of Acheron, the Syharalna and Naherys, the capital of the former Ophidian Empire, had been hunting down Barhan ships.
Overcome by their numbers, the royal navy could not prevent its enemies from raiding the coast in 1006. Fortunately, the raiders were eventually intercepted by the paladins of Doriman and were all exterminated.
Despite all of this, the will of the fighters of Alahan is unaltered. As long as Lahn and his brothers will rise on Aarklash, they will fight with the fury of the Lion, because they are the ultimate ramparts of Light and Virtue!