Warring Period of the Almadorians

The period between 1450-118 BCA, roughly a millennium prior to the formation of the modern Aurlûnor Velande, was marked in a perpetual state of civil war and conflict between the regional warlords of the former Kingdom of Almador. This period became widely known as the Warring Period of the Almadorians, the Almadorian Civil War, or simply the Warlord Era. During this period, the Brothian Migrations, the establishment of the Second Dominion of Ashura, and the invasion and migrations of the Krowfolk would occur. This era also marked the rise of the Lelya-Earcala Dynasty and Sareariel Lelya-Earcala, but only during the last 100 years. Many folktales and legends were written during this era, and the cultural legacy of this era continues into the present day culture of Aurlûnor.

Early Period
By 1,450BCA, the Kingdom's authority only stretched in Sachómar and the second Estecónmar. This period would mark the beginning of the Warlord Period, for everything that the King decrees, was in name only, and the loyalty that the Arkondes feigning allegiance, when in reality, they were setting sights on their own goals and ambitions to rule the land or maintain their own freedoms. Hundreds of states would arise out of the initial period, but would start to consolidate under more powerful factions. Some borders were said to overlap over others, creating strange enclaves, and exclaves, some not being able to get to their fields beyond another warlord's territory. The maps from this period as a result, are not particularly accurate of the actual scales or scopes the period was in, with borders drawn by who held the most influence over the others. The Kingdom's final days would finally come at around 1,444BCA, where the Royal family fled to their last remaining hold in Tacua from advancing Lonya soldiers.

The states would vary from either tolerant to intolerant of minorities, and even sometimes, warred the non-human warlord states for contending the region for Almalies. Wars were also rather large-scale due to the number of people that lived within the Kingdom. Some of the wars would cost thousands of men lives as a result, causing significant population decreases. Famines and starvations in some of the provinces caused the rise of banditry, and cities with high amounts of poverty and crime. Some bandits even carved their own state within the Kingdom for themselves, and did diplomacy with other nations they saw as worthy allies for their conquests.

The Kingdom of Lonya was seen as one of the more influential states, as it had control over a large portion of the northern regions, which held much of the industry and naval facilities, as well as high defenses on the hills, Lonya also had a large amount of humans that would call the kingdom "Linye", and created a cross language with the Almalites known as Linyese, which was said to have been one of the founding components of modern Lhûpárcì and Lhûkuět.

To the north was the Kingdoms of Arasel, Melwende and Taral. Melwende would be the most influential, and was ruled by a series of Sorceror Queens, who oversaw the project of majestic fortresses that dotted the landscape, with one of them being known as Dun, which significantly stood as what would become known as the "Star City". Another star city was the capital of the Queendom known as Turónshan (Palace Grounds) which sits in modern day Lûnwir. Imported human slaves who would become the Fornosians resided here, and mostly worked agrarian jobs for the Queendom, and for Arasel and Taral.

East of the region were the Kingdoms of Yong, Shen, Hua, Locendur, Morlinmar and varying other small principalities and duchies mostly found in modern day Nir and western Tamaka Provinces. These regions are known to have more human populations, namely due to the fact that many humans migrated to and lived in. Locendur was known for being one of the most tolerant regions of the Kingdom, hosting a large human population, allowing the formation of the city of Jingli, which would serve as the regional administration following the collapse of Almador. Shen and Hua would be a divided pair of Yi'yen towns that would often fight with once another, and saw petty squabblings, often taking nearby kingdoms for support. Both sides of the river would often see soldiers guarding over the area as a border post. Yong would be another Yi'yen settlement that controlled over portions of the Ha Anga Bayou, and often fought against the Angans but sometimes also integrated with them. Yong would be more of a confedeation of small settlements and tribes within the region as a sort of a coaltion to defend themselves from outsiders.

In the year 1,300BCA, barbarians would begin attacking from the east. Out of one of these barbarians was the Krow Horde, which saw sweeping conquests of much of the squabbling kingdoms and princapalities, setting up quarters in the region that would later become known as Kaluko from the ruins of an old Almadorian outpost, Much of the Krow Horde would start to stretch from Alvarla all the way into the southern borders of Ashura, which intersected into Hampo. The Kingdom of Lingwilocendur, with Lingwi as its settlement, which would be wiped out by the Krow Horde. At the time, Pharaoh Tariq VI "the Great" of Ashura and Queen Kangjonnmuk III "the Architect" of Hampo were good friends, and wrote to eachother quite a bit, seeing the twos nations have all time high relations. When the Krow Horde invaded them in 1,284BCA, the two would form an alliance to oppose the advancing forces. They decisively defeated the Krow at the Battle of Blossom Hills, where Ashuran soldiers outflanked Krow Sun Warriors that were attempting to burn a fake supply depot set up by Kangjonnmuk, who used herself as bait to lure them in. The two would remain allies until the end of the 1,100BCAs.

By the year 930BCA in the Kingdom of Tacua, the last king, Picunada, had only daughters. Although law only permitted rule of male heirs, the king changed it to allow his eldest daughter Ráviel III to become Queen of Tacua, making the state effectively a queendom. Queen Ráviel III is recorded to be related to the last Maxionic relative, with her bloodline tracing back to Maxion himself through extensive tests of her blood found in her tomb in modern day Tacua Province.

The Five Kingdoms Period
Consolidation of power between the warring states had begun to die down to a stalemate status at around the year 620BCA. This period is known as the Five Kingdoms period, due to the significant reduction of the number of states joining together or being conquered to be put under direct control of larger influential kingdoms or princedoms. Some would join into coalitions that act as larger kingdoms to help prevent their assets from being conquered, and built relations with once another, but they were usually prone to infighting usually a hundred years in. This period is considered to be one of the more peaceful moments of the period due to the number of deaths being significantly reduced. However, this is usually contracticted due to the advancements of the Krow Horde to the east, who continued to eventually conquer more of the territories of the former Almalie, taking advantage of signs of weakness. There was also times where the Kingdoms would collectively fight together against the invaders, with most of them being successful, but these coalitions would usually die within a few years of the formation. The concept of a unified Almadorian state was long gone, as many years of fighting saw these Kingdoms each knowing that the old days will never return.

The Kingdom of Lonya was among the stronger of the powers, having control over signifigant cities such as Tarman, Lonya, Sachómar on fertile grounds where a majority of the food was present in, in addition to having high defenses on hills, and utilizing them to build more fortified strongholds to hold off the enemies that came into the region, and utilized their steel weaponry and armor from their massive steel industry. Despite their presence on the coast, Lonya's navy was near non-existent due to the lack of wood that was in the region. Lonya would namely focus on their land forces, and avoided naval battles. This changed upon their war against Melwende in 647BCA, where they would capture the southern portion of the Heartland Forest, allowing Lonya to build a small naval presence which kept their ships safe.

The Queendom of Melwende namely focused on defense, which was evident from their strongholds in Arasal, Turónshan and Dun. Melwende's allies would later become enemies, and would become subjugated to join them, marking them as a growing competitor to Lonya, which they were previously lamented as a weaker power. Melwende would also pride themselves to have a large timber industry, which saw their power over Lonya increase significantly. The two would constantly fight over the resources, which saw the loss of the village of Dun (Not to be confused with the Star City), and several Melwendic strongholds that were plundered, and a chunk of the Heartland Forest. Melwende would also be home to a special type of metal known as Melwendic Adamantium, which was stronger than steel at the time before the discovery of Netherite a thousand years later and saw the edge in utilizing it in their most elite units due to the supply only being found in the northern mountains. Due to the Sorcerer Queens' abilities, this was further enchanted for better combat capabilities. More advanced enchantments were said to have originated from Melwende, though these advanced manuscripts were lost, with only two remaining which was better translated to the "(Sharpness II)" and "(Protection II)" enchantments today.

The United Principalities of Anga and Yen was in-between the Krow Horde and the growing power of Lonya. They would cover most of modern Nir Province, with the exceptions of small amounts of territory in the west, including the city of Yi. The princaplities were formed out of fear against the Krow Horde to the east, and were namely formed from a unity between the elves and humans of the region, which were always historically more tolerant of eachother than other parts of the realm, although some human and elven supremacist city-states remained within the Principalities sphere of influence, they would be located eastward. The United Principalities were known to be heavily influenced by dragons in their faith namely due to Shenhua's ancestral worship, with varying faiths starting to cumulate of an alternative Almadorian Pantheon faith that would state that one of the forms of Xalos was a giant Sun Dragon, and closely safeguarded Mount Nantian, which was said to be the gateway to two realms, his realm, and Nixaden's realm. As a result, the northeastern region of the Principalities is considered to be the birthplace of Twin Dragon. In addition, the Almalies who were born under the faith were said to have draconic features such as dragon tails and scales, as well as longer nails, and draconic eyes. The term "Lûnlie" or "Lóngren" would be used to describe these people by the local population, but were usually despised and discriminated against by much of their countrymen outside of the region.

The Kingdom of Taral once ruled much of Eastern Melwende before they would be betrayed, and sent eastward, where they would carve out a Kingdom of their own, ruling a large portion of where modern Chance resided. Not much is really known about the Kingdom during this period, due to the Krow Horde constantly attacking their hard to defend capital of Taralmar (Modern Chance), and sacking of many of their cities and villages by both Melwende and later the Krows. What remained of Taral would move southward toward the modern town of Levannese, which they would settle with local Yi'yen to form a small village which would see it be destroyed and rebuilt multiple times, with the defenders becoming fierce resistance to the Krow rule for many years before they were given autonomy within the Takkumaken Empire.

The Queendom of Tacua would eventually see the end of the Maxionic dynasty, as well as the end of male rule in the region due to the last King of Tacua changing the laws to allow his daughters to rule instead. As a result, Tacua had lead on a stream of only only female rulers to rule over the region. They would be at odds with Lon early on from the earlier Kings ambitions to reunify Almador, but would later become neutral, never facing an invasion by the northern regions until hundreds of years later. Tacua would take this time to conquer the Celumic City-States of the West, and saw their subjugation as tributaries and vassals, much like their predecessors. Unlike Ardol, Tacua would stay south, and would focus on internal matters, such as pacifying the western tribes of Tacua, and formed relations with some of them to keep their borders secured.

Growth of the Lunlie, the Twin Dragon Faith in Lonya, and Later Warlord Period
Within 500 years, the Five Kingdoms had fought against one another, allowing themselves to weaken, though some had gained more strength from the advantages of chaos. The Principalities would start to shatter as the Krow Horde struck deep into their territory, destroying and sacking multiple cities, including the twin cities of Shen and Hua, which saw the Twin Dragon heresy flee toward Lonya, where they would establish themselves in the village of Dun in the Southern Heartland Forests. The Kingdom of Lonya would take action, formally pushing the Krows behind the Ostron River, but this line would eventually break, seeing the Lonya forces be pushed all the way back to the northern Hunshui River, which saw one of the most stalwart resistances by the Prince of Anga, Yogan Orthris, who would withstand the Krow's flying cavalry and sun warriors for six years with only one major supply line, and lesser forces, leading to a stalemate, and forcing the Krows to stay on the other side of the Hunshui to recover their losses. Melwende would successfully fend off multiple attempts of the Krows attempting to invade their territory, and expanded a bit more north to cover more Melwendic Adamantium supply. They would encounter the Norfst peoples, but did not made any effort to conquer them, since Melwende was too hyper fixated in their southern borders to attempt a conquest. Instead, peaceful trade relations began, which was where the possible word for "Elf" came from, however, accounts stated they already used this word due to a similar encounter by the Ashurans decades back through trade.

In the year 305BCA, a Priestess named Vinimanis was born in the village of Dun. Raised as an orphan in the Temple of Galariel a few miles south of the village, she was said to have been an oracle, being able to correctly predict the future within the scope of only a hundred years ahead of her birth. This talent earned her respect, despite her being a Lûnlie. This reputation would also see the reduction of the discrimination within the region against her people, due to a series of good fortunes within the country since their arrival. The King of Lonya, King Loracendis III, was viewed as a popular figure within Lonya due to his campaigns into fighting back against Melwende. As Vinimanis' Priestesshood came when he became King, she would view his rule as wise, charitable, benevolent, with an fist that smashes his enemies.

What Vinimanis however, did not say, which ultimately broke her oath to the Galariel Priestesshood, was that he was destined to fall to a figure that would gain popularity, and lead the Lûnlie people to become the ones who rule the land. In addition, births of Lûnlies had started to increase around the nation, as spread of the Twin Dragon faith from the Almalies interbreeding with Lûnlies in the region, which oddly resulted in pure-blooded Lûnlie children, rather than taking any Almalie genetics. This strange phenomena is still unexplained, other than citing that Lûnlie blood is unique.

The Rise of Sarenis
By the year 150BCA, the King would start to notice that the influence of Twin Dragon was growing stronger and more rapid with each passing day. The philosophy of how a ruler should be, started to threaten his position in power, as his war against Melwende started to become more aggressive, diverting many of his resources to fight them, often leading to rash decisions that would cost him dearly. It was also at this time, a young Lûnlie Major within the military by the name of Sarenis, a peasant from Dun, would be promoted yet again to Colonel, due to her rather decisive victory in the Battle of the Northern Liang River, driving back Melwendic forces and building an outpost in the Southern Melwendic Valley. Sarenis would show herself to be a rather respectable figure among her soldiers and among the common people due to her commitment into keeping the people safe, her strong religious beliefs, and her ability to calculate an enemy's movement before it happens. It was this result, that earn a strong friendship between the King and this previously insignificant peasant. Even Almarie, who much of the aristocracy still hated her kind, respected her, with pure-bloods making her an "exception" of who they viewed as lesser. Her stronger popularity came from the minority races as well, especially from Humans, and even far into the Queendom of Hampo which was possibly the reason why they would lead a course that would convert them to TWin Dragon without conflict, where many of the Priesthood viewed her as the Fox Dragon's daughter, and the Dominion of Ashura.

Around the year 124BCA, the village of Dun would see a raid by the Melwendic General, Karovan Ishaminis, and would see the sacking of the village as a way to draw ire from Sarenis, luring her to attack him in a pincer attack. At first, Sarenis would only receive this news as minor, despite her being angry that he would commit a cowardly act on her home. However, Karovan would also order the execution of her clan to drive her even further into despair. However, this would prove to be a huge mistake, as Sarenis would be furious, and, as he predicted, came to his camp along the northern Liang River, where he also seized when Sarenis campaigned in the west to try and take the Fortress of Elenwir. But, unlike what he initially thought, Sareanis would attack from all sides in some miracle, cornering his men within the village itself, and saw the brutal execution of his men. However, Sarenis would take him prisoner, and would proceed to attack his home town of Valanga (modern day Borolingy), sacking and looting the city, and executed his whole clan infront of his own eyes, before executing him. This unkindled rage would see the King's relation and trust in Sarenis decrease significantly, fearing she may end up doing the same should she ever decide to rebel. In a move to protect himself, Sarenis would instead, be congratulated for her efforts in fending off a high profiled general within Melwende, and looked over her atrocity, promoting her to the rank of General, and gave her command over the garrisons in Ridde and Dun, as well as allowing her to take command of the Northern Army, providing her with enough troops, supplies and resources needed to maintain sustainability.

By 118BCA, Lonya would capture a lot of Melwende's Southern Territory. However, Sarenis would be further angered that she figured out she was being practically used by the King for nefarious and rather sadistic purposes. The Siege of Turonshan was the final straw, as the King would order a merciless slaughter of the population. Many Melwendic peoples would die within the city, until fifteen minutes in to the entering of the city, Sarenis would defy the King's order, ending the bloody slaughter, traumatized of what she was becoming. This sudden stop, was said to be Sarenis' first flash of her eventual Ascension. She would claim this was the first time that she saw Huayin, who loomed over her, grinning, and encouraged her to continue the slaughter, allowing chaos to overtake her. It was there, a Celestial Master would hold her hand, and had her stand down. Marching into the Royal Palace, she would order the family to be arrested, but spared their lives, including the Queen and the Prince-consort, which she stated to her,

"We are not much different you and I. We share similar ambitions, similar governing styles, similar popularity. What is the point of the whole-sale slaughter of your people if they had done none wrong? I am to blame for being a monster, and thus, I shall repay it, with kindness, virtue and generosity. By Lothariel's light, I shall balance Momarix's darkness."

- Sarenris A few months after her conquest, she would begin to help clean up the region, by rebuilding villages, and gifting victims large quantities of her supplies the King had gave her. Noticing this, Loracendus III would demand her to come back to the capital. Taking this as a sign of him wanting to execute her, Sarenis would rise up in rebellion against him, using her conquered territories with her garrisons in them as a base, and built a fort in Lingrinwë, using it as her base of operations. Although recently conquered and witnessed slaughtering by Sarenis' troops, her charisma, as well as the former Queen's good word on Sarenis, would win over volunteers who would slowly start to pour into Sarenis' ranks. With her Melwendic Adamantium blade, the Seven Star Sword, she would begin her six year campaign against her former King. The decisive battle of Yu'shen Mound would see the capture of Tarmen, and eventual pursuit of the King to the fields of Fielarwa (Modern day Maerun), where he was finally defeated, but demanded to die a warriors death by Sarenis's hand in 112BCA. Sarenis' campaign as a whole marked the end of the Warring States Period, as the Five Kingdoms would be reduced to only two, and much of the minor states with the exception of Tacua either surrendered to Sarenis or the Krow Horde. Slavery was formally abolished as one of her first acts, as well as the end of the use of Court Eunuchs.

Legacy
This entire period has been marked as the most important period within the foundations of the Velande, that spawned in many myths and legends that surround it. Books, epithets, eddas, poems and music related to the period are usually heard widespread, such as Blood and Romance, Crimson Peaks and The Divine Velereth. Art pieces are usually commissioned to be put on the many walls of museums and various buildings and houses with depictions of this bloody period. Many see it as a symbol of a dark time for the Celestial Elves, and a period that they do not wish to repeat again.

Controversy
According to historians, it is thanks to romanticized media and arts that misportray things that may or may not of happened during the period. For instance, the burning of Melwende was described as one of the greatest tragedies that has ever beshook the nation, with many cities, villages and even records of the Kingdom burnt to the ground. Despite this, many in the Velande are believed to think Melwende "deserved it", especially after the fact that portions of populace learned that their divine leader was at one point mortal, and was from Old Dun. Often, historical finds of the Velande such as the Velereth being defamed are banned for "extreme forms of slander".