Farnau

Farnau, later became New Farnau, was a historical city state located in southern Syltor and is recognized as one of the first settlements in the continent. At the height of its power before the Bardonian Migrations, Farnau occupied much of southern Syltor as well as ruling extensive territories, including Kiplandia across the Phagosian Sea and colonies in what would be northern Bardonia. During the golden age of the Bardonian Empire, New Farnau would become a major province in central Bardonia.

Early Culture
Very little information exists on the early history of Farnau. Even when and how the early settlers arrived in the region can be met for debate. The first groups of settlers came from the south by refugees from the Jagdasian city state of Tarnos during the Towny Period of Rathnir. During the migration, the early Farnauns may have established a town in the Phagosian Sea called Kiplandia. However, it is unknown if this is true as Kiplandia may have been established later on. The former king of Tarnos, Kipzilla, may have been the first ruler of Farnau. Under his rule, basic provisions such as housing, food, and land were given evenly to the people. Simple crops were cultivated and managed by redstone machines. However, Farnau was mostly known for its wine production. The brewery was most likely run by eiknarfp, also known as the town's first drunkard.

The Dorasterrock Campaign
As Farnau grew in prominence, it made first contact with a neighboring settlement known as Dorasterrock. At the time, Dorasterrock was inhabited by pre-Bardonian peoples. Immediately upon first contact, the "Dorasterrians" annexed Farnau by proclaiming the city-state as a vassal state. However, Dorasterrock rule over Farnau was short-lived as on October 3rd, 2020, Dorasterrock lost control of Farnau due to the switch from Towny to Lands.

The Switch made a majority of Dorasterrock vulnerable. Once again autonomous, Kipzilla initiated a campaign to conquer Dorasterrock. Meanwhile, the people of Dorasterrock had retreated from the city, joining new neighboring settlements east from modern-day Bardonia. On October 4, 2020 (debated date), eiknarfp and EmperorStorm sacked the city, slaughtering livestock, burning buildings, and looting chests. The very few players that still inhabited Dorasterrock were incorporated into Farnaun society. In Dorasterrock lore, the river that flows through the city ran red with blood. While this campaign has been considered the incentive that really kickstarted the empire, the Invasion of Dorasterrock has been largely undocumented, only appearing as brief mentions in the records of Bardonia. During shockturtle's expedition in late-October of 2020, he had reported to have found the ruins of a cathedral, a destroyed fallen keep, and an inscription that details what occurred several weeks prior during the Dorasterrock Campaign.

Diplomatic Expeditions
A golden age followed after the Invasion of Dorasterrock. By this time, Farnau had occupied the surrounding regions around the city, Dorasterrock, and Kiplandia across the Phagosian Sea. The growing power allowed for ports to trade with nations in Alteniquia. Kip's Bay, named after Kipzilla, was established on the Farnaun Peninsula. This expanded the empire south, leading expeditions across the Farnau Strait. In mid-October, the Farnaun Empire occupied the panhandle of Syltor. It is assumed that all traces of a Farnaun settlement has been destroyed in that region.

After Dorasterrock rule, a system of foreign affairs and diplomatic relations was established. eiknarfp and EmperorStorm were chosen to be in charge of foreign affairs. On October 5th, 2020, EmperorStorm proposed an alliance between Farnau and Aezenfjord. making first contact. Merakimei sent communications to their diarchy. This would establish first diplomatic relations with any nation from Farnau. On October 7th, 2020, EmperorStorm traveled to Escharia and attempted to make diplomatic relations. However, this proposal was declined and he was driven out of the Eastern Empire by the emperor, SikkeOst. After the Invasion of Dorasterrock, some nations closed their borders on Farnau as they did not trust this growing empire.

The Farnauns immediately started exploring eastward, intending to invade Dorasterrock. They ventured to much of modern-day Lobopolis. Before Lobopolis's founding, the region was inhabited by nomadic and barbarian players. Some of these players joined Farnau. In one such instance, eiknarfp encountered a player by the name of Garfield_requiem, who had been building a small house in the plains of Lobopolis. eiknarfp questioned his motives and made him swear to neutrality.

Collapse
After exploring parts of Lobopolis, eiknarfp would establish a colony in what would be known as Haelis. However, the morale of the empire dropped and players gradually started to become inactive or migrated to different nations. In mid-October of 2020, Farnau collapsed. During the collapse, bandits arrived in Haelis and looted eiknarfp's colony, stealing many valuables. eiknarfp would later propose that this was the doing of Dorasterrock. However, not much evidence supports this.

Bardonia Migration
During the same time of Farnau's collapse, Bardonians arrived in the continent of Syltor from the north. During the small interregnum period after Farnau's collapse between October 18, 2020 to October 26th, the Bardonia extended itself to the Farnau regions. The Bardonians most likely discovered Dorasterrock first. According to Bardonian and Dorasterrock lore, the dandelions called out to Chancellor Unic0rnb0i, beckoning him to the ruins of Dorasterrock. While this is an obvious mythological tale, Unic0rnb0i did travel off course from the migration and probably did notice a structure in the east. Instead of actually traveling to this city, he sent Senator shockturtle on a small expedition to explore this city. During this expedition, shockturtle reported of the ruins of a cathedral, a collapsed fallen keep, and inscriptions detailing the conflicts between Farnau and Dorasterrock. The players, including the first ruler TheGreatDingle, who still inhabited Dorasterrock at the time were absorbed into the Bardonian expansion, this time willingly. Eventually, the Bardonians arrived in the ruins of Farnau. Similar to the Dorasterrians, the very few nomadic Farnauns that still inhabited the region were absorbed to Bardonia. On October 26, 2020, eiknarfp joined back on the server after a week and learned of this growing empire.

Formation and Expansion
On October 26, 2020, quickly after learning of the expansionism of Bardonia, eiknarfp established an outpost called New Farnau.