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, as Bardonian settlers explored the region, eiknarfp returned and established the small hamlet of New Farnau on the ruins of the old city. Under treaty, the newly founded settlement swore loyalty to the republic and senate. This loyalty would prove true even after independence. Similar to the origins of the old city, basic provisions were given evenly to the few people that settled into the region. During this time, the religion of Dolphinism was formed. It is assumed that economy of the settlement was dependent on the welfare of the Bardonian government. At some point, the former ruler of the Farnaun Empire, Kipzilla, returned to New Farnau and helped with growth. However, the town held very little political power and was overall insignificant compared to neighboring cities, which naturally did not attract Bardonian settlers. It wasn't until eiknarfp invited some of his real world friends to the town that New Farnau started to show a great incline in activity.

The sudden growth triggered an incline of population and oversaw the construction of new infrastructure, homes, and civil codes. Landmarks such as Hog's Island and Kip's Bridge were built. With the aid of interested Bardonians, eiknarfp wrote a constitution which established the powers of the high chief, chancellors, and the court of law. While this constitution was initially written in correspondence with Bardonian law, it would later serve as the framework of a semi-autonomous vassal state.

Vassalage
On November 18, 2020, BackToTheHub traveled to New Farnau and was given a tour. To the Farnauns, this served as official recognition of the hard work they have put into the city the past month. At the same time, the Great Golden War concluded, establishing Bardonia as a global superpower. While no record of any Farnauns participation was documented, the war had great impacts on the town. New Farnau no longer needed the overdependent assistance from Bardonia and Bardonia certainly no longer needed New Farnau. eiknarfp hoped to establish diplomatic relations with other nation and proposed a semi-autonomous vassal state to the Bardonian government. On November 29, 2020, the Farnauns negotiated a degree of independence during the Treaty of Kip's Bridge. While New Farnau was able to make diplomatic affairs independently, they were politically subordinate to Bardonia in international relations.

By this time, the Bardonian religion of Dandelism was rooted out in New Farnau and was replaced with Dolphinism. Shrines, altars, and fountains were sporadically built across the city. After New Farnau developed into a province of Bardonia, Dolphinism was promoted to the neighboring settlements. Eventually, Dolphinism would be recognized as a cult. In nations such as the Duchy of Theiónikos, heavy taxes were levied on those who worshipped Dolphinia, which effectively drove out the religion to just the compounds of New Farnau province.

By December 12th, 2020, New Farnau developed into a Bardonian province, occupying much of the lower central regions. Farnau did not only regain the territories from the Farnaun Empire but also occupied regions north. This brought another great population boom, as players from all over the continents of Syltor and Alteniquia.

Centerville Period
Months later New Farnau was abandoned, Alik Andreyevich created the city of Centerville in 7/26/2021.