Cheraî
Often called “The Fifth Kingdom”1) by the locals, this kingdom is more formally known as “Cheraî” (pronounced chair-EYE or share-EYE, depending on regional dialect). It is the home of the Cheraî Campaign launched in September 2019.
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Cheraî is located on the north-eastern corner of Thentao (aka “The Main Continent”). For centuries, the elves of Pleven provided a buffer between the residents of Cheraî and the rest of the northern shore kingdoms – an isolation that the natives relished.
The region is bordered on the west by the Border Mountains – although the locals refer to this part of it as "The Shield Range".
When Pleven was besieged by Sardul's Orc armies, the elves were no longer able to provide Cheraî with any defense. And without a centralized government, the various warlords who ruled the cities back then were not likely to hold their own against the inevitable assault. A young and charismatic man named Vyncent took up the call and began uniting the various factions. In little over a year, he had managed to convince roughly 2/3 of the cities to back him as provisional king – but only for the purposes of a common defense.
Most of the remaining 1/3 wished to remain independent, and the majority of them found their voice in the strong leader of Letun – a man named "Wigan". When a large Orc party began harassing the northern towns, Wigan and Vyncent separately went to their help. However, in an early battle, Wigan was killed. When Vyncent returned to the south victorious, the towns who had sided with Wigan reluctantly joined the common defense force.
Rumors about Wigan's fate have circulated ever since. Most think he was a brash fool who sealed his own fate by ignoring the threat that the Orcs presented. However, some wonder whether Vyncent deliberately withheld assistance in the hopes that the “Wigan problem” would solve itself. More extreme “Wiganners” are convinced that Vyncent was directly involved in Wigan's death – with theories ranging from a paid assassin to dark magics.
Recent History
- 1060 – The Orcs gain control of the elven city of Kinander
- 1098 – Backbone falls
- 1099 – Pleven, Elfland falls
- 1099 – The Dark Mage's magical storm cloud envelops the NE coast. Thousands are forced to flee south
- 1105 – The Dark Mage is defeated and his storm cloud retreats, ending five years of darkness on the NE coast
- 1108 – The magic changes (commonfolk barely notice)
- 1109 – Kevin Arcana reveals the Twenty Portals and the world starts to open up. This has little effect on Cherai
- 1126 – Kevin Arcana is killed and the portals are freed from the King of Pain. Inter-kingdom commerce spikes.
- 1129 – The Cheraî campaign starts
- 1130 – The current year. Note: I like to keep time moving on a one-to-one ratio, so add 10 to the last two digits of the real-world year to obtain the last two digits of the campaign year.
Places of Interest
- Nargundush – The main town for the Second Cheraî campaign (2022).
- The Wood of the Lost Souls – Think “Mirkwood”. Don't go there!
- Aurander Islands – “Big” and “Little”. These islands were the first areas of the “shadow lands” to be repopulated (in large part due to the fact the Orcs don't do boats).
- Erimas – The main town for the first Cheraî campaign (2019).
- Aglarlad – Off the northern coast, this is the undersea kingdom of the Aquatic Elves.
More notes (need expansion):
- Orcs weren't much of a bother since they were focused on the elves
- Now that the Orcs are trading and the portals are opening the world, some in Cheraî fear the “integration” with the outside world
- Two main political groups: The isolationists (“Wigan lives!”) and the integrationist (“Stronger together!”)
- Popular King Vyncent holds the disparate factions together (barely) by appealing (as best he can) to both sides.
1)
The reason for this name has been lost to history,
but it is generally believed to refer to the kingdoms formed in the early centuries of the
third age by explorers from Backbone