EASTERN EMPIRE
The world-power once ruling the larger part of the
Eastlands,
spanning the distance from
Fenshire to the
Flathead Fjord,
is known as the Eastern Empire. Thought to have been a
metal-working culture, this civilization ceased to flourish around 1000
BE, prior to ceasing entirely. It is but a small step to imagine the
existence of
complicated naval trade routes and communications between the East and
Westlands.
Several diverse oral traditions that have
hitherto been dismissed as myth are highly significant. Nearly every
civilization ever studied passes on tales of a great warrior empire in
the lands across the ocean to the east. Among these are the persistent
tales among various
Kovalli tribal cultures, including the
Nezgeth,
insisting that their forefathers came from an ancient powerful
civilization on the far side of the world, across the sea and many
lands away.
Archaeologists who have
examined the ruined castle grounds in Fenshire have put forth the idea
that the collapse of this Eastern Empire was due in some way to the
neglect or betrayal to
The One Eru, instead erecting peculiar idols to
abominable
pseudo-gods to which this culture paid homage. It is
remarkable that the conclusions made by the discovery of these ruins
match what is expressly stated in the
Scrolls of Kar’nai:
Know this now. The lord, chief among the
Implementors and creator of them all, weaves an unfathomable future. His hand
is an intangible force guiding our lives, moving them in inconceivable
patterns, by rules beyond our understanding. Witness the fall of the mighty Nezgeth
Empire as proof of His majesty. In glory and pride the dark-skinned warriors
built mighty castles, souring high to challenge even the Gray Mountains
themselves. The entirety of the lands to the east were theirs, across the Great
Sea. Giant temples built they, carving into walls of rock, profaning the sacred
earth that is Eru’s with false idols of rodents and serpents, the hollow beasts
that crawl in the dust.
The lord conferred with his elders and among
them there was much argument. Rebellious Implementors cried out in anger,
hesitant to see their creations destroyed. Eru in his mercy heard the elders
cry and His holy answer will stand the test of the ages. Witness the providence
of the One. The Nezgeth in their hubris likened themselves unto the gods. He
smiled and understood. Nezgeth pride is merely part of That Which Is.
Causing the golden sword of the sun to fall
upon the Nezgeth, He bade them to leave their mighty castles and wander the
face of the earth in loneliness. Crossing the sea, the mountains, and the
desert, they left their empire behind and now live to serve Him. Understand
this. Rather than destroy His own children, He sees the future and finds a
place for them in His web of truths. He sees a day when they will arise to
their former splendor and destroy His greatest of enemies.
-The First Scroll of Kar’nai, Book Three
Comparative
historians have been surprised by the similarities between the Scrolls,
the equivalent legends in other cultures and archaeology. Precisely
what sort of people rules this land will probably never be known, but
it is possible to assemble a brief probable history from highlighting
similarities between the plethora of fragments surviving from their
respective cultures.
The Nezgeth forefathers in the Eastlands had
sinned against the One. Giving homage to worship of false idols,
rodents and evil serpents (such as the
Ouroboros), they had fallen prey to pride and
aggressiveness. As their true god watched in disappointed silence, the
early Nezgeth empire took hold of vast stretches of foreign land,
pushing ever onward in one military conflict after another. When
finally Eru sought to destroy them, he was begged by the Implementors
to have mercy upon them. Heeding their cries, Eru broke their empire to
pieces, but banished the Nezgeth from their homes.
Over
the
countless years of exile from their homeland they wandered across new
uncharted lands and vast oceans. In the meantime, the survivors of the
Platypus Transformation (circa 800 BE) and their immediate descendants
were on the verge of uniting under a noble family from
Marba and
perhaps
resurrecting the ancient glories of the
Anatian Kingdom. This potential
Antharian rebirth was cut short by the sudden arrival of the Nezgeth
from the east. The reason behind the sudden collapse of the Eastern
Empire may never be entirely clear, but the hordes and hordes of
Fenshire refugees turned invaders that sailed across the Great Sea were
apparently too much for the fragile Antharia, and all signs of
civilized life stop for several centuries.
After passing through Antharia, the homeless tribe took the lesson of their glorious rise and abrupt fall,
adhering to the strictest principles of pacifism. Generations later,
the Nezgeth would find a home in the hellish deserts of Kovalli, and
every day became a constant struggle to stay alive, believing that
their deities had led them to this cruel land as penance for their
misdeed. Gradually the tribe returned to its former warlike ways, but
even then refused to give battle no more than necessary.
Thus
the
Eastern Empire had came to a sudden and violet collapse, a disaster so
thorough that it destroyed any possibility of historical continuity.
Even today, age-old castles and temples, and extensive iron-mines in
the far northern reaches of the
Flathead Mountains now stand empty,
testifying to
the existence of the wandering Nezgeth tribe, that in 398 GUE would
play a role in bringing salvation to the Kingdom of
Quendor from
the
Devil. After their departure, the scattered enclaves of humanoids who
were indigenous to the continent, including trolls, orcs, and gnomes
began to multiply. These races, referred to in all historical accounts
as simply, "the natives," were said to be quite easygoing people.
In the absence of the warring tribes, these races abundantly flourished.
| SOURCE(S): A History of Quendor, Zylon the Aged |