Wednesday, September 12, 2012

Geis Basics: Timeline - The Kol Draahl

No one knows exactly how it happened.  There was a period of time, just over a century by best guess, where Elbareth slowly faded.  The Manitou of the Library had disappeared.  Its calming influence was lost and the diverse peoples separated.  The peninsula upon which Elbareth stood had been shaken to the core by the great efforts there.  Slowly to mortal reckoning but much faster than nature could ever hope to, the peninsula sank beneath the waves.

With that great kingdom gone, the rest of Geis settled into their own separate ways.  For the next few centuries there was no great war for the people had grown weary of it.  A tired peace settled upon the land.  People started dreaming of world peace.

On the continent of Mologan, a new kingdom rose.  The origins of it are lost to the civilized world.  They were not considered a threat of any significance.  Indeed, compared to the Dragon Kings they seemed benign!  It wasn't until four neighboring kingdoms fell that the name Kol Draahl came to the ears of the various sovereigns around the face of Geis.

Like a tide growing in might, the Kol Draahl conquered the entire continent within two decades.  From there, they spread to Lothgar, which they conquered in ten years.  The Moralay Archipelago fell in two and Anterre in five.  The Beast Masters, the strongest opposition to the rising threat, maintained strongholds on each continent throughout the conquest.  The Kol Draahl pursued their goal with single-minded intensity.  They didn't bother with the few isolated castles until they had completed their conquest.  With only the small island of Jiorta remaining, the Kol Draahl turned their sights on the Beast Masters and finished them.  It took nearly three decades for Jiorta to fall.  Two and a half centuries after defeating the threat of the Dragon Kings, the Kol Draahl succeeded where they failed.  They had taken over the whole of Geis.

Their rule was oppressive.  The Kol Draahl treated all others as slaves.  Each person's abilities were discerned then put to use for the greater glory of the Kol Draahl.  Rebel groups rose and fell quickly throughout the first century but none of any note.  125 years after their conquest, the First Rebellion rose.  From the grips of slavery they came and freed the eastern portion of Anterre before they were put down a decade later.  The Kol Draahl sent a message to the rest of the people: they killed the rebels to the last man.

The spirit of freedom cannot be long denied and another rebellion rose two hundred years later.  This Second Rebellion lasted longer than the first but gained less ground, only a small portion of Lothgar was freed.  Almost three decades it took for the Kol Draahl to eradicate them, and eradicate them they did.  Again they showed no mercy, killing all who rebelled as well as their children and family members.

The resolve of the people hardened.  They prepared longer.  In great secrecy they trained.  Led by a union of Jiorti and Gloanoq and fortified by the Mixtali, the Final Rebellion started.  They had no interest in gaining land.  The pursued the Troika, the ruling council of the Kol Draahl.  They knew only be severing the head could the beast die.  The effort cost many lives, but like a  phoenix rising from the ashes the rebellion succeeded finally in cornering and destroying the leadership of the Kol Draahl.  As more people gained their freedom, they took out over a thousand years of oppression and mistreatment upon their captors.  They were eliminated entirely.  Over twelve hundred years did the Kol Draahl exert their harsh rule over the people of Geis and none have ever forgotten.

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