History of Mystara

=The Realm of Mystara= Mystara is a lost forest, lawless and wild, rich with mystery and intrigue -- replete with breathtaking vistas and secret locations. The people of Mystara are as varied as her landscape, and in this world, not everything is as it seems.

After the kingdom fell and the court disbanded, the powerful and fierce beauty Queene Sorcha would stop at nothing to preserve the shattered pieces of her glorious reign. The elven king now dead, she alone was determined to bring the people of the wild forest together once again, no matter what it took. In time she would spend more and more time in the forests, the magic of mystara reclaiming her soul and her desire to lead the people waning. Over the years, new leaders carved up the lands for themselves and their people, some for the elves, some for the mystfolk, some for the drow, some for the humans, the dragons, and so on. A once united kingdom now divided up, each race struggling for power and territory.

Geography of Mystara
Geographically, Mystara is a heavily forested island in an archipelago and enjoys a temperate climate year round. Her twin suns allow for abundant forest growth and warm the flourishing coral reefs, waterways, and lagoons. On the east side of the island, facing the rising suns lies the compact and bustling village of mystara, the heart of interaction among the common people and travelers. Her main ports where ships dock are here, as well as the Royal Oak tavern, the bath house, armoury, blacksmith, trade post, hospital, alchemy and spells shop, welcome plaza, general mercantile, bookshop, as well as resident housing. Along the southeast side of the island is the massive hulking Castle of Mystara, heavily guarded and beautifully built, it is home to the reigning king or queen of the land. The island is divided by a large winding river called the Cairngorm River, and is riddled with massive caverns, soft sprawling glens, and thick dense forests.

The forests and everything wild in Mystara are alive with magic, even the rocks. Trees lean and bend, branches caressing passers-by, whispering to eachother. Rocks also speak to eachother and are quite old and cranky and sometimes can be heard arguing up in the mountains, when it's late at night and very quiet. At times mystara will bend and distort, pathways seemingly disappearing or rearranging and going a different direction. You may continue on one straight path for hours only to come upon your own footprints again. It is very easy to get lost and those who are highly susceptible to the magic of the land often squander away years of their lives where it feels like only minutes have passed by, as they ramble on in a dreamlike state, unable to discern where they are going or where they are from. Non-native humans are the most susceptible to this effect and often pixies, fairies, sylphs, dryads, and satyrs will take advantage of this opportunity to use them for their own personal amusement.

Culture of Mystara
Mystarian culture on the whole is unique because of the way the people arrive in mystara and group in mystara. As an isolated island, the only way in which new people come to the region is by flight, by sea, or by a rift in the Otherworld. Many of the non-indiginous people of mystara are rogues, travelers, wanderers, vagabonds, refugees, and fugitives. The realm is no doubt a stopping point for those in long travels and it creates a culture of people that are unified only in their singularity, and little else.

The indiginous races of Mystara are the Elves, the Faerie Folk, the Mer, and the Dragons. These races have existed somewhat harmoniously for thousands of years, with occasional periods of unrest between the elves and the fae as each race group occasionally pushes for more political power. Humans are not indiginous to Mystara and those who travel here often have adverse affects to the "magic" power that resides in the land. Humans will experience everything from vertigo, distorted perception of time, euphoria, confusion, and a dream-like funhouse effect.

Residents of Mystara on the whole are a friendly in nature, the bustling people in the village are often happy to stop and offer help, advice, or directions. However more caution should be taken out in the wilds, where less domesticated beings exist, who might take pleasure in confusing, tricking, misleading, seducing, or thieving from you.

Dragon interaction on Mystara is unique in that the Dragon Sentinels of Mystara were highly revered and almost worshipped as gods. The Dragon Sentinels were the saviors of Mystara in the Great War and they defeated demonic invasion and restored Mystara back to a lightworld realm. The dragons remain largely in hibernation in deep caves or sky mountains, but occasionally will come down to ground level to splash around in the water or sniff in the village for food. For many long time mystarian residents of a lightworld race (non-demon, non-drow, etc) Dragons are considered lucky, a joyous sight, and a remarkable event. However, the newer generation of Mystarians are changing, as are the newer generations of Dragons. Many of the dragons have no recollection of the great war and have shifted to a neutral position, offering no alliance other than to those who can proffer more gold for the hoard. The "good old days" of the dragons are fading into the history books, and the newer Mystarians revere them less and less, disregarding the old tales of valiant dragons and glorious victories from the withering and the old who still carry the lore.

The Great War
During the early ages of Mystara the Demons rose to power. They controlled and enslaved every creature from one end of the continent to the other, no one was safe from their ruthless despotic control. Humans and Elves and all manner of creatures were forced to build arcane and horrific creations to honor their masters and call forth the demonic energies used by the forces of evil.

Eventually, as often happens the uprising began, the multitude of creatures ever toiling, raping the earth in mines to build monuments to their demonic masters, burning forests for fuel to drive the engine of war, the many decided they'd had enough. The humans and elves rose up, throwing off the chains of oppression and turning on those who has controlled them. For years the war raged, the earth was scorched and the seas boiled, Mystara was a wasteland of desolate barren landscapes where the battle lines twisted like a mighty dying serpent. The hasty alliance of Elves and Humans and other forces of good was nearing its demise, as every day ground was lost, coated in the bodies of dead and dying. As the Alliance fought to defend the last stretch of forest left untouched by the war the demons struck out, sundering the very earth to scatter the forces of good. The demons, however, had brought about their own demise.

The sundering of the earth had awoken the sleeping race of immortal wyrms, Dragonkind rose from the ashes of the once beautiful world to wreak vengeance on those who would seek to corrupt it. The demons were slaughtered wholesale and driven back, it took mere days for the forces of good to storm the Demonic capital and free those who remained enslaved, driving the demons back into the abyssal plane. There they remain, venturing only in small numbers for fear of drawing the wrath of Dragon Kind. The Dragons returned to their slumber save a few, guardians who would watch over the paradise that would be renamed the Realm of Mystara.

Mystara Today
Twelve centuries have passed since the Great War, and the forests of Mystara have returned to their former peace and prosperity, but tension again seems to be growing. By the elven long count calendar, the year is 1349 and the lands are carved up and controlled by several reigning Queens. Space is at a premium on the lush isle, and the non-indiginous humans are encroaching in greater numbers, leaving the local flora, fauna, elves and mystfolk feeling invaded by the illegal immigrants. Some are sympathizers with the humans, but others would have them driven out. And still, the darkest forces of the realm are gaining strength and building up in numbers, the drow, demons, greenskins, and others have been wreaking havoc wherever they can, and the illegally invading humans may indeed prove to be fulcrum that can tip the balance of light and dark one way or another...if the native Mystarians can ever accept them...