Danar History

Schism in Arnellia
The beginning of the splintering of the Paladin orders, and the tensions within the church caused by the Prophet and Prophetess being separated diminished the populations faith in the church. The opinion that the church had strayed from the light began to set in, and by the year 321 of the Third Age, a small, but vocal opposition to the church had formed within the capital. The opposition identified itself as "Dana". While this opposition started small, with it's first appearance numbering only 200 members, it grew steadily, and by the time it made it's final protest in the year 324, it numbered 20,000 members. This small group was seen as a threat to the order of the nation, and the Grand Protector of the time was asked to intercede and remove the threat.

Grand Protector Joss Trengrove defied his orders, and instead met with the Dana leaders, Grier Owston, Bart Dabney and Kae Owston. The meeting was well received by both the leaders and broader membership of Dana, who viewed it as a victory. The Grand Protector was a famed diplomat, and he carefully but forcefully negotiated out a peaceful solution with the leaders. When finally it became apparent that the Dana movement would not accept church leadership, a compromise was reached. The paladin orders would provide the movement with supplies to search for a new home.

Of the three leaders, Grier was the most well equipped for such a plan. He was a trained mage, and had studied many maps. He knew of the unsettled lands south of Cellania, and he set his sights there. Assembling the supplies took half a year, and early in 325 the fleet set out. The fleet landed on the coasts of their new home, and began to settle. A small village was built, however the landing had been botched, bringing the settlers into the small marshlands that sat on the coast. From this settlement the Dana explored the lands, and obtained resources, before finally deciding to move to better lands.

Founding of Danar
In the year 327 the city of Dana was first founded. It had a population of 18,743 at it's time of founding, having lost a great many people on the trip, and while living in the swamp. At first the city was governed by Grier and Kae, the sibling leaders of the Dana movement, however soon public sentiment rose against them. Grier, while smart, was greedy, and Kae was foolish, her contribution to the movement being in her great oratory skills.

The combination of these two rulers rapidly lead to a corrupt upper class forming. The citizens were outraged, having fled the church for this exact reason, and they turned to Bart Dabney to resolve the matter. Bart attempted to reason with the Owstons, but they refused to relinquish power. In 334 violence broke out, as the common citizens stormed the small fort that housed the Owstons, killing everyone who stood in support of them, before dragging the Owstons from their homes and killing them on the streets. At the end of the night, over 500 people lay dead, hurting the small population of the kingdom of Danar.

Without leadership, the people looked to Bart to take control. Bart was a wise enough man to know his own weaknesses, and he believe he would go the path of the Owstons is he did take power. As such, he suggested a compromise. He would become Governor, and the people would elect a Senate of 10 to act as a balancing factor to the Governor. The people accepted this idea readily, and so the elections were scheduled for the next year.

The First Senate
The first elections occurred in 335. They were, by all accounts, a disaster, and many people were unable to vote. Despite this, 10 officials were elected. All 10 of them were former adventurers, who had explored the lands, and helped make the lands safe. None had won more than 500 votes, however they were clear winners, and the public largely accepted them.

The first senate sat for 10 years before calling a new vote in the year 345. During this time, the senate placed a focus on expansion, and population growth, causing the population to spread out from the city of Dana, and form numerous farming communities in the lands surrounding it. This expansion helped increase the food output of the nation, and in turn expanded the industry within the capital city. This industry started to slow down by the end of the first senate's rule, as the rapidly growing population began to eat into the food to such a noticeable length that some craftsmen were forced back into the fields to make certain everyone was fed.

In the elections of 345, the old senate largely ran for office again, and 8 of the 10 original members were re-elected for office. The two other slots were filled by a one newcomer, and the son of a former senator. This started a trend, that continued for the following hundred years, as senators regularly were elected from the families of former senators. By the year 435, there were 13 families who had sat on the senate at least 6 times, with only 4 seats having ever been held by an outsider.

The Grand Senate
By the elections of 435 the population had more than doubled to 41,256. The past two elections had been fraught with tensions relating to the limited number of positions, and so it was decided by the Governor, Tamela Hunter, that the government would be re-arranged. The position of governor was no longer necessary, as it had never been intended to last, and so it was abolished, in favor of the two positions of Prime Senator. The two Prime Senators would rule in tandem, to prevent any single individual from being corruptible to the point of destroying the nation. Following this change, the senators were increased, to be a limitless number. Each year 10 senators would be elected. Senators would hold a seat for up to 30 years, after which time they would be removed from the senate.

The first election of this new senate, dubbed the Grand Senate, was a larger one, as they held three elections at once, to create a foundation of senators.Of the 30 senators elected, 24 were from the 13 families, and the dynastic nature of the new senate became apparent. The following elections saw more senators drawn from these families, however slowly but surely additional families joined into the senate. By the time the first 30 senators retired in 465, the senate contained 24 families which made up 70% of the seats, while the remaining 30% fell to senators from smaller families, or who ran on populous bases.

Trolls in the North
In 478 the first contact with Trolls was made in the jungles to the north of Danar. The people of Danar had long been aware of the jungles, and knowing of the trolls near Arnellia, they had been cautious of entering the jungle. The Cellarian immigrants had also confirmed the existence of the trolls, and so forts were built along the borders of the jungle. However it was not for over 150 years that the trolls first emerged from the jungle.

The first contact with the trolls came in the form of what appeared to be a scouting party. They emerged from the jungle, and run into a small Danarian cavalry patrol. The trolls attacked immediately, but were swiftly routed by the superior mobility and shock potential of the cavalry. A number of the trolls escaped, and the following week, a small warband of trolls emerged from the jungle. They were swiftly repelled by the garrisoned fort, however this marked the beginning of an ongoing problem, as for years to come the trolls would sally out of the jungle without warning, and attack the lands of Danar.

The First Troll Wars
In 483 the first troll wars began. A massive troll warband, lead by Kazageer the Fel invaded the lands of Danar. The warband engaged the first fort that stood watch over the jungle. The fort stood for three days, during which time word was sent to Dana of the approaching army. The legions of Danar were scattered however, and with the fort falling, there was nothing between Dana and the warband. While the Senate summoned up the legions, the warband approached.

The trolls cut a direct path towards Dana, through what was at the time called the Danawoods. However, upon entering the forest, their advance was ground to a halt by a small band of rangers. These rangers managed to inflict such loses on the trolls, that after a week of trying, and failing, to enter the forest, the trolls abandoned the plan, and went around instead. This week provided enough time for the Dana Legions to assemble.

The trolls were met in battle in the Summerlands, near a small village called Trasmeer, between the Elfwoods and the Danawoods. The battle, known later as the Battle of Trasmeer, was fierce, however in the end the trolls were defeated, and the shattered remnants of the warband fled back to the jungle. In light of the success of the rangers, their leader was offered a position of command within the legions, to create a pair of legions to replicate the success. The leader, Rebekah Good, accepted this, and opened a training field for the Scouting Legions that she formed within the Danawoods. This training field lead to the rise of Bekahstown to support it, which in turn lead to the Danawoods being renamed Bekahswoods, in honour of her achievements.

The Building of the Arena
In 497 a blight hit the crops of the Dana Region. This blight decimated the wheat harvest of the year. The troll war thirteen years earlier had greatly reduced the food reserves of Danar. In order to prevent mass starvation, the Senate elected to ration out the food carefully. This rationing was poorly received by the populace, particularly the lower class. This led to anger, which started by boiling up in local petty violence between citizens, but was soon being expressed in theft, and small riots.

This growing violence created a problem for the prison system, which wasn't equipped to handle this level of crime. To try and resolve this problem, the Senate commissioned the Arena. It was, in it's first incarnation, a simple wooden structure, built in the most open space they could manage, that drew upon the surrounding buildings to help support the crowds. There, the Senate allowed prisoners to fight for the entertainment of the crowds to reduce, or completely eliminate, their prison sentence. The Senate doubled down on the arena, by distributing free bread at each battle, to encourage the population to attend. The hope was that the blood sports would sate their anger, as well as serve as a powerful example as to what would happen to those who disobeyed the law.

Ultimately, the plan worked, and the crime rate settled down somewhat until the harvest of 498, which was just as a strong as those before it. With the problem solved, the Senate moved to eliminate the arena, however by this stage it had grown too popular. Ultimately, the population was placated with the promise of a new Arena being built in it's place. Construction started later that year, and took 15 years to complete. During this time, additional small, wooden arenas were erected to entertain the crowds. By the time the Arena was completed, the burden on the prison system was massively reduced.

Skirmish in the Summerlands
In 568, following the construction of numerous forts in the Summerlands, a Cellarian scouting party moved into Danar territory. For a month they moved between forts, observing, but never attacking. Their visit came to a quick conclusion however, as a legion being sent north to fill in for a garrison in a fort ran into the Cellarians. Caught off guard, the legion attacked, and through virtue of superior numbers, defeated the Cellarian scouts.

News of this got to the Cellarian King, who was upset, and demanded the bodies of his soldiers be returned. The Senate agreed to this demand, however the presence of the scouts caused concern among the Senators. They petitioned the King for answers as to why they were there, and were informed the scouts were investigating the fortifications, to ensure that Danar wasn't planning a war.

The Danar Offensive
The Senate was not convinced by the Cellarian answers, and began to prepare for war. They raised additional legions, and began to rally their forces in the north. By 571, they believed they were finally ready to invade their elvish neighbours. In early 571, the Battle of the First Gate began, as the Danar forces attempted to capture the Cellarian position. It was an intense fight, however ultimately the First Gate fell, and Danar was able to occupy it.

The First Gate was held for two weeks while the Danar campaign assembled further resources. Then they pushed forward and assaulted the Second Gate. The Siege of the Second Gate lasted a full month, with massive losses on both sides, but ultimately the Second Gate fell to Danar. With the Second Gate fallen, the defenders were in shambles, and fled to the Third Gate. Seeing an opportunity, the General, Ace Ashley pushed forward. This proved to be a mistake, as the siege mages that garrisoned the Third Gate were prepared, and sallied forth to meet the tired Legions. The Legions were decimated, and they fell back to the Second Gate.

It was at this time Warmaster Heash Lightstrider took an interest in the conflict. When the war had first began, he had been in the middle of a time of procrastination, spending his days painting a lake. He had been informed about the war's beginning, but it was not until the Second Gate fell that he could be stirred into action. Lightstrider assembled an army, and marched for the Second Gate. By the middle of the year he arrived, and engaged the Danar legions.

The Lightstrider Retaliation
The counter attack on the Second Gate, formally called the Lightstrider Retaliation was swift, and overwhelming. The Legion occupying the Second Gate was eliminated, though a few of the scout contingents that were there managed to get a signal off to the First Gate. When the Cellarian army arrived at the First Gate, they found it unoccupied, the Legions who had once garrisoned it gone.

The army re-took the First Gate, and stopped their advance there. That night, the Legions that had abandoned the walls struck. Rather than flee back to the lands of Danar, they had instead taken cover within the forests that lay between the two gates. Striking from behind, and under the cover of night, the Danar Legions managed to inflict sufficient casualties to break through the gate. Following the break through, Ashley made moves to stay, but Lightstrider began to re-organize the remaining elves, and the battle began to swing against the Danar Legions. Seeing the battle swinging away from him, Ashley called for a retreat, and escaped along with his Legions.

Following this battle, the Lightstrider army marched out into Danar, and besieged, and burned down the forts that had been built. During this time, the Danar Legions found themselves in disarray. The command structure was under fire from the Senate, who blamed the command for the failure in combat. Ashley was particularly held accountable, and was removed from the command. Seeing the threat to the nation, the Senate decided to elect it's first Dictator.

The Odell Dictatorship
Jonathon Odell was elected Dictator. He was a veteran of the Borderlands, who commanded the central fort of the land, and had lead a number of forays into the jungles. His immediate action was to send a message to the Dwarves of Kepeerie, requesting help in their conflict. The Dwarves, who had some experience with Odell on the border, and respected him, agreed, and sent a small army to respond to the threat.

With the assistance secured, Odell marshaled all the Legions he could muster, and marched out to meet the Lightstrider army. Odell's legions moved to stand within sight of the Lightstrider army, and there they stood, ready for battle. The Lightstrider army likewise set up, ready for combat, but no battle came. The two armies did this for a few days, before eventually Lightstrider moved away from the situation. Odell moved to follow him, moving close to the army, and making ready again for battle, but not engaging. Odell made certain to place his legions carefully in each stand off, placing himself in such a way that the Lightstrider army could not advance towards his more ideal targets.

Finally, the Dwarves of Kepeerie arrived, bringing 10,000 of their best warriors, each equipped with a Hat of Disguise, as Odell had requested. The next day, the armies lined up again. This time however, the Dwarves made up the central line of the Danar army, disguised as peasant levies. The Danar armies advanced, and Lightstrider, seeing this supposed weakness, pounced on it, leading his own personal cavalry detachment into the Dwarves. The cavalry was broken upon the Kepeerie pikes, while the Legions of Danar, capable of stretching further on the flanks engaged, and ultimately killed the majority of the Cellarian army.

With the conclusion of the Odell Battle, the war came to a rapid conclusion. Danar could replenish their Legions in time to invade again, however their supplies could not sustain such aggression. Likewise Cellaria could replenish a new army, however they had lost many veterans in the Odell Battle, and they were aware that a second such engagement could spell doom for their civilization. With peace secured, Odell abandoned his position as Dictator, and the Senate resumed it's functions.