52 lines
6.5 KiB
Markdown
52 lines
6.5 KiB
Markdown
---
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title: Recent History
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description: Events occurring after the Disconcordance
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---
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## Opening of Vaardland
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Vaardland, also called Vaard is a fractured planetoid surrounded by a crystal sphere. From a distance, it resembles a continent surrounded by an ocean in a fishbowl. The crystal sphere containing Vaardland is inside a typical solar system-sized sphere anchored by a yellow-white star.
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Since the Disconcordance, the Emerald Armada limited intersphereal travel to the Vaardland sphere to an absolute minimum, and visitors to the sphere were required to have an Armada escort. Only a handful of individuals ever visited Vaardland itself. The inhabitants of Vaardland themselves were largely unaware that they were part of a galactic community. Archaeological evidence traces the development of agriculture and organized societies beginning some time around the Disconcordance. Some believe that Vaardland is all that remains of the Emerald Armada's native planet.
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Fifty years ago, Admiral Arandeiros convinced the Armada High Command to integrate Vaard into the galaxy.
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Now, the inhabitants of Vaardland are integrating into the galactic community. The Armada Command bases their headquarters in the coastal city of Harborcrown. An alliance of various organizations on Vaardland set the laws of trade and migration in and out of Vaardland.
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## The Heroes of Vaardland
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The now-famous Heroes of Vaardland were pivotal to the opening of Vaard. They are widely known for saving the Emerald Armada from threats that would have rippled throughout Vaardspace and the Greater Sphere.
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These heroes were
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Yvarie Galanodel
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[[Burgell Schmurgle]]
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Ernchait Seawail
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Detective Malatir
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Bilgar of Hilgar
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These adventurers were native to Vaardland and, like all others who lived there, were completely unaware that their continent was floating inside a crystal sphere in space. They met in the small village of Northern Nook, famous for its barley, apples, and turnips. They had answered a call for help from the dwarven princess Magda Mineshadow to help rescue her cousin from a goblin war band.
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### The Drowish-Goblin Conspiracy
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After defeating the goblin band near Northern Nook, the heroes
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They discovered the truth of their world while thwarting a githyanki pirate raid on an Armada vessel. The Armada learned that the Hand and Eye were likely to be found on Vaard, and so they were transporting the Sword of Kas to Vaardland to destroy the cursed artifacts. The heroes were brought on board the Armada Shrike *Nimbreth* to guard the sword when the pirates attacked.
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The heroes had unearthed a Drowish invasion plan that very nearly overran Vaard. Over the course of a few centuries, the powerful Queen Nezznara had amassed a large army and began a slow infiltration of Vaard. Her goal was to steal The Hand and Eye of Vecna.
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Shortly afterward, they defeated a Vaardan hobgoblin warlord named Nosbor who had been aiding Nezznara's infiltration of Vaardland. After Nezznara's defeat, Nosbor obtained The Eye of Vecna and was preparing to conquer the planetoid. Afterwards, he intended to take any Armada ships he could and establish his own intersphereal empire.
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Yvarie, Kevin, and Ernhait killed Nosbor, destroyed the Eye and Hand of Vecna, and brokered a truce between Nosbor's horde and the other nations of Vaardland. With the threat of Vecna eliminated, Vaardspace was at peace.
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Admiral Luthias Liaren commanded Armada activities around Vaardland during the Drowish invasion, and the battle with Nosbor. Liaren was completely unaware of Nezznara's plot and seemed completely unconcerned about Nosbor's hostilities until The Heroes intervened. The Heroes not only thwarted the villains at home, but they discovered a battalion of warforged whom the Neoji had stationed in hidden catacombs beneath Harborcrown.
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Liaren's hedonism had gotten the better of him. He had been deceived and played by a faction within Harborcrown who had allied themselves with Nezznara. Were it not for the Heroes, Vaardland would have been lost and the Armada would have been compromised by the Neoji Hegemony.
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Due to his massive failings, Liaren was honorably discharged from the Armada. Fleet operations around Vaardland came under the command of Allorienne Arandeiros, who was promoted to Admiral.
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Arandeiros served in Liaren's command for three hundred years, and distinguished herself time and time again. She commanded fleet operations near Vaardspace and was granted Captaincy over the Gilgalad Thule, the Elven Armada flagship. She effectively ran the show while Liaren indulged himself.
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Admiral Arandeiros rapidly achieved several successes. She brokered peace between the tribes in Nosbor's horde and the other nation-states of Vaardland. She administered the introduction of the Greater Sphere to Vaardland, allowing its inhabitants to begin exploring the Spheres, and introducing them to the wonders and dangers of the cosmos.
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## Yapa Shipping
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Approximately twenty years after Admiral Arandeiros opened the borders of Vaardland, the Armada granted Yapa Intersphereal Logistics use of it's hyperspace lanes, making them the only third party with sanctioned to use the fastest routes in Vaardspace. This decision was largely decried due to the perception that the fabulously wealthy Yapa clan had bribed Arandeiros. In fact, Mani Yapa, who had been something of a black sheep in the family, prevented an aberrant priest from creating a rift in the Concordance of spacetime and opening a portal to the Far Realm. Arandeiros recognized Mani's noble intentions and rewarded him with access to the Armada's routes.
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## Neoji War
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About five years ago, the Emerald Armada declared open war with the Neoji Hegemony. The Neoji are seeking to invade Vaardspace and enslave it's entire population. For several hundred years prior, under Luthias Liaren, the Armada sought a diplomatic and peaceful coexistence with the Neoji. Unfortunately, the Neoji were negotiating in bad faith. The Neoji's diplomatic efforts were a distraction so that the Armada would not notice that they were building an invasion force and attempting to infiltrate the Armada. During this period, the Hegemony's mages had learned to create living constructs called Warforged, whom the Neoji would enslave and use as the body of the invasion force.
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Admiral Arandeiros realized the Neoji advance would not end through diplomatic efforts. After presenting her case, Armada command declared war against the Neoji Hegemony. Arandeiros conducted a swift and devastating counteroffensive. This has knocked the Neoji back on their heels, but open aggression is not the Neoji's most fluent tactic. Subterfuge is their trade and craft. |