Melrath History
History
The nation of Melrath was founded during Arc 318 by a woman named Ashara Veldaris. Ashara was a respected woman who was known throughout her youth in Ne’haer as a talented archer and hunter. When the budding city of her youth was assaulted again and again by natural disasters, Ashara brought forth the proposition of finding a new home for her people in the north. Her family and friends were faithful to the Immortals and assured the young woman that they would be protected from such harm again.
Ashara never put much stock in the will of the gods to protect mortalkind. She trusted her own abilities and the abilities of her peers to save them, not some benevolent Immortal watching over from on high.
Over time, and after the fledgling city was assaulted again and again by disasters and Immortal caused violence, Ashara managed to convince a little over a thousand residents to follow her north into the wilderness in search of a new home. Among this group were a modest population of Naerrik who agreed to accompany and protect the refugees in return for a home of their own when they arrived Arcs later, this group of Naerikk would later see to the enslavement of Lotharro caught raiding within Melrath. It was because of this sizable slave labor force that the city of Raelia was later quickly built and secured.
Over the following two seasons Ashara and her followers traveled toward the northern shore of the western continent. They faced numerous unsavory encounters with the Lotharro, along with the customary perils of the road. However, Ashara and her people were resilient and eventually found themselves in a small corner of the west, protected by steep mountains, an ancient forest and even a swift river.
Through skill and force of will, Ashara led her people toward the coast, crossing the river and naming it after her mother along the way: The Castillia River.
Naming is a sacred thing to the people of Melrath, names give purpose, or give a lasting home to their memories. Mortals are unique in their propensity to pass on their history. It allows the flow of knowledge to empower the next generation allowing them control over their world rather than succumbing to the whims of gods. The people of Melrath hold this principal in high regard, it is likely why their city holds host to one of the oldest and largest libraries in existence.
After settling at the mouth of the Castillia River, Ashara’s people came to calling themselves the Melrathi. The name comes from an old word that means “One People”. It was chosen because the people of Melrath believe that the only way to protect themselves and their loved ones it to only depend on their own countrymen and themselves.
Outsiders are dangerous, and only fools trust in Immortals.
The first generation of Melrathi remembered the floods and tidal waves that drowned their villages and slew their kinsmen, so they were more than happy to barricade themselves behind, rivers, forests, and mountains.
The capital city of Raelia that they founded boasted impressive walls and an imposing citadel at it’s gates that would be capable to turning away nearly any invader. The waters beyond Melrath were edged in barrier islands which funneled cruel, twisting currents along the shore making navigation of the coast dangerous for newcomers.
The Four Towers, Velden, Dresha, Nytherrin, and Taryn were later built, one to each barrier island, thus providing even more protection to the budding country and it’s isolationist regime.
The people of Melrath have remained virtually unchanged for centuries in their mission to guard themselves against the dangers of the outside world and the whims of the divine.