Category:Yaralon History

The history of Yaralon that is one more upon the people than the city itself, a history brought on by Raskalarn and her growing Eternal Empire. In the first century or so of the Great Restoration (Arc 0-700), Raskalarn was invading much of the northern half of the Eastern Continent. There were very few settlements beyond scattered villages at this time, and Raskalarn's forces swept through them with ease. Many people were displaced, escaping her bloodthirsty sword, scattering into the winds.

One particular group of these displaced nomads made their way down to the southern coast, finding themselves in a particularly inhospitable land where food was scarce, monsters aplenty, and death was the only constant anyone knew. So it became that fighting tooth and nail just to get by became a daily occurrence for these lost nomads. The didn't dare head east, for the barren Hot Lands appeared to be a much less savory option to the savanna they toiled upon. South led straight into the sea, and while small boats for close range fishing were occasionally used, it was an unconquerable barrier.

Heading west is where they truly ran into their first big problem. The nomads came across a city, the first actual city any of them had ever laid eyes upon. Volanta. The forces of Volanta, acting on information provided by their scouts, refused entry to these nomads for fear of their association with Raskalarn's growing invasion. And so, these nomads were truly on their own, trapped between a rock and three hard places.

So they dug in. They adapted. Learned to survive on this cruel land that appeared to be twisted and corrupted and poisoned by the largest concentration of Major Fractures in the world. This land weeded out the weakest of their people, and only the most adaptable, strongest, endured. As the Eternal Empire continued to grow, more and more displaced nomads of different origins joined up with them. Many of these people would later become known as the First Company. The First Company consisted of the strongest warriors, huntsmen, and leaders from the nomads. The first permanent camp was established, and the people never thrived, but did survive.

Around the transition between the first and second centuries, Raskalarn's forces attempted to invade both Rharne and Volanta. And both times, they were repelled, the first true losses in the campaign. These losses made the Eternal Empire's capital, Korlasir, vulnerable as it was still in the progress of being built and fortified. And Volanta planned to act on this vulnerability with a counter attack of their own. And so they marched, heading along the southern border of the continent so as to strike the Eternal Empire from an unexpected direction, and destroy them once and for all.

This campaign brought them near to the lands the First Company claimed as their own. The nomads recognized the invaders for what they were, and what their intent was, and saw an opportunity that many others might've let slip by. Through the use of their hyper specialized skills and tactics they'd come to develop while merely surviving on their lands, they fought, using the land, the monsters, everything they had to their advantage. Surprise had been on their side, food was on their side, but the biggest part was that these nomads had nothing to lose, and everything to gain. They were able to push back the oncoming invasion, in a battle that was weighted heavily against them at nearly 100:1.

The Volantan forces crushed, returned home. The First Company decided to continue to play at their advantage. They carried every corpse from the Volantan Campaign northward, marching toward Korlasir in a move that decided the fate of what would come to be Yaralon. They arrived at the city, armed but not hostile, presenting the corpses as tribute, and demanding an audience with Raskalarn herself. The Immortal, amused by their bold nature and curious as to how these ragtag warriors bested an army that had defeated her own, granted the request.

The First Company demanded payment from the Eternal Empire, for having stopped the invasion that would've most certainly crushed Korlasir. This payment was granted payment in the form of weapons, food, and other raw materials. But one warrior did not feel that was enough. Isandra Haze stepped forward, accusing Raskalarn's forces of being too weak to fight their own battles, that the Eternal Empire was a sham to think they could invade every land upon the world. Isandra demanded more of Raskalarn, for being helpless, and went so far as to demand a dual with the Immortal.

This mortal was pushing her back, forcing her to grow stronger within the fight itself. After several long breaks of this dual, it became evident that Raskalarn was gaining the upper hand. The Immortal considered striking the woman down, following it up with the destruction of the entire First Company, cut them down, here and now. But within them she saw the potential of a truly great enemy, one that simply needed time to grow stronger than any other out there. But within them she saw the potential of a truly great enemy, one that simply needed time to grow stronger than any other out there. She knew Rharne and Volanta would fall in time, at her hands. But she wanted to see this challenger rise up, a contender worth fighting against.

And so, Raskalarn granted more resources along with two unyielding conditions. The first, none of those present were to ever speak of having come to the Eternal Empire's aid. It was an embarrassment upon Rasklarn, and one she did not wish to have spread amongst her enemies. The other condition was that the lands the First Company were looking to build upon would be the final battlefield for the Eternal Empire. Once Raskalarn has conquered the world, she would set her sights there, and expected them to meet her in battle with the greatest strengths this world could muster.

And so, the First Company returned home, laden with riches and resources, and began to build their city, starting with a massive wall, to help better keep out the monsters of their corrupted land. Many of the founders of the First Company went on to start their own mercenary companies in this new city of Yaralon. These companies were sent out into the world to aid other cities in the region with their own battles, against the Eternal Empire, against one another, against the wilds themselves. The Yari people became known for the finest mercenaries in the world, known for two things above all else; their unyielding honoring of contracts, and their shrewd, specialized warfare.

As Yaralon grew, they kept their lands isolated to the corrupted savanna, seeing no need to push beyond their grasp. Many companies built villages outside of the city's walls, in order to serve as base camps when attempting to harvest resources from the wilds, as well as the many Major Fractures in the region. These villages, while less protected than the city of Yaralon, also served as recruitment and training points for the individual companies.

Due to the extremely low amount of food generation that occurs in the Yari lands, the strength of the mercenary companies was key to feeding the city. This led to those not within the companies to develop extremely practical skills and companies, leading to the rise of the Guilds. The quality of their produced goods was top notch, for anything less was not tolerated. Subpar equipment, tools, led to unnecessary deaths, and the population of Yaralon could not afford failure, for failure could lead to the starvation of the entire city.

With the rise of the crafting guilds, soon came the merchant emperors. Most of these individuals were born and bred within Yaralon, but any merchant that managed to survive the harsh journey into Yaralon soon found a trove of opportunity and riches waiting for them. And in the fourth century, Yaralon truly began to prosper. As the world grew closer and closer to Ziell's prophecies, more and more battles were needing to be fought and won, on all sides of conflict. Yaralon grew into a pinnacle of practical wealth. Their money was flowed back into their companies, into their guilds, into their companies, always pushing forward so as to be ready for battle against the Eternal Empire, for the final battle against Raskalarn herself.

With the arrival of the eighth century, and Ziell's prophecy at hand, Yaralon smiles upon the wealth they expect to see. For it is now the Age of Prophecy, a prophecy of change, and with change comes violence. And with violence, battle. And where there is battle, there's always a Yari man or woman, smiling in their love for combat and the coin that follows.