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History of the World, part 1

Being a primer on the history and general background of the world of Leeland.

About 80-100 years ago, four to five Human generations, a Great Plague sprang up suddenly and swept around the entire continent, pretty much destroying everything in its path.  Its effects were equivalent to the fall of Rome—it took a heavy toll in lives and information/technology.  No one really knows where the plague came from; they only know that it started as a harmless strain and turned into a ravaging monster that swept multiple peoples and races and pretty much decimated some budding technological societies. 

Of all the races, the Humans got hit the hardest.  Having neither strong constitutions nor long lifespans, they seemed to be the perfect host for the plague, and it spread through them like wildfire.  Because of the peculiar germination time between infection and symptoms, it could spread disturbingly easily along trade routes from village to village, and Human settlements were not equipped to deal with the results.  Quarantine was not easy, fear was rampant, and magical knowledge was not advanced enough to provide significant aid. 

Like scarlet fever on steroids, it was so deadly and struck so suddenly, that the scared people would burn whole buildings, whole villages if they were quarantined.   Almost half the damage was caused by Human reaction, usually fires.  Bringing the plague eventually became the perfect blame to lay on any unpopular scapegoat's door.  The conservatives blamed the Elfin sorcerers; the swamp riders blamed the Thals.  Humans blamed other Humans, and so on.

The plague mostly spread to Elfes from the cities: Elfes living in the cities got wiped out.  Of the younger Elfes who escaped, some accidentally carried the plague to their ancestral manors, causing whole Houses to be wiped out.  Fear and distrust were rampant here too, because their magiqual barriers didn’t seem to slow the plague down.  Despite this, most of the Elfes who escaped the plague are still alive and remember vividly the trials undergone. Elfin families have managed to keep some sense of continuity with the times before.  They have kept much of their discoveries about magique and technology, but the blight caused a massive shift of power and a reordering of the Houses and the Oligarchy.  What was left of the Elfin families guarded their own Houses. This has caused some lasting tension between the pre-plague Houses and the Nouveau Familles set up from Elfin remnants or new Elfes starting their own Families. .

One of the most tragic effects was the combined loss of information and communication.  Magique and natural laws were beginning to be understood in a scientific manner by Humans and Elfes alike. The blight knocked back both population count and magiqual technology levels several centuries.  The biggest reason for this was the destruction of the Magique U library.  Midway through the plague years, Magique U healers were taking in patients in an attempt to treat the plague, discover what caused it, and find a cure.  The next-door-villagers got scared that they were just a breeding-ground, and so a frightened mob marched on Magique U and burnt the Sanitorium to the ground, desperate to stamp out the plague.  With it went the extremely extensive University Library. Needless to say, many Elfes now hate Humans, and many Humans still hate the Elfes.

Within the Human settlements, many tradeable items were destroyed in the Blight as possible carriers of the plague which was thought to be magiqual in origin.  Thanks to the more discerning, small bastions of knowledge were hidden and jealously guarded. For most Humans the conveniences of magiqually-influenced life were rudely swept aside and, eventually, forgotten.  These sparse founts of knowledge eventually gave rise to some weird religions based on past precepts, as well as old wives' tales and little trade-based rituals. 

The Zwerg got hit less hard because they were more isolated.  Thals were influenced the least, on the twin accounts of isolation and higher metabolism—the plague caused high fever in them, but they could burn through it more quickly than the other races; therefore the mortality rate was much lower.  As a consequence, some Humans saw that the Thals were not dying, and so believed that maybe the Blight was caused by the Thals’ hedge magique, religion, fetishes, talismans, etc.  Some Humans started converting to Thal religion, collecting fetishes, dream-pipes, etc. "We don't really believe in it; it's just... fun.  Y'know?" Some decided to hate the Thals for aiding and abetting those blasted Elfes who caused the Blight.

What’s left of the population hasn’t rediscovered The Magique yet — at the moment, theoretical Elfin magicians are exploring all kinds of different directions… plus, having to develop laws and properties.  Which is why grimoires, artifacts, ruins, and old scrolls are so priceless—they can be deconstructed and the principles de Magique re-learned,working toward an eventual Renaissance of Magique.  Additionally, bits of knowledge were preserved here and there in folklore and superstition (Elfes are still discovering which Human superstitions are actually partially true), across the continent.  As the population slowly rises and trade increases, knowledge is slowly being linked and spread again, allowing for germination and cross-breeding of potentially new ideas.

Currently, most of the Midlands are ruled by Barons in medieval style.  They existed prior to the Plague and when the breakdown of society occurred, they simply moved into the power vaccuum to protect themselves and their people. During the resulting internecine wars, some were wiped out; some were thinned out; and somemanaged to survive. 

This is a time of expansion. The disputed lands between the Baronies are anarchic and up for grabs.  There are yeomen, freelanders, and bandits in these areas.  This is also a time of conquest and expansion.  Some of the newly created and self-declared Barons are expanding by might of hand and sword. Large holdings are settling down.  Most of the smaller ones are still expanding to encompass and reclaim old abandoned farms and land.  Also some are clearing forests that have grown up the last 100 years. 

Everywhere, as population and cities grow, guilds are starting up; some have been around for a while (like bakers and smiths).  Current well-established guilds distribute their guildsmen, sending them one-by-one to various little towns and such.  Youths are sent to the local guildhouse (located usually in a nearby town of note), trained, and either sent back to their own village or to another town that needs them.  Through these various little outposts, the main network and structure of the Guilds is developing and gaining strength. 

Leeland is also beginning to see the rise of the merchant class, a few families rich enough to own multiple ships or caravans.  For the most part, the ship's captain or caravan pilot is the leader and owner.  For protection from bandits and pirates, they are beginning to form a loose guild of their own to crack down on theft and brigandage.

Geography * History of the world, part 1 * Cultures * Seasons * Magie * Spare * Spare * Spare *