Writing

Mo’nyoq

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Mo’nyoq is a small settlement on the southern coast of the Aral Sea. The town’s people are composed of 3,000 refugees from the Second Alliance War and growing all the time. Danar and Amalius founded the town after the war to provide homes and jobs for the thousands displaced from Bradel Fields, Greshen Dale, and Phoenix, among others. Danar has taken the lead on running the town while Amalius manages the administration of Jipangu and the Second Alliance. When Danar is called away, Amalius’s squire, Endi, takes over.

The basic necessities of Mo’nyoq are still under construction. Smithy, granary, town hall, and walls, as well as a reliable supply of food and water. The need for food has brought the people of Mo’nyoq into conflict with the indigenous orc and goblin populations. The locals are experts at fishing the Aral Sea, so Mo’nyoq relies on their cooperation, willing or not, to survive. Food is brought in from the west as well, but the supply lines suffer attacks from bandits and other monsters, making that resource unreliable. While Mo’nyoq is supported from the outside the citizens are building a fishing fleet and sowing their fields with grain for future years.

The people of Mo’nyoq come from all over Cimmeria, but the majority are humans from Eastern Cimmeria. Coming from a range of different cities, the locals have little in common besides their current situation. The settlement is a melting pot of cultures, cuisines, and social rules. As the city develops its own identity, arguments are common but so too are unions of unusual pairings. As a young settlement, Mo’nyoq is unique in having few children present. Many of the colonists either have none or left them in the care of relatives in other locations. This has created an adult or vulgar atmosphere in Mo’nyoq.

Mo’nyoq is named after a real city, Mo’ynoq, previously on the south coast of the Aral Sea. Irrigation canals did by the Soviets have led to the almost complete destruction of the Aral Sea. While Mo’ynoq was once a fishing town on the south coast it is now a site of disaster tourism about a hundred miles from the Aral Sea’s receding coast line.

Aral Sea in 1989 (left) and 2014 (right)

Cimmerian Timeline Part 57

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Previous: Cimmerian Timeline Part 56

We’ve arrived at the end of the Cimmerian Timeline posts! Just a little bit of housekeeping for events from the goblin cities’ history that I cared enough to put dates to. This should cover it for the important dates in Cimmeria. Woo! Next up I’ll do some touching up for the cities pages and maybe a slight restructuring of the time period splits for the timeline. I’d also like to write a Condensed Timeline page like what I did for Gurutama.

1149BCE: Poseidon and the goblin god, Crayfish, fought in Lake Astacol. Their divine battle split the earth and the Long Pearl River in two. Tomak’nax split into two cities as well.

1142BCE: Sadroston and the Phoenix engaged in a fight along the Long River. The Phoenix’s fire melted the ground along a section of the river into arcane glass.

1069BCE: The goblins of Tomak’nax built the Cableway to reconnect the twin cities.

413BCE: Barghests attacked Yuggnod and took control of the city.

410BCE: Skortwist the Bandit became the magistrate of Untalpid.

Back to the Beginning!

Cimmerian Timeline Part 56

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Previous: Cimmerian Timeline Part 55

Loose ends for coming to the end of the timeline!

1115BCE: The Olympians recognized that the new toys they’d given their mortals were strong tools in the right hands and explosive mistakes in the wrong hands. To ensure the magical artifacts weren’t misused, Zeus created the Museum of Power in Nox. To guard the building, Poseidon set powerful enchantments around it and Hades brought Argus back from the dead to defend it.

742BCE: Enough vampires had arisen in Cimmeria to form a community centered in Crux. They pooled their resources to acquire blood to drink. They offered gold in exchange for blood. This collection of gold and blood grew into the Bank of Lamentation, one of the most securely guarded locations in Cimmeria.

647BCE: The blue dragons of Shacklack took advantage of the sand giant genocide to attack fire giant tribes in the desert. Without their sand giant allies, the fire giants had weaknesses in their defensive network. Many fire giants were wiped out, relocated, or swore fealty to the blue dragons.

646BCE: Chirrigar the fire giant’s tribe was wiped out. Without a home he wandered through the desert and came upon an abandoned scepter. He grasped the rod and felt tremendous power flow into him. He went to the cave of the dragon that had slain his tribe and killed it in return. Chirrigar claimed the dragon’s hoard for himself and then left Shacklack Desert to avoid retribution.

645BCE: Chirrigar spread the dragon’s wealth across Eastern Cimmeria. He told stories of a new city he was founding east of the Aral Sea.

644BCE: Chirrigar went east of the Aral Sea and planted a large piece of quartz he had found his dragon treasure hoard. The quartz grew into the stunning ice city of Dorrowsan.

520BCE: The old lich of Crux, Vectra, developed a new spell of unimaginable destruction. The magic was capable of wiping out all life within a three mile radius of the casting. Vectra demonstrated the spell and then opened negotiations with various governments to sell it. She sold copies of the devastation spell to Xoria, Persia, Ethiopia, and some of the Indian kingdoms.

Next: Cimmerian Timeline Part 57

Cimmerian Timeline Part 55

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Previous: Cimmerian Timeline Part 54

This one details the heroic rise of Balin that led to him retaking Fangaroot from the kobolds.

638BCE: Balin, the great-great-grandson of Shaelin got the idea to gain glory so he could replace the insane Bjorn. He made a team with his halfling friend, Terry, and his wizard cousin, Isdmir. Together they planned to rid the Dalleer area of monsters.

637BCE: Balin, Terry, and Isdmir destroyed various lizardfolk bands that had been driven west by the rangers of Eastern Cimmeria.

635BCE: Balin, Terry, and Isdmir slew kobold raiders that were pillaging the settlements west of Dalleer.

632BCE: Balin, Terry, and Isdmir thwarted a troglodyte attack against Dalleer. The smelly beasts had tunneled underneath the city to capture citizens for cannibalistic rituals. The heroic trio discovered the threat, rallied the city’s defenders, and journeyed into the Underdark to slay the troglodyte chief themselves. Within a week Balin, Terry, and Isdmir were the heroes of Dalleer.

631BCE: Isdmir suspected that the troglodytes had been working with someone inside the city. The monsters had gotten too close to completing their plan to have been working alone. Isdmir began investigating.
Balin used his heroic reputation to insert himself into the upper ranks of Dalleer’s politics. Terry retired to a life of luxury and ease. Balin, Terry, and Isdmir maintained their friendship.

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Cimmerian Timeline Part 54

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Previous: Cimmerian Timeline Part 53

King Aeëtes leads Colchis eternally, but he comes under attack by the armies of Hades every solar eclipse. I detailed some of the earlier eclipse attacks, but I’ve been leaving them behind for a while. Here’s the rest of them!

978BCE: A solar eclipse allowed Hades to attack Colchis, but he was rebuffed by King Aeëtes’s newly created stone golems. The magical protectors tore through the undead hordes.

923BCE: A solar eclipse opened the gates to Erebos and Hades sent an army for King Aeëtes’s soul. This time the army was composed of devils and demons. They tore through the golems of the city, but Aeëtes used his magic to enhance the weapons of of the common people of Colchis. Their buffed armaments were able to defeat the hellish army of Hades.

885BCE: A solar eclipse darkened the sky over Colchis and Hades sent an army of devils and undead. King Aeëtes had trained his soldiers further on how to defeat devils using blessed weapons and holy water. Luckily the sanctified weapons were effective against both devils and undead.

857BCE: Hades attacked Colchis under the shadow of a solar eclipse. He brought an unholy combination of devils and machinery to bear on the city. King Aeëtes unleashed the dragon of Colchis to destroy the machines while the trained army dealt with the devils.

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Cimmerian Timeline Part 53

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Tying Nomingburg after the Dragon War to Tracy’s Return and then the eventual rise of Duke Jingo.

879BCE: With Tracy gone the people of Nomingburg began elections to choose their leader, the Duke of Nomingburg.

877BCE: Nomingburg became a home base for many of the rangers in the area.

870BCE: As Nomingburg grew the different survivalist guilds competed for new members. The original guilds of arcane, divine, ki, and technological power united against the newcomer Ranger Guild.

868BCE: Duke Triceta of Nomingburg from the Ki Guild enacted laws that restricted the activities of the Ranger Guild.

856BCE: Continuing restrictions on the Ranger Guild in Nomingburg finally resulted in the guild’s effective banishment from the city.

855BCE: Without the common enemy of the rangers to unite them the guilds of Nomingburg could no longer work together. A majority could not be reached and a new Duke was not elected.

853BCE: Failed elections continued to be held in Nomingburg. Any candidate that seemed close to gaining a majority found themselves assassinated. Each of the four guilds turned to regulating their own territory within the city.

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Cimmerian Timeline Part 52

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Previous: Cimmerian Timeline Part 51

Mars’ Oasis needs a little bit of connecting history to establish the threats and the relationship between the city and the Shacklack Desert.

696BCE: The soldiers turned settlers of Mars’ Oasis needed a staple food crop in the desert. The nymphs found a cactus fruit called sithica that when soaked in the Dythalid Pool became edible. The soldiers began cultivating the cactus.

691BCE: Some of the blue dragons of the Shacklack attacked Mars’ Oasis in search of treasure. The experienced Roman soldiers easily defended their community and their families. The blue dragons pleaded with Bavastatner to help, but he refused to get involved. Bavastatner wished to preserve Mars’ Oasis as a good training opportunity for his children.

678BCE: Through accident and experimentation the people of Mars’ Oasis learned the power of the Dythlaid Pool. The town had grown as people learned it was a safe haven within the Shacklack Desert. To protect the secrets of the Dythalid Pool, the original Roman founders of Mars’ Oasis created the Dythalidee to protect the Pool.

665BCE: Sahamathrian completed the process of becoming a lich. He left Crux and returned to the Shacklack Desert to further his study of necromancy and other arcane secrets.

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Cimmerian Timeline Part 51

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Previous: Cimmerian Timeline Part 50

A little more mixing of history and fantasy. The Persians invaded Scythia in 513BCE to scare off the Scythians before the Persian invasion of Greece. In the real world the Scythians/Amazons just ran away and came back after the Persians left. In my version they ran away to their colony in Cimmeria. Also the founding of Tectoctar.

513BCE: The Persian Shah Darius declared war on the Amazons and other tribes north of the Black Sea to pre-emptively protect his borders during his future campaign in Greece.

512BCE: Facing overwhelming odds against the massive Persian army, the Amazons abandoned their homeland north of the Black Sea. Queen Idanthyrsia relocated the entire kingdom to Dradelden in Cimmeria.

509BCE: With the additional force at Dradelden the Amazons sought not just to extract tribute from Western Cimmeria, but to rule it outright. Queen Idanthyrsia personally led the strike against Cecilia and Makotako. Cecilia capitulated quickly. Makotako resisted and Idanthyrsia besieged the city.

508BCE: Aid for Makotako arrived from Gazeara. King Shardamar came to relieve his cousin with the army of Gazeara. Queen Idanthyrsia led the Amazons to engage both armies in battle and soundly defeated both. She personally slew King Cordant of Makotako. Idanthyrsia forced Shardamar to swear fealty to the Amazons and placed a subordinate as military governor of Makotako.

507BCE: Queen Idanthyrsia turned the Amazon war horde against the Xorian Kingdom. King Gigontaya of Xoria had made an alliance with King Aeetes of Colchis. The two armies stood together against the Amazons. The two sides maneuvered around each other, neither wishing to risk everything in a single engagement.

506BCE: General Tectoctar grew frustrated with King Gigontaya’s refusal to engage the enemy. He seceded from the Xorian Kingdom and took his army north.
Fearing that other generals might follow Tectoctar’s example, Gigontaya finally fought the Amazons in battle.Once again, Idanthyrsia slew a king in combat. She cut down Gigontaya, but Aeetes returned the favor and killed Idanthyrsia with magical blasts. With no other to match his power, Aeetes laid waste to the Amazon army. They retreated and peace terms were agreed upon.
Young Prince Demotinira succeeded his father to the crown of Xoria.

505BCE: Tectoctar settled his troops in Danar’s Swamp upon receiving a sign from Zeus. Tectoctar had his lieutenant general give him mind-reading powers to keep the troops in line as they founded their new city named after him, Tectoctar.

504BCE: The city of Tectoctar was well established within the marshes, but the strain of hearing everyone’s thoughts took its toll on General Tectoctar. He went insane and fled into the swamp, never to be seen again.

Next: Cimmerian Timeline Part 52

Cimmerian Timeline Part 50

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Previous: Cimmerian Timeline Part 49

Changing gears a bit. I said I’d be working on the remaining history of Cimmeria from both ends. Gazeara’s history that’s closer to the current date in my campaign is done, but I needed some additional events for the founding of the city.

605BCE: King Sistro of Makotako died and his last will broke with tradition. Rather than nominating the most competent citizen of Makotako to be his successor, Sistro nominated his twin sons, Brothanon and Tagili. The two were to rule jointly as twin Kings of Makotako.

600BCE: Kings Brothanon and Tagili began to argue over the future of Makotako. Tagili wanted to make reforms to benefit the peasants, apprentice tradesmen, and laborers of the city. Brothanon wanted to preserve the status quo which benefited the merchant class.

599BCE: King Tagili accused King Brothanon of accepting bribes from merchants. Tagili appealed to the common people and began traveling throughout the city with an armed guard of peasants.

598BCE: King Brothanon began traveling with an armed guard of Phoenix mercenaries.

597BCE: A dozen of King Tagili’s armed peasants attempted to assassinate King Brothanon. The mercenaries protected Brothanon, but slew some of the bystanders in the process. Makotako erupted in riots. After a month of unrest, Tagili got the rioters to return to their homes and businesses.

595BCE: Another group of peasants attempted to assassinate King Brothanon. The mercenaries protected Brothanon once again. The mercenaries also immediately arrested King Tagili, accusing him of the assassination attempt. The city exploded once again. Tagili worked out a deal with Brothanon for his release. Tagili would identify leaders within the revolt for execution in exchange for his release. Tagili did so, but rather than execute these people, he fled with them into banishment.

594BCE: King Tagili founded a new settlement east of Makotako he dubbed Gazeara. He called for the people of Makotako who valued their freedom to emigrate to Gazeara. The common people of Makotako left the city in masses. Soon, Makotako’s population was halved.

591BCE: Makotako felt the economic strain of losing half its population. Furious at the commoners for abandoning the city, King Brothanon declared war on Gazeara.

589BCE: King Brothanon and King Tagili met in battle. They struck each other from their horses and dueled on the ground. Tagili knocked the sword from Brothanon’s hand and then Brothanon tackled Tagili to the ground. The twin brothers wrestled in the dirt, punching and kicking each other as they’d done as boys. Reminded of their youth, anger dissolved into laughter. The brothers picked each other up and announced a truce. Both Makotako and Gazeara would continue forward as peaceful partners.

Next: Cimmerian Timeline Part 51

Cimmerian Timeline Part 49

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Previous: Cimmerian Timeline Part 48

656BCE: Noga’anyo, the descendant of Queen Stanasha, led a rebellion against King Lygdamis. Jeutontic and Cecilia declared independence from the Xorian Kingdom.

655BCE: King Lygdamis besieged Cecilia. Tired of the city’s history for betrayal, he assaulted the walls rather than accept a peaceful surrender of the city. Upon gaining entry, Lygdamis pillaged the town before reinstating Xorian control.

654BCE: Noga’anyo moved with the aerial cavalry against Petar, but fell into a trap set by King Lygdamis. The cavalry suffered heavy losses to ballistae hidden around Petar’s rooftops.

651BCE: After five years of grinding war, King Lygdamis besieged Jeutontic. Seeing the end, Noga’anyo ordered her followers to surrender before she committed suicide. Lygdamis felt pity at the sight of her body and her sacrifice for her people. He ordered that she be given a hero’s burial, but outside the Kingdom of Xoria. Noga’anyo’s tomb was made along the southern shore of the Don River to the north of the Xorian Kingdom.

644BCE: The Amazons of Dradelden levied a large tax on the Xorians. To afford the tribute, King Lygdamis invaded Lydia. The Xorians sacked Lydia’s capital of Sardis and killed King Gyges. The treasure was delivered to the Amazons and used to fund their own invasion of Palestine and Egypt.

640BCE: King Lygdamis led an invasion against the Assyrians in Anatolia, hoping they were weak after a series of revolts within the Assyrian Empire. Unfortunately, Lygdamis was killed in one of the initial battles of the campaign. His son, Sandakhshatra succeeded him.

637BCE: King Ardys of Lydia declared war on the Xorians. He used the new Lydian weapon of war dogs to great effect in the battles of the war. Additionally, Ardys gained aid from the Assyrians in his war.

626BCE: The war between Lydia and Xoria concluded. King Ardys now had firm control over Anatolia and Sandakhshatra vowed to not invade or raid into the peninsula for a hundred years.

Next: Cimmerian Timeline Part 50