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The Emperium of Parian

The City of Parian sits in the center of the mainland, nestled among rivers and mountains. It controls an empire which includes Emperium Abbey, the Valley of the Giants, and the lands south to the mountains bordering the empires of both the Orcs and Ethera. Parian also claims all the vast lands to their east between the mountains and sea, a claim which is loudly disputed by Darushk. Neither city has made any attempt to utilize that land since the destruction of the Komodan Kingdom, however.

At its height, the Emperium of Parian included Emperium Abbey, west of Parian, and the cities of Lyrina, near modern-day Dawat, and Welderant, sometimes called Farm Town for its disproportionaly large plantations.

Early after its founding, it built a fortress on the coast, primarily as a garrison and safehouse for the guards watching the exile city of Darushk before it won its independence. When the Komodans settled the area, the Waterfront Castle became a major point of contention. The Komodans tolerated Darushk, which was hidden from outside view, but said the Waterfront Castle destroyed the beauty of the coastline and should be demolished.

The cities of Welderant and Lyrina, on the southern edge of the Emperium, were constantly disputed by Ethera. During the Time of Gold and the Time of Darkness, the cities changed hands several times.

During the Third Rune Wars, when Talazar's army were driven through the portals, they found Parian's western border heavily defended. Instead, they crossed the sea to the south, and built a fortress on the island of Vel Dran. From there, they launched an attack on Lyrina.

The destruction of Lyina was so total that even the low mountains that bordered the city were flattened. The armies crossed to the east, and came up behind the bulk of Parian's army, forcing them to retreat into the city. There, the Rune Warriors laid a bitter seige upon them for many months.

Seeing the danger not only to Parian, but to themselves, Parian's rivals to the south, the great Orcish city of Bloodwater and the Kingdom of Ethera, sent their armies to break the seige. They scattered the Rune Armies in disarray, but failed to chase down all of the escaping warriors.

A small contingent of Rune Warriors fled to the east, towards Darushk. The King of Darushk paid homage to Talazar and gave much of his city's arms to the warriors in exchange for safety. However, the Waterfront Castle and the defenseless Komodan cities were razed, and the Komodan race vanished from the known world.

The rest of the Rune Warriors were divided. Some returned to Vel Dran, hoping their leader would come for them there. Some, under the command of Velekar, another of the fallen Lotorian Knights, delved a deep dungeon south of the ruins of Lyrina and are still believed to be holed up in there to this day.

The bulk of the armies, with Talazar himself, fled into the Badlands. These lands had been a wasteland inhabited by Harpies and a few tribes of feral orcs, but Talazar and his minions transformed them into the land of terror they are now.

When the rebuilding finally began in the Time of Renewal, Parian's first projects were the reconstruction of Welderant and the construction of a new city, Arda, not far from Lyrina's ruins. Welderant was abandoned not long thereafter, due to roving bands of brigands in the area which are all that remains of Driskal's once great army. Although Ethera and Parian stood allied for many years after the Rune Wars, the construction of Arda led Ethera to renew their old rivalry, and still challenge Parian for control of the town on occasion.