Library Reference Zalzabar's Journal

The Great and Noble Houses of Zafir



House Dragonson
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The current ruling family of Zafir they are led by the powerful and wise Hector Dragonson who has ruled Zafir for over fifty-seven decades. House Dragonson is known, from throughout their history, to produce the strongest, swiftest, and most powerful Ryujin overall in all of Zafir or so they will claim. They are the ancestral foes of House Valiullin and are the most insular of the houses having no direct allies with any of the major houses, save for House Aeterna.

Members of House Dragonson typically have fire, lightning, or enhancement natures. It is also fairly well known although never discussed publically that Malum Dragonson, ruler of the distant Kingdom of Haugun, is the disgraced brother of Hector Dragonson who fled from the country centuries ago for his own personal desire.

House Valiullin
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House Valiullin used to be the ruling house of Zafir until House Dragonson were successfully able to claim the throne in the Great Zafirian Succession Crisis almost 575 years prior to the start of Zalzabar's Journey. Having diminished slightly in power they are still one of the most powerful houses of Zafir and remain the longtime rivals of House Dragonson. Like all Zafirian houses Valiullin prides itself on its Ryujin and their mages with the ancestral traits and focus of their Ryujin and mages being that of Earth, Enchantment, Summoning, and even Necromancy.

House Arias
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House Arias has been described as the most brutal of the major houses of Zafir. Indeed many of their warriors and Ryujin are known for their bombastic and so-called 'short sighted' mindset. Seemingly favoring quick gains over long term profits. They were the house after all that back during the reign of House Valiullin pushed for the annexation of Mithras, a smaller Kingdom that lay to the east of Zafir before becoming conquered and restricted as House Mithras. That war has caused Arias and Mithras ever since to be bitter enemies, the members of house Mithras never forgiving Arias for the crimes of over half a millennia ago.

House Arias typically has Ryujin and Mages of the Wind, Illusion, Negation, and even lightning natures. In fact, there has been a long-standing tradition of the lightning mages and Ryujin of House Arias competing with House Dragonson to see which ones can create the largest and most impressive lighting storms.

House Mithras
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House Mithras was not one of the founding houses of Zafir almost four thousand years ago, nay they were conquered some time after its founding. While they have integrated into Zafir, and to the degree that independence has become almost unthinkable, they still remain culturally distinct from the rest of the Zafirian houses which continues to cause friction to this day.

Mithras specializes in Water, Healing, and Light Natures.

It is also exceedingly rare for Mithras and Arias to communicate with one another, almost always requiring a third party, often House Dragonson, to mediate any discussion between the two Houses. The hatred between the two houses runs so deep that unofficial skirmishers and proxy wars are a common and consistent occurrence between the two. Something Hector Dragonson has tried to prevent and stop to little success.

House Aeterna
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Whether House Aeterna is still a major House in Zafir is a question of much debate. And there still continued inclusion of the Council of Great Houses is something the other houses will continue to bring up over and over only to met with sternness from Hector Dragonson. Historically the head of House Aeterna would be one that was known as the 'Time Mage' a being with the unique and special power of Time a legacy handed down from generation to generation.

However, Tempus Aeterna, the current Time Mage, left the house some time ago leaving his brother to rule in his stead. (It is also fairly well known that Tempus is a bastard, the result of his father's affair with a Taetusian noblewoman, thus a further disgrace combined with that fact that he and not his brother became the time mage of House Aeterna) As such the house has declined massively in power and many other members of the family think of Tempus with disgust and mistrust for abandoning his duty. And while they do not have the same power they once did they are not a force to be trifled with, still amassing a sizeable force of Ryujin and mages.

 

Kingdom of Taetus (And A List of VIPs)
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Derius Ralinommu, The Witchking of the North

Spoiler: Appearance

Important Information:
Primary Nature: (Unique) Smoke and Wind
Age: 398
Non-Ryujin
Mage (Master)
Affiliation: Kingdom of Taetus, The Haugun-Taetian Alliance

Nezzarellium, The Sea Serpent

Spoiler: Appearance

Spoiler: Non-Ryujin Appearance

Important Information:
Primary Nature: Water
Age: 333
Ryujin
Affiliation: Kingdom of Taetus, The Haugun-Taetian Alliance

Zomo of the Eastland, Commander of the Northern Forces

Spoiler: Appearance

Important Information:
Primary Nature: Earth
Age: Unknown
Non-Ryujin
Affiliation: Kingdom of Taetus, The Haugun-Taetian Alliance

Queen Asanna

Spoiler: Appearance

Important Information:
Primary Nature: Unknown
Age: Approximately 200 years old
Ryujin
Affiliation: Kingdom of Taetus, The Haugun-Taetian Alliance

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Notable Locations of Taetus

Calrdom, Capital of Taetus


Deep in heart of Taetus lies its capital, the heavily populated city of Taetus. The city is like any capital city of Regnum. The people celebrate, they work, fight, and learn together. A traveler, though they are extraordinarily rare to venture this far into Taetus, would find the common things they associate with city life, albeit much colder and with less sun. Beneath the city of Carldom lies the buried city of Goredom, of which very little is known about and the population doubts even exists.

Mirharaja, Capital of the West


Mirharaja was the capital of the Western Spatial States pre-Unification. With a large concentration of dark elves and wood elves that sailed to Taetus centuries ago, Mirharaja host many elves of mixed breeds and has a more diverse culture than the rest of Taetus. During the war to unify Taetus, the Western Spatial States formed an alliance under Queen Ununma, the mother to the current Queen of Taetus, Asanna. Ununma led the Western States to a stalemate against Derius' forces and even managed to critically wound him. However, due to the betrayal of Asanna, Ununma assassination attempt on Derius was thwarted and resulted in Ununma's own death. Derius and Nezzarellium were free then to conquer the West, though they changed very little.

Queen Asanna has ruled over the Western States of Taetus since then, as an extension of the Witchking. Mirharaja produces 99% of the ryujin of Taetus and, despite the Witchking's animosity towards ryujin, the elves and humans of the region believe in the sanctity of the Three and ryujin. Queen Asanna enjoys the love of her subjects and rules with a much kinder hand than the rest of Taetus has known. The West is less industrial and more natural in appearance. Centuries of wood elf influence has altered the geography of the region to give it its unique appearance. With life having changed little since unification, the population of the Western Spatial States are loyal to the Witchking and support him due to the success of Taetus.

Eastern Taetus


Eastern Taetus was once home to brutal warring tribes and warlords. All the area knew was bloodshed and violence. Unification brought a reckoning to the warlords, as their system was dismantled and their heads placed on pikes. Leading this reckoning was the future commander of the Northern Forces, Zomo of the Eastland. A son of Eastern Taetus who had left decades before to become a terror of the sea, Zomo was brutal in his crackdown. Many of the villages that once dotted the landscape of East Taetus are gone and nature has reclaimed most of the land. Eastern Taetus is shrouded in secrecy and danger. Only a few know how to navigate the ever-present fog and avoid the monstrous fauna that now inhabit the land. Rumors abound that the Witchking's Chosen are the only authority of the land, hunting unwanted trespassers. The unfortunate few that sneak past the hellhounds fall victim to the atrocities that roam the land.

 

Zafirian Timeline
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Another loose timeline, shifted in the pages of Zalzabar's note book. Though this one, with a few oddities here and there, seems to have greater detail focused on Zafir.

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Elder Years ~ 38 BZ - The Rule of the Fae Kingdoms
~38 BZ - Dragonson, Aeterna, Mithras, Arias and Valiullin repel against the Fae
0 - Zafir is formed between the realms of Dragonson, Aeterna, Arias, and Valiullin
112 - The House of Aeterna, backed by the twin benefits of House Dragonson and The Boon of Tellus take control of Zafir from House Valiullin when the fail to produce an heir
132 - The Grand Zafirian Academy is Founded
341 - Suffering a divine vision Aeterna forsakes the throne, House Valiullin returns to power.
605 - Mithras is conquered by Zafir
609 - Zafir begins deeper trade with Risova and the free cities on Athas
630 - The First Great Lizard War (Note this is a separate war than the FGLW between the Snow Elves and the Lizardfolk)
704 - Zafir begins to sail to the East and contacts some of the Kingdoms that exist there
727 - The mark point of the Golden Era of Zafir when they begin to set up colonies in the East
1800 - The First Zafirian Civil War, Many ancient texts and knowledge is lost as long as a steep decline in economic and military power. The colonies of Zafir become indepedent during this time.
1889 - End of the Civil War. House Aeterna is brought to their knees.
2034 - In a desperate attempt fueled by rumor Zafir invades the Snow Elves with thoughts of ancient powers and relics. It is a pitiful attempt with little loss for the Snow Elves
2051 ~ 2700 - While the monarchy still exists they are more a less an honorary figure during this time and have little political power. Zafir devolves into itself among the bickering Houses
2436 - Pharax Aeterna, Last of the Old Elder Ryujin is born
~2700 - Zafir is reforged under House Valiullin marking the start of the Silver Era
2880 - Hector Dragonson is born
2887 - Malum Dragonson is born
~2995-3029 - Mir Dragonson, Head of House Dragonson unleashes a plot to take over the Kingdom resulting in the Second Zafirian Civil War. Almost all Elder Ryujin flee or die. The war ends in terror with Malum leaving to form Haugun and Hector, last of his line, to take the throne.
3402 - The Second Great Lizard War
3564 - Athas and Zafir sign a treaty deepening their economic ties
3690 - Pharaz Aeterna is slain by Xoth'ug'wajin
3733 - The Saga of the Ryujin begins

From this we can see six distinct eras emerge from Zafir's history
Fae Era [Pre-38BZ] {FE}
Founding Years [38BZ - 727] {FY}
Golden Era [727-1800] {GE}
Fractured Era [1800-2700] {FrE}
Silver Era [2700-2995] {SE}
Bronze Era [3029-Present] {BE}

Another loose fragment of paper sits attached to this page:

During the Golden Era of Zafir, in the time of the reign of Llewelyn Valiullin the Second, there were many expeditions of humans set forth to the East to set up colonies. By the time of the Fractured Era these colonies would become independent nations. In time they would become Osatia, The Wilds of Kathos, and Essatia.