Desert Wars

The Kingdom of Turath had a long and storied history until its destruction. From humble beginnings as a scattered tribal covenant to a huge, wealthy nation, the people of the Corrolt Desert have proven that it is possible to thrive even in the humblest of conditions.

This thriving, however, often came about at the detriment of more resource-rich countries. Ethasadril and Fornmidr, border nations of Turath at one time or another, lost the most to the nation. Finally, the Marran Empire, wroth with the Kingdom over its wanton treatment of Enclaves, sought to crush it – and succeeded.

The First War

According to myth, the verogod Savulcian once wandered into the scattered tribes of Turath, and became infatuated with the chieftain, a dravic woman named Makaria. The lovestruck verogod made promises of an empire to the skeptical leader, and in an uncharacteristic display of loyalty, acted upon these oaths. Carving a new river from the sea, and a basin around a massive chunk of Fahrstone to house Lake Hjar, Savulcian established a prime location for a capital city and installed Makaria as the first queen.

Centuries passed, and the empire burgeoned with the will of a verogod at its heart. Soon, Turath was poised to expand beyond the Blasted Gate – then a small isthmus – westward into Ethasadril. However, the magic of the Eladrin kept the spears and shields of the Turathi at bay.

Again, the intervention of Savulcian would bring power to the tribes. The verogod looked upon his chosen and blessed, or perhaps cursed, them with the gift of the arcane. Warlocks from their regiments soon brought the war to an even stalemate, and the tensions between the nations held for forty years, until a black ship broke through the surface of Lake Hjar and the Marran Empire made itself known to Turath. Forced into a corner by a war on two fronts, the Turathi supreme general proposed an alliance with their ancient rivals, the ascre, in return for land along the lake itself. With the help of the martial nomads, Turath finally emerged from the Marran front victorious, and was free to follow its ambition upon the western isthmus.

Despite great success in Turath due to the ascre, the attacks were unsuccessful. The Turathi were unable to push north into Fornmidr nor expand west into Ethasadril. A treaty was signed with the dwarven and eladrin rulers, and a semblance of peace was established.

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The Second War

The uneasy truce lasted for some time, eventually becoming meaningless when a great shift moved Fornmidr to the north and broke Ethasadril free of the Letier continent. The War of the Dragon burned in the East, with the other reptilian nations finally coming to a truce over the handling of Enclaves. Turath, invited to the Confederacy peace talks, refused to sign. As the owners of a large sum of Enclaves, they were in a powerful position. The Marran Empire could not afford to let the country spurn the treaty.

Again, the ascre and reptilians proved too much for the mages of Vaumark, but the focus of the fleet was not the conquest of the empire. Without a precedent for such an attack as was to come, the Turathi elite guard in the city was unable to prevent apocalypse. Although a regiment commanded by Hammer of Turath succeeded in destroying all but a fraction of the Marran marines, nothing could be done to stop the detonation of a massive Grand Fahrstone. An enormous gate to the Nine Hells tore through the city, and an infernal Rakshashi queen emerged to claim the city for her own. The emperor Haelphon, chosen of Savulcian, was equally powerless, and taken as a prize by the devils. Beaten and out of options, the nobility that had not been dominated by the nether armies fled the desert, unable to escape with more than their lives.

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Hellscape

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