In the heart of Macinar, rests the cursed Kingdom of Chimarus. Ages ago it was a thriving beautiful country with brimming cities, plentiful resources, and the finest horses in the Five Kingdoms. This in particular is why the war of the five kingdoms took place. While the other four Kingdoms struggled through poor trade, poor weather, and constant war, Chimarus thrived in peace. Jealousy and panic made the leaders of the four bordering lands act out in an effort to save their people. The war for Chimarus began. Since the beginning of Macinar, this has been the first and last recorded civil war in which all five Kingdoms battled each other.
No one to this day can fully explain what forces were involved in the end of the War of the Five Kingdom's, but all agree that it was a power that forever changed Macinar. Many believe Sigmas himself was furious at the selfish actions of his children, as they turned on their brother and sister in war.
On the eve of the second Grey Moon the storm began. For ten days the skies poured down boiling hot rain, huge jagged shards of ice, and of course pillars of burning white flame. The "Rain of White Flames" tore the land of Chimarus appart, and ended the war that seized Macinar. To this day the dark clouds still hang over Chimarus, and still pour out flame and ice and chaos, from time to time. There is but one bastion left where men strive in all of Chimarus. The ancient structure known as Dragon Flame Keep. The lord of this Keep is by law deemed the King of all Chimarus, even if not in their own system of government. To them he is a Lord, but in other lands he is held to the rank of King.
The History of Dragon Flame Keep- Decades before the Rain of White Flame, a group of traveling Paladins of Sigmas came across the structure. It's fortifications and location made for a perfect military stronghold. Chanting praise to Sigmas, the knights ventured in to claim the abandoned fortress in the name of Chimarus and the Father of the Five. When they reached the depths of its halls they found that it had in fact not been abandoned. They found an army of ogres, gnolls, and orcs that outnumbered them 100 to 1. In efforts to flee before their entire holy order was fodder to the dark forces, a divine force saved them. Out from the sacred mountain that overlooks the keep, came one of the old ones. A gleaming gold dragon, whose wings blocked out the sun, and whose flames burned down the dark army. The fortress was filled with the dragons fire breath, utterly destroying all inside, save for the servants of Sigmas. The flames did not burn their skin, nor harm their belongings. It was believed that the last of the Dragons had died centuries ago, but the records show that all the knights beheld it and survived it. When the evil army had fallen, the knights looked up to shout thanks to the golden savior, but it was not their. All that remained was a burning flame on the keeps highest tower. The last remnant of the Dragons Fire. To this day the fire still burns in a sacred brazier atop the Keeps tower, shedding a warm light that keeps the structure safe from the chaotic weather of the endless Chimarian storm. When the knights went back into the depths of the Keep, they found what the Evil beasts had been protecting. A Dragons Horde, stacked high to the ceiling in the bowels of the great keep. This endless supply of coin has kept the Keep going since these events centuries ago, and the Men who live their believe it to be a final gift from the golden one who saved them and granted them the keep as their home. Generations have passed, and once Chimarus fell the soldiers stationed at the Keep were forced to turn their stronghold into a civilization, with women, children, smiths, cooks, and families the soldiers protect from the madness that rules the land. Living in such conditions has hardened the soldiers and made them the strongest in all of Macinar. The knights do nothing but fight the endless enemies who seek to take their home, and protect the sacred fire that holds their history. When a new leader is elected to rule Dragon Flame Keep, it is also the fire that chooses. He who is not burned by the Dragons Flame is believed to be the Dragon's Chosen, and direct decedent from the original men who found it. The highest ranking Knights plunge their blades into the fire before battle, and use the flame to smite their enemies. At least one must return to re-light the flame or the magic will be gone forever. This has yet to be the case.
All of this is simply stories and the writings of men from ages ago. There are few left who would even begin to believe the existance of "Dragons" at any point in Macinar's History.
There is one other city that survived the Rain of White Flames, and still has standing structures. This is the huge city of Aurhiel. While the city survived, the citizens perished. Under the darkest cloud of the Chaos Storm, the city decayed and grew dark. Such a great evil washed over this once beautiful town, that the souls who rested their grew twisted. Now it stands as home to the walking dead. A Necropolis of dead signians, beings of pure shadow, skeletons, and who or whatever leads and controls them.
The rest of Chimarus is filled with the ruins of old human cities. Great cracks divide the land in some places, while freezing cold snow and mighty glaciers cut the earth in others. One of the most dangerous and unpredictable regions in Chimarus is the norther volcanic fields. The great mountains here belch out smoke and magma night and day, and have melted the land away to nothing more than burning stone and pillars of ash. This region is known as the Deldendra'Kratuul. It is now home to Salamanders, Fire Giants, and other twisted minions of fire.
Since the war of the Five Kingdoms, no attempt at map making has taken place in all of Chimarus. Any attempts have no doubt ended in death, and those strong enough to walk the land usually care not for such tasks as Cartography. The Chaos and Fire that rains down on this land has no doubt altered the landscape in such a way that any past maps made are now useless. It is a wonder how the people of Macinar sleep so well at night, and thrive so passionately, when this burning dark cancer of a land rests at the heart of their world.
An Breif Recording of the "Rain of White Flames" as dated just after "The War of the Five Kingdoms"
Writen in 1733A.S in the season of the Red Moon- By Master Historian Lady Mendra Al'Mera
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