Over the next few generations, the Skarabraens restored order and agriculture

among the towns recovered enough to feed many people and so the population
grew. They also launched good, sound boats in order to net bountiful harvests
of ocean fish, as well as to hunt seals for both food and skin. In time, their ships
were built better and larger and could make long voyages, though they feared
to cross the sea to other lands which had not been visited for many years.

Alas, there was no unity in the land. Every town was wary and jealous of the
others. Each one maintained its own council of elders, "Archons," who gov -
erned local affairs. Those few leaders who feared the growing strength of the
barbarians and spoke for strength through unity were disregarded.

Suddenly, when least expected, the power of the Luwamnas manifested itself in
a terrible way. The covens that had fled to the wilderness had survived and
gathered about themselves the descendants of the homeless wretches who had
clung to life in the wild and who had forgotten all the civilized arts. Gradually,
the Luwamnas consolidated its control, and the day came when howling hosts
of fanatic tribesmen rushed into the land where the towns were and sacked one
The History of Mivior after another. This invasion was worse than any which Minaria knew across the
sea. The cruel and vengeful Luwamnas immolated many of their captives on
basaltic altars, all in the name and the glory of Huisinga. Those they permitted
Before the Cataclysm, the ancestral stock which would give rise to the to live labored as wretched chattel ruled by the Second Temple of Huisinga.
Miviorans dwelled far away from Minaria, across the Great Sea on the continent
of Reiken. They belonged to a mighty state called Skarabrae. We know little From all parts of Skarabrae came desperate leaders and priests to take council
more about Skarabrae than its name; the historical sources dealing with Reiken together. It was not easy to agree on anything, for they were all jealous of one
in this early period are very dim. We must carefully and judiciously sift through another. The different city leaders quarreled endlessly in debate, some urging
the mythic cycles passed down to us if we are to understand the course of trust in the gods to save the towns, some advocating dogged resistance, some
events. counseling passive surrender. At length, the councils dispatched an embassy
to the most respected oracles to help resolve the dilemma.
There existed in some of the states of Reiken a secret society called the
Luwamnas ("Black Souls") who worshipped the gods of Chaos. Their primary Said an entranced priestess: "Tukultae orders you to cross the eastern ocean
god was Huisinga, who is still worshipped in many parts of Minaria today. and seek the vast land which is beyond it. There shall you make your homes
Although not seen as ambitious or cruel in modern times, Huisinga's followers on an island where no man dwells and no city has ever stood."
in ancient Reiken gathered themselves into covens dedicated themselves to
winning power over the lives of men by any means -- sometimes even the The gods' command dismayed the Skarabraens, most of whom did not want to
harshest. Their power grew only slowly, so to frighten their fellows they made leave their homes. Some cried "False prophecy!" But wiser heads gravely dis-
prophecies that said that ruin would come if the followers of the "Change Gods," cussed the god's unambiguous command.
as they called the Chaos Gods, were not made supreme over Mankind.
Says a fragment of an ancient chronicle called the Saga of Petitinu: "In the end,
People laughed at such pretensions, but the Luwamnas' predictions seemed to the men of Kinalua and Tarmetana were the only Skarabraens who preferred
come to pass in the devastation of the Cataclysm. People who had lost much voluntary exile and the dangers of an ocean-crossing to the prospect of slavery;
came to them and begged the forgiveness of the gods. Forgiveness had to be the others remained in the places where they had been born and either made
earned, the Luwamnas said, by unquestioning obedience to the leaders of terms with the invaders or fought them as best they could. But in spite of indi-
Huisinga's Temple on the earth. Followed by mobs made of such converts, the vidual acts of courage in defense of home and family, the disunited towns of
well-organized covens successfully seized control of many devastated towns. Reiken were defeated one by one, their daughters debauched, their property
robbed, and they themselves forced to yield up their sons to immolation."
Had the Black Souls worked for the common good, or even agreed to cooper-
ate with one another, they surely would have conquered all of Reiken. Alas, But the men of Kinalua and Tarmetana, together with their families, had
their leaders regarded other covens as hated rivals and soon the covens were launched themselves upon the sea before the enemy could stop them. The
attacking one another, bringing the devastation of human violence to a world refugees soon realized that the old charts had been rendered meaningless by
already ruined by nature. The confusion in the Luwamnas camp allowed the the Cataclysm, so changed were the elevations of the stars and the islands of
free towns to strike back and they, aided by people who had lived under the the sea. The way was long and they were sometimes rocked by storms or met
Luwamnas' tyranny long enough to hate them, swept the power of the Black by adverse winds. Many refugees perished of hunger and a disease that
Souls away. Some of the latter fled into the wasteland where, people supposed, brought weakness, pain, and the loss of teeth.
they could not survive. Those who were captured were quickly put to death.

Tapestry chronicle of the refugees’ journey to the ‘Lands of Promise.’

1
Finally, the lookouts spied the swirl of seabirds in the distance, which was a sure a troubled growth, especially as the Trolls grew angrier and angrier at the
harbinger of land. The refugees steered toward the birds and soon espied a expanding settlements. Despite the confident hopes of its founders, future
level beach with trees beyond it. They poled eagerly to shore, but no sooner events would make Boran lag behind the growth of cities not yet founded.
were the boats drawn up and foragers dispatched than a war-party of gigantic
Ogres thundered from the woods wielding great clubs and slaying many before Despite the problems of the Boran colony, settlers continued to sail out from
Boliske looking for other good sites, and they especially prospered when they
settled on the southern extremity of Mivior which was called Cape Parlanda
(God's Hand). A splendid harbor on the eastern side of the peninsula was
developed and the port erected there was christened Colist ("Golden Cove").

Until the mid-Sixth Century, Miviorans had little direct contact with foreign peo-
ples, and none who were as civilized as themselves. In the days of the archon
Linir, the search for new fishing grounds encouraged adventurous young sailors
to sail farther and farther, until they discovered Zefnar, a city-state that was truly
civilized. The visit of semi-civilized men from the West intrigued the sophisti-
cated Zefnarites. For their part, the Miviorans marveled to see a town so vast
and rich that it reminded them of the Skarabrae towns of legend.

Over the next generation, Zefnarite traders paid call on Mivior, first at Colist and
later at Boliske itself. As trade goods the Mivioran could offer crafts, fish, cop-
per, wine, and resins, all items marketable in Zefnar. But this commerce was
minor. Even though Zefnar impressed the Miviorans, it was a young town and
its merchant fleet was still only rudimentary.

Before long, the Zefnarite visits took on a sinister aspect; slaving vessels began
to raid Mivior's coastal villages. The archon Barnas reacted to the emergency
by garrisoning the most likely targets, but the Zefnarites always struck when the
defenders were elsewhere. Many Mivioran subjects were hauled away in for-
eign boats to endure a hard life across the sea.

Driven to stiffer measures, Barnas gave orders to seize the next Zefnarite ship
Deep-draft warship with both bow and stern catapults (Naval text illustration) to enter Boliske. As it happened, it was an honest trader, but the Miviorans felt
justified in forcing the crew to remain and teach them to make ships to defend
themselves with. The sailors were given wives and treated well, but had to
the exiles could regain the boats and push off into the sea. instruct the fishermen in modern seamanship while local carpenters carefully
studied their vessel's construction.
From Ogre Land the bruised and despairing flotilla made its weary, hungry way
southeastward, occasionally stopping on tiny islands for provisions, but always Every person contributed to the project all he was able to, and eventually the
discouraged by the presence of savages or the ruins of ancient towns in any Miviorans learned to launch sailing vessels capable of pursuing slaving galleys
place fit to settle -- a certain sign that these were not the good lands promised when they were sighted. After a couple of decades the Mivioran fleet had grown
to them by Tukultae. effective enough to deter Zefnarite raids. The disappointed slavers shifted their
operations to Soraskier (ancient Hothior), where the many disunited tribes
At long last, the refugees spied a school of kartika fish off the shoals of a broad- offered easier prey.
beached island, beyond which loomed a mountainous coast. Landing parties
could see that the isle had only lately been reared up from the sea bottom and When their ships were no longer needed for protection, the Miviorans imitated
reported that this was a land which had never before known man or his works. the Zefnarites by making trading visits to nearby lands, especially Soraskier. So
The priests of Tukultae observed the omens and declared that they had arrived rapidly did Mivioran society advance in this period that by the early Seventh
at the land of promise. The exiles therefore resolved to settle there, naming it Century the young kingdom was already moving out of its old parochial ways.
after the sacred holiday on which it was first sighted, "Boliske." The larger land The time soon came when its seamen were carrying cargo even to Zefnar and
beyond it they called the land of "Mivior," the land of "Great Promise." (Mivae = Parros. The wealth generated by trade in turn supported a larger navy and an
promise, Ior = great). increasingly formidable army. At first the army was used to make the precincts
of Boran safe from the Trolls, but, later, overpopulation led Mivior into an expan-
The refugees erected their first rude huts, and chose a leader from among the sionist war east of the Shaker Mountains.
wisest men who had survived the cruel crossing to preside as chief over the
town council, their new "archon." In time the council would take a new name, There the Miviorans met weak tribes of very primitive barbarians that scattered
the Latta, and only the leader of the archon would retain the old name, which at their army's approach, but resistance stiffened when expansion reached the
Miviorans now use for the word "king." Bad Axe Forest. There an alliance of tribes called the Milkyaten Confederacy
opposed further advance. The border of the Bad Axe would, in fact, become the
One of the early archons, Wilusar, recognized that fish to eat and huts to dwell eastern-most limit of Mivioran control.
in was not enough. He feared that his people would forget the civilized ways of
home and become ignorant barbarians. He feared, too, that their written lan- In 661 a powerful earthquake struck Boliske, slaying the archon in his castle.
guage would soon be forgotten. Thus he charged the priesthood to become the The seat of government then moved to Colist, where the ground was more sta-
keepers of the traditions and the teachers of the people. They must also assure ble and which had already surpassed Boliske in population and wealth.
that every acolyte could read and write, and in their own time continue to instruct Furthermore, Colist was the center of trade, and already the vigorous new mer-
the laity. chant class was eclipsing the burghers who still dominated in provincial Boliske.
The next archon, Nahonnon, was merchant born and bred; he dispensed many
For the next two centuries, Boliske supported its small Mivioran population, but favors and titles to members of his own class, which soon became the dominant
by 452 A.C. the population had grown large enough that colonists from Boliske social force in Mivior.
were dispatched to the mainland where they built the fort of Boran.
Unfortunately, Boran -- ringed by mountains and forests, beset by frequent land The kingdom remained a relatively free and open society, but property holdings
tremors, and populated by unfamiliar non-humans called Trolls, always enjoyed were a prerequisite to social status. The well-born wastrel who lost his inheri-

2
tance usually fell back into the vulgar ranks, since titles were not hereditary.
Likewise, a common workman with imagination and enterprise might take to The general is mounted and rides up the street,
trade and become a wealthy man; his son might meet the property requirements The horns they are sounding, the drums they are beat.
to be dubbed a count. From hillock and farmstead he gathers his swords,
In a land that is sick of its wizards and lords.
At the end of the Seventh Century, the Miviorans observed with consternation
that the Zefnarites were building a permanent market town in Soraskier, at the There are lords beyond Durga and lords beyond Kouth;
head of Kartika Bay. Over the next few reigns, Mivioran governments persist- Tho' slaves fill the Northland, there are men in the South.
ently intrigued against Zefnar's influence there, even fighting the Soraskier War, There's the brave Gorvahani, three thousand or near,
a conflict which was almost wholly naval. At length, both parties realized the The Nevas, the Lamans, and the Swanda of Zir!
strife was ruining trade and so they signed a truce, but cutthroat competition
went on in the economic sphere. Then, away to the swampland, the woods, and the plains,
Ere we honor a tyrant we'll lie with the slain!
When Zefnar found the tribes less pliant than before, it tried to solidify its posi- Ride onward, march forward, no matter the toll,
tion in Soraskier by force of arms. Mivior took the natives' side and provided Till the last Temple wizard is dragged from his hole.
them with arms and advice. The native forces soon proved themselves too
strong for the Zefnarites, who withdrew. That event marked the establishment At home, meanwhile, a new wave of land-hunger possessed the Miviorans.
of a new native state which took the name of Hothior. Mivior remained on good Accordingly, an expeditionary force landed north of Serpent Bay and dispersed
terms for a long while and traded lucratively with the robust new kingdom. the barbarian peoples who occupied it. In a surprise second-stage attack, they
moved in on Troll Land from north and south together, sacking the Face and
In the ensuing centuries, Mivioran ships ranged widely, far to the northwest and annexing the whole shore of Serpent Bay, an act which aroused Trollish anger
the south, even south of Skull Island. But wherever they went, they kept their much more than the more distant settlements near Boran.
discoveries secret. Frequently they published false stories of lost fleets and
frightening tales of Ogres, cannibals, and burning seas, to discourage rivals The northern aggression embroiled Mivior in a war with Elfland, which held the
from going where Mivioran vessels were already operating. They especially coast sacred to its pilgrims. Routed, the Elves eventually made a surly overture
shrouded in secrecy their eventual return to Reiken. for peace and the archon Tabal offered them generous terms, hoping to cozen
the Elves into a normal trading relationship -- with limited success.
One of the few sources for information of these convert explorations is The
Westward Voyages by Arnult, a former clerk in the royal trading office who read During the first half of the Tenth Century, Mivior suffered through a gloomy time
the secret reports and wrote down what he memorized. He understandably had economically. Pirates based on the Golkus had become strong enough to harry
to go into voluntary exile and settle in Parros to escape the vengeance of his merchantmen working the waters south of Colist. Furthermore, trade with the
own government. In 1203, a year after Arnult's book reached Rombune, the first coastal cities was interrupted by their domination by desert conquerors, the
Rombuni trading expedition reached Reiken. Mivioran retaliation would curtail Wisnyos. Matters became worse when Hothior all but succumbed to their light-
Rombuni adventures of that time, but at the price of long-lived antagonism. ning attacks.

The first successful voyage to Reiken occurred in the mid- Ninth Century. It had Ruthless amphibious attacks on the pirate bases and the decay of the Wisnyo
taken a new-model, deep-draft ship to cross the storm-tossed ocean safely. dynasty improved matters somewhat, but a far worse catastrophe lay in store.
The sailors discovered a blighted coast whose people were kept in an abysmal Officially, the invasion of the "abominations of the land and the horrors of the air"
dark age by the degenerate descendants of the Luwamnas. Driven to rage by goes unexplained. But a parchment in Parros, written by an unknown hand,
the threats and insults of their ancestral enemies, the Mivioran seamen rioted gives a strange story:
and slew the Luwamnas lord whose fief they were visiting. Though a feared
wizard, he had been too debauched and lazy to study the defensive spells of his In Reiken, the Luwamnas lords began to fear that their cause was lost and in
ancestors. The enslaved Reikenites welcomed their liberation and declared a desperation delved into horrific magicks. They came upon a spell too terrible to
new state, Haliyas. They sought arms and counsel from the Miviorans to defend unleash in Reiken, but saw in it the means to avenge themselves against Mivior.
their lately-won freedom, since other Luwamnas lords were watching their ris-
ing with alarm. In the mid-Tenth Century, a huge black-and-gold barge anchored off Cape
Parlanda. From its deck powerful Luwamnas magicians howled their invoca-
A secret crusade began in Reiken about which Minarians received only garbled tions to the Gods of Change. By their dimension-warping spells, they rent a por-
hints. Many of Mivior's devout men and propertyless younger sons were drawn tal into a ghastly plane and out of it poured hellish fiends of every size and
to Reiken to have an adventure and make their fortune. On one side of the description.
struggle was righteous zeal and a good navy; on the other was yet-potent mag-
icks and large mobs of unthinking slaves. Gradually the revolt spread and other Thousands died and thousands more raced in fear to the strong castle of Colist.
small independent states were formed and joined cause with Haliyas, prominent The pursuing abominations gripped the lofty battlements in scaly tentacles, beat
among them being Zir. upon the towers until the mortar cracked or, indeed, vaulted over the walls on
membranous wings to slay the crowds in the teeming streets. By a secret way,
War is hard on men but good for songs. This is true even of wars as far away the archon Chalybes fled the city and plunged into the Shaker Mountains.
as the continent of Reiken. Here is a popular ballad from Zir's war of inde-
pendence. Weeks later, the warlocks and witches aboard the black barge were watching
the havoc being wrought on the west shore of Kartika Bay, when an azure sail
appeared to the north. The priests of Huisinga, who had destroyed many
enemy ships before, laughed at the approach of still another. As the vessel
skimmed into range, the Luwamnas let forth a burst of sorcerous fire, but to their
astonishment it was dispersed harmlessly. Next they summoned a hurricane to
tear timber from timber, but the violent winds fell still and the ship glided swiftly
through. Now the grappling lines struck the barge and a hundred armed men
The Ballad of Sadyhas came screaming over the sides, wild for vengeance. At their head charged
Chalybes, the Talisman of Dispel swinging on his throat. He had made the haz -
To the chiefs of the Zirites brave Sadyhas spoke: ardous trip to the distant Temple of Kings and had been rewarded with a gift
"Ere Reiken is won there are lords to be broke. from the Gods of Fate.
"Let each man of Zir who a hero would be
"Ride hard for the standard that means liberty!' With the magicians massacred, the door to the abominable plane drifted out of

3
 the Luwamnas still raging. There were free nations
now, but the Luwamnas had learned to defend them-
selves with greater economy of force. The sides had
utterly failed to find any mutual accommodation over
the last century. Interestingly, the renewed support
available from Mivior took the sense of fear out of the
Reikenites and the tempo of the war slowed down, but
did not end.

Interestingly, when the last of the Luwamnas principal-

ities appeared to be very weak, they found political pro-
tectors stepping forward among the states of Reiken.
They were ready to defy erstwhile allies in the expec -
tation that having Luwamnas pawns as junior partners
might be useful. But in the complex politics of the era,
the Luwamnas still sustained attacks and, when their
last ally sold them out for other gains, their thousand-
year Temple was extinguished. The year was 1287.
The surviving wizards joined many of their kind already
in hiding or in exile around the continent.

It is also said that the mightiest of these last wizards

departed from Reiken on the winds of the storm and
founded a new principality in far-southern Girion.
Whether this was true or not, for a hundred years after
the end of Luwamnas power in Reiken persons were
still being accused of secret Luwamnas affiliations and
being executed. We know now that many were ordi-
nary Reikenites wrongly convicted in a hysterical cli-
mate. Typically enough, it is thought by some
Reikenites that the Luwamnas school of magic still
lurks in Reiken's dark corners plotting a return to
power.

Some of the Reikenite states, including Haliyas, Zir,

and Datassa, dispatched consuls to Minarian king-
doms discussing, among other matters, trade. Mivior
was dismayed, since it had just fought a war with
Map of the Westward Seas and continent of Reiken as copied by Arnult Rombune to protect the insularity of Reiken.
control and touched upon Hothior. Its denizens destroyed that country and the Nonetheless, it remained the major power in the Great-
territories beyond before the spell waned, closing the portal for all time. Sea trade.
Fortunately, the creatures which had come through could not breed in an alien
dimension and perished within a half-century. At home, Mivior suffered several strikes, as the plebeian classes protested their
exclusion from the governing circles. A temporary seizure of Boliske by an
Chalybes set sail for Boliske, but a tempest wrecked his ship and only a few insurgent party convinced sage heads that reforms were necessary. Only a
men escaped the sea to tell a tale that could not be confirmed. state with so mobile a society as Mivior's would have suffered the problem, or
dealt with it so boldly and without repression. Representation was given to the
Curiously enough, the Minarian cult of Huisinga has legends regarding a great more important elements of the masses and the strength of the nation was
ship which was sent from Reiken by the god to bring word of his love to Minaria. accordingly enhanced.
The destruction of this ship is mourned and the death of a much-admired early
saint, Brother Prayaga, is commemorated. The scriptures also mention a num- Trade with Elfland had waxed and waned for many years. The ascent of
ber of others aboard the ship, including Saints Tanaro and Sankari, the latter Boewenn to the High Princeship turned relations hostile and precipitated an
being the most beloved and who has many shrines in her memory across north- Elven attack. Addat was destroyed and many Miviorans were massacred.
ern Minaria, including one near Lone Wirzor which displays an inscription in old Fortunately, the archon Netros made common cause with other invaded king-
Reikenite, Maklac trushka Sankarati, which translates, "Sankari slept here." doms, turned the Elves back, and even joined in the sack of Ider Bolis,
Boewenn's capital.
For the next century, Mivior lay prostrate. Abominations left the south ruined,
while a tribe of Ogres, the Goleuddydd (Skull Crushers), made a rare raid into After the war, Mivior rebuilt and prospered. Although forced to cast a wary eye
human lands, destroying Addat. The Trolls chose this as their hour of their on the Ogres, who were slowly extending their territory east until it impinged
vengeance. They besieged and pillaged Boran and took back the eastern shore upon the petrified forest of Stump Hole, tensions relaxed on the Trollish frontier.
of Serpent Bay. Wars in later generations failed to regain this last conquest for In fact, after the translation of some Trollish oral poetry into Mivioran by the
Mivior. scholar Mosinon, it became popular as acted out on the stage, even as Trollish
crafts became a fad.
Fortunately, Boliske stood as a nucleus of Mivioran civilization and, when the
time of invasions was past, men rolled up their sleeves and set to work. They In the year 1251 another great disaster struck Mivior, as indeed it struck the
rebuilt Colist, Addat, and Boran as naval bases, since Rombune, Zefnar, and whole coast of southern Minaria. A great tidal wave did tremendous damage to
Parros were mounting slaving raids along Mivior's long coast. A revitalized navy Mivioran ships at sea, and also to the ports of Mivior. Of all the best ports, only
put an end to the menace and Mivioran trade revived. Addat escaped serious damage. The physical damage and loss in life in Colist
was worse than anything which had befallen the city since the attack of the
When they were able to return in strength to Reiken, they found the war against abominations three hundred years earlier. Depression and hardship was
Mivior's lot for the next decade, at which time its trade fell behind Rombune,

4
which had been less devastated. Rombune even violated its 50-year-old treaty
and began direct trade with Reiken during the period of Mivior's weakness.
Later on, attempts to drive its rival from Reiken angered the Reikenites them-
selves, who boycotted trade with Mivior until the latter was forced to make a
treaty favorable to Rombune.

Upon the death of the archon Mozuel, the electors debated and after a few days
named a young count as his successor. This was Nualt, whose father had
founded the great Nikalmati Shipping House, and whose grandfather had been
a cook upon the high seas.

During Nualt's reign to date, Mivior has engaged in the usual array of short wars
and lesser conflict, while seeking new means for economic expansion in peace-
time. With Rombune dominating the Girion trade and other states gaining
shares of the Reiken markets with the Reikenites' own encouragement, Mivior
seems to have gone into a period of low-confidence, though outwardly the
state's power appears undiminished.

In 1371 a serious plague infested the port towns of Minaria, but did not spread
far inland. Mivior, along with its maritime rivals, was hard-hit.

But troubles come and troubles go. Mivior has met and mastered many hard
tests during its long history, and its well-demonstrated resilience and adaptabil-
ity probably assures a resurgence of power, wealth, and prestige in the century
to come.