History of the Lands

I have been commissioned, by the remnants of the Lundor family, to compose
the most accurate history available concerning the territory that shall be
herein referred to as Illcara, with inclusions made for it’s rise, reign,
and eventual fall. There are various aged documents, affidavits and accounts
housed in the Royal Archives, and I have taken pains to sort through them,
validate them, and separate the wheat from the chaff. That being said,
because of the hasty nature of the departure of all things living, and the
unresponsiveness I have encountered when attempting Spirit Farewells and the
like, many specific details remain unknown. I shall begin with the early
history of the Kingdom, or at least what was maintained by oral tradition
during it’s reign.

    Origin of The Kingdom of Illcara

    Oral tradition of the Illcarian people maintained that the Kingdom began
circa 328. It was told that three cousins, Zanka Lundor, Micos Sylune, and
Gregory Tilia, had become extraordinarily successful merchants. Tilia and
his sons were excellent traders and merchants; fair to a fault, but with a
keen eye. Micos and his sons were all skilled warriors, and more than
capable of guarding the caravans along there routes. Zanka and his offspring
performed accounting and managerial duties, ensuring that the proper
shipments were made, adjusting prices as need be, and otherwise looking
after the well being of the collective business. In 328, the Trading Company
of Lundor, Sylune, and Tilia directly purchased 72 Sq. Miles of land from
the Evendarrian government to serve as there head of operations. Due to
there enormous success, the collection of brick dwellings quickly swelled
into a city-state, and with rapid migration and expansion, by the year 335
it consisted of 4 castles, 17 town halls, numerous dwellings, and expansive
farmlands. In 350, Zanka Lundor declared himself the First King of the
Kingdom of Illcara, and gave his cousins status as Lords. Evandarr did not
contest the claim, but welcomed the new alley and nurtured there progress.

    Reign of the Kingdom of Illcara

    The lands of Illcara were fertile and lush, owing to a most appreciable
climate with long growing seasons and mild, temperate winters. They
maintained supple trade routes with local Kingdoms and rarely allowed any
form of rivalries to last. Remaining records show that there was an
attempted coup on the throne in 455, but little information exists as to
it’s nature. The Three Royal Families of Illcara were the Lundors, who
generally served as administrators, the Sylune, who generally served as
military and guards, and the Tilians, who formed the bulk of the actual
merchants and traders. As is customary in most modern kingdoms, Noble status
could be granted to commoners, and by way of knighthood they were granted
the name of the family to whom they swore fealty. Obviously, membership of a
specific family did not always guarantee skill in the usually attributed
area, and thus it was not unheard of for a Tilians to take up a sword, a
Sylune to show talents at government, or a Lundor to become and ample
trader. However, it seems historically uncommon for one of the members of
the families to be inept at any of the three prized skills. That is to say,
it went unrecorded. The Kingdom flourished as such for well over 170 years,
till it’s fall.

    The Fall of the Kingdom of Illcara

    521 was a black year for Illcara, and slated by many as the beginning of
the end. A supply caravan returned from the town of Simil. They had found
nothing but a black patch of earth and a few building foundations where the
town had stood just weeks earlier. A unit of the finest Sylune Guardsmen
were deployed immediately to the area to investigate, punish those
responsible, and report back. Eight days after there deployment, the Captain
of the units severed head was found at the bedside of Lord Baalthasar
Sylune, General of the Armies of Illcara. Most disturbingly, no traces of
entry or exit were found in the castle. He ordered a Delve History ritual be
performed on the head. It was performed by the Archmage Thaddeus Lundor, who
shortly thereafter blinded himself with his ritual dagger, and took his own
life later that night, never to reveal the contents of his visions.
Baalthasar immediately mobilized all forces available, cannibalizing the
town guards to provide more troops. On the third day of there march, he
received a desperate Whispering Winds from an Archmage at Castle Lundor,
informing him that, in the absence of the town guard and standing army, an
undead force had laid siege to the capital city, and were rapidly adding the
townspeople to there own ranks. Overcome with the grief of his decision, he
fell on his own sword shortly thereafter. What followed was a series of
utter catastrophes. Each city was decimated half a day before troops could
be deployed to defend it, and in less than two weeks time well over two
thirds of the Kingdom of Illcara lay in total ruin. It was on a cold January
night in 522 when the amassed army finally took on the enemy that had
murdered there families and burned there homes. A legion of Vampires,
Ghouls, Wraiths and assorted Greater Undead descended upon the weary force
late in the night. At there approach, an eighth of the Illcarian armies
turned on there brethren for reasons still unknown. Some speculate at the
vampiric ability to take control of mortal minds, which is the best theory
to date. The battle, or slaughter, lasted nearly two hours, during which a
mere 140 troops escaped. The remaining troops fled as quickly as they could
to the only remaining inhabited city, Menka, a border town, and fled to
Evandarr. They were accepted as refugees, but Evendarrian troops could find
no signs of the attacking army in the two expeditions sent to investigate.
The refugees sorrowfully accepted the loss of there kingdom, and pushed on
to create new lives in Evandarr.

The Kingdom of Illcara and it’s descendants, Present

    In the past few years, several of the descendants of the Illcarian people
have been lobbying and attempting to gather together troops and settlers to
retake there ancestral lands, although the wisdom of such an action is
questionable at best. Still, they have drawn an amount of support from the
remaining descendants, and have managed to hire reasonable mercenary forces
to man the expedition. Only the future will tell weather this will be the
second coming of the Illcarian Kingdom, or an ill fated fit of nostalgia.



Bibliography


 1. Affidavit of Markus Sylune, House Guard, 523
2. Journal of Capt. Duran Sylune (495-522)
3. Affidavit of Emanuel Tilia, Caravan Master, 522
4. “A Detailed History of Lands and Kingdoms Foreign to Evandarr” Lucius
Antara, 584
5. “A History of the Incursions of the Minions of Chaos” Bette Luca, 548
6 Affidavit of Sir Samuel Lundor, Knight of the House of Lundor, 522
7. “Oral Tradition and Local Folklore” Amar Katta, 565
8. Spirit Farewell of Mather Lundor, Maid of Castle Lundor, 482-522,
performed late 522