History of Polvora

Below is the history of Polvora.

Pre-Polvora

Long before the founding of the Polvora, the Gibral Peninsula was an untamed wilderness with no structure or society. That would change when an Ayud named Armonia crashed down to the surface. This Ayud took the form of a man and begun to spread his wisdom. Eventually, Armonia settled and lived out a normal life, marrying and having children. These children were born with extraordinary magical powers, and the powerful Armonia Clan was founded.

Soon, the other tribes became jealous of the Armonia Clan's gifts, and wars were fought for centuries when these other tribes begun to track down and abduct descendants of Armonia so that they could one day acquire their abilities. Soon, the Ayud bloodline would spread across a multitude of clans, but few could claim to be direct descendants.

Almost 1,000 years after these events, a male and female from opposing clans fell in love with each other and married. Soon, an alliance between the tribes of Gibral was forged and a campaign to conquer the other tribes began. The Polvora Empire was founded, and their first course of action was to begin a Unification War to bring together the other tribes of the peninsula. They succeeded, and the empire entered a golden age of prosperity.

Dawn of Polvora

During this time, Polvora prospered and saw technological increase. Architecture became more complex allowing for the construction of fortresses and castles made of stone. It was during this time that the Polvoran Templars was founded. The Polvoran Templars were an ancient order of knights officially endorsed by the Church of the Patriarch. From the Picos Barbarians, the Templars would seek to claim the Amacata Desert which was then known as the Holy Land - named so because the Ayud Armonia first arrived in that location.

The most famous battle of these crusades was the battle atop the snowy Picos Mountains. It was here at this climactic battle where the Picos Barbarians were driven away, and the Templars would finally claim the Ayud Crater for themselves.

Demon Wars

Main article: Demon Wars

The Polvoran front of the war took place mainly in the Amacata Desert. The final victory of the war was in the Battle of Tangmal City.

Great Schism

In the years following the War of Khyorgan, a wealth of divine and magical knowledge became available to study as wizards began to study the workings behind the portals the demons used to invade. During these studies, the identity of the Patriarch Spirit was discovered to not be an omnipotent, all-powerful entity, but in fact a tangible being: a god named Patrius who was a member of the Celestial Council. While this did confirm that their god was in fact real, his divinity was called into question by some in that Patrius was not as powerful as Armonia had preached him to be. This led to conspiracy and cover-up for at least several decades until the truth was leaked out.

When the Patriarch's identity was leaked to the public, the Covenant divided approximately in half - those that continued to believe that the Patriarch was omnipotent, distant and all-powerful: the Orthodoxy, and those that saw him as non-omnipotent, yet tangible and real: the New Adventists. While the difference seems minor at a glance, the basis of these two beliefs led to completely divergent life styles and worldviews.

The tensions between these sects have healed over time, but Polvora still remains scarred from the initial bloodshed and conflict that resulted.

Colonization of South Nautilus Isles

With the cities becoming overpopulated, the Polvorish monarchy looked to the seas to expand their empire. Explorers were sent all across the world, though Polvora was particularly interested in building its empire in the southern seas where dozens of islands lay. They had initially established settlements on these islands to trade with the natives. The surge in profits and goods along with the discovery of Segaran magitek led to greater industrialization of many of Polvora's settlements.

Economic decline

Eventually, trade became slow and less profitable when the natives were refusing to part with their more valuable goods for reasonable prices. When the economy was on the brink of collapse, there was discord among the population. The then current prince of Polvora usurped his father to take matters into his own hands - planning to control the island assets by force. Thus, he lay siege to the South Nautilus Isles, sending fleets to capture the islands one by one and transform the trading outposts into colonies.

The campaign has led to civil strife. The Loyalists are active supporters of the war, believing that the prosperity of Polvora should be shared with the islands. The Volveros Party, named after the former admiral Anton Volveros, are actively opposed to the war as they work to sabotage much of the empire's efforts.

Volveros Revolution

Main article: Volveros Revolution

Colonization of Amacata

With relations to the Kesuma Isles shattered and the Royal princess too inexperienced to rule directly, Polvora suffered a period of hardship as they struggled to recoup from the losses of the war. With guidance from the emissaries of Bara, a prime minister was eventually chosen to deal with political matters, and to make sure the forthcoming Queen was ready to resume her rule.

One of the prime minister's first decisions was to focus colonization on the Amacata Desert which was largely untouched by the Volveros Revolution. It was not long before large deposits of Piasite were discovered in the region leading to the Amacata Piasite Rush. The vigorous competition eventually led to the development of railroads to cross the vast desert.

---