History of Gold

Pre-History

Gold in its earliest stages was inhabited by spread-out tribes, who lived in lands protected by various Gods, who vowed to keep the lands safe from the chaos of Heaven's Contention. The most highly recognized at the time was Bai Kai, a great sky dragon who commanded powerful winds. He was joined by Yin, the Tree Dragon of the west, and Yang, the Cavern Dragon of the south. Known as the Twin Dragons of Gold, these lesser known dragons were bound to the land quite literally - the Tree Dragon grew from the dirt it sprung from, and the Cavern Dragon was bound to the depths, unable to leave the valley it ruled.

These dragons protected the people from the threats of monsters and Gods who sought to take over the land of Gold. However, even the strong winds of Bai Kai were unable to keep the dominance of Zera from reaching Gold shores, and the demonic God would snuff the wind dragon's gales for good. Soon too would he bury the Cavern Dragon, and hedge the Tree Dragon, leaving Gold without its three guardians, securing it as his domain.

... For a brief time. A legendary hero known as Ryart would, despite being a mortal, challenge Zera. The futility evident, Zera granted Ryart a hero's death. Ryart's bravery was said to have touched the goddess Mercala, whose tears revived him and transformed into a Golden Dragon, rivaling Zera in both size and strength. The two were said to have fought over the sea as Ryart carried Zera back to Alstalsia, leading to the final battle of Heaven's Contention, where both Ryart and Zera were felled by each other.

Despite the threat of Zera being stopped for good, the peoples of Gold grieved for their fallen Gods. They would work tirelessly, creating shrines for each of them where they were laid to rest. Since Ryart died on the Godly Stage in Alstalsia, his shrine was instead created at the north of Gold, with whatever scales they could find. The placement was no coincidence; it served as the 'barrier' between Gold and Alstalsia, symbolically shielding, just as Ryart did.

Chataran Occupation (AR 30-70)

The early decades following the Great Reckoning were not any kinder to Gold. Chataran colonists had spread across the Great Six with their advanced knowledge of ships and weaponry, and gained claims wherever they could. Gold was ill-prepared, and before many years passed, a large majority of their tribes in the north had been subjugated. The native people were forced into slavery. They would mine out their lands and cut down their forests for the benefit of Chaturanga, even having to construct their conquerers' homes.

The Gold expedition was headed by House Gelphine, a name that grew relatively infamous even within Kysei, due to the distaste with their methods. The results could not be argued with, and as long as they provided Chaturanga with a large import of foreign materials, their influence would only continue to grow. For half a century, House Gelphine made northern Gold their home.

First Contact with Alstalsia (AR 70-73)

Not content to simply let Kysei's power and realms increase, Alstalsia was determined to duplicate their success. Although House Gelphine had great control of northern Gold, the continent was large, and Alstalsia decided to strike from the south. Exploratory forces settled on the south shores of Gold, near southern villages settled around the Shrine of Yang, known collectively as Yang's Spear. The Alstalain forces wanted to quickly make their presence known to the locals.

After some initially successful conflicts, they eventually bit off more than they could chew. One such village was inhabited by a tattooed, female Serpentkind (specific race unknown), who fashioned herself as a 'Priestess of the Dragons'; the only name she gave was 'Tear'. She was reportedly 'uninterested' in the south of Gold becoming a 'second verse' of north Gold, and with powerful magic, she turned the Alstalain aggressors into piles of sand, down to the very last.

Rather than earn her fame, she instead became known as the 'Dragon Witch' and was feared by both natives and foreigners. She would live in solitude near the Shrine of Yang for quite some time, seemingly never aging even as the years passed.

Gouka (AR 74-76)

In AR 74, a large fire broke out in very early morning at a Gelphine-owned fort where many of their resources and food were being stored. Upon Chataran forces arriving to attempt to put out the fire, they found the non-Gold workers and soldiers impaled upon spears and roasting in the flames, and on a beheaded horse, they found the Onigan characters '業火', meaning 'hellfire' painted in blood. True to the name, the fires proved difficult to extinguish, and by the time it was tamed, all of the stored goods were ash or close to it.

Nils Gelphine, the head of the House, was furious at what he viewed as retaliation by his slaves. However, he knew that it would be impossible to punish the exact culprit, and regardless, if he punished them, his House would still be held responsible - their ability to pump resources out of Gold was their main leverage. Being unable to keep slaves under control would, then, be a good enough reason to wrestle the valuable Gold away from his family's control as punishment.

To the fortune of Nils, the soldiers who investigated the fire noted that of the ruined goods, there were less than expected, suggesting someone may have stolen from the stores beforehand. Rumor had it that Philes Wanuel, a local lord of a town near the fort, had been embezzling goods from it for some time. The rumor was true, and Gelphine soldiers quickly seized Philes' goodstores and confirmed that fact. Nils, ever the snake, saw the opportunity for what it was, and accussed Philes of the fire to hide his misappropriation of Chataran resources.

Normally, this would result in execution. However, Nils could not offer any decisive proof, and instead Philes was stripped of his lordship and exiled from both Chaturanga and Gold. He would resettle with his family and retainers on Sigrogana a few months later. While he had handled the situation politically, Nils feared that something similar would happen in the future, and for good reason.

Historians still debate if Philes was the true culprit of this incident or not.

Embers of Gouka (AR 77-88)

The great fire had left an impression on the oppressed Gold slaves, who were growing increasingly more restless. Resistance to the Chatarans, and the Gelphine family in particular, saw the buildup of tensions released in the form of covert murders of Chataran guards, each covered in 'gouka' with their own blood. Slaves were not allowed weapons - they were only allowed metal tools with which to mine and work the fields with, which showed no signs of violence, so it is unknown how these murders were performed.

Rumors circulated among the Chataran forces of agile, skilled killers, hearing them called by the locals as 'ninja', who were supposedly responsible. However, the natives showed solidarity when interrogated, even if by violent means - no one knew, or at the very least, they would not tell.

Punitive Expedition (AR 89-91)

Eventually, House Gelphine would receive reports of suspicious activity from inhabitants of the eastern villages, which were primarily farmers. According to this information, the natives of this village were stockpiling weapons and armor made from mined metals smuggled to them by other slaves. A Chataran general who was sent to investigate was killed by the locals - the reports were true, and in his arrogance, neither he nor his men knew how serious the threat was.

This was the last straw for Nils. He mustered an overwhelming force to attack the villagers, who were well aware that retribution was coming and had already begun evacuating their own, as well as their weapons and armor, to the south where Chataran rule didn't reach. However, the Gelphine forces were too swift for them. Juri Kusanagi, a swordswoman from the south, would serve as the rearguard while the villagers made their quick escape to the south. Her skill with the blade overwhelmed many of the Chataran pursuers, but she and her soldiers were eventually killed in the battle. Regardless, their blood had bought the freedom of the fleeing villagers, and this act would not be forgotten by history - the Kusanagi family would later become famous protectors.

There was much discussion over performing a second punitive expedition to the south, in the lands the Chatarans did not yet control. However, it was decided to be impossible without further military force available - southern resistance had grown considerable, and if they marched in full force to the south, there was little doubt that an uprising would occur. House Gelphine's infamy among Kysei noble houses would be a decisive weakness, as no one would answer their call for help, instead more interested in letting them sink and take over in their place.