The History of Maak-Tir (Vol I-IX)

Volume I: The Origins of the Continent

Before the common races first walked across the continent of Maak-Tir, the world existed, but the form it took is uncertain. Generally, our understanding of this time comes from two different prongs of research: that of physical scientists, whose work is primarily geological, and that of mages that can travel across the various meta-physical planes and communicate with entities whose experience extends beyond that of the common races…

Studies of the mountains and waterways of Maak-Tir provide evidence of a changing landscape…

Volume II: Early Peoples

Scholars disagree about how the different races came to inhabit the world. Generally, each tends to prefer an origin story that plants their own race at the root of the evolutionary tree. The oldest archaeological evidence comes from mines deep under the Maak mountains, which may lend credence to the dwarven origin stories, although it may just be that mines lend to preservation of historical artifacts, far from the weathering power of the sun and rain.

Regardless of which came first, the different races have clearly coexisted since the beginnings of history. Before they were organized into villages and towns, the humanoid inhabitants of Maak-Tir fought for their survival in a ruthless landscape ruled mostly by dragons, and the earliest records are typically accounts of battles that arose from this coexistence. Historians agree that these records include depictions of elves, dwarves, humans, and orcs, sometimes fighting a common foe and sometimes fighting each other…

It is clear that from the very first days of human existence, people have had to learn how to live in a world full of the dangerous yet romantic creatures we now call dragons. Early peoples even believed that the world itself was constructed by them. It is from this origin story that the continent derives its name: Maak (dragon, maker) - Tir (land)…

Volume III: The Dawn of Civilization

Some 15,000 years ago, the emergence of hallmarks of civilization (permanent settlements, farming, pottery, etc.) led to the first organized societies. There is much debate among the scholarly community regarding how early peoples were able to create such societies without interruption by dragons. Some believe that communities actually developed as a tool to help fend off dragons, a defensive collective of sorts. Others believe that the earliest civilizations developed in the southeast portion of the continent, near the mouth of the Steel River, and that this region’s climate and geography was not conducive to dragon populations…

Volume IV: The Discovery of Magic

Magic pervades the world of Maak-Tir, making up the bonds that create stability of the physical realm, but also connecting the Material Plane to all other planes of existence. Because magic is so closely bonded to the world, it is natural to believe that it was discovered soon after the birth of civilization. And indeed, this is what historical records show to be true. It is also natural to assume that primitive magic forms the foundation for many of the technological and social advances that created the modern world; thus magical studies have had an effect of rapid growth on civilization and society throughout the history of Maak-Tir…

The first uses of magic consisted of rudimentary skills that would aid in survival during the relatively simple times of early civilization…

Stories abound in this time period about the fate of what has come to be known as the “Mother Dragon,” a creature whose great size and intelligence supposedly gave her control over almost the entire continent of Maak-Tir. Scholars continue to debate the details, but all agree that a significant event happened that precipitated the fall of this Mother Dragon. The impact on humanoid races from this event was so great that it is used to mark year 1 of our current calendar…

Volume V: From Tribe to City-State

As civilization expanded and humanoid populations grew, so too did the loyalties of peoples to their respective factions. Cities began to develop, ruled by the magic-using classes. Social bonds once defined by bloodline and tribal knowledge began to deteriorate in favor of ones defined by political clout and patriotism…

Great power accumulated in the leaders of the cities, providing them the means to control the surrounding lands, often using military force. As these newly-formed states expanded, their borders inevitably met, leading to various examples of cooperation and conflict. Alliances were forged and broken. Each state began to fill history books with accounts of its own noble leaders and their accomplishments…

Magic use was refined during this time period and passed down between generations. Often, the knowledge was kept secret within a cabal of wizards at the service of a particular political leader. There were some efforts to spread the knowledge for the betterment of society, but it would be rare for a peasant of this time to see direct use of magic in her daily life…

Volume VI: The Great Wars

By the beginning of the first millennium, power had consolidated into four main political entities: the Northern Tribes in the north; Artificia in the south; Rivtirel in the central part of the continent, east of the Maak mountains; and the Elven Confederacy in the forests west of the Maak mountains. Some lands far from these centers were only loosely aligned with one of the four states, but all were claimed by one power or another…

With each state assured of its own sovereignty over of the continent, struggles over land and people escalated into frequent skirmishes. Eventually, a large scale conflict seemed to became unavoidable…

Historians recount the Great Wars as taking place between 1120 and 1313.

Volume VII: The Western Lands

Despite the passage of almost 1000 years since the conclusion of the Great Wars, there is still a divide between the eastern and western halves of the continent, clearly demarcated by the spine of the Maak mountains. Civilization has generally looked favorably on the eastern peoples, while anarchy and brutishness still reign in the western lands…

It is with some sense of trepidation that scholars discuss the western lands. Why would this be so? Is it the history of violence that predates the division of the continent into its two halves? Is it the lack of true scholarly study that results from the difficulty of traveling those untamed lands? These are questions for future historians; we can only discuss what we currently know…

Volume VIII: Unification of the Empire

Rolf Aanderson was born in the year 1612 near the present-day town of Shelley’s Crossing. His parents were both poor farmers and Rolf spent his childhood working on the farm alongside his 5 younger siblings…

Legend holds that when Rolf was 11 years old, he fell into the Dragon River while playing with his friends. The river was swollen from recent rains and he was quickly swept away. One of Rolf’s friends raced back to Rolf’s home to get help and found Rolf’s father Arvid in the field. Upon reaching the river, Arvid entered the water near a series of rapids that was downstream from where the children had been playing. Arvid spotted a piece of Rolf’s clothing entangled in a fallen tree and found Rolf trapped underwater between the tree and a large boulder. Arvid was able to free Rolf and bring him back to the shore.

Despite having been trapped under the water for what the witnesses described as more than 10 minutes, Rolf almost immediately became conscious and did not seem to suffer any negative affects from the experience. In fact, he described a vision that came to him during the time that he was underwater. The most well-known account is as follows:

As the water grew stronger and I was tossed about, I gradually felt my body growing weaker and my muscles beginning to stiffen from the cold. I eventually felt helpless and succumbed to the pressure. In that moment, I heard a voice calling out. It was distant, as if coming from above the water. At first I thought it was my friends, but it became clear that it was the voice of a woman.

A light appeared before me, almost as a tunnel, and in the light there stood a tall, thin woman dressed in white robes. The light was coming from behind her, so I wasn’t able to make out her features, but she spoke to me and said “Rolf Aanderson, I give you this destiny.” I was then immediately transported to a great stage in an enormous city. On the stage stood an old dwarf, leaning on a cane and wearing elaborate clothes, including a large crown with many jewels in it. All around the stage was a crowd of all different kinds of people. Some were human, some were elven, some were even orcish. Some were poor, some were rich, some had eyes that glowed that gave the impression they had been transported there from a different plane.

The old dwarf looked at me and spoke in dwarven tongue. Even though I didn’t know how to speak dwarven, I could still somehow understand him. He said “These people are here for you. They believe that you can unite them.” Then he took the crown from his head and held it out to me. As I reached out and touched the crown, the dwarf gasped and fell backwards. As he fell, his body turned to ash and was blown away. I took the crown and placed it on my head. The crowd immediately broke out into song and dance. From the sky I could hear the cries of animals and, as I looked up, I could see a dragon and an enormous eagle, locked in mortal combat. They were so large, they blocked out the sun.

After this experience, Rolf’s parents…

Volume IX: The Modern Era

Modern