Thoughts about the Cultures and Nations
by John CalvinJust some random thoughts about the cultures and nations that are around at this time:
Most (if not all) of these cultures are catastrophically and horrifically destroyed in the disaster of 1700 BC. This is something that I find utterly fascinating (and cool).
Shimmering Lands - Most of the large dwarven/gnomish settlements at this time are not in the mountains, but in fact are on the Bridge of Oost (the land bridge between the KW and the IoD). I've managed to place most of them so that they sink into the sea when the island of Ostland is formed. Many dwarven estates further inland would probably survive this disaster at least for a time, but they will have their own problems. With their resource centres removed they won't survive long anyway, but in addition the dwarven people go through a "civil war" of sorts in 1800 BC when the followers of Kagyar finally break away from their brethren and begin worshiping their new immortal in earnest. These people are eventually modified by Kagyar, while the rest of the dwarves are left to rot (literally) and eventually become the Modrigswerg.
Mogreth - This is another cool disaster waiting to happen - when natural dams holding in Rockhome's single lake are shattered a massive flood sweeps through the Ylari valley washing away most traces of the lizard folk. We know that some populations survive though both in the Ierendi isles as well as in Malpheggi swamp.
Taymora - I don't need to say much here. These guys are doomed to fall beneath the sea. Undead from Taymora will plague the Sunlit Sea and surrounding area all the way up to 1000 AC.
Azcans - The Azcans have had plenty of time to flourish in their home beneath the Great Plateau since the GRoF, and during the period of 2300 BC they finally start to emerge and rebuild their empire. I imagine though, that their power base still remains firmly underground. This is shattered in 1700 BC when the Great Plateau collapses, and I'd imagine that a majority of the Azcan population is killed outright. The survivors will struggle through the next several centuries, falling prey to humanoid invaders, but eventually emerging as what we know as the Atruaghin Tribes.
Kopru Dominarchy - We know that by 1000AC these guys have been in decline for a long time. I'm inclined to guess that the decline was caused by the loss of much of their controlled populations (which would have been mainly coastal), again in 1700 BC. This might suggest that the Thanegioth Archipelago is not an archipelago in 2300 BC, but perhaps a set of much larger islands (or even one large island). If the sinking of Taymora was caused by an overall increase in sea level, this phenomenon would be seen throughout the planet.
Giant Kingdoms - These are in decline (at least in the KW) even before the disaster of 1700 BC, and I don't think their demise is tied to that occurrence at all. It may be tied to the receding of the glaciers in 2500 BC which allowed new races (humans, dwarves, elves) to invade their territory and push the giants to the periphery.