Foreign Involvement in, and Interactions with, Davania
by Geoff GanderAlthough the Sea of Dread poses a significant barrier to regular interactions between the peoples of Davania, Brun, and Skothar, Mystaran history has many examples of cultural interactions that had a lasting impact.
A portion of the Traldar people, under King Milen, migrated to Davania in BC 1000 to escape the Beastman (gnollish) invasion that would ultimately reduce those who remained behind to barbarism. Although they were harried by the mysterious Behemoth, enough of them survived the journey to reach Davania, and migrate to the fertile Meghala Kimata Plains. There, the Milenian Empire began its rise to power, and by BC 800 was rapidly conquering its neighbours.
The early Nithian Empire (BC 1500 - BC 500) established colonies in what is now the Thyatian Hinterlands, and transported substantial numbers of Antalian slaves from what are now the Northern Reaches and Norwold to populate them. Although the colonies themselves ultimately failed, the slaves adapted to their new home and, after gaining freedom from their Nithian overlords, developed into the Thyatian, Kerendan, and Hattian peoples. They enjoyed a relatively prosperous existence until pressures from the growing Milenian Empire to the south forced large numbers of them to migrate en masse to southeastern Brun in BC 600, where they displaced or absorbed the indigenous Neathar tribes. Although they were not conquered by the Milenians, the Thyatians, Kerendans, and Hattians had been influenced by them. Thus, the Thyatian Empire can be considered an example of Davanian cultural influence on the Known World.
Between the migration of BC 600 and the more recent colonisation efforts since AC 900 (Thyatis and the Heldannic Knights), there has been little large-scale cultural interchange between Davania and Brun. There are some notable exceptions:
Hule established the colony of Garganin in AC 750 during a brief experiment with imperialism, but abandoned it (and its inhabitants) roughly 100 years later when the hoped-for resources it hoped to extract failed to materialise. Garganin remains an independent city-state, with no active ties to Hule, as of AC 1000. Hule no doubt remains aware of Garganin, though.
The Milenian-descended city-state of Kastelios trades with Yavdlom and Minrothad, but as of AC 1000 no formal diplomatic ties exist between it and the seafaring nations of the Known World. Given the relative closeness of the Thyatian Hinterlands, it is logical to expect some form of Thyatian presence in the city, as well. Kastelian sailors are described as "increasingly bold", which indicates that they tend to range far from home, and thus some form of deeper contact with other coastal nations can be expected in the near future. [Note: This is what was done in the Mystaran Almanac.]