History as the Selhomarrians Know It:
by Geoff GanderThe people known as the Lhomarrians arose some 10,000 years ago, on a fair continent bounded by deep blue seas and warm breezes. A bright yellow sun traversed the skies, and beautiful stars gazed down when the people slept. That ancient land was called Lhomarr, which in an old dialect of the Lhomarrian language means "Land of the Sea". Lhomarr was a fair land, with deep forests, plentiful fish in the seas, rich soils, and mighty rivers and mountains. The Lhomarrians wanted for nothing in their homeland, for everything was provided by their Immortal, Xeron. Even their government was ideal - an emperor ruled while regional princes looked after the affairs of the provinces, with both branches of government having autonomy from the other.
This paradise should have satisfied everyone, but for the greed of Galhossian. Not long after Lhomarr became great, a young man named Galhossian became emperor of Lhomarr. It is said he murdered his father to gain the throne, but records of this time are fragmentary. He was an evil ruler, taxing the people into poverty, deporting innocent citizens to newly- founded colonies on trumped-up charges, and assassinating political opponents. It was only through a rebellion by the princes, and a bitter civil war, that Galhossian was overthrown. His son, Tylios, was forced to sign into law what became the Codex of Tylios, which forevermore assured that no one ruler could usurp so much power again.
This was not the end of problems for the Lhomarrians. On a nearby continent, called Lhoithas, an evil power was rising, one which threatened to destroy everything in its path. These beings were the Carnifex, who ruled their domains from the foul city of Y'hog, which lay far from Lhomarr. The Lhomarrians had met the Carnifex not long before, but the hostile reception they had received encouraged the emperor of the day to isolate his nation from the outside world. This, and the great distances between Lhomarr and Y'hog, made it easy for the Lhomarrians to put the concerns of other peoples out of their minds.
The Carnifex were not so averse to aggression. Guided by their evil gods, the Outer Beings, their legions spread like a dark tide over the northern reaches of Lhoithas. Nation after nation fell to the Carnifex and their evil servitors, and the cries for help reached the Lhomarrians, who turned deeper within themselves. Before long, the Lhomarrian colonies on the eastern coasts of Lhoithas were endangered by these evil ones, who were called the "Unclean Ones" by the Lhomarrians. The people of Lhomarr could no longer isolate themselves from the affairs of the outside world.
It was not long before many wars ravaged Lhoithas; many cultures vanished into oblivion, caught between the Carnifex on one side and the Lhomarrians and their allies on the other. The battle lines shifted for centuries, until a concerted push threw out the Carnifex and their hordes. Centuries passed, and the Carnifex rose yet again. Once more death spread across the continent, and more nations and peoples vanished utterly. This time, a great host led by the legendary Lhomarrian general, Brell, succeeded in reaching the foul island of Y'hegg-T'uhath, centre of the evil of the Carnifex. From here, his armies laid to waste the foul cities of obsidian and basalt, and even Y'hog was looted and burned after a two year siege. Having won, the crusaders returned to Lhoithas, and from thence many went back to their homes. Such was not to be.
Goaded by their priests and by the Outer Beings themselves, the Carnifex rose from the ruins of their cities once more to strike at Lhoithas. This time they and their minions fought as though frenzied, and they drove forth all before them. Even the mighty Brell was slain, and his armies were scattered. The Carnifex armies reached the eastern shores of the great continent, and threatened to invade Lhomarr itself. Before this could happen, the heavens ripped open, the land shook, and the old world was destroyed. But this was not before Xeron whisked the purest of heart among His people to a new world, where they could start over again.
The Lhomarrians, and an allied
people called the Ilarnnians, found themselves in a new world, one
with a red sun that never set, and great floating continents high
above. The nation of Selhomarr ("New Land of the Sea") was formed,
and since that time almost 8,000 years ago, there has been a period
of exploration, of meeting other cultures, and of development.
Selhomarr is truly a blessed land, one that was surely created by
Xeron Himself, who cared for his chosen people too much to see them
destroyed.