Traldar History
by Marco DalmonteBefore I start with the timeline, let me point you out FOUR IMPORTANT CANON THINGS TO REMEMBER:
1. BC 1254 : Orcs moving northwards from Atruaghin rampage and raze Athenos, a small commercial outpost (GAZ11).
2. GAZ11 says that there were NO SETTLEMENTS in Darokin in BC 800.
3. Hollow World says that the Toralai tribe of Neathar stock lived in the Thyatian mainland up to the arrival of the Thyatians (in BC 600). At that time they were nearly annihilated or absorbed by the Thyatians except for those saved by the Immortals sand transplanted in the HW.
4. GAZ8 says that the wars between gnolls and Traldar went on for roughly 40 years before the beaten gnolls retreated northwards and westwards.
Bearing this in mind, here's my chronology of the Traldar :
1700 BC: Taymora survivors of the earthquakes which buried Taymor under the waves of the newly formed Sea of Dread settle on the Karameikan coasts, in Ierendi and Minrothad.
1500 BC: Toralai hunters thrive in the Thyatian mainland (from current Kerendas to the Tel Akbir peninsula)
1500 BC: Nithians enter the imperial age. The Nithian Traldar clan moves out of the Nithian basin and settles in modern days Karameikos and in the Selenican region.
1490 BC: Traldar and Taymora make contact with one another and gradually mix together.
[I'm assuming Taymora was a pseudo-Greek or Aechaen culture here. Note that NOTHING from canon disconfirms this hypothesis.]
1400 BC: The Nithian Traldar of Karameikos revert to stone age because of environmental problems, bad crops and diseases over the course of 3 generations (100 years). Hutaakans pushed by Pflarr extend their influence over them, especially in the north, and dominate them culturally and spiritually. Traldar have begun to become more "Greek" losing their Nithian (Egyptian) base because of the stronger influence of the Taymora.
1295 BC: Southern Traldar (more independent than northern ones) sail westwards staying close to the coastline to find a new land of opportunities where to live. Surpassing the Shires coastline and Athenos harbour (where they couldn't settle because hins had just settled there 5 years before), they sail upstream the Streel river and found a small village in the Darokin area calling it Daros.
1270 BC: The Traldar of Daros sends other settlers westwards and create a new settlement on the Amsorak Lake, calling it Akorros. It becomes a good trading post with the western Sindhi, bringing to the Traldar of Daros some exotic goods which they then consume and/or exchange with southern halflings' wares.
1254 BC: Orcish bands leaving Atruaghin raze the Traldar trading outpost of Athenos and later settle in the Broken Lands. Another orcish wave move eastwards, destroying Daros and settling in the northern region of the Shires. They are not able to conquer the hins (their number reduced after raiding Daros) and so they start raiding them, waiting for their big chance of subduing the hins and conquering their rich lands.
1000 BC: Gnolls migrate from Nithia, escaping their Nithian masters. Some venture north in the current Orclands region, others settle in the Gnollheim hills (between Nithia and Soderfjord). The biggest group invades the Traldar Kingdoms and the Hutaakans leave their Traldar "protégés", barricading in their Valley.
Great migrations bring many humanoid tribes south of the overpopulated Broken Lands. A horde of Orcs invades the Shires region and enslaves the hins.
995 BC: Milen leaves his village and brings with him his people, sailing southwards to avoid being overrun by the gnolls. He ventures past the isles of Ierendi and Minrothad and arrives in Davania. After Milen dies, Androsar leads the Milenians upriver to found the city of Milenia and later the Kingdom of Milenia.
960 BC: Antalian tribes coming from the north of Darokin (moved there from the Northern Reaches to escape enslavement at the hands of the Nithians) enter the Shires region and raze the new founded nation of Hindon, competing with orcs and dwarves for supremacy.
950 BC: The last gnolls are defeated by the Traldar led by Halav, Petra and Zirchev and they flee on the mountains northwards and westwards. The remaining Traldar (10% of the initial population) are weakened after 50 years of war, raids and famine. Many Traldar villages have already been transported into the Hollow World by the Immortals.
930 BC: The Antalian raiders are chased off the Shires by the dwarves of Loktal Ironshield who now rules over the Shires, and they flee in the nearby woods and plains of the Traldar. They continue to raid the Traldar settlements without settling and remaining nomadic for many years.
[Note: these tribes of Antalians are in fact the SLAVIC component that is needed to make the Greek Traldar become Slavic Traladarans. Reference to human raiding the Five Shires are canon from GAZ8. We simply decided to make them come from the north and be a part of the Antalian stock.]
900 BC: Nithians who have settled on the Makai Islands of Ierendi start to trade with hins of the new kingdom of Shaerdon (who freed themselves of the dwarves' yoke in the meantime).
790 BC: Nithians start to buy hin slaves from the orcs who overrun Shaerdon, to use them as settlers in the northern reaches.
740 BC: Traldar of southern Karameikos take the ships to find a new region where to live and avoid the constant pressure of the Antalian Slavic nomads. These Traldar sail in 3 different directions: - EASTWARDS: these Traldar end up settling the plains of Kerendas, between the Toralai hunters in the east and the Vyalia elves in the west.
- SOUTHWARDS: these Traldar end up in Ierendi and Minrothad and are enslaved immediately by the Nithians.
- WESTWARDS: these Traldar settle in the harbour next to the Shires coasts and found Athenos.
After their migration the Antalian Slavic nomads finally settle in the areas left empty by the Traldar.
680 BC: Some colonists from Athenos sail upriver and find the remains of Daros, rebuilding the village.
610 BC: Daros Traldar send settlers west and eastwards, rebuilding Athenos (west) and founding Dolos (east) to trade with other humans of eastern and northern Darokin (Antalians + Dunharians).
With the passing centuries the mix of Traldar, Antalians and Dunharians will create the unique Darokinian population, renaming the capital Darokin under the Eastwind Kings.
600 BC: Kerendans arrive in the Toralai and Traldar territories of Thyatis. Many Traldar flee northwards while others surrender and are either enslaved and assimilated or slaughtered. The Toralai are more easily defeated and only some of them are saved by the Immortals and transported in the HW.
580 BC: Some Traldar build Cynidicea on the borders of the Nithian empire, protected by the high Altan Tepes mountains from the warlike Thyatians and Kerendans of the south.
550 BC: Traldar settlers from Dolos found the city of Tuma in the region between southern Alfheim and northern Shires.
500 BC: End of the Nithian Empires. Cynidicean settlers build the city of Selenikos to start trading with the elves and humans in the west.
With the passing centuries Traldar and Antalian Slavs of Karameikos have traded and married with one another to survive, finally changing the civilisation that lives in Karameikos (Traladara) and becoming the Traladarans.
[We could name these Antalian Slavs "Daras" to have Traldar + Daras = Traladarans]
492 BC: Tuma is destroyed by the humanoid hordes fleeing Rockhome after the defeat of Queen Ubdala at Sardal Pass. Selenikos manages to hold against this rampage only because of the human (Antalian + Dunharian) reinforcements and combined defence strategy. Afterwards these humans settle in the city, which slightly changes its name and culture in the following centuries becoming Selenica when the Durrankin (Celtic-Germanic) influence becomes more pronounced.
200 BC: Minaeans migrate eastwards from Milenia in desperate need of a new place to live, despising the Milenian decline. They settle briefly on Bellissaria before going away and ending on the Minaean Coast of Skothar. Minaean colonies are also left in the Alatian Islands under the Alphatian suzerainty (Aegos, Gaity and Aeria).
Cynidicea disappears during this period.
100 BC: The Milenian Empire of Davania falls, and some villages are transported in the HW by Halav and Petra.
There you go without the need to create Doulakki (which also occupy the area which canon-wise is Toralai territory up to the arrivals of Kerendans and Thyatians)