A Reasonably Complete History of Badabaska

**Squeaks** · April 13, 2012, 09:30 AM

Okay. The history of Badabaska is a hard one to explain, but it's quite interesting too.

The Badabaskans were not always known so, nor did they live on the three islands they now call both home and a trap. The Islands of Badabaska, Hannabaska and Keleddyn are three relatively minor teeth that jut from the seas northa nd east of the Pol;ar cap that encases the Ghaurchlai, sealed there after their defeat at Saden Fields.

Before the Badabaskans came, they were simply islands that were layered strangely in rock, almost like a spiral stairway in some places, sheets of rock placved atop each other in a haphazard fashion. Built in several places am,ongst these rocks were five great fortresses; three on Badabaska, one on each of the others. If you considered their lineage, they seem like something the Khezdruli may have built, yet there are other influences there as well. Certainly elven influences are there, but, when you wander inside the fortresses, there are signs that Rhysthari have been here at some point - there are large underground areas where crops are grown without the need for 'true' light, as Rhysthari cultivation globes are large in number, coating cielings of rock. In fact, if you looked at the nature of these places, then you could call them the ultimate in defensive works; there is a massive underground network of tunnels and caverns, carved into the rock, but carved in a 'friendly' fashion, so that someone could dwell there with more comfort thatn say a normal castle even.

The inhabitants can grow crops here; there are places that could house herds of animals, as large underground forests exist in places, and gardens - all fed by Ryhsthari and Lindiri means. Simply put, the fortresses are a marvel of engineering, and it was certainly a joint effort at some point of most of the intelligent progenitor races. Ildiri waterfalls feed the entire structure throiugh streams and channels carved by Khezdruli, and it works as some kind of eco-system. When the Badabaskans came here, it was to find all these wonders still in their prime, perhaps thousands of years after they were first laid in place.

The three fortresses of Badabaska connect, whilst the others stand alone. SHould one of the three fall, then there are means to collapse all enrtry to the others, and each can live independently of the others, connected in a triangular form, they can live as three, or two or one at the last. There is little beautiful to the outside fortifications; they are made of a horrible brown stone, but they stand tall and strong. There is no give in these places, and the walls cannot be simply battered down; they must be taken inch by inch. The area inside the outer walls contains some living quarters, but they are arranged like mazes, and each area can be locked into itself through walls that can be winched down into place rapidly, trapping the foe should they breach the walls. If a foe CAN take the walls, they will take many more deaths to sieze this maze like area, but any foe determined enough to even attack a castle like this would have to possess the numbers to do so - it would simply be a case of how many died.

Once through the maze of quarters, the attacker would meet the second wall; standing at a mere 30 feet, it is a defensive point, but it is designed for a different purpose. Within the wall itself is the means to collapse the entire wall by sections, revealingan array of Gnomes, long since sunk by the Dwarves, which will come alive the moment the light strikes their elven ley crystals, to assault whoever stands before them.

Should an attacker make it through here, the last gate stands, warding the entry to the tunnel system and the homes of the Badabaskans. In great caverns lie the actual cities, and these are lit as if in perfect sunlight. The cavern rooves are a wonderful blue, in many hues and shades, and they are encrusted with gems that mimic stars at night, when the Selediri magic fades to simulate the darkness between dusk and dawn. Here, when the gate looks as if it will fall, the Badabaskans can collapse the foreward sections, with prepared sections of rock falling into place. The city remains undamaged, but the entire area becomes unpassable. Metal workings make it almost impossible to burrow through this, but they CAN be raised at the interior side. Further on, there are several places, amongst the tunnels and caverns, to irrevocably destroy the wonders of the fortresses in a final gasp at life for the defenders.

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The badabaskans are the descendents of the Han Dinen.

will do more in a while.....must have a cup of tea and a sit down

**Squeaks** · April 15, 2012, 07:22 AM

The Han Dinen were a culture of men living in the far south of the Western COntinent. They were squat and had bronzed skin and dark hair - black in most cases. The Han Dinen lived in Clans - loose groups of people descended from family groups in ancient times. This was never due to inbreeding, as the Clans gave great worth to the joining of clans; they law forbade in-clan partnerships in most cases, unless a question of noble descent made it necessary. Even then, the marriage could take place only with cousins or further descent.

The Han Dinen were the most united of the southern peoples; most clustered in small groups of villages or hamlets - even in wandering groups of herder families. The lands they lived in were mountainous and laced with hills. Poor soil was present in the east and central areas, but the western clans farmed and maintained the largest herds. Deep in the mountains an order of warrior-women occupied a large fortification that crested the outside lip of a large, extinct volcano. Here lay the SOul Mirror, or Mirrormere - the entrance to the Lands of the Dead, where the gods lived with their Eidolon - their believers in life, fished from the Farstream, the river of the dead that carried souls into the afterlands.

During the Ghaurchlai Genocide, the Han Dinen were assaulted by an utterly overwhelming force of the demonic creatures, and the fortress on the Volcano fell to them, leaving the entrance to the world of the dead open to them. This they breached, and they fought against the gods, capturing most, as their nature made them almost impossible to destroy - certainly the Ghaur knew no way at that time. The Eidlon were scattered or slaughtered, but most escaped to flee into the territory of the Yaga Dai, a dead race that held the entire east of the deadlands. The Yaga Dai fought the Ghaurchlai, holding them back, until the people of the city of Solace managed to rally them and push the Ghaurchlai from the Deadlands.

The Han Dinen had retaken the entry to the Mirrormere, and when the Ghaur were chased back through the Mirror into the Volcano, they slaughtered most of them. Behind the Ghaurchlai came the hosts of the Dead; the Eidolon and the Yaga Dai, and their victory was completed. Not a single Ghaur escaped. After many councils and minor battles, the Han Dinen, their female warrior order and the Dead moved north, retaking much of their original land and breaking the siege of Solace. The Ghaur were moved to bring their Eastern hosts back, and some of their strtength from the Imperial lands to the north came south, forming a vast army.

This in itself allowed Valerian to bring the armies of the Western nations - or what was left of them south, to fight a decisive battle at Saden Fields, even as the Han Dinen, unknown to him, fought viciously in the south. The only reason Valerian had a chance at Saden Fields was due to them and their war. He won Saden Fields, and the Han Dinen were fighting to a bitter standstill - the use of massive magics by the Ildiri and the other elves drew the waters into the Ghaurchlai nests, melting most of the southern ice cap to do so. This wave of clean water struck the Ghaur fighting the Han Dinen, and some of their number were caught in it and sealed in the Southern Ice that remained, as Ghuarchlai were sent into a torpor by water. However, there were still enough to destroy the Han Dinene as a culture, and the gods intervened. They opened a way into the three islands of which Badabaska was the greatest.

The Han Dinen stepped into their new home, but were followed by many Ghaurchlai, who trapped them in the fortresses. All remaining Ghaur were simply obliterated by the gods, but many gods fell to nothing in this vast expenditure of their own essence, or were at least to the point where they were after named lesser of the gods, or simply Powers. Some of the people of SOlace were elevated to this new status of 'power' and the strength of the Deadlands was remade.

Now, the Badabaskans sit in their fortresses, fighting a war against the Ghaurchlai. The Ghaurchlai dare not openly torm the forts, but they fight a war to harass the defenders - whilst the Han Dinen slowly lose numbers, the Ghaur breed, and it is inevitable that the fortresses will fall. At the time of the main mod, the Badabaskans face this stark choice; they either follow the histories of the last thousand years, or they issue from the holds and exterminate the Ghaur IF they can still do so. Outnumbered hugely, the Badabaskan are ferocious warriors, and they stand some hope of doing so. As with much of the world, they seem ata pivotal point, where the balance of the Dragon's future lies under direct threat; more dire than the Ghaurchlai Genocide, as even the Elohim return to fight in this war. Badabaska stands alone, yet they have potential allies to call upon. Theirs is a difficult path, but it is one that is unwritten in the Fates.

Sorry about typos etc. Haven't time to check it properly.