A History of Kartria by Telliam of Losada

The founding of Balvine. Looking back at Bandagoran history, many story threads seem to originate from the actions of Emperor Sertovian. Sertovian was emperor in the fifth century before the common calendar, in what is considered the golden years of the Third Empire. They did not call themselves the Third Empire, nor the Rulers. No, Sertovian is thought to have called himself Emperor of Borondosgova, which translates roughly into "the known lands" and has been corrupted into our present day "Bandagora". Except for the last days of the empire, most stories of the Third Empire are about Sertovian. According to the stories, he knew as a young man that the empire was doomed, and set out to avoid the inevitable. He fought barbarians before and after he ascended the throne, he revised the laws, he fought graft, nepotism and corruption, he founded academies, and tried to inspire a kind of esprit-de-corps in the hearts of the young aristocrats. As a part of this latter project he encouraged hopeful youths to search for the legendary Black Rings. As most will know, none of the rings were found at the time, but sages debate whether this was the true purpose. Some argue that is was a grand quest to capture the minds of the empire, not really an attempt to find the rings. One explorer, Karkar, did come back with two treasures. One was the belt that was later to make Karkar feared and hated, the other was the Book of Enchantments. Now at the time, no one, not even Sertovian, could have known the magnitude of the find. The concept of magic items was little known. According to tradition, Karkar met a werewolf and battled it for days. He regenerated because of the belt, but could not in turn harm the wolf until he realized that it was vulnerable to silver. The magic one knew was divine magic, and the pitiful simple wizard's spells taught to men by the elves. In any case, Sertovian founded an academy to study the book in Balvine, and this is the beginning of the history of Kartria.
Sages believe that Sertovian personally worshiped Sif and Thoth (or rather their manifestations at that time, which seems to have had the opposite genders of the present manifestations), in addition to the great gods of the empire: Enki, Vahaun and Hermes (again, their manifestations at that time).
The academy was to perform three tasks: 1) to educate sages and councilors, 2) to write the history of Borondosgova and 3) to study the Book of Enchantments. According to the legend, the sages could not agree on the nature of the Book. Some sages believed the Book to be the product of some Elven god or perhaps a powerful demon, and eventually the Book would consume the souls of those performing wizardry learned from the Book. Others believed, as most do today, that magic does come from the gods, but that wizardry simply utilizes the 'flows of energy' in a more direct fashion. To continue the legend, Sertovian asked each sage what they believed. Regardless of their answer, he told them that their opinion was right and they would found the academy along with others sharing that view. Those that thought wizardry a bad thing were sent to a small island (some say Lorindiri), the others were sent to Kartria. The Academy of Balvine was founded around -430 CC. From the beginning, the academy put a strong emphasis on the individual achievement.
For the first 900 years of its history, the Kartrian academy members, and later the Kartrian wizards, mainly strove to gain knowledge.

The wizards take over. The human knowledge of magic had developed with riveting speed during the time of the Island Concord. When the Concord collapsed, wizardry was comparable to what we have today - in terms of power, if not in terms of diversity. The Kartrian had found Azartes' Boulder and used it to create the Matrices, and most of the experimental magical research had been moved to Essara, after the magic springs there were discovered. These were encouraging signs, giving the wizards the self-assurance to make themselves heard. And they had something to say, and the power to back their words. Science showed the way, rationalism would prevail. The new tool in government would be discussion, not tradition. All sides must be heard, and the best solution found. Kartria would lead, not command, a new state, a democracy. The unimposing name for the new state was Marentia (the realm of islands), though no other island had rivaled the power of Kartria. Cynics claim that it was easier to let islands like Esduroy and Geradia be represented in the Assembly than to occupy them. Whatever the reason, the constitution of the new nation was put into effect in 282 CC. Marentia initially had no foreign policy. Her navy was strong enough to hold off any invaders, but trade agreements, sea lane patrolling and the occasional skirmish were all handled by individuals. Individual enterprise seemed to be the unspoken code: Let traders trade, let warriors war, and let magicians do magic. This period was the threshold to Kartria's first golden age, that many historians think began in 383 CC at the forming of the Wizards' Guild. From that point on, it was possible to solely study magic not having to spend years on courses in History and Ethics. Around this time many sages and priests left Balvine for the new Thoth temple-cum-library near Vintendra, the Penboynian colony in northern Belandria. Kartria began educating the type of wizard we know today. This new kind of wizard found employment as engineers, mercenaries, councilors and other henchmen. They became influential on an individual basis. In Ontaine, the wizards as a group were so indispensable as to be the mayor political power. The Ontainian kings trusted these wizards on a regular wage far more than they trusted their unpaid barbarian hordes. The Ontainians conquered Bondor from Pandesa in 419 CC, a surprising feat made possible by the use the newly developed 'field magic'. The Pandesans have never forgiven the Kartrians of helping a civilized city fall into the hands of barbarians, especially since it meant losing control of their possessions in Osbane. But some historians claim it was payback for the earlier Pandesan conquest of Bondor - done on an individual (or group) basis, not as a part of official Marentian policy. But that as it may, it is a fact that Kartrian-Pandesan/Pandese relations have been closer to icy than to warm, and remains cool to this day. But of more immediate importance, it was the first time mundane (that is non-divine) magic was used as the decisive factor in a war. The political influence of the wizards back in Kartria grew, and it seemed natural that they took charge. This happened in 441 CC, and though Marentia formally remained a democracy, the power structure gave the wizards free reign if they wanted. Under the old rule, each seat in the Assembly represented a geographical area, and that area elected a representative in whatever way the locals saw fit. That was not true democracy, the wizards argued, as many areas simply elected the local lord. No, true democracy would represent the power of the people. But since a wizard could wield the power of a thousand men, he should go to the Assembly representing these thousand men. The new Assembly was based on power. Each wizard who had passed certain tests of skill (later termed an arch mage) sat in the Assembly. So did others commanding a certain power - generals, admirals, governors and the mayor of Balvine. And the non-Kartrian areas still chose their representatives as they had done before. Since the Assembly now consisted of men with responsibilities, they could not discuss politics all year long. The Assembly elected a committee of seven (later nine) members to handle policy, the Supreme Council. The Supreme Council elected one person to handle day-to-day affairs, the Autarch. The word Autarch basically means a person able to take care of Marentian politics all by himself. He would be the most powerful person in the world, having more firepower literally at his fingertips than any general. In the words of Nimrod I, the first autarch instated in 441 CC: "The power that the Marentian Assembly wields is the combined powers of the Assembly [members]. The power that the Supreme Council wields is the combined powers of the Supreme Council. The power that the Autarch wields is the power of the Autarch. This is why Marentia is a true democracy, there is no representation, everybody qualified to rule rules."
Under the reign of Nimrod I the name Marentia slowly began to appear less and less outside formal speech. Colloquially, Kartria crept back as the word for the nation. And Kartria expanded. First the few remaining independent islands in the Inner Sea were captured, then any island left undefended by the Penboynian as they concentrated on their new Belandrian possessions. And as a result of the Ontainian civil war, Harastor and Bondor became vassal cities by 490 CC. Finally Nimrod began to search for potential enemies around the Inner Sea. He got it. The eyes of the other Inner Sea countries were on Kartria, and they didn't like what they saw. Scared by the power of magic, Servania outlawed all magic-use in 495 CC, and as the neighboring countries were preparing to take similar steps, the War of Wizardry broke out in 503 CC. Kartria took on Salakand, Servania and Penboyn. Nimrod's plan was simply to threaten the coastal cities with magical destruction, then to sit back and wait for surrender. The plan had worked on a lesser scale on the citizens of Bondor and Harastor when they had expressed aspirations of independence. He threatened, and had expected to destroy one city to show that he meant it, but died in 505 CC after more than 60 years of rule. His successor, Politorn I, was a good general and preferred to use the more traditional ways of war. It was enough to win the war. The Servans once legalized wizardry and the three losing countries gave visiting Kartrians arch mages privileges as if they were nobility. The threat of fire from the sky did contribute to the founding of Osbant. The small principalities and townships in northern Osbane saw themselves being eaten up by the fire-breathing dragon called Kartria. The final act of Politorn was to conquer the weakened Servania in 533 CC, and that conquest marks the zenith of Kartria's first golden age. He was replaced by an autarch that took the name Nimrod II. The name signaled a return to an even more aggressive foreign policy. Nimrod II made Penboyn cede the islands of Dorkis, Minatern, and Akunar. And Penboyn had to make a law to ensure that no one could deny a Kartrian wizard credit. Historians agree that Nimrod had drawn up plans to invade Salakand, whose alliance with the Pellan Empire had strengthened the Salaqi considerably. But then disaster struck, the Book of Enchantments disappeared! Shortly after, still in 549 CC, Nimrod II died. It could have been suicide or a frantic attempt to recover the Book, nobody really knows.
Kartria would never be the same.

After the catastrophe. Nimrod II was succeeded by Bazen. By today's reckoning Bazen was an imposing wizard who became an inept leader. Many works blame him for letting the Book of Enchantments disappear beyond hope of recovery. Other historians think that the real problem was that the Kartrians themselves had created a government that didn't cooperate within itself. So honor or whatever it was made Bazen try to solve the problem by himself, an impossible task. Lastly, a few historians claim the Hecate Herself had called the Book back, so it was gone no matter what. In the end, Bazen had the courage to step down in favor of Celestian, who had suggested and as autarch founded the eight magical colleges. Celestian I is considered a competent ruler who was able to unite the mages in an effort to face the new realities. He felt that all avenues of knowledge must be explored. He broke with tradition and welcomed elves, women and gnomes to contribute to the pool of magic knowledge. Unfortunately, his views were not widely accepted and he was unable to avert the dire consequences of his policy. He increased the number of members in the Supreme Council from seven to nine. This was done partly to represent all the colleges, but also because he wanted to delegate power to a larger number of people. His great design didn't work out, and he had to use much of his skills keeping things together. It is common knowledge that first Kril Shandor, then Ogonjok (then known as Kristeyn Ort) left Kartria during his rule. When Celestian died, Ashanar was elected autarch. And Ashanar I had demanded revenge. Ashanar introduced the term 'renegade' (ironically the proposal had been Kristeyn's), Ashanar invented the 'fates', and Ashanar came up with the system of agents, whose primary purpose at that time was to track the renegades. On the mainland Penboyn was threatened by barbarians to the north and nomads (the Iluvar) to the east. Ashanar ignored this, he was thinking of Kartria's prestige, and to show the outside world that Kartria was back in shape, he dusted off Nimrod II's plans for teaching Salakand a lesson. Ashanar I did not invade Salakand, Nistris I did, and only after long deliberations. When he finally did, Salakand lost its access to the Inner Sea, Forklon and Randaria. Nistris had become autarch on the merit of the Gem of Souls, his masterpiece. He was somewhat more diplomatically inclined than his predecessor. In hindsight, the, admittedly very successful, attack on Salakand was an act of shooting himself in the foot, though it did strengthen domestic morale. Upon Nistris' death, Faldorno came into power on the strength of his awesome destructive powers as a mage. His idea of diplomacy was that you had allies and you had enemies. Enemies, you threw fireballs at, friends, you did not. Faldorno is said to have sneezed at Penboyn's suggestion of joining forces against the Iluvar, and snickered when most of Penboyn did fall. No matter, the old Nimrod I technique would work again, so he claimed. The conquest of Tulana did scare him enough to withdraw troops from Randaria, effectively returning it to Salakand. Faldorno died in battle, when the province of Servania was overrun by the Iluvar. He was replaced by Chalmar, who was a decent strategist, but otherwise didn't distinguish himself.

Iktemar and the Time of Kings. When the later Nimrod II was elected to the Supreme Council, he began to call himself Nimrod. This was meant as a policy statement, so all could see that he would work along the same lines as Nimrod I, that is for a strong Kartria. Later, a wizard would call himself Celestian if he signaled that intended to share the responsibility of leadership, or Ashanar if he meant to exact vengeance, and so on. At the time of Chalmar's death, a relatively young mage, Iktemar, was elected autarch. He too had changed his name upon entering the Supreme Council. He had changed it to show his support for his elder half-brother, Yondemar, who was by far the best combat wizard of the time, and already sat in the Council. Now Yondemar himself had not changed his name, and though he was older than Iktemar, he was considered too rash for becoming a ruler. The election of Iktemar was not in accordance with the unwritten principle that stated the most powerful wizard be autarch, but it turned out to be a wise choice. Iktemar believed that the original intentions with the academy of Balvine should be honored. Kartria should be "the Sage of Bandagora", an analyzer of problems and a pointer to solutions. Immediately after his election Iktemar began working together with the other civilized countries against the Iluvar. The only country neighboring the Inner Sea left with a sizeable army was Salakand, but after some diplomatic activity, an army of Salaqi, Kartrian and Osbantine forces invaded Suadan and finally attacked the Iluvar at Tulada in 661 CC. When the battle was over, none but the Iluvar remained, still the victory is considered a Pyrrhic one. The numerically inferior allied forces succeeded in destroying most of the Iluvar army core, especially the Zingari 'cadre'. And the Iluvar leader, Ghorgis, died. This fact is attributed to the personal courage and sacrifice of Yondemar. Yondemar's unselfish death has since been a favorite subject of Kartrian poets. But Iktemar trudged on. Iktemar's costly war against the Iluvar was not popular everywhere. Notably Bondor and Harastor did not feel obliged for paying for a war effort far to the north. When they protested, Iktemar demanded they pay their part and in turn offered them freedom. Iktemar's vision of Kartria was not an empire, but an ivory tower. He had any absurd Kartrian privileges in the countries abroad revoked, but had them replaced by laws forbidden magical schools and colleges. This almost gave Kartria a monopoly on magical knowledge. Iktemar died in 726 CC in the conquest of Tulada, that had been impossible 65 years before. He had reigned for 70 years, and he had made in the mind of the Kartrians themselves an image of wizards as sages, and of Marentia as a country helping other countries if she could but generally minding her own business. So the next ruler of Marentia was not a wizard, but a skilled administrator. They could not call him autarch, so they called him king. For the next 160 years, a king would rule Kartria. It began, as it ended, with a Tornfast as king. Tornfast I was wise monarch who was able to enlist the power of the mages. This initial success made the kingship a tradition. Tornfast II, however, was more or less an idiot, whose historical role was to make it obvious for everyone that the Time of Kings was at an end. The period saw several trends. The dominance of Kartria waned, the overseas possessions was neglected and lost one by one. This culminated in what has been called the "Ghost War", and ended in a Grone occupation of the southeastern Kartria from 872 to 878, while no less than four different kings tried to crank up their courage to throw the Grone out. The occupation was abandoned as soon as Celestian II was elected, and then without any bloodshed. Another trend was the large increase of the volume of magic knowledge. When the Book of Enchantments was at hand, the ideal for a wizard was to know all spells. But after the disappearance, a new ideal began to emerge, that of researching as many spells as possible. This development gathered speed during Iktemar's reign and led to the number of spells multiplying. This effect was losing momentum in the Time of Kings, but it has been accounted that when the later Nistris II made the Catalog in 965 CC, then the Catalog showed more than five times the number of spells the Book had shown about 400 years before, when the Kartrians had had their last look. Lastly, the wizards' personal non-magical power increased. For years wizards had been humble students of the art, living on the campus and working in common labs. But Iktemar introduced the title arch mage, making the title-bearers rich land-owning nobles with access to labor and income. Iktemar's title was based on the passing of certain tests, but the kings saw the title as a means sometimes to keep some wizards out of court politics and at other times as a reward, and so they granted the title somewhat more freely.
Iktemar I ruled for very long, partly because he was relatively young when elected autarch, but partly because he made use of the new expensive longevity magic. In the Time of Kings, it was not uncommon that an arch mage was still active at the age of a hundred years. At Iktemar's prompting, a great deal of wizards had spent many years working as court wizards after their graduation. This continued in the Time of Kings and created an elite of wizards, that had the money to enjoy a 'third age' free of any obligations at their magically prolonged physical and mental peak. This elite held no loyalty to the kingdom of Marentia, but rather to a fraternity of the University of Balvine, the laboratories in Essara and the alumni. After spending ten years in some backwater barony in Salakand, they learned to appreciate knowledge. To them "a Kartrian" meant a fellow scholar in the field of magic, even if that fellow technically was Veslandic.
Some historians regard the period from Iktemar I to the reign of Stevin (both included) as the second golden age of Kartria. It was an era of rapid development in the knowledge of magic, and a time - expect for the Mordenkainen affair - during which wizards generally got along. If you limit the meaning of the word Kartrian to the society of wizards living in Marentia, it is reasonable to consider it a golden age. But if you by the word Kartria mean the nation that formally is called Marentia, then it was a time of steady decay. The rulers could not or did not care for the overseas provinces. Legemul and Stevin tried to stop this development, but Allisar's trade laws undid all their efforts and made the loss of the provinces inevitable. In many ways the rule of Iktemar I and the Time of Kings formed the Kartria we know today.

Back to the autarchs. When the Grone troops had retreated after the ascension of Celestian II, Marentia controlled the same territory she does today. Marentia has not since been at war with other nations. Celestian II was replaced by Castanamir I, and he succeeding in returning the image of Kartria to that of "the Sage of Bandagora", principally in the minds of the ruling heads in the countries around the Inner Sea. During the Kangrisorn Wars, Castanamir I, Iktemar II, and Castanamir II was each in turn considered the mental leader of these nations. The first four autarchs following the Time of Kings replaced the fear of wizards with respect and in some cases trust. The wizards did their part in turn. Today the Ontainian threat to Kangrisorn seems somewhat hypothetical, but 100 years or 200 years ago it was very real. Then Ontaine was regarded as a colossus with feet of clay - if the right leader came along, Ontaine could conquer the whole of Belandria, Penboyn, or just about anything. That problem worried Castanamir I much, and the solution was a huge supply of magical items to the cities and countries who in turn promised to listen to the advice given by Kartria. Other factors contribute, but it remains a fact that in the 10th century CC Penboyn changed from being a kingdom hard to rule to being the core of leadership with allies in Vesland, Hardnit and Donara. The cometary rise of Enders is also partly due to magical items. Adventurers often ask the question: "Where do all those items come from?" especially of the less expensive items. At the inn you usually get the answer, that when you graduate from Balvine, you owe so much money that you have to serve 10 years as a court wizard for some count in Penboyn, and what else can you do to pass the time? It is part of the answer, but only a small part of the production comes by in this way. Castanamir I introduced a rota so that all wizards, except the few that risk their lives as agents, will have produced quite a number of minor magical items when they graduate. The fact the production of magical items was a part of a wizard's C.V. almost eliminated any competition for positions as court wizards. The 10th century is considered the last golden age of Kartria because of the power and influence the individual Kartrian wizards had, but also because of the influence Kartria had as nation, not only in the royal courts around the Inner Sea, but also in the minds and imaginations of the common citizens. In the 10th century the the strong self-made individual became an ideal for many, if not for kings. It is not surprising that the Adventurers' Guild was founded in that century.

The time to the present. If the 10th century was a time of hubris, the 11th century was a time of nemesis. Some historians explain the unprecedented degree of turmoil, war and civil war by the fact that the Gods felt neglected and repeatedly stirred the masses. Perhaps it is so, in any case all happenings are due to the Gods, and the observation does not give any real understanding. The fact remains that the 11th century was awash with unrest, civil war and - in short - lack of stability. The 100th century had seen four different autarchs, the 11th saw twelve. The Kartrian had so much confidence in their personal powers to the point where they had reduced their army to an underpaid police force. When Nimrod III humiliated the army leader asking for better pay in 1062, the army revolted. Nimrod III was no great leader himself, but the fear of individual punishment made the prospect of declaring oneself as leader of the revolt too scary for the army officers. So the revolt slowly crumbled, until paradoxically, when Nimrod died and Celestian IV became autarch. Celestian was a better commander, but he was respected as a gentleman that would not teleport in and fireball any leadership. Tragically, it still ended in a massacre at Sparkia. The present army conditions was fleshed out by Castanamir V, who financed a reasonable salary by increasing the sale of magical items and revoking some arch mage privileges and titles.