Esthar#

The fall of Menes 0 to 42 AWS#

After the fall of Menes in 0 AWS, 1,500 people of four peoples remained in the city. They were 657 humans, 338 half-elves, 322 halflings and 183 quicklings. Before the year was out, 160 of the survivors had fled the ruins. By 42 AWS the city had lost nearly three fifths of its people, to 638. In 1 AWS the ground under the city slipped, and forty-eight people fled the ruins after it. It slipped twice more in these years, and over eighty more fled after it. Plague, famine, lean years and fire killed nearly six hundred people in these years, 372 of them in the ash-pit sickness of 2 AWS, the worst the city ever knew. Once the ash-pit sickness had passed, the humans blamed the quicklings for the deaths, and open enmity broke out between the two peoples. In 8 AWS a party of 210 survivors from nearly a hundred and fifty houses fled the ruins to found Tharsis. In 34 AWS Urunth Weakbuster led nearly seventy of the hungry in a bread riot. They seized over a fifth of the city’s stores, and two of them were killed as it was put down. The fire of 42 AWS burned 100 homes, and three years later the city rebuilt them in stone, along wider streets, at the cost of over a fifth of its stores. Year after year more of the city’s people fled the ruins, a household at a time: nearly two hundred in these years.

The year the dead got up 43 to 82 AWS#

In 43 AWS a party of 140 survivors from over seventy houses fled the ruins to found Moria. The next year the ground under the city slipped again, and fifteen people fled the ruins after it. It slipped twice more in these years, and over fifty more fled after it. Unut Frostfeather became the humans’ leader and led them for twenty-four years. Plague came three times in those years and killed over two hundred people, eighty-two of them in the ash-pit sickness of 61 AWS. In 69 AWS the dead of the ash-pit sickness got up out of Sorrowmead, the pits where the city had buried them. Thirty-one of them walked into the city remembering nothing, not even their own names, and the city took them in as House Seconds. Eight years later Thab Seconds killed Oni Reddagger. The city banished the killer along with Dece Seconds, the head of House Seconds, because it blamed the house for the killing. Dece Seconds took to the hills and gathered the city’s exiles there, an outlaw band three strong. The same year a feud broke out between House Reddagger and House Seconds because of that killing. It was the city’s first feud. The leaving went on a household at a time, and over seventy more fled the ruins in these years. By 82 AWS the city had lost over a third of its people, to over four hundred.

The rising 83 to 133 AWS#

In 83 AWS Swupe Seconds killed Elit Reddagger. The city exiled the whole house, all 39 of its members, because it blamed the house for the killing. It had banished Dece Seconds six years before. A year later sixteen strangers walked into the city out of Ruefield, where the dead of the ash-pit sickness of 73 AWS lay. None of them could say who they were or where they had come from, and the city called them House Gravewake. That year seventeen strangers walked into the city out of the Paupers’ Field, where the dead of the ash-pit sickness of 81 AWS lay. None of them could say who they were or where they had come from, and the city called them House Hollowfoot. Eleven years later Tos Highjaw, who led the humans, set the city to digging a mine deep under it, the Deep Workings. Six years later the ground under the city slipped again, and twenty-five people fled the ruins after it. It slipped once more in these years, and fourteen more fled after it. In 110 AWS House Reddagger and House Weakbuster fell into a feud because Tani Weakbuster killed Snure Reddagger. The feud followed the two houses to Crecia, where it broke out again in 124 AWS, and later to Tarmaly. Another broke out between House Weakbuster and House Gravewake in 127 AWS. Still they left: forty-four more fled the ruins in these years. Within half a century the city had grown by over three fifths, to nearly seven hundred.

The humans gain ground 134 to 364 AWS#

In 134 AWS a party of 140 survivors from nineteen houses fled the ruins to found Tarmaly. The next year the ground under the city slipped again, and twenty-three people fled the ruins after it. Two years later Strabe Reddagger, a quickling servant, proclaimed that the Spark had come back in a new avatar, and all the quicklings’ great houses (families of forty or more) believed him. Two years later a feud broke out between House Reddagger and House Gravewake because Craphe Gravewake killed Quidenth Reddagger. The feud followed the two houses to Crecia, where it broke out again in 146 AWS, and later to Tarmaly. In 148 AWS the city finished the Deep Workings, which Tos Highjaw had begun in 95 AWS. Two years after the fire of 156 AWS the city rebuilt in stone the twenty-three homes it had burned, with firebreaks between wider streets, though it cost nearly a quarter of its stores. In 227 AWS another feud broke out between House Frostfeather and House Gravewake. In 240 AWS Efoph Frostfeather found a relic of the Spark, the Spark’s Ember. Pilgrims came to it, and in eleven years 179 people came to stay. The pilgrims stopped coming to it in 301 AWS. Over a third of the houses that had come for it left the city that year. In 252 AWS the humans, under Swick Frostblade, came to make up three quarters of the city’s people. In 296 AWS the city’s other peoples, after a year of human crimes against them, turned against the humans, who by then made up nearly nine in ten of the city. Hostility grew between the humans and the half-elves, and unease with the rest. Resentment of the humans would flare three more times, the last in 364 AWS. By 303 AWS grain from the Palace fed the city in lean years. Year after year more of the city’s people fled the ruins, a household at a time: forty in these years, the last of them in 201 AWS. The city had reached 952 in 287 AWS, then fell back to over five hundred. The humans’ share of the city rose from over two fifths to over four fifths.

The fall of Tori Frostfeather 365 to 449 AWS#

In 365 AWS hunger turned to revolt during the empty crocks. Ivic Hollowfoot led nearly eighty of the hungry against Tori Frostfeather, the humans’ leader, who had fared better than they had. Three of them died in it. They threw him down, and he never led the humans again. In 384 AWS Ceno Disoryn, the head of House Disoryn, began a great hall for the house, Disoryn Tower. It took forty-two years, and she did not live to see it finished in 426 AWS. In 396 AWS Haru Frostfeather, a devout human miner, proclaimed that the Spark had come back in a new avatar. His own house, House Ravenbringer, House Frostblade and House Redchaser believed him. House Erychwick called it heresy. Six years later House Erychwick and House Frostfeather fell into a feud because Feto Frostfeather took the lead of the humans from Totax Erychwick. It was the first in over a hundred and seventy years. Another broke out between House Erychwick and House Frostblade in 404 AWS. By 407 AWS none of the houses that had called Haru Frostfeather’s claim heresy was still among the city’s great houses, and the schism over his claim was over. In 447 AWS the Seventy-Year Plague came to the city from Crecia and killed 133 people. After the Seventy-Year Plague, the elves and the halflings turned on the humans, who by then made up nearly nine in ten of the city. Hostility grew between the humans and both of them.

The end of House Gravewake 450 to 520 AWS#

In 450 AWS Squifra Gravewake died, the last of House Gravewake, which had once been 177 strong. In 479 AWS the Seventy-Year Plague came back and killed eighty-nine people. After the Seventy-Year Plague, the elves and the halflings turned against the humans, who by then made up nearly nine in ten of the city. Hostility grew between the humans and both of them. Resentment of the humans would flare again in 504 AWS. Plague, famine, raiders and fire killed over two hundred people in these years, 167 of them in the cooper’s itch of 503 AWS. In 518 AWS Oro Redchaser struck a vein of gold, the Bright Vein, in the Deep Workings. Word of the strike spread, and in three years 226 people came for the gold. A year later Sasar Frostfeather, the head of House Frostfeather, began a great hall for the house, Frostfeather Hall. By 520 AWS the city had grown by nearly three fifths, to 897.

The year without summer 521 to 563 AWS#

In 521 AWS the humans came to make up nine in ten of the city’s people under Tehe Frostblade, because the cooper’s itch of 503 AWS had thinned the other peoples. Four years later the autumn chill broke out and killed 286 people. In 539 AWS the summer never came. A dry fog dimmed the sun, frost took the fields in the warm months, and the harvest fell by over a third. Famine followed, and forty-two people starved. The hunger lasted into the next year and starved three more. Eight years later Elamb Frostfeather killed Swapy Sparkturtle. The city banished the humans’ own leader, Foro Disoryn, along with the killer, because it blamed the humans for the killing. Foro Disoryn took to the hills and gathered the city’s exiles there, an outlaw band ten strong. The next year the Bright Vein, struck in 518 AWS, gave out. Nearly half of the houses that had come for it left the city that year. The same year the summer failed again, and the harvest fell by nearly two fifths. The bitter reapings followed, and 116 people starved. The next harvest was short too, and eight more starved. A year later a feud broke out between House Disoryn and House Frostfeather after Temenei Frostfeather took the lead of the half-elves from Wys Disoryn. It was the first in nearly a hundred and fifty years.

The Disoryn exodus 564 to 681 AWS#

In 564 AWS Tep Disoryn led House Disoryn out of the city and left it to House Frostfeather: 152 people, nearly a fifth of the city. They left because of the enmity between House Disoryn and House Frostfeather, which began when Wys Disoryn took the lead of the half-elves from Temenei Frostfeather in 551 AWS. In 585 AWS the city finished Frostfeather Hall, which Sasar Frostfeather had begun in 519 AWS. Work on it stopped for twenty-one years in all. In those years plague, famine, raiders and fire killed over five hundred people, 177 of them in the lambing chill of 608 AWS. In 641 AWS Code Rewagburn, a human farmer, proclaimed that the Spark had come back in a new avatar, and all the humans’ great houses believed him. In 659 AWS a dry fog veiled the sun, and the summer never came. Frost blackened the fields, and the harvest fell by nearly half. Famine followed, and eighty-eight people starved. The year after brought another short harvest, and two more starved. Six years later Code Rewagburn died, and the city prayed to him as a herald, at the Shrine of Herald Code, on the west side of the city. In 681 AWS Heph Elderhunter killed Afes Frostblade. The city banished the humans’ own leader, Ehed Rewagburn, because it blamed the humans for the killing. In the hills Ehed Rewagburn gathered the exiles the city had cast out, five outlaws in all. In little more than a century the city had lost nearly two fifths of its people, to 484.

The summer that never came 682 to 852 AWS#

In 726 AWS the summer never came. A dry fog dimmed the sun, frost took the fields in the warm months, and the harvest fell by over two fifths. Famine followed, and twelve people starved. The hunger lasted into the next year and starved three more. Three years later Lighe Hollowfoot struck a vein of gold, the Long Seam, in the Deep Workings. Word went out, and in twelve years 340 people came for the gold, and the city had nearly doubled. The Long Seam gave out in 751 AWS. Over half of the houses that had come for it left the city that year. In 732 AWS Nenthu Rewagburn, who led the humans, set the city to building a temple to the Spark, the Temple of Mercy. It took forty-four years, and she did not live to see it finished in 776 AWS. Work on it stopped for seventeen years in all. Two factions formed among the great houses in these years. The largest was the Frostfeather faction of House Frostfeather, House Rewagburn and two other great houses, formed again under Packa Frostfeather. In 752 AWS the city began to ration its food in good months as well as lean, and did so for twenty-seven years. In 787 AWS House Rewagburn and House Frostblade fell into a feud after Hibre Frostblade tried to burgle the home of Lascha Rewagburn. It was the first in nearly two hundred and fifty years. In 827 AWS Moda Frostfeather killed Lara Frostblade. The city banished the half-elves’ own leader, Lynot Rewagburn, who had led them for seven years, because it blamed the half-elves for the killing. Lynot Rewagburn took to the hills and gathered the city’s exiles there, an outlaw band five strong. The city had grown to 1,063 by the end of 746 AWS, but it ended these years at nearly eight hundred.

Herald Lel 853 to 908 AWS#

In 853 AWS the city had grown too crowded for the elves, and 171 of them split off under Mitoi Frostfeather and left the city, over a fifth of the city. Two years later Plelo Fairrage led the outlaws Lynot Rewagburn had gathered in the hills in 827 AWS back against the city and killed six people. In 872 AWS Lel Rewagburn, a devout human hunter, proclaimed that the Spark had come back in a new avatar, and all the humans’ great houses believed her. After the famine of 889 AWS starved 103 people, the city’s other peoples turned against the humans, who by then made up nearly nine in ten of the city. Hostility grew between the humans and each of them. In 907 AWS Lel Rewagburn died, and the city prayed to her as a herald, at the Shrine of Herald Lel, on the east side of the city. By 908 AWS the city had lost nearly two fifths of its people, to 480.

Hatred of the humans 909 to 1086 AWS#

When the famine of 908 AWS had starved 127 people, the city’s other peoples turned on the humans, who by then made up over four fifths of the city. Hostility grew between the humans and each of them. Resentment of the humans would flare nine more times, the last in 1085 AWS. In 930 AWS Tese Rewagburn, who led the humans, set the city to building the Hall of the Wheel. It took fifty-two years, and he did not live to see it finished in 982 AWS. In 996 AWS a feud broke out between House Frostfeather and House Lonebone because Dyto Lonebone killed Asemb Frostfeather. It was the first in over two hundred years. In 1053 AWS an addonexus came up out of the deep ways under the city. Before it took anyone, Nyho Ravengaze went out after it and killed it, and died of the wounds. In 1081 AWS another feud broke out between House Rewagburn and House Tascroft. The next year Det Swiftash killed Hubrex Ravengaze. Because it blamed the halflings for the killing, the city banished the halflings’ own leader, Tone Swiftash, who had led them for eighty-one years. By 1086 AWS the city had grown by over two thirds, to over eight hundred.

Banishments 1087 to 1164 AWS#

Six factions formed among the great houses in those years. The largest was the Ravengaze faction of House Ravengaze, House Frostfeather and two other great houses, under Ife Ravengaze. In 1099 AWS the city banished the elves’ own leader, Oca Frostfeather, who had led them for 181 years, because it blamed the elves for the raid Mitoi Frostfeather led. In 1131 AWS House Frostblade and House Stoneblood fell into a feud after File Stoneblood killed Niri Frostblade. Two more broke out in the same years. In 1133 AWS for a season the city could not remember its own name, and neighbours forgot each other’s. Five of its old walked out of the city and did not come back. In 1157 AWS the city banished the elves’ own leader, Tihi Rewagburn, who had led them for twenty-four years, because it blamed the elves for the raid the outlaw Oca Frostfeather led.

The banishment of Kyliti Rewagburn 1165 to 1281 AWS#

In 1165 AWS a dry fog veiled the sun, and the summer never came. Frost blackened the fields, and the harvest fell by nearly two fifths. The winters without bread followed, and ninety-five people starved. The next harvest was short too, and twenty-one more starved. That year a feud broke out between House Ravengaze and House Colddigger after Recku Ravengaze killed Tale Colddigger. The city shrank to 357 in 1223 AWS and ended these years at nearly six hundred. In 1227 AWS Bretro Rewagburn, the head of House Rewagburn, began a great hall for the house, Rewagburn Keep. It took thirty-six years, and she did not live to see it finished in 1263 AWS. In 1228 AWS the city banished the elves’ own leader, Kyliti Rewagburn, who had led them for seventy-one years, because it blamed the elves for the raid the outlaw Oca Frostfeather led. In 1274 AWS the city banished Adroc Stoneblood, because it blamed the elves for the raid Itives Frostblade led.

The Hill Vein 1282 to 1435 AWS#

In 1282 AWS Homa Rewagburn struck a vein of silver, the Hill Vein, in the Deep Workings. Word of the strike spread, and in eleven years 337 people came for the silver, and the city had grown by over two thirds. The Hill Vein gave out in 1296 AWS. Over half of the houses that had come for it left the city that year. In 1287 AWS Ethy Stoneridge killed Eri Mightydust. The city blamed the humans for the killing and banished their own leader, Vecke Grocton, who had led them for four years. In 1304 AWS the city banished the elves’ own leader, Igu Rewagburn, who had led them for thirty years, because it blamed the elves for the raid the outlaw Mita Rewagburn led. In 1318 AWS Oset Refholt killed Oce Yrilmere. The city banished the humans’ own leader, Alar Rewagburn, along with the killer, because it blamed the humans for the killing. In 1366 AWS House Barehorn and House Weakridge fell into a feud after Sig Weakridge killed Squud Barehorn. It was the first in two hundred years.

The Stoneblood schism 1436 to 1512 AWS#

In these years plague, famine, raiders and lean years killed nearly four hundred people, 258 of them in the midsummer dying of 1436 AWS. After the midsummer dying, the half-elves turned on the humans, who by then made up over nine in ten of the city. Hostility grew between the two peoples. Resentment of the humans would flare three more times, the last in 1502 AWS. In 1440 AWS Whate Stoneblood, a devout human tailor, proclaimed that the Turning Wheel had made itself an avatar again. His own house, House Rewagburn, House Elderhunter and House Barehorn believed him. House Ravengaze, House Swifthill and House Ruggedfield called it heresy. In 1460 AWS Whate Stoneblood died, and the schism over his claim ended with him. In 1466 AWS House Ravengaze left the city to House Stoneblood because of the hostility that claim had begun: 84 people under Sis Ravengaze, over a tenth of the city.

In 1512 AWS the city held 633 people: 602 humans, 16 half-elves, 10 elves and 5 halflings. No quicklings were left. Suse Rewagburn led the humans. The largest house in the city was House Rewagburn, 87 strong. Its great works still stood: the Deep Workings, Disoryn Tower, Frostfeather Hall, the Temple of Mercy, the Hall of the Wheel and Rewagburn Keep.

The Palace. After the fall of Menes in 0 AWS, four peoples remained in the fortress. By 1512 AWS, after a collapse, an exodus, famines and plagues, it held 88 people, three fifths of them humans, and two of its founding peoples were gone. In all that time no two of its houses fell into a feud. The fortress’s greatest loss came in 462 AWS, when it had grown too crowded for the elves and nearly half of it split off under Mota Notwell.

The Palace. Drielu Boldcut, a laborer, found a spring sacred to the Turning Wheel in 1440 AWS, and seventeen people came to the fortress for it. In 1475 AWS the half-elves took her as their leader and followed her to the end, thirty-seven years. She took to drink at 95 and gave it up ten years later. She was still living in the fortress at the end, at 115.

The Inner City. House Rewagburn came with the city’s founders, and under Lelo Rewagburn it became one of the city’s great houses in 456 AWS. In 787 AWS the first of its five feuds, with House Frostblade, began. House Rewagburn’s head, Bretro Rewagburn, began Rewagburn Keep, a great hall for the house in 1227 AWS, finished thirty-six years later. At the end it was the largest house in the city, 87 strong, and the Rewagburn faction still stood.

The Inner City. House Ravengaze, which had come to the city for the gold in 521 AWS, became one of the city’s great houses under Smetha Ravengaze in 1000 AWS. In 1134 AWS it fell into feuds with five houses, the first with House Rewagburn. House Ravengaze left the city in 1466 AWS behind Sis Ravengaze. At the end one of its members remained in the city.

Great cats8

Leopard, Cheetah, Crecian Tiger, Amari Tiger, Lion, Panther, Darkwood Tiger, Cougar

Small cats6

Wild Cat, Ocelot, Serval, Lynx, Bobcat, Crecian Highland Cat

Wolves and wild dogs10

Hyena, Fox, Jackal, Gray Wolf, Red Wolf, Fennec Fox, Dhjarian Fox, Coyote, Wild Dog, Wolf

Dogs13

Saellem Snow Hound, Bulldog, Pitbull Terrier, Coliseum Terrier, Darkwood Boarhound, Crecian Terrier, Bull Terrier, Tharsian Mastiff, Morian War Mastiff, Jewall Mastiff, Kinforge Ratter, Dumasque Wrinklehound, Kyrian War Dog

Bears4

Black Bear, Brown Bear, Grizzly Bear, Bear

Great beasts4

Elephant, Rhinoceros, Hairy Rhinoceros, White Rhinoceros

Deer and antelope20

Bongo, Bontebok, Nyala, Oribi, Reedbuck, Waterbuck, Red Deer, Okapi, Antelope, Sambar Deer, White-Lipped Deer, Spotted Deer, Elk, Tufted Deer, Swamp Deer, Gazelle, Addax Antelope, Oryx, White-Tailed Deer, Deer

Cattle, goats and sheep9

Bison, Crecian Buffalo, Alpaca, Wild Goat, Bighorn Sheep, Ibex, Llama, Yak, Wild Yak

Wild horses and camels2

Donkey, Zebra

Pigs7

Boar, Forest Hog, Warthog, Bush Pig, Western Bearded Pig, Darkwood Warty Pig, Collared Peccary

Apes and monkeys2

Langur, Tufted Gray Langur

Marsupials5

Numbat, Wallaby, Bilby, Marsupial Mole, Quokka

Small mammals33

Badger, Weasel, Ferret, Flying Squirrel, Fossa, Gerbil, Hare, Hedgehog, Mongoose, Dwarf Mongoose, Giant Armadillo, Porcupine, Capybara, Prairie Dog, Volcano Rabbit, White-Tailed Mouse, Unicolored Oldfield Mouse, Tufted Ground Squirrel, Saellem Flying Squirrel, Jackrabbit, Tharsian Giant Squirrel, Crecian Hare, Civet, Jerboa, Meerkat, Pocket Mouse, Aardvark, Armadillo, Skunk, Chinchilla, Kangaroo Rat, Painted Tree Rat, Mole Rat

Bats4

Flying Fox, Esthar Flying Fox, Estharian Flying Fox, Crecian Flying Fox

Birds of prey14

Prairie Falcon, Darkwood Hawk, Chanting Goshawk, Peregrine Falcon, Osprey, Harpy Eagle, Golden Eagle, Lammergeier, Pariah Kite, Red-Backed Kite, Red-Shouldered Hawk, Swallow-Tailed Kite, Purple Eagle, Falcon

Owls5

Burrowing Owl, Great Horned Owl, Northern Pygmy Owl, Northern Spotted Owl, Western Spotted Owl

Waterbirds6

Great Blue Heron, Green Heron, Black-Headed Heron, Sandpiper, Wood Stork, White-Winged Duck

Other birds26

Ostrich, Purple Martin, Mountain Bluebird, Ruby-Crowned Kinglet, Paradise Tanager, Long-Tailed Sylph, Black-Backed Grosbeak, Hoopoe, Sunbird, Scarlet Macaw, Orange Winged Parrot, Woodpecker, Hummingbird, Yellow Billed Cuckoo, Mockingbird, Darkwood Bulbul, Crecian Thrush, Wrinkled Hornbill, Yellow-Shouldered Blackbird, Prairie Chicken, Amari Lovebird, Yellow-Legged Pigeon, White-Winged Collared Dove, Roadrunner, White-Throated Swift, Dhjarian Bulbul

Lizards4

Iguana, Rock Iguana, Tiger Chameleon, Chuckwalla

Turtles and tortoises4

Wood Turtle, Three-Striped Roof Turtle, Jagged-Shelled Turtle, Turtle

Frogs and toads9

Toad, Poison Arrow Frog, Glass Frog, Darkwood Toad, White-Grass Treefrog, Pine Robber Frog, Warty Tree Toad, Strawberry Dart Frog, Wrinkled Frog

Salamanders and newts1

Yellow-Spotted Salamander

Fish1

Toothless Blindcat

Crabs and crayfish1

Tree Hole Crab

Snails2

Tree Snail, Wreathed Cactus Snail

Insects and spiders1

Leaf-Cutter Ant