Historical Record #
Before anyone had even whispered the name Awyr, this land belonged wholly to the Orcs, the Bugbears, and the Goblins. They lived side-by-side for ages, but their interactions were always a raw, violent mess. They fought over everything—a fertile strip of land, a clean river for drinking, even a petty, forgotten insult—and the fighting never stopped. The continent itself was tired, scarred by generations of brutal, pointless conflict.
It was around 17,105 BR that a charismatic Bugbear shaman named Ruaridh finally looked at the endless war and realized they were just bleeding themselves dry. Ruaridh was a traveler and a talker. He went to the most powerful Orc and Bugbear tribes, not to conquer, but to propose a simple, desperate bargain: pool their dwindling strength and stand together against anything that came from outside. This shaky agreement became the first hint of unity, a thing they called The Falhollow Alliance. It was always a thin skin stretched over a raw wound, but for thousands of years, it held.
But power is a restless creature. By 10,491 BR, the mighty Orcs of The Grashnak Tribe had grown weary of sharing the table. Their chief was a master politician and a brutal military commander. Through short, bloody campaigns and cunning moves behind the scenes, they systematically choked the Bugbears’ influence, forcing them into submission. The Alliance was crushed, and in its place rose The Crushing Hand, an Orcish fist holding a kingdom that was too top-heavy to stand on its own.
It couldn’t last. A devastating plague swept the land around 5,625 BR, and the flimsy government shattered like glass. The tribes broke apart again, but this time they were sharper, more organized. Powerful regional warbands of Orcs and Bugbears clawed out territories for themselves. It was a time of unending, hungry conflict—The Bitter Feast—where everyone fought over the scraps of the old empire.
The Goblins, who had cleverly kept their distance and independence through all the bloodshed, finally saw their opportunity around 4,332 BR. They weren’t built for a stand-up fight, but they were numerous and unbelievably cunning. A clever Bugbear chief named Belatz recognized this strength and approached a rising Goblin shaman named Vuk. They made a pact, uniting their peoples with an unmatched political will. Together, they had enough weight to force the powerful Orcs to the negotiation table, creating The Triarchal Tribes and establishing a difficult, new balance.
Yet, this fragile three-way hold wasn’t destined for peace. A new and terrifying danger was creeping in from the north and south: the Human incursions. These outsiders, with their tireless hunger for resources and their cold, organized armies, were unlike anything the Orcs, Bugbears, or Goblins had ever faced. Their constant internal feuding had left them completely vulnerable to being picked off, one by one.
The Human threat grew so dark, so undeniable, that it forced the unthinkable. A meeting was called in 274 AR in a neutral, silent valley. The air in that valley was thick with suspicion and generations of inherited hate, but a wise Orc chieftain named Remrik stood and delivered a monumental, terrifying proposal: put aside every difference and formally unify into a single nation. The alternative was simple: extinction or slavery.
In that single, desperate moment that changed everything, the three leaders agreed to a new accord. To finally stop killing each other and to survive the world outside, their homelands were forged into the collective nation of Awyr. Each of the three peoples kept some control over their own lands, but they all sent representatives to a new governing council to manage disputes and speak for the whole nation. To mark the birth of this unity, a large, intimidating complex called Moeraes was built at the meeting site. This hall became the new seat of power, overseen by the most influential shamans from each race, known collectively as The Draoi. Treaties for trade and resources were signed, and for the first time in millennia, a tenuous peace was finally achieved.
But this peace is anything but easy. The shadow of the old ways still falls over Awyr. Some Orc tribes refuse to forget their former dominance, viewing the Goblins as weak and the Bugbears as traitors to a proud history. Some Goblin clans feel their new influence is a sham, that they are still treated as a subordinate people. These tensions simmer just beneath the surface, with certain tribes and individuals actively working against the treaties for their own gain. The survival of Awyr in the face of Human aggression is a delicate, moment-by-moment balancing act, tested constantly by the ghosts of its own past.
Present Day Details #
Founded: 274 AR
Capitol City: Moeraes
Citizen Population:
Government Type: Shamanistic Overlordship
Leadership: Shamanistic Overlordship Name
Language/Name influences:
- German and Slavic for Goblins
- Icelandic, Georgian and Proto-Germanic for Orcs
- Norse, Basque and Gaelic for Bugbear
