Gaz F10 The Kingdom of Kaarjala - Vaults of Pandius

HISTORY AS THE IMMORTALS KNOW ITEventually the Saamari grewaccustomed to their position of absolutedominance and became complacent. Theambitions of their kings, however,continued to grow unchecked.In BC 591, King Ville mounted a grandcampaign to conquer the Borean Valley,home to humanoid tribes on Isanmaa’sfrontiers. At first highly successful, theking’s armies soon became bogged downin vicious guerrilla warfare and had toexpend considerable resources defendingthe conquered lands. Progress stalled,and King Ville’s resolve crumbled after asurprise counterattack by a coalition of15 tribes (BC 572). The action claimedmany lives, including that of Ville’s heir,Aarne. The army withdrew in goodorder, but the defeat and the subsequentperiod of intense border raids signaledthe end of Isanmaa’s expansionism andits golden age.The Decline of Isanmaaand Lovaara’s ShadowSurrounding humanoid tribes wereemboldened in the decades that followed,and raids became commonplace. By BC500, large sections of Isanmaa’sborderlands had been laid to waste, withentire towns and villages razed.Thousands fled to Isanmaa’s heartland,while heroes and rune mages maderepeated forays to regain control over theborder regions.Isanmaa also faced difficulties withinits borders – many recalled the past gloryof the Saamari and bitterly blamed theking for the nation’s current state. Somebegan to place greater faith in Isanmaa’sadventuring heroes, but these were few innumber and could only delay thehumanoid advance. Others suspected therune mages of hoarding Ilmarinen’ssecrets for themselves. The mageswithdrew from the public in response tothis charge, which only reinforcedpopular beliefs. Seeing their cousins’kingdom crumble, the Vaarana withdrewfurther north.Isanmaa’s declining power might havestabilized or even resurged were it not forthe ambitions of a young sorceress namedLovaara. Lovaara resented the loss ofesteem that she and her colleagues hadenjoyed. She questioned the policies ofKing Tuomo and drew to her side likemindedrune mages. Her own powersrapidly grew – unnaturally so – and sheenjoyed dark dreams that showed her apath by which all of her desires could befulfilled. As the visions’ enticementgrew, so, too, did her powers.The sorceress and her followers stageda revolt in BC 390. They had drawnmany of the discontented – and a largehost of humanoids – to her banner. Nineyears later, their army descended onKuusamo, the capital. The city held for atime, but ultimately the gates werebreached. Nearly the entire populationwas put to the sword – including theroyal family.With the royal line extinguished and thecapital in ruins, Lovaara conquered manytowns across the heartland and destroyedeven more. Thousands of Saamari flednorthwards to join their Vaarana cousinsin safety; Lovaara, busy consolidating herown realm, was content to leave themalone for a time.The bulk of Isanmaa was transformedinto a wasteland populated byhumanoids, restless spirits, and corruptedsouls who had sworn service to Lovaaraand the dark powers into which shetapped. As the land twisted into a parodyof what it had once been, Lovaaraevolved into a monster. She remained abeautiful woman, but her eyes mirroredthe evil in her soul as all compassion andempathy drained away, and the coldnessin her heart took on a physical reality.Everything she touched became coatedwith frost. Among the Vaarana and thesurviving Saamari in the north, shebecame known as Lovaara the Ice Witch.Lovaara was not long content with herdominion, and she attacked the holdoutsto the north, which had since becomemore organized. Her crusades slowlypressed northward. Ilmarinen returnedonce more to his people, this time as aVaarana hunter named Lemminkainen.Lemminkainen regrouped the falteringSaamari and Vaarana, and led them on aseries of aggressive ambushes and sneakattacks to assassinate Lovaara’s generals.The resulting chaos stalled the enemy’sadvance and diverted the Ice Witch’sattention.Accompanied by a small group ofheroes, Lemminkainen sped through theenemy territory, entered Lovaara’scitadel, and attacked her there. The IceWitch turned her considerable powersagainst the heroes and killed many of herassailants, but she was gravely woundedand fled her domain in disgrace.Lemminkainen and his survivingcompanions razed the citadel and took asmany of Lovaara’s treasures as theycould.In doing so, the victors unknowinglysevered many of the mystical linksthrough which Lovaara had accessed herpowers. She lost many of them and wasleft unprotected from their unwholesomemagics. The energy quickly corruptedher physical form, and she vowedvengeance on her former people for herfall from grace.The Great FlightWith the destruction of Lovaara’scitadel and her elimination as a unifyingforce, the humanoid hordes fell intodisarray and feuded amongst themselves.The Saamari entertained thoughts ofrestoring Isanmaa, but over 300 years ofbrutal occupation and warfare haddestroyed far too much, and theythemselves were sickened of conflict.The Vaarana had suffered less, however,and they were eager to push back thehumanoids. The gulf widened betweenthe two peoples despite Lemminkainen’sdiplomatic efforts.Just as it appeared that the people ofIsanmaa would fall upon each other inbattle, the Automaton reappeared beforeLemminkainen and delivered its counsel.It told him that Isanmaa was too gravelywounded to sustain her people, and thatthe humanoids would eventually regroupunder their own leaders, against whichthe Saamari and Vaarana would not longendure. If he wished his people tosurvive, Lemminkainen would lead themto a new home.He presented the Automaton before thechiefs and instructed them of what wasneeded. The Saamari chiefs agreed toundertake the journey, but those of theVaarana opted to reclaim their lands. InBC 275, Lemminkainen led a great hostnorth into the mountains. The way was5