Andrew Q. Gordon

The Seven Gods of Nendor created the world. After a time, Neldin – third eldest – decided to try to rise above his eldest brother Honorus and rule the world.  Neldin tricked the dwarves of Trellham to unleash the hordes of Neblor upon the world.  The other six gods rallied their followers and the two sides fought to a stand still. After a short but bitterly fought war, a young wizard from the island of Dumbarten, named Kel, followed the will of the gods and sealed off Neldin’s foot hold into the world and ended the war.  For the next three millennia, Neldin retreated to the underworld and was rarely heard from.

After the war Kel left Dumbarten and founded the Kindgom of Yar-del on the eastern coast of Ardus.  Other kingdoms were established around Yar-del, covering all but the icy wastes to the south, the arid dessert to the north and the fertile lands west of the The Trellham Mountains.  These nations were known collectively as the Seven Kingdom. As the centuries passed, the kingdoms grew prosperous. Although the Seven Kingdoms were stable and peaceful for the most part, wars were not uncommon, particularly between Yar-del and its southern neighbor, Zargon.

Kel was the greatest wizard of his age and perhaps in the history of Nendor. His descendants also proved to be powerful wizards who made use of Kel’s legacy of power to turn aside every one of Zargon’s attacks. Over time, Yar-del managed to expand its territory mainly at Zargon’s expense. After centuries of war, an attempt to bring peace was made when Princess Zenora, the only daughter of King Bren of Yar-del, wed the only heir to Zargon’s throne, Prince Meglar.  The union was supposed to produce a child who would one day unite and rule the two kingdoms. Instead of a lasting peace, Meglar betrayed Zenora, stole much of Yar-del’s Source – Kel’s legacy of power to his descendant’s – and set out to conquer the Seven Kingdoms and the rest of Ardus and Nendor.

Aside from the Seven Kingdoms, the merchant class found numerous city-states along the western and northern coasts of Ardus.  Over the centuries, strong figures emerged, staking their claim as ruler of these trading enclaves.  Though some tried to crown themselves kings, none of the larger kingdoms would acknowledge their claims and these would be kings settled for a slightly lesser title of Prince.

The three dwarf kingdoms, Trellham, Fracturn and Colograd, were divided among the three continents.  Trellham lent it’s name to the mountains running north-south on the western side of Ardus.  The kingdoms maintained only minimal contact with the human world. Instead they established a loose confederacy among themselves, despite spanning three continents. As the eldest kingdom, Trellham saw it’s kings given the honorary title, High King of the Dwarves. The title held little power except in times of war, when Trellham’s king would lead the combined armies if the need ever arose.  Otherwise, the three kings would meet as equals.

The temples to the Six maintained their independence from the crown and refrained, on order of the gods, from interfering with the governance of the individual nations. The exception to this rule were those cities founded by and for the temple to a specific god or goddess.  The best example of this was the city of Agloth in central Lourdria. Agloth was founded by Seritia’s temple and governed by the high priestess of the city.  Because none of the other temples are represented in this city and that it was found by Seritia’s temple, it is ruled by a priestess and not a queen or king.