Chapter Text
Introduction
We know little of Echoria’s history before the Haddarian Era, which began almost eight hundred years ago. It is said that, after the Great War, humanity came united under a single banner. We know even less of this war; the details were lost to time. The champions of the Great War became the first rulers of Echoria: Queen Haddira and King Darius.
They had four children, who grew to become the first Lords of Echoria. After Queen Haddira passed away, King Darius remarried and had another child, who became heir to the Citadel’s throne. For centuries, their descendants continued to rule. It was an era of peace and prosperity, of trade and innovation, despite a few conflicts through the years. Some say magic used to thrive, in those days.
It was about three hundred years ago when it changed. The anti-magic laws we have today are a direct result of one Queen Laheera, who had no magic of her own. She feared magic so, she spent much of her reign restricting it. It was the beginning of the end; many of those who didn’t have magic started distrusting their fellow mages and the anti-magic laws gained popularity.
Mages who were deemed too powerful, too dangerous, were executed; weaker ones were imprisoned and never heard of again. These practices continue, to this day. They were the main cause of the coup, thirteen years ago; there were rumours that both late Queen Aurelie and King Darius the Fifth had extremely powerful magic. When their fellow mages found out, after being hunted and butchered like animals, they organized to take over Echoria.
It was a messy ordeal, which left no one standing to take the throne. Dealing with the uprisings in their territories, the Lords were far too busy to assist the Citadel. It descended into chaos and remained that way for almost an entire year before a local Merchant Guild, I forget their name, restored some sense of stability.
To this day, there’s still a lot of tension all over Echoria. Some say the throne has been empty for too long and a new ruler needs to step in; Others say the Lords should be overthrown next. Most can agree we need a change, yet no one can agree on what it should be.
Many fear Lord Godric in the northwest; he’s been expanding his military forces for almost twenty years and closed his borders after the coup. Very little information travels from his lands, but there are terrible rumours. Forced conscription, mass executions, heavy taxes… Some say no one has seen him in almost a decade, his orders carried out by executives. Others believe his people are reaching their breaking point and could erupt in a civil war any day.
Not much is said of Lord Meredy, east from us; he was only seventeen when the coup happened. Most would agree he’s doing poorly at ruling his territory, even with Lord Serina’s assistance. He may even have lost his footing entirely over the south of his territory; There are no reports of him travelling there in thirteen years, and much speculation as to why that is.
Lord Lawrence probably would have annexed him if it didn’t mean leaving himself open to an attack from the west. The Forkas are a natural barrier to the south, making it hard to expand that way; If he takes his forces beyond the mountains, Lord Godric could easily invade from the west. Lord Lawrence may be getting old, but he always had a sharp mind. He wouldn’t make such a mistake.
We are fortunate to live under Lord Serina; of all the Lords, he did best at keeping his territory united through alliances with the most powerful guilds. This is how he kept peace over the years. He’s fairly accessible, for a Lord. There is a vetting process, but most people who wish to meet him can do so. I heard he’s often outside, walking his cities with a personal guard. People can just talk to him if they so wish. He’s wise and benevolent.
I doubt a community like Meryn could thrive anywhere else. Lord Serina, and his ancestors before, is content to leave us to govern ourselves. Instead of taxes, our fishing crew works for him; Instead of regular guard patrol, Tanhee and her enforcers keep us safe. Even the merchants are content enough to take an extra day to come trade with us, else their caravans would stop coming. Overall, we have a pretty good situation here.