The History of the Eastern Coast

The Eastern Coast has existed for countless millennia, many of which have featured human settlement

Prehistory
Before humans, the Coast had been home to many large animals, whose remains can still be found in caves. Humans began to move into the area, migrating slowly through the great desert. Not much is known about these early inhabitants, except that they were more common in the coastal regions. The oldest remains of humans found in the eastern coast date back to around the year -13,000, and settlement of Ink Island is presumed to have begun around the year -7,000.

The Age of the Wheel
The Age of the Wheel began with the establishment of cities, primarily located along the banks of the Northbound River. It was at this time that written word was first developed in the area, dating back to the year -4,672. Over this period, polytheistic religions started developing separately across the banks of the Northbound, of which there are still vestiges of to this day. Eventually the city of Samsen took over the valley to rule the Samsenite Empire to varying levels of prosperity and poverty.

Organized rule slowly spread to the Central Valley and coastal regions, with kingdoms and city states starting to appear, with the Kingdom of Lunarian eventually taking over many regions of the Eastern Coast, with the eventual fall of Samsen occurring in the year -1230. It was at this point that King William VI proclaimed himself the first emperor of the Eastern Coast thus beginning the First Eastern Empire. Despite this, there were pockets of independence still in existence.

In the year -570, the prophet Tarastac appeared in the city of Samsen, and founded the religion of Tarastacism. This religion was quickly adopted by the emperor Ferante III and became the official religion of the empire. Despite the official status, the religion was never fully adopted, but slowly prevailed in some areas.

In the year -500, the Empire of Ilafaz launched an invasion from the north, and took the capital Lunarian in the same year, using technology such as horseriding and archery to overpower the native populace. Quickly, the Empire of Ilafaz came to control the entirety of the Eastern Coast, as well as the regions to the north, and instituted a regime which enslaved people based of ethnicity.

Despite the oppressive rule of the Ilafazians, rebellions were frequent and many plotted the return of the old system. These attempts were variously unsuccessful resulting in many hangings and assassinations. It was in the year -49 that Jeremy Lington journeyed across the Hulf river to visit the Hidden Valley. It was here that the isolated Lington discovered the secrets to Magic, and wrote the Book of Magic. Despite his youthful death, Lington's book began to spread throughout the empire in secret by revolutionaries, slowly building an army of wizards. It was in the year -12 that the revolutionary Aralst of Salran declared himself the rightful heir of William VI and led a charge to take back Lunarian with a magical army, beginning the War of Magic. This caught the Ilafazians off guard, but they quickly attempted to create a rival wizard force. The Coastians eventually prevailed with an overwhelming show of force, raising the entire nation of Ilafaz to ground with dark curses. Following this Aralst proclaimed himself Aralst I of the Second Eastern Empire, and instituted a new calendar starting with the year 1.

The Age of Magic
The new empire started the difficult task of rebuilding the Eastern Coast from years of decline under the Ilafazians, but using help from the wizards and the charisma of Aralst, the reconstruction was fast.

With the new empire and the discovery of magic, a religious crisis ensued. Many sects of Tarastcism began to grow and in the year 20, the religion of Personalism appeared, being particularly well adapted for magic.

As the years went on, the Second Eastern Empire began to decline in power, with the several provincial governments becoming more powerful. By the year 400, most citizens saw themselves as loyal to their local lords as opposed to the king.

Despite this decline in power, there were several successful emperors, such as Nathan III and Johan I, the latter of whom saw the beginning of trade across the wide ocean. With the new finances coming from trade, the empire started to flourish, with the era of abundance considered to be from between 650 and 800.

The Age of Natherumite
In the year 870, the salt miners of Ilchiz struck a vein of natural Nathurmite. The usage of this metal was long studied by alchemists and chemists, but they lacked any meaningful way to extract it. However with this new supply, Lord Haklon of Sametia quickly made a deal with the New Metal Industries companies to distribute and profit from the material. This began a rapid industrialization, which destabilized the ancient agrarian societies of the Eastern Coast.

This industrialization was seen poorly by many groups, most prominently the wizards, who attempted to sabotage industry to preserve their status. Many ruling elites also attempted to stop the industrialization, to stop new wealth from being developed. In the year 892, emperor Aralst VI was murdered by a mob of angry factory workers, after he issued a decree banning Nathurmite. Without any heirs, and confidence from the citizens, thus began the Fall of the Empire, leading to a mass reorganization of the Eastern Coast into smaller states.

As time went on, a new peace ensued, although there was still markedly high amounts of social tension within the society.