In time immemorial, the Vardo and the Xola were nomadic tribes. They separately migrated south and sought refuge in the Ningopo range. Initially, they were hostile to one another. They raided and stole supplies from each other. That is, until they were beset by goblins. Hard times sow the seeds of solidarity, and this was no different. In these distant, ancient times, it was the height of the goblinish empire of Nar'Gaskhar'i, and the goblins, at least, considered the Ningopo range as the eastern border of their empire. The Vardo and the Xola retreated deeper into the caves. The truce was uneasy at first, but it persisted. Roles began to develop among the tribes. The Vardo handled the primitive faiths of the peoples, cultivated mushrooms in the caves, and brinewheat near the salty delta in the valley below. The Xola hunted and repelled the goblins, succeeding most of the time. This coexistence grew into the foundation of what would become the Viszudar. Every civilization has simple beginnings. As it tends to go, children were born between tribes. Rather than mingle, the tribes sought to stay separated. Thus, the elders of the tribes decreed which tribe each uncertain child would go to. This established a tradition that has adapted throughout the years, but at its core, stays in practice today. The tribes delved deeper into the caves, after suffering defeats at the hands of the goblins. For the two tribes, these were dark, difficult times, fraught with death and hardships. One day, one might say they delved too deep. In the near total darkness, the two tribes ran headlong into a cave of creatures they would learn are called Shindri. These megafaunic scorpion-creatures certainly did not seem friendly to the beleaguered tribespeople. Indeed, it seemed like they were caught between certain death and certain death. In the back of this chamber full of Shindri, there was an enormous, speckled, lumpy, white mound with a small head. In his wisdom and desperation at the sight of these abominations, the elder of the Vardo tribe, a shaman named Galthan, uttered a desperate prayer to his patron goddess, Îsha. (eye-sha) " Îsha guide and guard me. Steel my people against the horrors of this world, and protect us into the next. Illuminate my path, and show me the way." Today, this is used as a mantra for temple guardians, monks, and clerics of Îsha meditate on. Heretical scholars debate whether or not this prayer was the catalyst for Îsha's emergence into being. Galthan felt a steely, alien voice resound in his mind. It was not the voice of a human, and it was not in his language. It wasn't in any language at all. It spoke in a song of color, a voice of pure reason and alien intellect. It spoke in emotion and wildly spinning fractals. But - he could understand everything it said. It was in this moment he realized he did not doom his people. He liberated them. He ensured their survival for many generations to come. Galthan's mind was seared and remade. In a frightening spectacle to the primitive tribe. He was basked in light and sigils foreign to the spectators. The coruscating sigils slowed, and all were extinguished but one. The sigil remained in place in front of his forehead, illuminating the chamber. Literally directed by divinity, Galthan communed and bonded with the Shindri queen, while his people watched on in awe. Galthan the chieftain became known as Galthan the Illuminated, Galthan the Wise, and Galthan the First. Galthan's apotheosis would subsequently forge a line of Illuminated ones in his bloodline. Forever remade in the image of the goddess, Galthan approached the chieftain of the Xola, named Balvir. He described his communion with the queen, and the prophetic importance for their people. Balvir clasped Galvir's hand and he knew what he must do. Like Galthan, Balvir bonded with a Shindri. This would lead Balvir of Xola to be known as "the First Brave". Galthan and Balvir would go down in the legends of Viszudar as the saviors of their people. What greater confirmation could one possibly ask for their greater purpose than divine intervention? The tribes had little time to celebrate. The goblins were on them shortly after their ceremonies were complete, with their new life-bonded Shindri compatriots. The goblins were defeated here, and defeated again, and defeated again when they brought a much larger force to wipe out this growing threat. Indirectly, the people of the Viszudar are responsible for Nar'Gaskhar'i's fall. After the goblins were driven off, Galthan and Balvir formalized their dynasties in mutual respect. As it had always been, they would remain separate brother-in-arms. In the generations to follow, this tradition would be upheld and venerated. Eventually, every man's time will come, and even as larger-than-life figures in their day, Galthan and Balvir would eventually fall. Their bodies were entombed in the Ningopo, and forgotten by time. The people of the Viszudar, while never truly united, live on as a confederation of tribes to this day. Subsequent men to take Galthan's mantle would dub themselves Adjudicators, and bear the terrible burden of the station with grace and honor. Touched by Îsha's grace as he was, Galthan was not debilitated as all subsequent Adjudicators are. Some simply view this as a divine scourge. No man alive can come close to the forefathers, even as the forefathers live on in mind and spirit in the Queen of the Shindri. For two generations, the Vardo and Xola subsisted in the caves, until one day, an eastern artisan named Thal stumbled upon their tribe. She was near death and had traveled far. Unaccustomed to seeing other humans, the tribes treated her with kindness. She recovered, and in thanks, taught these simple but terrifying barbarians the secrets of firemaking, metalworking, and construction. This was naturally a massive breakthrough for these simple people. Thal quickly became close with the tribesmen, even taking a man named Hilsted, of the Vardo, as her husband. Hilsted took quickly to her tutelage, and using his unique perspective and knowledge of the properties the Shindri possessed, together they were able to make impressive technological leaps in durable compounds and otherwise. They devised a plan to connect the two mountain ranges. It was a huge risk at the time to leave the safety of the caves and enter the open, as goblins ran unchecked in the Glimmer river valley. They made a plan to create a great bridge, initially. The project went smoothly. The next project was to make another bridge. Again, they succeeded. The tribes marveled at the durability of the bridges. Reconsidering their approach, Thal and Hilsted devised a different use of the space. This was a grand project that would almost certainly outlive them, but it would ensure greater prosperity for their people and an extra layer of safety for future generations. They decided to construct a grand platform, supported by countless of these Shindri-reinforced mushroom fiber composite ropes. The tribes set to work, and in many years, the platforms were ready. It was a marvel then, and it is a marvel today. The platforms didn't even sway in the wind, it was as if they were standing on solid ground. On this net, generations of craftsmen would construct platforms, and would divide them into quadrants - one for each tribe of the confederation. Nearing death, with her life's work complete, Thal and her progeny were granted a house of their own. They had more than earned it with their grand work of constructing the Viszudar. In her dying breath, Thal spoke of a vision. She proclaimed the divinity spoke with her, and decreed the grand platform be named the Viszudar, and forevermore it was so called. The tribal people, given their history, had great faith in the divine, and did not doubt the words of a woman so great. Hilsted, for his contribution, was immortalized as a household saint in the local religion. Some say he lives on in the stars, like many other heroes of the Viszudar. Many generations would pass in an age of peace and development for the tribes. These times are known as 'the Age of Awakening' by shamans of a historical persuasion. Their culture grew with the decline of other great civilizations of old. To the west was Nar'Gaskhar'i, the empire of the goblinic hordes, and to the east was Jomla-Khal, the empire of many isles. In the midst of this brutal collapse, the tribes flourished. Their cultural traditions would develop, and so would their infrastructure. This period of peace would cement their place as the sovereign of the mountains and river valleys. After so many years of strife and torment, it began to look like they would be the masters of their own fate. Peace never lasts forever - and without conflict, peace would hold no meaning. In this lull, the Thal propagated, and took advantage of the collapse of the Jomla-Khal by raiding their outlying settlements and enslaving many of their people. They brought them back to work as slaves in their mines, and slowly began to resent the Xola and Vardo. Civil war was inevitable, and eventually broke out. The Thal declared war on their neighbors. Their armies severely outnumbered the Xola and Vardo, and their equipment and technology was jealously guarded and hoarded for some time up until that point. The war was a surprise to no one. The council of shamans was split. Some shamans sided with the Vardo and Xola, others with the Thal, and others remained neutral. The Braves, unsurprisingly, sided with the Xola, Vardo, Adjudicator, and Queen of the Shindri. This war would be known as the Fratricide. Once war was declared, there was little hesitation or need to pretend. The Xola and Vardo struck first with the Shindri-backed Braves divebombing Thal defensive positions. The Thal were unprepared for the swift retaliation, and took up positions in the caves with their archers. It was a brutal, prolonged struggle with a senseless loss of life. This decimated the population of the Viszudar, and ended with a Thal surrender, after their last warrior was cut down, refusing until the bitter end. Even to this day, the Thal are renowned for their stubbornness. This marks the only civil war the Viszudar has ever seen before or since. The remaining Thal were held captive to await the Adjudicator's judgement. Normally, the Adjudicator makes quick, insightful decisions, but this decision took the longest on record, twelve days. For twelve days, the Thal were held. Ultimately, it was decided the Thal may stay as part of the Viszudar, conditionally. They were required to surrender their arms, and were banned from storing arms among their people forevermore. They are still allowed to join the braves, and to be conscripted into emergency military service. The practice of slavery, strangely, was not banned. The Adjudicator was silent on this matter, other than limiting the use of slaves to mining iron. Many take this as an endorsement of sorts. Thus, the age of awakening ended, and the age of exploration began. The surviving Thal were reviled for many generations. It was at this time intrepid Xola explorers began to explore the surrounding environs. They discovered the trade cities of Rivenport, the underwater stronghold of the Glimmerlake dwarves, Banehollow, the elusive hideaway of the Silverglade elves, and Gol-Galoon, the port to the east. The sporadic trade grew more frequent in this period. It was much later, when the shamans of the Viszudar were made aware of a troubling discovery. Two Vardo tribespeople approached them detailing a strange and perplexing conspiracy. They were a youth named Rhane, and a fellow shaman named Jeoreth. They revealed the dwarves of Rivenport hired saboteurs from far off lands named the Faceless to spy on and infiltrate the government of the Viszudar. The faceless were just that - creatures without a face, capable of altering their form to appear as nearly anything their size. Their ultimate goal was subjugation, but feared a military campaign would either fail, be far too costly, or expose them to outside forces which would defeat them in a weakened state. Jeoreth and Rhane were privy to this scheme, because as half-faces, they had to know in order to not reveal the scheme. A child cursed with such abilities without knowledge would certainly cause the collapse of the entire operation. Ultimately, they did, just not in the way the Faceless feared. They revealed themselves as half-faces. Half-faces are the names given to the offspring of a faceless and a human. They retain some of the ability to change their shape, but are burdened with typical human shortcomings - like guilt and shame. This ate at both of them dearly. The pair chose the Viszudar. It was their homeland, if they had one. They could not bear the burden of living a lie, rootless, without a people. There was no clean break for them, so they made the best decision they could. They detailed what they knew about the operation, and every faceless and half-face among them. The shamans took action, briefing the Patriarchs and Matriarchs of every tribe to surreptitiously take action. The ploy worked, mostly. In the wake of this night, known as Rhane's Reckoning, several citizens mysteriously vanished. Obviously, conclusions were drawn. Some of those accused and detained denied their involvement. They were given trials of Îsha. It is not known if any survived. Many of those detained confessed. Quite a few held similar feelings of guilt and grief similar to Jeoreth and Rhane. They just lacked the courage to take the actions the pair did. The Adjudicator was briefed, and took two days to reach a judgement. The judgement perplexed many. Those who confessed were not only to be spared, but they would be granted their own house. Historically, houses were only granted by merit to great people. Many thought Rhane and Jeoreth were cowards and traitors. It is easy to condemn the actions of those you do not wish to understand. Three generations have passed since these events, and the Rhane have propagated. They are still the smallest house, but perhaps not for long, given the decline of the Vardo. Many still resent the Rhane, and the vocations they are given are the worst, dirtiest jobs undesired by the other houses. Presently, in the year of 400 GA (Galthan's Age) in the Viszudar, the Viszudar is in an uncertain time of peace, apart from the advanced age of the Adjudicator, Zozannus. The death of the Adjudicator looms on the horizon, and as always, it heralds an uncertain year. Shamans speak of 'whispers-on-the-stars' and ill omens. For now, everything seems peaceful enough.