the World of Aeora

History of Misram

"The history of the empire of Misram has been studied by historians for centuries, primarily because of its close connection with the Hellenic Disaster. Scholars know that Before the Destruction, Misram was occupied by a kingdom called Kemet. After the Destruction, the kingdom of Kemet grew into the empire of Misram — and the nation was split into two states which were called (appropriately) Upper and Lower Misram; however, exactly why and how this occurred is not understood. A few preserved tablets, from the early days of Misram, seem to depict a mass migration of people from a different region.

Not much is known about Kemet, or the early days of Misram, since most of the evidence is fragmented and difficult to decipher. The only texts that still exist from the ancient kingdom of Kemet are written in Kemeti and, although this was the most popular language across the southern hemisphere Before the Destruction, scholars still do not even know all the characters in the ancient script. Sources from the Ananta Islands and Elethra, however, do give some insight into the early days of the Misram empire.

In the mythology of Aedysus and Emilia (told in Ananta), Misram is depicted as a nation that has fallen into disarray. The government is corrupt and the people live in poverty. Besides this, the legends claim that Misram built pits with savage animals that were used for entertainment and execution. However, scholars debate the veracity of these statements and suggest that Misram was not as bad as Ananta believed. In fact, the empire continued to grow and prosper every year until about 124 A.D.

The empire of Misram always had two capitals, or at least as far as we know. The capital of Upper Misram was Thereb, and the capital of Lower Misram was Helena. Both capitals were governed by a single emperor, who was chosen directly by his, or her, predecessor. Most of the time the title was passed down based to the emperor’s direct descendants. A new emperor personally selected their government officials and assigned them seats in Upper and Lower Misram.

For all of their supposed problems, the Misram did very well in the arena of war. Although surrounded by enemies, and possessing few natural resources, Misram possessed ample amounts of land and a large population. Emperors would often elect powerful war leaders who expanded the military to unrealistic proportions. Every male citizen was forced to serve in the military for at least three years after they turned sixteen, and Misram was never at a loss for soldiers. Many of the smaller, surrounding nations were destroyed and rebuilt as Misram expanded their territory.

It would take an entire book in itself to document all of the historical events, and places, in Misram. As years passed, and Misram ceased their conquest of the surrounding nations, the empire became a major trade hub thanks to their miles of undeveloped coastline. But as many other people migrated into the empire, it became more difficult for the emperor to maintain control over the two states of Upper and Lower Misram..."

Excerpt from “A History of Aeora” (V. 2, C. 2) by Tuor Barilis, published in 642 A.D.

In order to understand the history of Aeora, one must address the incident (that occurred some hundreds of years ago) known as the Hellenic Disaster or, more commonly, the Destruction. The incident was so profound, in fact, that it revolutionized our methods of time-reckoning and still represents a clear division in the span of Aeorian history. Across the world, people refer to time as being Before the Destruction (BD) or After the Destruction (AD) — and it is clear that whatever records we have from before this division are fragmented and incomplete at best.

The question remains — what was this incident that the Ancients refer to as “the Destruction?” Mystics would have us believe that once upon a time Aeora had three moons, and their names were Luna, Phrixus, and Helle. During a final battle known as the Morte Kalendis, the moons Phrixus and Helle destroyed one another… or so the legend goes. Many still believe that this was the cause of the Destruction. However certain groups, such as the Society of Alchemists, have moved away from the “Multiple Moon” philosophy. They claim that although there was a devastating flood during the period known as the Destruction, that is was caused by natural forces from a single moon.

What the Mystics and Alchemists agree on, however, is that there was a great flood that occurred hundreds of years ago. The flood has been recorded in many nation’s historical documents, in particular those of Misram. Before the Destruction, that empire of Misram was a single, unified nation known as Kemet. After the Destruction, however, something caused the country to change its name and split into two parts — Upper and Lower Misram. Many documents cite the flood as the impetus to this major change.

There is much debate over the source, and extent, of the flood. In the Ananta Isles, there are sacred documents which detail the life of Medeva the Sorceress — who was sent by Luna to warn the people about the flood. Yet again, in the Freelands there are rich deposits of sandstone, embedded with fossilized seashells, scattered all across the plains. There seems to be evidence in every part of the world that there was some catastrophe during the Destruction.

One must wonder, then, how did we survive? We know that humans existed long before the Destruction and, if legends are to be believed, other beings (such as fairies and giants) as well. But the flood wiped them out, we are told, and spared the early human who had far less resources at their disposal. The answer is not at all clear and has led to much speculation on the nature, and involvement, of the divine.

Of course, Alchemists claim that there were never any fairies or giants to begin with — and that humans prior to the flood were naturally superstitious creatures with overactive imaginations. They see the natural world as holding the real answers to questions about the flood, and have dug deep into the earth to uncover secrets about mankind’s history. Several buried, and ancient, civilizations have been uncovered — complete with fully preserved relics, pristine works of art, and the fossilized remains of creatures and people who have long since died out. Even so, they come no closer to an agreement on the true nature of the Destruction.

Although what exactly happened during the Destruction remains unknown, it is obvious that there was some world-wide disaster occurred several hundreds of years ago. The scope must have been massive, able to wreak havoc from Kemet to the Freelands, and was so destructive that it forced the reconstruction of almost all of the world’s nations. Yet humans persist, like a narrow bridge between the worlds of before and after the Destruction, leaving behind only crude relics to guide their descendants…

Excerpt from “A History of Aeora” (V. 1, C. 1) by Tuor Barilis, published in 642 A.D.