Updating the Calendar

In this discussion at the Piazza I brought up some proposals to make the calendar of Mystara more accurate if we accept that it is set in earth's past approx. 150mya. This would make the year 372 days, and so I did some modeling of how that would look if the various calendars for the setting were adjusted to fit that year length. So what follows is a cleaned up version of the results of that conversation.

Calendars of Mystara

So in Canon sources there are 2 different but related calendars presented for Mystara. The first is presented in B10(which I use in my home game), and the 2nd, more commonly accepted is in the gazetteer series. Both are based on a lunar year(sort of implied) and use the same month and weekday names, but with different lengths of the months and years.

So to recap for those less familiar with the calendars:

B10 presents us with 12 months with the days grouped into 7 day weeks. The days of the week are called Lunadain(Monday), Gromdain(Tuesday), Tserdain(Wednesday), Moldain(Thursday), Nytdain(Friday), Loshdain(Saturday), and Soladain(Sunday). The calendar is arranged in such a way that every Lunadain is either a full moon, new moon, or half moon; and every Nytdain is either a waning or waxing crescent moon. I really think this synchronization of the week with the moon cycle is really elegant.

Here's the weird the thing in the calendar from B10, the number of days per month, they are all over the place. It does make it feel somewhat organic, like there must be some historical reason to it...

Nuwmont(January) 31 days

Vatermont(February) 28 days

Thaumont(March) 27 days

Flaurmont(April) 29 days

Yarthmont(May) 31 days

Klarmont(June) 30 days

Felmont(July) 32 days

Fyrmont(August) 29 days

Ambyrmont(September) 31 days

Sviftmont(October) 31 days

Eirmont(November) 29 days

Kaldmont(December) 32 days

Which if you add that all up would be an even 360 days, which could be divided into 12 months of 30 days each(probably why the number 360 was chosen).

And as for the calendar presented in the gazetteers, the month names and weekdays remained the same, just the number of days per month was changed. Each month just got an even 28 days with exactly 4 weeks, ie 1 lunar cycle. Which brings the year to just 336 days, a huge change from what we are used to on earth. A change from 365 to 360, doesn't seem that big a deal, but 365 to 336 is huge, you could fit a whole other month in there(13 months of 28 days each would be 364). 

There are also unique calendars for the minrothad guilds and the shadow elves, both based on the 336 day year. Minrothad has 11 months of 30 days divided into 5 weeks of 6 days each, with a extra week at the end of the year. The Shadow elves have 14 months of 24 days each with no weeks.

The Problem

So that's the state of things, and as far as I've seen most fans use the gaz calendar. Now I've known for a long time the year and length of a day has changed on earth throughout its multi-billion year history, but I was just trying to look it up and I came across this chart.

So basically over the years the day has gotten longer(the earths spin is slowing down) and there are less respective days in each year(though it seems the actual time to orbit the sun remain the same). This has to with tidal forces enacted by the moon on the earth, or something...

What this implies then, is that if we take the view of Mystara as "the Age of Magic" of Earth in the Jurassic (c. 150 mya), the calendar should have more days not less. If we take the 23.5 hour day, 372 day year that would divide evenly into 12 months of 31 days each. Of course the 23.5 hour day makes a difference too. Are the days divided into 24 shorter hours(with fewer minutes)? Do we keep hours exactly the same, but add leap years/days? Maybe the seconds are shorter so keep the same number of seconds and minutes in an hour and still get 24 hour days? Or just ignore that discrepancy? (Yeah, probably that last one)

Solutions

For the B10 calendar; since there are 12 months, and 12 extra days with the longer year we could just add an extra day onto each month of the B10 calendar, keeping the weeks and the moon cycle exactly the same.

Also looking at the minrothad calendar it would be easy to give that a year of 372 days also. Instead of 11 months it consists of 12 months and a 13th month (mitwok) of just 2 weeks, or the 12th month could be a total of 6 weeks (that way we dont have to invent a new name for the 12th month and can just have mitwok be an extra long month)

And the shadow elf calendar could use the same sort of fix. make it 15 months of 24 days with an extra half month of 12 days at the end(of course this means we need more names for the extra months)

I think I've come up with a solution for a gazetteer like calendar for a 372 day year. So the issue is the gaz calendar is based off a lunar month. The lunar cycle is 28 days, and each month is 28 days, so it's basically a lunar calendar. Problem is 372 is not divisible by 28. So if we followed the solar year those extra days would throw the months off of the lunar cycle. So we need to use a lunar calendar and add leap months to make up for that extra time in the solar calendar.

So this is how it would work for any society that is using a lunar calendar in mystara, assuming 372 days in a solar year and a 28 day lunar cycle. A normal lunar year would be 13 months of 28 days, a total of 364 days per year. The calendar would be divided into 7 year cycles, the 3rd year of each cycle would have 14 months(392 days), and the 7th year of each cycle would also have 14 months. So each 7 year cycle would be 2,604 days and would match up with 7 solar years of 372 days each(2,604 days total). Probably some big holiday on the new year day of that 1st year of each cycle. In my campaign I might actually reserve this for Alphatia, or maybe the Jen on skothar, both far off places that my players aren't likely to ever hear of, let alone visit

Final Calendars

Imperial Calendar

this is just the regular calendar from B10 with an extra day added to each month, also i calculated the seasons based off new years being the day after the winter solstice(I find the idea that the solstice is the beginning of a season ridiculous, it literally marks the middle of the year and each season centers around the equinox or solstice)

Month Number	Days(372/year)	Month Name(Empire)	Month Name(Ethengar)	Month Name(Sind)	Month Name(Alphatia)	Month Name(Shires)	Month Name(Rockhome)
1	32	Nuwmont	Amai	Maagh	Nyxmir	Clabbas	Wharlin
2	29	Vatermont	Hiskmai	Phagun	Amphimir	Vuuldiir	Morlin
3	28	Thaumont	Yalmai	Chait	Alphamir	Maehin	Hralin
4	30	Flaurmont	Haimai	Baisaakh	Sulamir	Odelin	Hwyrlin
5	32	Yarthmont	Kevamai	Jeth	Sudmir	Gondulrim	Styrlin
6	31	Klarmont	Seimai	Asaarh	Vertmir	Mithintle	Bahrlin
7	33	Felmont	Lingmai	Sawan	Islamir	Goldaun	Buhrlin
8	30	Fyrmont	Tringmai	Bhadon	Andrumir	Fyrtal	Klintlin
9	32	Ambyrmont	Demai	Asin	Cyprimir	Aumbyr	Birrlin
10	32	Sviftmont	Chagai	Kartik	Hastmir	Ssantiir	Biflin
11	30	Eirmont	Rinpoch	Aghan	Eimir	Tembiir	Jhyrlin
12	33	Kaldmont	Komai	Puus	Burymir	Dauntil	Kuldlin

Weekday Number	Weekdays Name (Empire)	Weekday Name(Ethengar)	Weekday Name(Sind)	Weekday Name(Alphatia)	Weekday Name(Rockhome)
1	Lunadain	Xingqiri	Som-bar	Majhur	Syhardan
2	Gromdain	Xingqiyi	Mangal-bar	Tijhur	Thradan
3	Tserdain	Xingqier	Budh-bar	Wojhur	Evedan
4	Moldain	Xingqisan	Brihaspati-bar	Thajhur	Dorfdan
5	Nytdain	Xingqisi	Sukra-bar	Flajhur	Duldan
6	Loshdain	Xingqiwu	Sanee-bar	Sejhur	Sythdan
7	Soladain	Xingqiliu	Rabi-bar	Lahjur	Fildan

Spring		Summer		Autumn		Winter
Begin	Equinox	Begin	Solstice	Begin	Equinox	Begin	Solstice
15 Vatermont	4 Flaurmont	21 Yarthmont	4 Felmont	18 Fyrmont	2 Sviftmont	17 Eirmont	33 Kaldmont

1000 AC Gromdain = 1st day of Year

Lunar Cycle(28 days)

- 4 Nuwmont, Nytdain is Waxing crescent moon

- 14 Nuwmont, Lunadain is first full moon of year

- Lunadain is always either Halfmoon(waxing or waning), Full moon or New moon

- Nytdain is always Crescent moon(waxing or waning)

Minrothad Calendar

just the regular minrothad calendar adjusted as described in the above, giving it an extra month(Hinmun) afterElfmun, and extending Mitwok to a full 12 days

Month Number	Days(372/year)	Month Name(Minroth)	Imperial Equivalent
1	30	Onmun	1 Nuwmont – 30 Nuwmont
2	30	Tomun	31 Nuwmont – 28 Vatermont
3	30	Dreimun	29 Vatermont – 1 Flaurmont
4	30	Firmun	2 Flaurmont – 1 Yarthmont
5	30	Birmun	2 Yarthmont – 31 Yarthmont
6	30	Sagmun	32 Yarthmont – 29 Klarmont
7	30	Sebmun	30 Klarmont – 28 Felmont
8	30	Oxmun	29 Felmont – 25 Fyrmont
9	30	Nomun	26 Fyrmont – 25 Ambyrmont
10	30	Decmun	26 Ambyrmont – 23 Sviftmont
11	30	Elfmun	24 Sviftmont – 21 Eirmont
12	30	Hinmun	22 Eirmont – 21 Kaldmont
13	12	Mitwok	22 Kaldmont – 33 Kaldmont

Weekday Number	Weekdays Name
1	Ontok
2	Totok
3	Dreitok
4	Firtok
5	Birtok
6	Sagtok

Spring		Summer		Autumn		Winter
Begin	Equinox	Begin	Solstice	Begin	Equinox	Begin	Solstice
17 Tomun	2 Firmon	20 Birmun	6 Sebmun	23 Oxmun	9 Decmun	26 Elfmun	12 Mitwok

Shadow Elf Calendar

Again this is just the normal shadow elf calendar extended to fit 372 days, so I split the Food and Cleanliness verse into 2 months, and then added an extra 12 day period which I called 'Verses' as a time when they reflect on the verses of the refuge of stone as a whole and on the past year, something to tie everything together

Month Number	Days(372/year)	Month Name	Imperial Equivalent
1	24	The Gathering	1 Nuwmont – 24 Nuwmont
2	24	The Name of the Shadow Elves	25 Nuwmont – 16 Vatermont
3	24	The Refuge of Stone	17 Vatermont – 11 Thaumont
4	24	The Shaman	12 Thaumont – 7 Flaurmont
5	24	The Crystals	8 Flaurmont – 1 Yarthmont
6	24	Birth	2 Yarthmont – 25 Yarthmont
7	24	The Wanderers	26 Yarthmont – 17 Klarmont
8	24	The Temple	18 Klarmont – 10 Felmont
9	24	Food	11 Felmont – 1 Fyrmont
10	24	Cleanliness	2 Fyrmont – 25 Fyrmont
11	24	Days	26 Fyrmont – 19 Ambyrmont
12	24	The Army	20 Ambyrmont – 11 Sviftmont
13	24	The King	12 Sviftmont – 3 Eirmont
14	24	Other Peoples	4 Eirmont – 27 Eirmont
15	24	Promised Bounty	28 Eirmont – 21 Kaldmont
16	12	The Verses	22 Kaldmont – 33 Kaldmont

Spring		Summer		Autumn		Winter
Begin	Equinox	Begin	Solstice	Begin	Equinox	Begin	Solstice
23 Name	20 Shaman	19 Birth	17 Temple	16 Days	14 King	14 Bounty	12 Verses

Holidays

and then I also adjusted the holidays to match the new calendar, some dates I based off days of the week, some based on the moon cycle, and some on the seasons

Holiday	Day	Month	Length(Days)	Nation
New Years Day	1	1-Nuwmont	1
Good Sprite Day	1	1-Nuwmont	1	Glantri
The Wintergifting	1	1-Nuwmont	1	Shaerdon
Great Rain of Fire	1	1-Nuwmont	1	City of Stars
Day of Weeping	26	1-Nuwmont	1	City of Stars
Winter Festivities	1	2-Vatermont	7	Ethengar
Feast of the Silver Purge	6	2-Vatermont	1	Minrothad
Day of the Golden Khan	7	2-Vatermont	1	Ethengar
The Rebirth	15	2-Vatermont	7	Ierendi
Gnome Caravan leaves High Forge	15	2-Vatermont	1	Karameikos
First day of Spring	15	2-Vatermont	1	Ethengar
Monsters Fair	18	2-Vatermont	1	Glantri
The Drowning	21	2-Vatermont	1	Pearl Islands
Patriarch’s Day	23	2-Vatermont	1	Darokin
Gnome Caravan arrives in Specularum	25	2-Vatermont	1	Karameikos
The Discovery	26	2-Vatermont	1	City of Stars
Festival of Lights	29	2-Vatermont	1	Sind
Beginning of shipping season	4th Nytdain	2-Vatermont	1	Thyatis
Gnome Caravan leaves Specularum	1	3-Thaumont	1	Karameikos
Landfall Day	7	3-Thaumont	1	Alphatia
Spring Break	10	3-Thaumont	7	Glantri
Fall of Aengmor	13	3-Thaumont	1	City of Stars
White Horse Ceremony	15	3-Thaumont	1	Ethengar
Arcanium	25	3-Thaumont	4	Glantri
Day of the Dead	28	3-Thaumont	1	Karameikos
Day of Irresponsibility	28	3-Thaumont	1	Sind
Opening Day	3rd Lunadain	3-Thaumont	1	Alphatia
Day of Adulthood	1	4-Flaurmont	1
New Years Day	1	4-Flaurmont	1	Sind
Parliament Day	3	4-Flaurmont	1	Glantri
Alphatian New Year	4	4-Flaurmont	1	Alphatia
Rockhome New Year	4	4-Flaurmont	1	Rockhome
Merchant Prince Day	5	4-Flaurmont	1	Minrothad
trade caravans leave Rockhome	7	4-Flaurmont	1	Rockhome
First Day of Crystals	8	4-Flaurmont	24	City of Stars
Empress Eriadna’s Birthday	13	4-Flaurmont	1	Alphatia
Day of Blessings	15	4-Flaurmont	1	Ethengar
The Firstflowering	16	4-Flaurmont	1	Shaerdon
Day of Partings	16	4-Flaurmont	1	Ethengar
Parade Day	20	4-Flaurmont	1	Glantri
Thincol’s Birthday	22	4-Flaurmont	1	Thyatis
Rockhome Marriage Arrangements	1st Soladain	4-Flaurmont	14	Rockhome
Masked Ball	3rd Soladain	4-Flaurmont	1	Darokin
Day of Magic	1	5-Yarthmont	1	Alphatia
First Day of Births	2	5-Yarthmont	24	City of Stars
Gondola Games	14	5-Yarthmont	1	Glantri
Minrothad Day	20	5-Yarthmont	1	Minrothad
First Day of Wanderers	26	5-Yarthmont	24	City of Stars
Day of Birth Blessings	1st Full Moon	5-Yarthmont	1	Ethengar
Howling Day	1st Full Moon	5-Yarthmont	1	Alphatia
Grand Patriarch's' Forum	3rd Soladain	5-Yarthmont	1	Rockhome
Freedom Day and Crown Tourney	1	6-Klarmont	1	Ierendi
The Rejection	1	6-Klarmont	1	City of Stars
The Unsheathing	22	6-Klarmont	1	Shaerdon
The Cornerstone	31	6-Klarmont	1	City of Stars
Night of the Red Moon	1st Full Moon	6-Klarmont	1	Glantri
Wedding Day	1st Soladain	6-Klarmont	1	Rockhome
Court of Golden Khan arrives at Chagon-nah	3rd Lunadain	6-Klarmont	1	Ethengar
Days of the Hoof	3rd Lunadain	6-Klarmont	7	Thyatis
Beast's Day	1	7-Felmont	1	Karameikos
The Thing	1	7-Felmont	7	Heldann
Highsummer	4	7-Felmont	14	Shaerdon
The Gathering	4	7-Felmont	1	Ethengar
Day of the Straw Men	4	7-Felmont	1	Karameikos
All's Reckless Day	13	7-Felmont	1	Minrothad
Feria de Toros	14	7-Felmont	1	Glantri
Day of Valerias	15	7-Felmont	1	Thyatis
Day of the Battle of Sardal Pass	16	7-Felmont	1	Rockhome
Feast of the Snakes	17	7-Felmont	1	Sind
Beggars Hope	25	7-Felmont	1	Glantri
2nd Return	26	7-Felmont	1	City of Stars
Doggerel Days	3rd Lunadain	7-Felmont	1	Alphatia
Night of Fire	Night before 1st New Moon	7-Felmont	1	Karameikos
Day of Heroes	1	8-Fyrmont	1	Shaerdon
Darokin Day	13	8-Fyrmont	1	Darokin
Vyonese Carnival	15	8-Fyrmont	1	Glantri
First Day of Riding	18	8-Fyrmont	1	Ethengar
The Great Horse Fair	24	8-Fyrmont	7	Ethengar
The Calming of the Seas	26	8-Fyrmont	5	Sind
Showing Day	3	9-Ambyrmont	1	Rockhome
Bask Day	6	9-Ambyrmont	1	Minrothad
1st Return	14	9-Ambyrmont	1	City of Stars
Mustering Day	20	9-Ambyrmont	1	City of Stars
Fire Night	1st Waning Crescent Moon	9-Ambyrmont	1	Glantri
Court of Golden Khan at Xantha	1	10-Sviftmont	1	Ethengar
Celebration of the Sea	2	10-Sviftmont	2	Ierendi
The Fast and the Feast	2	10-Sviftmont	12	Shaerdon
Ancestor’s Day	2	10-Sviftmont	1	Alphatia
Birth of Dandin	3	10-Sviftmont	1	Sind
Best Wishes of Krondahar	6	10-Sviftmont	1	Glantri
Ethengar New Year	6	10-Sviftmont	1	Ethengar
Vanya's Day	8	10-Sviftmont	1	Thyatis
Birthday of Tarasfir	12	10-Sviftmont	1	City of Stars
Raising of the Walls	14	10-Sviftmont	1	Glantri
Day of Counting	23	10-Sviftmont	1	Ethengar
Day of Naming and Welcoming	24	10-Sviftmont	1	Ethengar
Birthday of Telemon	24	10-Sviftmont	1	City of Stars
Duke’s Birthday	28	10-Sviftmont	1	Karameikos
Wine Festivals	2nd Lunadain	10-Sviftmont	8	Alphatia
Wine Festivals	2nd to last Lunadain	10-Sviftmont	8	Alphatia
Cretia's Day	1	11-Eirmont	1	Ethengar
Necromantia	5	11-Eirmont	1	Glantri
Glantrian Ice Games	17	11-Eirmont	2	Glantri
The Reaping	16	11-Eirmont	1	Shaerdon
Resolution Day	16	11-Eirmont	1	Sind
Outbreak Day	18	11-Eirmont	1	City of Stars
Day of Shame	25	11-Eirmont	1	City of Stars
The Night of Spirits	1st Full Moon	11-Eirmont	1	Ethengar
Harvest Day	1st Loshdain	11-Eirmont	1	Darokin
Caravan Day	3rd Lunadain	11-Eirmont	1	Rockhome
Protius’ Day	3rd Nytdain	11-Eirmont	1	Thyatis
Days of Right	31	12-Kaldmont	3	Ierendi
Animal Day	2	12-Kaldmont	1	Sind
Year’s End Feast	21	12-Kaldmont	1	City of Stars
Midwinter Festival	27	12-Kaldmont	7	Minrothad
Alexander Day	27	12-Kaldmont	1	Glantri
Day of Law	32	12-Kaldmont	1	Ethengar
Bells of Fate	33	12-Kaldmont	1	Glantri
Farewell to the Sun	33	12-Kaldmont	1
Hiding from Year’s End	33	12-Kaldmont	1	Heldann
Boldavian Procession	1st Full Moon	12-Kaldmont	1	Glantri
Footman's Games	3rd Lunadain	12-Kaldmont	7	Thyatis
Closing Day	3rd Lunadain	12-Kaldmont	1	Alphatia
Golden Khan's court at Bargda is blessed	3rd Lunadain	12-Kaldmont	1	Ethengar
Lesser Patriarch's Forum	3rd Soladain	Every Month	1	Rockhome

The Known World: The Skandaharians part 3

Continuing from the last post, here is the Skandaharian language tree as it developed after the GRoF.  

The Vanitar

The Vanitar tribe(equivalent to East Germanic) was the first to leave the ancient home of the Skandaharians, travelling west over the mountains to a lush forest in a great basin surrounded on three sides by mountains(modern Wendar). Over the next few centuries the Vanitar prospered and grew in population, leading to further migrations outside of the great basin to the north and the west. After more than five centuries of isolation, a group of ragged and weary elves arrived in the forest of the Vanitar; the elves were fed, welcomed and given a new home among the human tribes. This welcome was short-lived however as humans have short memories. Just one hundred and fifty years after the elves arrived, the Vanitar had vanished from the forest. Elven records of this time are sparse, yet most non elven scholars agree that a conflict of some sort arose between the elves and the humans, and the elves won out. Since this time the valley and and forest have become known as the Genalleth Valley after the elves who occupy it. 

The Renatic

Some few Vanitar survived in the regions north of the Genalleth valley bordering the northern wildlands for the next few centuries. Eventually the elves expanded northward into these areas; the elves avoided the local Vanitar descended humans who viewed the elves as powerful spirits who had to be placated to avoid their wrath. After 200 years of elven settlement a new kingdom, Forenath, was established in the north. Forenath was a rare example of humans and elves living in a harmonious society together; over time the language of the humans took on elements of the elven tongue. This language spoken by the people of Forenath was known as Renatic(equivalent to Burgundian). Unfortunately Forenath was doomed; a plague struck the Renatic humans of Forenath, and the elves either refused or could not help the sick. This led to tensions rising between the elves and humans once again; human mobs attacked isolated elves, and elves struck back at the humans. The population of Forenath was decimated by the divisions and strife; only a quarter of the human population survived the plague and war in small scattered villages, and most elves fled back to the safety of the Valley of Genalleth with a few remaining in hiding in secluded foresthomes. During the civil war a few groups of elves and humans in a desire to maintain the unity of their two people fled north to the Parthenal hills and their descendants live there to this day, over the centuries the Old Renatic tongue took on more and more aspects of the elven tongue so that the modern Parthenal language is for all practical purposes an elven tongue. 

The fall of the Kingdom of Forenath left the region open to invasion from goblinoid hordes from the mountains and for the next two centuries the ancient realm of Forenath and the northern borders of the Genalleth elves were ravaged by Goblinoid raids. This period of chaos came to an end when the Genalleth elves allied themselves with the Thang Republic. The Thang legions quickly drove the goblinoids back, proving their worth to the elves. Beldareth, an elf lord who had worked closely with the Thang, led a joint venture between the Genalleth elves and the Thang humans to found a new city, Nimbeth, on the northern border of the elven realm. Nimbeth paved the way for elven settlement in the north again. The remaining Renatic humans began to prosper under the rule of Nimbeth and their culture was influenced by the Thang garrisons. The language spoken after the founding of Nimbeth is generally referred to as Neo-Renatic, as opposed to the Old Renatic of Forenath. 

The first cracks in the alliance between the humans and the elves showed when a group of elves from Nimbeth violently dispersed a group of Renatic humans in order to found a new city, Thalion. These humans retreated to the nearby Moors of Chlyras, where frogfolk lived. The next generation of humans who had fled to the moors, known as the Moor-Men,  attacked the elves of Nimbeth and after several years of hunting the Moor-Men, the elves exiled them to the northern wildlands. When these Moor-Men, now calling themselves Murrians, emerged over a century later and with the help of the local Renatic population conducted a series of hit and run attacks against the elves of Thalion, the elves retaliated against all humans, Murrian, Renatic, and Thang alike. The elves of Thalion committed a great slaughter and enslaved any survivors; this great betrayal by the elves cut off the Thang from their northern territories dealing a great blow to the Empire of Thanegioth. What followed were 30 years of Murrian attacks and elven reprisals against the local populace until the elves were finally able to defeat the Murrians in an open battle and drive them back north. To this day the Murrians speak a debased form of Neo-Renatic. 

Over the centuries, many Murrians migrated further north and comingled with the nonhuman denizens of the Swamp of the Beast. Around AC 200 a man of Murrian descent by the name of Maggoroth emerged from the swamp with a horde of warriors behind him both human and non human, and he was able to establish a kingdom over the surrounding lands which survived for nearly three centuries before losing its grip on the subjugated people. The people of the swamp came to call themselves and their language Meggaran, after their legendary leader.

The Hag

While most of the Vanitar settled in the Wendarian basin, the Hag tribe(equivalent to the Vandals) continued the journey into the inhospitable north. For a time they settled on the plains northwest of the Blackridge Mountains on the border of the the swamp of the beast. Many centuries later, when the ice and snow retreated north, many of the Hag made the trek further north in search of new lands while some stayed in the home they had always known. Those that stayed in sight of the Blackridge Mountains have maintained their isolation and independence from outside influence for these long centuries and are known today as the Hagomerian tribes. The Hagomerian language and lifestyle have been maintained by tradition and are likely the closest in relation to the ancient Vanitar.

Those that continued the journey north, calling themselves the Rohag, settled first in the Llacenvale and Clearwater valleys and after some centuries expanded into the region today known as the Hill and the Dale. The Rohag were isolated for many centuries until elves fleeing the wars in Forenath settled in the Parthenal hills. The elves had little contact with the native humans and the two groups coexisted with little conflict. It wasn't until the 5th century BC that this equilibrium was disrupted; the Thang Legions marched north and crushed any resistance, demanding tribute and military service of young men to aid in their wars against the Adri-Varma. The Thang never had a strong grip on the region and individual tribes were still ruled by their own kings and chieftains; as long as the tribe provided enough soldiers to serve the empire they were left to govern themselves. Over the next century and a half of foreign rule, the Rohag traditional beliefs and language were heavily influenced by the Thang; even after their departure from the region the language spoken after the Thang conquest is now referred to as Neo-Roag. After the betrayal of the Elves of Thalion, the Thang legion that was stationed in the north lost control of the local tribes and were banished to the mountains east of the Clearwater, after wandering through a harsh winter what was left of the legion was rescued by an Alfish tribe, leading to the brief glory of the Kingdom of Alinor.

The latest chapter in the story of the Roag occurred approximately three centuries ago with the rise of the Essurian Empire. Many the eastern Roag were dominated by the Essurians leading to a split among the Roags. The High Roag are those of the east and southern 'civilized' kingdoms left behind after the collapse of the Essurians. The Low Roag are the more northern tribes, some of whom have consolidated under the leadership of a king while others have remained organized in small free tribes.

The Vanar

While some Vanitar journeyed north and some stayed behind to settle in the Genalleth valley, another larger group of Vanitar traveled east. They found a land of expansive plains and dense forests already populated by various tribes speaking many languages(the ancestors of the modern Ethesti and Ethengar). The Vanitar quickly dispersed and settled in small groups, often conflicting with the natives and driving them out. The dispersed tribes began to call themselves the Vanar(equivalent to the Goths). 

After half a millennia a new test arose for the Vanar tribes. On the banks of the Yalu Sea in the east, also known as The Cradle, a new religion was quickly growing and gaining followers. This was the Temple of Law; they purported to worship a benevolent creator god above all other gods whose Law was the only law worthy of following. This new god was known by many names, but is mostly commonly recognized as 'He Who Watches.' One Kargan, a leader among the western Vanar tribes converted to this new faith and was the first king of the Kingdom of Law. From this time, the Vanar of the west under the kingdom of Law became known as Karganites, speaking what is now called Old Kargan(equivalent to the Gruethingi Goths), and the the Vanar of the east became known as the Vandar, speaking Vandaric(equivalent to the Thervingi Goths). The Vandar remained free and maintained the traditions of their forefathers having no single ruler, simply a collection of tribes. 

The Kingdom of Law prospered for three centuries until it fell to its enemies under the sway of the Temple of Chaos to the south who had allied themselves with the Borean goblinoids of the north. The Karganites that were not put to the sword were captured and enslaved and had to practice their faith in secret among the enemy. Some few Karganites fled in all directions taking their faith with them, and in the process spreading it to new lands; this diaspora of Karganites(speaking an equivalent of Yiddish) continues to wander foreign lands to this day, being welcomed in some places and shunned in others. In the remnants of the old Thang Empire the Karganite faith has taken root to the point of creating a new Holy Empire devoted to spreading the faith.

More than two centuries after the fall of the Kingdom of Law, the Temple of Chaos was toppled by nomads from the Great Waste to the south. These nomads, the Adri-Varma, established a new empire ruled by Magi upon the Great Plateau, and began their reign by freeing the enslaved people of the Temple of Chaos. The Karganites returned to their homeland to find it overrun by goblinoids; a great warrior chief, Galan, drove out the goblins and founded the new city of Galandar atop the ruins of their capitol. Over the next few centuries the freed Karganites spread across the land once again, setting up many petty kingdoms. The Karganites remained apart from their cousins, the Vandar to the east, separated by their beliefs and way of life; to the Karganites, the Vandar tribes were considered barbaric uncivilized people. The city of Galandar prospered and rose to such prominence that the Karganites began to call themselves the Galanese(equivalent to the Visigoths). 

Eventually a new power arose in the east; the Thang empire after defeating their great foe, the Nithians, in the east turned their sights westward and found there an enemy in the Adri-Varma. The Thang quickly dominated all the disparate tribes of the north who stood before them. Rather than resist, the city of Galandar welcomed the Thang and with the the help of their legions conquered their neighbors. The Kingdom of Galannor was the greatest ally of the Thang Empire in the north for two centuries and was greatly influenced by them culturally and linguistically during that time, and retained many aspects of the empire after it retreated from the north. Galannor modeled its government after the empire dividing the kingdom into duchies, and even adopted the alphabet and writing system of the Thang. The syncretized language that resulted from this has come to be called Royal Galanese. 

The Vandar tribes in the east were unable to resist the Thang and fell under their sway and were used as mercenaries by the Thang in their many wars. Many tribes on the border between the Adri-Varma and the Thang empires switched loyalties many times over the generations. During this time of competition between the two great empires the Vandar tribes began calling them selves the Rundar and their language Rundaric(equivalent to the Ostrogoths). After the Thang Empire retreated from the north the Rundar tribes fell under the say of the Adri Varma.

The great migrations which toppled the Thang empire and turned the Adri Varma Plateau into a wasteland also decimated the Kingdom of Galannor and the Rundar tribes. The Rundar were all but wiped out with the desolation of the Adri-Varma and now only a small remnant survives in the eastern borderlands; they speak a variant dialect known as Rutharic (equivalent to Crimean Gothic), and are comprised of only two major tribes, the Hangall and the Hargan. The Kingdom of Galannor fared little better; Galannor itself maintains only a rump of its former territory, simply the hinterland of Galandar itself. Seven independent duchies and a few baronies dependent on the duchies survive in the former territories of the kingdom. The Kingdom of Galannor maintains Royal Galanese as the official language of state, but many of the common folk speak debased forms of the language, so there are now three main dialects of Royal Galanese referred to as High Galanese, Middle Galanese, and Low Galanese, spoken by the nobility, the burghers, and the commoners respectively. Since the separation from the Kingdom of Galannor, the surviving duchies have taken to calling themselves Karganites, after their ancestors, and their language Ducal Karganite; though in truth their language is nearly indistinguishable from that spoken in the Kingdom of Galannor. These four varieties of Royal Galanese are so similar they could more accurately be described as accents than separate dialects. Together the Kingdom of Galannor, the Duchies, and several Karganite tribes form the Council of Law in an effort to maintain some unity among a common people. After a hundred-years war between the Council of Law and Hule to the south, several Karganite tribes became isolated from Galannor and the Duchies; these tribes, whose dialect is commonly referred to as Outer Karganite,  have reverted to amore primitive lifestyle and belief system.