Pomarj - Fictional History

Fictional History

Before the Great Migrations, the Pomarj was mainly a desolate region populated by primitive Flan tribespeople who revered equally primitive deities of earth and sky. Eventually, small numbers of outcast Suel settled the region. The region received little notice from the rest of the world for centuries, remaining largely isolated.

In 295 CY, King Tavish I of Keoland and the Prince of Ulek, seeking to exploit the Pomarj's mineral wealth, raised an army to invade and subjugate the region, an endeavor which was accomplished in the span of a few years. The Pomarj was divided up into roughly a dozen small baronies, which were awarded to favored families of the Keoish throne. These subfiefs were administered by and under the protection of the Principality of Ulek. Over the next few decades, mining brought great wealth to these petty barons. In 305 CY, the town of Highport was constructed on the north coast to share these riches with the rest of the Flanaess.

In 461 CY, the Principality of Ulek had withdrawn from Keoland to gain palatinate status. The barons of the Pomarj at this time, being subjects of the Prince of Ulek, had no voice in the Council of Niole Dra. Dissatisfied with their position, the Pomarj barons broke with the Principality of Ulek in 463, declaring their own independence. The barons ejected the Prince's dwarven garrisons and declared Highport their capital. Despite this apparent unity, however, each baron ruled his state independently, and feuds were common. Many barons assigned themselves grandiose titles, such as archbaron, duke, or prince. The baron of Suderham, even went so far as to dub himself "King of the Drachensgrabs."

In 498 CY, the Hateful Wars began as an alliance between Celene and the Ulek States, who sought to drive the orcs, goblins, and other evil humanoids from Lortmil Mountains. The Prince of Ulek invited the former barons of the Pomarj to join the alliance, but the lords of the Pomarj refused, fearing reabsorption into the Principality and seeing little reason to involve themselves in what they viewed as chiefly a conflict between non-humans. By 510 CY, the Hateful Wars were over, but this conflict would have great repercussions for the Pomarj.

In 513 CY, hordes of surviving orcs, goblins, and other evil creatures from the Lortmils, having few places to hide from their elven and dwarven foes, fled to the Pomarj, emerging from the Suss and falling upon Highport in a destructive rage. In a matter of months, all of the other former baronies, save the hidden city of Suderham, also fell to the humanoid invaders.

Over the next few decades, the Pomarj became essentially a backwater filled with orcs, goblinoids, and other evil creatures, as well as a haven for human bandits, pirates, slavers, and other criminals. Various humanoid tribes carved out territories. Any good humans left lived as slaves, or else waged a losing guerrilla war against the invaders.

By 574 CY, the last king of Suderham was assassinated by the Slave Lords, who turned the town into their base of operations. The Slave Lords managed to bring much of the Pomarj under their control, but by 580 CY their power was broken.

During the Greyhawk Wars of 582-584 CY, a powerful orc chieftain named Turrosh Mak united the Nedla and other humanoid tribes of the Pomarj, and invaded the surrounding lands, bringing much of the Wild Coast and the Principality of Ulek under his control. Mak named his "empire where none has stood" the Orcish Empire of the Pomarj. Though much of the land west of the Jewel was reclaimed by the Principality of Ulek in 586 CY, Mak continues to hold power in the region, and his empire shows no signs of decline.