The Treaty of Founding

In the years that followed the Shadow War, and before her death, Heia Reyn was a force for great change throughout the land. The unity that Merridel’s many regions had experienced during the war was one which few could ever have imagined to be possible, and Heia, it seemed, was keen on ensuring it continued. To her, ties between the lands of Merridel had to be made to ensure that, should an event as terrible as the Shadow Plague occur again, the world would be able to defend itself. Her Watch would not last forever, and she believed that it was her duty to ensure others might take up her mantle after she had gone. And so it was Heia who brought together the rulers of the land to the city of Runestone, where they met under a late afternoon sun to discuss an agreement. Among their ranks was Jai Qen Kahn, ruler of Nidahn and so-called Diamond Empress of Kalu; Lord Brandon Suntower and Shepherdess Emilia Auring, respectively the political and religious leaders of Middenland’s Beacon Lake; Gaesain Conor Rhonai, second of his name and ruler of Lotherran Castellum; Greenspeaker Shiara Kyani and her fellows from Arden’s city of Frey; Lord Jace Luther, lord-governor of Ironbeck and ruler of the Human-conquered part of Nidahn; and lastly Queen Willow Seu, Fisher-Queen of the lands of Mûlona. The group was joined by Lucios Torien, King of Runestone, and collectively this group became known as the Grand Dynasties, with the exception of the Greenspeakers, who did not pass their power by blood but by careful selection. With Heia’s guidance, they wrote and signed a great pact known today as the Treaty of Founding, establishing Merridel as a sovereign nation made up of six realms: Nidahn(which combined the Northern and Southern halves), Mûlona, Lothern, Arden, the Runestone Peninsula, and Middenland. These realms were to be ruled jointly by the leaders of each. The years to follow were thusly counted from the moment of the signing onward, and were known as After Shadow, or AS. A common language was also agreed upon, and the Human tongue was selected, owing to its commonality across the realms of Merridel. With the metric of measuring time established, so too was a formal calendar, which began on the first day of Spring and ended with the final day of Winter.

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The Heian Era

In the coming years, so Merridel was, a land whose great peace had been forged in fire and shadow, and tempered in the light of Heia Moltera. When, sixty or so years after the war, Heia was gone, Merridel carried on without her, honoring her memory as best they could. As the years went by, and living memory of Heia, her partner, and the Sword of the Mists that the Dragonrider had wielded began to slip out of the world, Heia’s story gradually became more legend than history. Merridel had, in a way, grown out of the need for Heia as its figurehead, though of course the legendary Dragonrider was ever-honored in the traditions of the people the world over. In the first century after her death, Merridel experienced a period known today as the Heian Era, in which it is said that Merridel’s unity was stronger than steel. During this time, such great feats as the great roads which to this day interconnect all of Merridel were constructed, accomplished from 97-128 AS through the joint efforts of Queen Heiana Moltera(also known as the Architect) and King Conor III Rhonai(sometimes referred to as the Cobblestone King). It was these roads that allowed Merridel to create a very strong economy, able to feed and provide for the vast majority of its populace. Other achievements followed suit, such as the charting of the waters South of Runestone in 172-174 AS(an effort led by the so-called Navigator, Princess but non-heir Heita Moltera), which allowed ships to far more easily make their way around to the resource-rich Copper Sea East of Arden. During the Heian Era, Merridel became strong indeed, its six nations flourishing. It was as though Merridel itself sought to honor Heia’s memory. But as that memory became more and more distant, and thus less and less accurate, so too disappeared much of Heia’s wisdom, and gradually, the unity that she had sought to create began to break down.