History

The Republic of the Undergrowth (Anti-Magic Faction)

Discovery of "new" Magic

The Shaded People, they called themselves. Under the protective shadow and aegis of their royal family, the lineage of Valanidiá Royal Family. Their’s was a humble Kingdom, small but wealthy and peaceful.

When what they knew of Magic expanded beyond just healing, the people were elated. A tool for those weak of body, a shield to protect the young and a weapon to vanquish any that would dare disturb their peace.

Reluctant Acceptance of Magic

What many saw as boon for their people, for their neighbors and kin, some saw it as a path to power. Encouraged by **INSERT MAGIC FACTION HERE**, they amassed power and knowledge, admired by their peers. Many people were mistrusting of these new and potentially dangerous eccentrics, and met them with scorn.

But Melia Valanidiá (Lizard), Queen of the Undergrowth, bid them to meet these new developments with an open heart and mind. As an example to her people, she created the title of Court Magician, and welcomed a young and talented mage into her court. To reflect this, some cities and towns gave mages various occupations, coming with both duties and privileges. And so, mages started to find their place among the ruling class and the common people, slowly integrating with the Kingdom.

Devastation caused by Magic

It seemed that magic would become a fact of life in the Kingdom, a path to plenty and growth, but life was not so kind. One day suddenly, pillagers wielding magic started attacking villages and towns across the country, quickly overwhelming the guards who were unused to combat with magic.

And the few towns that possessed a local mage barely fared any better, with most of their own mages being researcher woefully unprepared for combat. Seeing the devastation caused by magic, and the ineffectiveness of their own mages, the people that were mistrusting of mages felt vindicated. The voices of discontent grew, but it did not yet escalate into violence.

Training to combat Mages

The queen cautioned her people not to be rash, but did not remain idle. Under the guidance of the Court Mage and the High Strategist of the Kingdom, she developed strategies to counter mages and started training her soldiers in anti-magic combat. Some mages left, angered that the crown would rather prepare to fight against them, instead of attempting to strengthen their own ranks.

The Queen's Murder

But before the training could really take off, a group of mages attacked the Palace in the night. With their training barely begun, the guards crumbled beneath the might of the first expert combat mages they encountered. The queen was slain, and the Court Magician was nowhere to be found.

The following Chaos

With their queen slain, their palace plundered, their armies shattered, and their people broken by grief, a period of unrest and lawlessness started. The remaining mages quickly found themselves exiled, if they were lucky.

 The Queen was young, and as such had no direct heir. The royal family has always been small, and as misfortune would have it, the only viable candidate for Kingship, her brother, had gone on a journey (to discover something? WIP). Mired by grief and guilt, few dared to try and claim the throne. The ones that did try found themselves unable to obtain proper support from the remaining court, let alone the citizens.

Return to Order

Once some semblance of peace was restored to the Kingdom, two things had become clear: Firstly, that mages, once they delved deeply into the secrets of magic, attained powers no mere mortals should possess. It put them above their fellow people, and gave them leave to oppress them or even kill them at their leisure. Magic had to be forbidden. (This did not include healing magic, which existed long before the current known magic. To avoid any issues with their new laws, healing magic was considered a separate category from magic altogether.)

And secondly, they realized that having a sole ruler will leave uncertainty and chaos in the event of their untimely death, and so decided to create a ruling council instead. The council consisted of the highest members of the court, and the three citizens that were critical in restoring peace and order to the kingdom. Additionally, in honor of their history, they reserved a spot on the council for the queen’s brother should he ever return.

As long as all members of the council stay loyal to the newly christened Republic, a brighter future surely lays ahead of them…