Dawn of the Second Age
-2.1 - 128.2
(0AE - 100AE)
The decline of Promethean society had little impact upon the Yossod highland, for incursions into their mountainous homes had always been turned back by the fierce resistance of their native people. So it was not the plague-born fall of that civilization that ended the First Age, but rather the arrival of a small contingent of several hundred ayels in the small town of Qa-Avnel. The men of Qa-Avnel had had no prior contact with the ayels; none had, for the ayels had hid themselves away from the world for countless millennia. And though the ayels arrived in Qa-Avnel in peace, seeking nothing but a new home, the men of Qa-Avnel responded with hostility and violence. When they looked upon the ayels, in their appearance the men saw monsters and in the metal they wielded and wore the men saw blasphemers who tore apart the Holy Mother of the Earth for their own avarice and greed. And when their warriors attacked the ayels, they realized their first mistake. Though the ayels had come in peace, they came fully prepared for war. Though they were fewer in number and only a small fraction were true warriors, they had arms of bronze and their prodigious strength on their side. The warriors of Qa-Avnel, humans clad in bone and leather, stood little chance against the ayel onslaught and they were killed, their bodies drained of blood by the ayels for sustenance. And having seen the terror of the ayels, the men and women of Qa-Avnel stood aside as the ayels marched through their streets and to the gathering place of their priests and elders who had ordered the destruction of the ayels. The next time the people of Qa-Avnel saw their venerated rulers was when the ayels dumped their bloodless bodies in the center of town.
The next two years were one in which the people of Qa-Avnel lived in terror, for the ayels had barricaded themselves in the center of the town and let it be known whenever the townsfolk displeased or angered. Though in truth it was not out of anger and malice; the ayels' first impression of the race was that of one who understood only violence and so they ruled through violence. The problems were only compounded by the human's utter fear of the ayels and the two races inability to understand one another for not only did the ayels not understand the humans' tongue, they were incapable of speaking it. But this would change thanks to the actions of a young woman named Shala. Shala was kindly, and while she was as afraid of the ayels as anyone she did not blame them for they had been attacked first. And it was an act of kindness, an offering of food brought to the ayels as a gift, that challenged the ayels' previous views of the humans. They allowed Shala into the section of the city they lived in, and over time she came to learn of the ayels and their culture. She was the first human to speak understand and speak the language of the ayels, and over the months she became a bridge between the ayels and the humans.
Finally having a means of communicating with the humans other than violence, many of the ayels grew softer in their rule. Though many of the humans still viewed the people of Qa-Avnel with suspicion and mistrust, there were others who began to look upon them more favourably. But there were events being set in motion that would finally cement tremendous change in Qa-Avnel forever. Over the years small bands of warriors would raid and attack Qa-Avnel though they would be repelled each time, sometimes by ayel warriors and other time by the few human warriors who remained. But now a storm was brewing in the north as a wisened and ambitious priest had declared himself King, and wished to annihilate the ayels in a bid to cement his rule. For the ayels had become the boogeymen of Yossod and Qa-Avnel considered a dark and taboo place. And when news of this reached Qa-Avnel itself, many of the humans were glad for this, as they still viewed the ayels with hatred and mistrust. So when the army arrived Qa-Avnel, they were more than happy to allow the King's army in and tell them all they knew of the ayels. After which they were killed, the army rampaging through Qa-Avnel slaughtering any they found whether they be man or woman, child or elder. For the King had declared the entire city to have been polluted by the ayels and their presence, and proclaimed that when he was through Qa-Avnel would no long stand. Most of the ayels had decided that they had had enough of the humans, and that staying in the city would be too dangerous with an actual army rampaging through the streets. They planned to leave, killing any who attempted to stop them, and find a safer place to live. Shala, however, begged and pleaded for them to stay, but her cries fell on deaf ears. But when masses of people began banging on the gates crying to be let in and saved did the ayels listen. Though the people would later attribute this to the compassion of the ayels, and the ayels themselves never refuted this, in truth the reason the ayels chose to fight was simple: they had made a grave error in not leaving earlier and now chances of them escaping from the city without a fight were slim to none. And so the ayels prepared themselves and armed those humans who were willing to fight as best they could, and opened the gates.
What followed would become the battle which would signal the beginning of the Second Age, the battle for Qa-Avnel. The armies of the so-called King, wrapped in cloth and leather with weapons of stone and bone met the same fate as the warriors of Qa-Avnel years prior. And though this time there were more humans, the ayel had their human allies as well. Though many humans and even ayels suffered a bloody end at the hands of the enemy, the armies of the King were driven from Qa-Avnel. They were driven from Qa-Avnel and beyond, for the ayels pursued them, easily able to keep up with the fleeing humans and butchering them. Those who survived were scattered in all directions and the so-called King was captured and sucked dry, his bloodless corpse delivered back to his home as a warning to those who would stand against the ayels. And so it was that the survivors of Qa-Avnel came to view the ayel in a different light, their power and supposed compassion had convinced those who survived that their saviours were not monsters. And with this came the dawn of the Second Age, in which Qa-Avnel would develop into a regional power. The military might of the surrounding towns had been broken, and so they posed no threat to Qa-Avnel. And under the guidance of the ayels, the people were taught the art of metalworking and began to lose faith in the Earth Goddess whom the King had butchered their people in the name of. Instead the faith and beliefs of the ayels came to dominate the culture of Qa-Avnel.
The first five decades of the Second Age were an era of peace and prosperity for Qa-Avnel; the ayels were feared even more than before by the other men of Yossod and as the restrictions of the previous culture fell away the people of Qa-Avnel developed and adopted technology such as bronzeworking and irrigation. The surrounding area was discovered to be host to impressive deposits of copper, and the need to tin to forge their bronze combined with Qa-Avnel's location on a major river put Qa-Avnel on the route to becoming rich from trade with other peoples. However, there was one major obstacle to this: the other people of Yossod. They still clung to their native beliefs and so were vehemently opposed to Qa-Avnel. And this was the beginning of the First Yossodite Wars. The ayels would not see the fledgling city that protected them be strangled by the humans around it, and though token attempts at negotiation were made eventually it came to war. Though their armies were not large, they had bronze arms and in this time the ayels would still march alongside their human warriors so as to make up for their lack of numbers. The wars were won quickly and easily against the divided settlements of the Yossodites, and the domain of Qa-Avnel expanded to encompass the major trade routes to and from the city, securing its prosperity. In order to cement their rule, they instated individuals loyal to themselves to rule over the captured settlements and prevent rebellion. However, the most loyal humans were often those who were zealous in their faith and the belief of the ayels as the Children of God. And as a result, the ayels' hegemony became a
de facto theocracy, ruled over by priests loyal to Qa-Avnel and the ayels.
However, the new lands under their control were nowhere near as loyal to the ayels as Qa-Avnel and civil strife was common. Many steps were taken to improve loyalty such as the banning of the worship of their previous Gods and the importation of people, mostly smiths and traders, from Qa-Avnel to the new cities. But the balance was a tenuous one, with the continuing stability of the state oftentimes coming down to the ayels themselves and their ability to easily butcher any who openly opposed their rule. However, over the decades the newly acquired lands would integrate themselves into the fold more and more as the first generations to live entirely under the rule of Qa-Avnel would become adults. This process was aided by the fact that with the developments brought on by ayel rule they were able to farm more food and were less likely to go hungry.
Then in 104.2, a growing power to the north would threaten the very existence of Qa-Avnel's state. Once more a priest had declared himself King, and moved against Qa-Avnel and the blasphemers there. However, King Shetai had not attempted this as one of his first moves; the King had moved against many of the smaller polities in Yossod and ruled over a land as large as Qa-Avnel's hegemon. The ayels had not made a move against him, as they assumed they would be able to take whatever he threw at them. They had become confident and secure in Qa-Avnel and now rarely left the city, as it was safer within the walls of the growing capital and their main concern was still the survival of their race. And now, they had an entire kingdom of humans to protect them. However, it came as no surprise when Shetai moved against Qa-Avnel and the first several battles ended in victories. The ayels were confident that this struggle would pose no real threat, and so it was a major shock when they received word that one of their armies had been soundly defeated and routed. And while they at first assumed this to be a fluke, they would later be handed a string of defeats at the hands of Shetai and his armies. Worried that these defeats would lead to dissent among some of their more traditional subjects, those who still resented the ayels, they had to make a choice. But in the end Shetai made the choice for them, for though he was a brilliant tactician he suffered greatly from hubris and declared himself the chosen of the Yossodite war God, claiming the ayels were liars and weaklings who sat in their city while their people died for them. And then he made the greatest mistake of all, he dared any of the ayels to prove him wrong.
A month later the army of Shetai met the armies of Qa-Avnel across the river from the growing city. And for the first time in centuries there was an ayel at the head of Qa-Avnel's armies, resplendent in bronze armour. Upon seeing the creature, there was an uproar of laughter from Shetai's forces as he pointed out her thin and noodly physique to his men. But, true to his word, he gave the ayel a chance to prove him wrong and the pair met for a duel in between the two armies. At first it seemed the two were equally matched with each other, with the duel dragging itself. It would become clear, however, that the ayel was merely playing with the King; she dodged our blocked all of Shetai's strikes and made not a single move to attack him. And when she did start striking, she made only slight wounds on the King to mock him. Shetai's armies watched with horror as the ayel played with their King, the chosen of their war god and the end came without warning as the ayel grew bored and ended the battle with a single strike to the King's chest. Then she decapitated him, and held his head aloft for all his men to see.
What followed would be a complete route of King Shetai's forces and the eventual collapse of his Kingdom as numerous forces vied for control. And in the chaos, the remaining armies of Qa-Avnel would march north, conquering the southernmost parts of his kingdom and integrating them into the greater state of Qa-Avnel much as they had done with previously conquered lands. And now 24 years later, in the year 128.2 (100AE), the integration process still continues with the main body of the Qa-Avnel hegemon a beacon of stability in Yossod as the fallout from Shetai's death continues as numerous forces still vie to unite the shattered remnants of his Kingdom. And having learned their lesson with Shetai, the ayels are looking northwards to secure their state against those who would attempt to destroy it. And they have learned that until the Yossodites are integrated fully into the fold, they will never be secure.
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Major Events of Qa-Avnel: First Century
Cultural: The humans of Qa-Avnel have adopted a religion and belief-set more in line with those of the ayels, with them viewing the ayels as the Children of God.
Technological: Development of bronzeworking and early agricultural advancements
Military: 0.2 (2AE) - Ayel and human militia defend Qa-Avnel against early Yossodite King; 104.2 (80AE) King Shetai invades Qa-Avnel hegemon and after a series of defeats has a string of victories against Qa-Avnel, Shetai is then slain in single combat by ayel warrior and his army routes, resulting in Qa-Avnel armies defeating the remnants and seizing the southern portions of his Kingdom
Government: Ayels become the ultimate authority in Qa-Avnel and put loyal humans in charge of new territories. Said humans are often zealous and pious priests, turning the hegemon into a
de facto theocracy.
Territorial Expansion
