A "Brief" History of Morea, ver. 1.1

This is a work in progress. Last updated 11/19/01: new info about the Batayan religion of Morea
            10/30/01 - Statistical information and such updated to Runesword II

   Around 330 of the Second Age, a group belonging to an independently minded religious sect, decided they wanted to set up their own kingdom. Other groups soon started proclaiming independence, too, and attempting to set up their own societies. However, because the people still occupied the same basic region of land, conflict quickly arose. The many small and large conflicts that followed over about 30 years are called the Splinter Wars. By the end of this time, various groups had left the main continent, including members of the Bataya sect, who sailed due east and settled on a large island/small continent across the sea, Morea. Though Jafra Ulshek the Magnificent, his armies and his magicians, had set up a substantial empire in the West, and even forced Kyparrisia and Argos to sign treaties and pay tribute, the Moreans refused to cooperate. At the time, they were not a particularly large or powerful group, and since they were so far away, Jafra I decided to ignore them for a while....
    The first Moreans were a group of nine family-clans (about 200 people) who settled the western Morea coastline. A few other groups also colonized sections of this new island/continent, but the dominant culture of Households, Clans, etc., was established by the early coastal communities, along with the dominance of the Bataya religion. Perhaps because of their independent personalities, enhanced by a strong belief in personal/family  honor, it didn't take long for a certain amount of in-fighting to crop up. In fact, this was the beginning of their common reputation as a rather barbaric group of people. Their warring nature (and reputation) were fueled as they managed to rebuff several Jafran invasions over the next few centuries. In a couple of instances, Morean war-bands not only defeated the invading forces, but followed up with retaliatory raids on the Jafran mainland. If not for the sea between Jafra and Morea, it is likely only one of the two nations would have survived beyond the early years of the Third Age.
    During the Third age, as the Dreamers began to emerge, they naturally rose to power in Morea, as in other nations. Because Dreamers could be born into any family, seemingly at random, they began forming a group/association outside of the standard household/clan system. Some of the religious leaders were a bit suspicious (and very jealous), but had little success in preventing this group from growing in social and political power. When, around 310 of the Third Age, some powerful Dreamers began to rebel against their traditions and gain extraordinary power by diverting the backlash of their magic onto their foes, the general Morean populace was caught very off-guard. Because there had never been any real central kingdom-wide government
established, there was no way to resist this unpleasant power-shift. The rebel Dreamers quickly overwhelmed those Dreamers who held to tradition, and began establishing their control over the clans and people as a whole.
    The Dreamer take-over was interrupted when an insane Eternal, the Unspeakable Undernight, and other Eternals came in great ships with their armies of hideous mutant beast and invaded the Jafran mainland. Smaller groups attacked Kyparrisia and Morea. The Moreans (like everyone else) scrambled to rally all available forces to resist this invasion. Since the invading force
that made it all the way to Morea was a mere fraction of the invading force, and the Moreans in general were fairly well-versed in warfare, the invaders didn't get too far. There were heavy losses, to be sure, but with as the Eternals' weaknesses to steel and magic were discovered, they were driven back and pretty much wiped out. In the meantime, many of the rebel Dreamers, including the most powerful of the Dreamer leaders in Morea, had gone to the Jafran mainland to help their brethren push back the major invasion there. Jafran history records: "The warring factions of Dreamers gathered together, as did the mortals, united against a common enemy and commanded by Dreamer Tul'Shar, the greatest general of the Age. Tul'Shar outflanked and outwitted the Undernight in battle after battle, against steep odds. The Eternals, previously thought unbeatable, were driven back, their remnants sailing back to the Land Beyond."
    Some historians claim that Tul'Shar, touched by the comradery of his fellows in the face of a great enemy, renounced his former ways and vowed to become a suffering Dreamer, to live in the traditional way of the elder Dreamers. These scholars say there was a chance that the rest of  the Dreamers might have likewise repented, had they been given the chance. However, Tul'Shar's own wife turned against him and betrayed him to Fulk the Black. This Andorian duke had him publicly tortured and killed. Fulk then pressed forward with a movement he called the Cleansing Wind, or extermination of all Dreamers.
   As for the Dreamers in Morea, they met with a remarkably similar fate. Having defeated the Eternals, their ancient enemies of old, the Morean people then turned on the Dreamers, who they blamed for the Eternals' invasion. The fact that the Dreamers who sailed away to "fight the Eternals" never returned just strengthened the wide-spread rumor that they were really going to
join the Eternals' armies. The Batayan (religious) leaders in Morea had been secretly organizing themselves for a number of years in preparation to challenge the Dreamers, and quickly stepped up to assume leadership of the enraged populace. Batayan priests declared that all Dreamers were cursed with demon blood, and must be killed. War-bands quickly formed and attacked any remaining Dreamer strongholds, and over the next several years, virtually all Dreamers were driven off or killed.
    The re-birth of a "national identity" during the conflicts with the Eternals, and then the Dreamers, has had a lasting effect on Morean society. Clans still rule their members with a large degree of autonomy, but the religious leaders, who have always helped mediate conflicts, treaties, and other dealings between Clans, now act almost as a pseudo-government for the nation as a whole. Batayan priests/preachers are putting new emphasis on loyalty to the Morean people as a whole, rather than preaching loyalty only to Clan and Kin. Inter-clan violence is much more rare in modern Morea than in past times - rivalries still abound, but attacks on "enemies" tend to be of a social/political nature most of the time.
    Another recent trend since the resolution of the Eternal and Dreamer conflicts is renewed hostility toward Jafra (and its allies). The Moreans hold a grudge for past grievances, and also have a renewed determination to prevent any future assaults on their independence. Encouraged by the Batayan leaders, bands of Dan‘ap and other young warriors have begun raiding the Jafran continent with increasing frequency. Some bands go to launch a series of guerilla-type attacks aimed at causing as much destruction and chaos as possible (including taking any portable loot and destroying everything else). Other, more select bands, may attempt to infiltrate deeper into Jafran territories for various purposes: espionage, assassination, sabotage or other actions designed to degrade Jafra's economic and political power base. Rumors that a much larger scale attack may come in the next few years are not discouraged....
     **Note: Basic information on Eternian History as a whole was, of course, taken from the Runesword Guide, by Dan and Adam

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See also:Morea - kingdom info