quakes, they benefited from what became an increased potential for agriculture.
Outside of Nature's first destruction, these early days were marred by frequent
The History of Muetar
The areas that later coalesced into the realm of Muetar suffered less from the
great Cataclysm than did most other parts of the ancient Lloroi Empire. Though
the destruction of standing structures was great, the tipping of the planet's axis
actually improved the climate in the long term, which previously had been cold-
er and dryer. Moreover, the upheavals rechanneled two great rivers, the Deep
and the Wanderer, so that they cut new course through the region's heartland.
Once the shaken inhabitants recovered from the shock of hurricanes and earth-
Primitive interpretation of a barbarian attack on a village of Kalruna-Sasir.
1
aftershocks and the invasion of starving mobs and marauders. The cities could
not be supplied with provisions while the land underfoot remained in revolt (as
it did to a small degree for a long time afterwards). Accustomed to public grain
doles from the extinct Imperial government, the citified refugees who had been
cast of their ruined cities found themselves ill-equipped to survive except by
begging or plundering. Fortunately, the country people in many places man-
aged to organize in time to defend their homes. They benefited additionally by
accepting the leadership of neighbors trained in the Imperial Army. Over the
next few years the swarms of marauders were thinned by starvation, exposure,
and disease. Only a few, who had special and useful skills, found refuge with
the countrymen. The remaining survivors retreated into the wilds, their children
and grandchildren eventually degenerating into deep barbarism. The pacified
region breathed a sigh of relief and for the next couple generations the vast
region which would someday be enclosed inside the Empire of Muetar was
scantily populated by hunters and scattered farming communities.
The inhabitants of the post-Cataclysm called their land Kalruna-Sasir, the "Land
of Great Rivers." Blessed by circumstance and the industry of its people, the
area fared much better than lands to the east and west, which had fallen to ris-
ing tribes of semi-nomadic primitives. Kalruna-Sasir was, however, more a cul-
tural region than a state. As prosperity and population increased, peaceful trade
developed between the growing villages, but each community jealously pre-
served its self-governing status and was usually led by an elected council of eld-
ers.
Eventually, disunity undid Kalruna-Sasir. As arable land began to run short,
quarrels developed over rival claims between towns. The resultant animosity
played into the hands of ambitious leaders who hatched schemes to seize
neighboring holdings by force of arms. The History of Beolon by Hillero, our
principal source for information of this early period, laments: "While men still
worked to rebuild a shattered world, lords, priests, and village headmen kept in
some degree their proper place in society. But when all memory of harsh times
had passed away with the generations and men knew only the present, peace-
ful state of things, all principles of truth and justice were spurned to such an
extent that not even a dream of them remained, except in a few -- and they were
very few."
In their land-lusting zeal, the leaders of Kalruna-Sasir hurried their way of life to
destruction.
Now, centuries after the Cataclysm, outsiders had begun to make themselves
known on the fringes of Kalruna-Sasir. Some of them were barbarian tribes
descended from dispossessed people driven from the settled regions in the
chaotic aftermath of the Cataclysm. Instead of coming together to ward off
these dangerous outsiders, warring parties inside Kalruna-Sasir eagerly hired
these barbarians as mercenaries against one another. At first the tribesmen
fought well for their paymasters, but the stories and goods they brought home
afterwards incited their kinsmen to gain such booty for themselves. Slowly at
first, then more rapidly, loot-hungry tribes migrated toward the pleasant, culti-
vated land in the center of the continent. Disunited, the warring communities
fell rapidly to their attacks. When the natives were all fled, slain, or enslaved,
the wars still went on with one barbarian tribe fighting against another, with war-
chiefs founding tiny, ephemeral kingdoms. The most good to come of the con-
quest was the fact that enough of the original people remained to pass on a
more civilized outlook to their uncouth masters.
Over the next two centuries
conditions stabilized as the
mild conditions of Kalruna-
Sasir and bountiful harvests
took the warlike edge off the
invaders. The existence of
trading posts, such as devel-
oped at Pennol and Basimar,
bespoke the development of
other pursuits aside from prim-
itive agriculture and raiding.
But the establishment of pros -
perity amongst Kalruna-Sasir's
new mix of population sum-
moned more invaders from the
wilderness, as raw and unlet-
tered as those who came pre-
vious.
ture varied.
The gods must have taken a special interest in the Mueta. They hung on to their
lands even after the second-wave invasions had petered out, multiplied, estab-
lished a crude kingdom of their own, and made seasonal raids to seize more ter-
ritory. Seven centuries after the Cataclysm, resistance to these churlish adven-
turers began to weaken -- owing perhaps to internal dissension brought on by
changing times. A Mueta Chieftain managed to capture the stronghold of
Basimar by a ruse and quickly proceeded to annex it. Resistance was slight
since the barbarous Muetan king, whose name was Oyaro, proved to be a
strong, fair-minded leader who put a welcome end to the prevailing strife of the
region.
At this point in time the Mueta become known as the Muetarans, a name which
denoted all who lived in the territory, not just those of tribal blood. Oyaro found-
ed a long line of princes, the Oyarostars, and these governed Muetar until the
twelfth century after the Cataclysm. The early Oyarostars maintained a disci-
plined kingdom and waged perpetual war on the frontier. They encouraged their
warriors by generous awards of newly-conquered lands, a portion of which, of
course, they retained as crown land, thus also enriching the monarchy.
Externally, they were opposed by the older dynasts of Pennol, who had long-
since formed the Maragonian kingdom. These, too, became aggressive and
expansionist.
A slow process of consolidation operated in Kalruna-Sasir. When enemies were
strong, the expansion of the Maragonian and Muetaran states were temporari-
ly checked. When a kingdom fell into disorder, it generally crumbled before the
attacks of one or the other.
An astonishing event accelerated the evolution of Muetar. In the tenth century
after the Cataclysm, Minaria suffered invasion by monstrosities which the
ancients called "the abominations of the land and the horrors of the air." Since
many records were destroyed during these dreadful incursions, Hillero and the
lesser historians necessarily made use of dubious materials in the story of these
times, such as epic poetry and legend. The creatures may have been amphib-
ians, for in all the lands they invested, they tended to follow river valleys inland
from the coast. Their eruption into the great lake of the Deep, then called Lake
Lorimer ("the Green Waters"), caused it to be renamed Lake Carth -- "Carth"
meaning "abomination" in the regional dialect. Since that time unverified reports
of sinuous monsters in Lake Carth have been many and persistent.
The most plausible explanation for this unnatural era of monsters belongs to the
history of early Mivior. Not even the Maragonian kingdom could stand before
the horrifying onslaught. Suffice it to say that the scourge sent hosts of refugees
streaming eastward into the Muetaran domain, where the Oyarostars sold their
succor dearly. They forced many a landed refugee into harsh oaths of fealty.
Even though most of these unwilling vassals repudiated these forced oaths as
soon as they could, the Oyarostars used them politically as a pretext for much
of their subsequent aggression and confiscations.

Sculptured sarcophagus of Oyaro, Founder of to these units as kingdoms,
the Muetarian Empire.
The most important of this sec -
ond-wave were the Mueta.
They took over a tract of the
northeast and based them-
selves there for raiding, but if
tradition may be relied upon,
these early attacks were invari-
ably repulsed. The men of
Kalruna-Sasir formed alliances
and maintained their property
and independence. The many
small principalities born of the
first barbarian invasions now
came together for mutual sup-
port, and eventually the river
region was divided into just a
few political bodies where
before there had been scores.
For convenience we shall refer
though their governing struc -
The "abominations of the land and the horrors of the air" lost their impetus soon
after reaching the Muetaran frontiers. The Oyarostars successfully held them at
bay and several Muetaran epic heroes gained fame in these times as great
monster-slayers. The monsters began to die out as mysteriously as they had
come. The Oyarostar kingdom had survived intact and was therefore capable
of following the retreat cautiously, capturing the devastated Pennol in the twelfth
year of King Mykino, the 996th year after the Cataclysm. The surviving
Maragonian aristocracy either went abroad or were put out of their lands in
poverty. In the future "Maragonian" became a Muetaran synonym for "insolent
peasant" and the ethnic hatreds resulting from the conquest was not soon done
away with.
The devastation of Kalruna-Sasir left a power vacuum which was swiftly filled by
Muetar's armies. The petty kingdoms of Groat and Beolon were the last to fall.
By the early eleventh century, the Muetarans had largely achieved their present-
day borders. In this period, they seized the north shore of Lake Carth, whose
more primitive inhabitants, the Vidarna tribe, had been weakened by the
destruction and subsequent capture of their major trading partner, Pennol. Not
permanently subdued, these people figure largely in the history of Immer. The
theft of the Lake Carth land rankled their people as a whole and recovering it
became a stubborn Irredentist claim.

2
 Bas-relief of Muetarian heroes combating the ‘abominations of the land and air.’
After the conquest of Muetar's natural borders, the Oyarostar's subsequent mil-
itary adventures fared badly. The wilderness of the Border Forest and the
Mountains of Ice were not worth the cost of annexing. The trading cities of the
south were too far away and lay beyond a barren wasteland unsuitable for
Muetaran horse cavalry. Equally forbidding were the Nithmere Mountains, pop-
ulated by powerful Goblin tribes. To the northwest the resurgent Vidarna
checked any additional advances; moreover, Muetarans disliked the cold north-
ern winters and the short growing season. The warm country of Hothior proved
a much more tempting target.
For a time the eastern Hothiorans fell under Muetaran power, as the country had
not reorganized well after the invasion of the monsters ended. But though par-
tially subdued, the Hothiorans would not assimilate into the Muetaran kingdom,
not even as well as the Maragonians. For the first time the Muetarans were try-
ing to subjugate a people with whom they shared no cultural traditions whatso-
ever. They were men of the inland river country and the Hothiorans never
ceased to regard them as aliens and enemies. Many Hothiorans took to the hills
and forests, from whence they mounted raids against Muetaran strongholds and
others from Hothior who collaborated with the enemy. When pressed by
Muetaran armies, the quasi-tribal bands retired beyond the River Ebbing, where
Hothior remained free and loosely-organized. There reinforced and supplied,
the resistance invariably returned east with a vengeance.
The Muetarans replied with massacres and the mass deportation of Hothiorans
as serfs for the homeland. But such policies only incited an ever more bitter and
desperate resistance. At length, the king of Muetar resolved to deprive the
rebels of their bases by the conquest of all Hothior, no matter what the cost.
The cost, alas, proved disastrous, for a major Muetaran army was lured into
ambush and shattered. In a continuing flood of victory, the Hothiorans rose up
and swept all the Muetaran landlords and colonists back to their own country.
The failure of expansion shocked and demoralized the Oyarostaran state. The
energies of the landless nobility, once turned against foreign foes, now festered
into internal strife. The later Oyarostars found no better solution than to attempt
to buy loyalty, as in the past, with land grants. But the only land left to give away
was crown land whose alienation weakened the dynasty. The impoverished
monarchy inspired baronial contempt and an era of robber barons began. The
last kings failed to acquit themselves well, were ignored by their subjects, and
lapsed into wild eccentricities. One of the last, Gybalus, accomplished so little
he was known by no loftier epithet than "the Flute Player." After a century of
Oyarostaran impotence, an ambitious sorcerer named Corfu usurped the
throne. The year was 1240 A.C.
Corfu had made himself a power by insinuating himself with the last
3
Oyarostaran queen, whose only son had an illness that only Corfu seemed able
to control. A subtle man, he was soon controlling much more than the heir's ill-
ness. He especially created a personal power base among the poor and dis-
possessed of Maragonia. He demanded and received high offices and com-
missions. Then, when he was a political power in the kingdom, he struck sud-
denly and murderously, wiping out the whole line, except for Prince Rustad.
It is believed that Rusted was later killed in secret by Corfu and his agents or
instead was slain by brigands as he fled along the roads. Still others say that
the unfortunate heir was executed in secret by Egalon of Pennol, to whom he
supposedly turned for assistance. A few aver that he actually was one of the
several "false-Rustads" who attempted to unseat Emperor Egalon early in his
reign. These stories belong to folklore, not history.
After his usurpation of the throne, Corfu attained the kind of power not enjoyed
by a black sorcerer since the days of the Scarlet Witch King. He sent agents
into neighboring territories and assisted local covens to seize control of their
own kingdoms as he had done. His minions were most successful in Hothior,
where a demonist named Mornard used magic to clear his way to the chancel-
lorship and reduced the monarch to a mere puppet.
The murderous ascendancy of Corfu, the despotism, and his repellant sorcery
spurred the last responsible elements in Muetar into action. Egalon, a prince of
Pennol with a dash of royal Oyarostar blood in his veins, rallied the country in
revolt. The war laid the country waste, but Corfu eventually felt his power
ebbing. In desperation he won an alliance of the magic-wise Wandering People
by means of a large land grant to the nomads, but he failed to protect them from
rebel raiders, who burned their new homes and slew many of their tribe. The
surviving Wanderers placed the curse of the werewolf upon the evil, incompe-
tent ruler. Henceforth Corfu was distracted by his ghastly affliction and the rebel
forces made great gains against him.
Bad news came to Corfu from abroad as well. His conspiratorial allies failed to
gain real power in their respective kingdoms and even his most important ally,
Mornard of Hothior, perished in combat with a patriotic sorceress who went by
the name of Sheladeann.
Finally, Corfu used black magic of the most awful kind to draw the curse into his
left hand, and then he struck it off, at last freeing himself of the Wandering
People's curse.
But it was too late to save the power he had stolen. Seizing Basimar, Egalon
slew Corfu while he was in the midst of a desperate conjuration. The victor
mounted the throne as the first of a new dynasty, that of the Pirostars which
rules Muetar to the present day.
 Of despair in Maragonia.
Egalon was an exceedingly able young prince and he kept the loyalty of those
factions that were tired of the former strife. Egalon humbled the lawless barons A trumpet sounds behind the rise
by confiscating the lands stolen from smaller holders. He did not, however, And frightened men lift up their eyes
return these properties to their rightful heirs, but retained them as crown land. Toward armored knights who seek their lives
This simultaneously weakened his rivals and restored the crown's solvency. Through all of Maragonia.
Times were dangerous and the measures he took were appropriately ruthless.
The farmers vainly pressed the fight
Egalon's break with the past was complete. Because Basimar had been asso- Their burning cabins torched the night
ciated with the country's worst hour, he moved the capital to Pennol. Likewise, With anguished cries they begged for light
the title of "king" having fallen into derision, he assumed the ancient title of To break in Maragonia.
"Emperor." He favored the non-Muetaran nobility, won many Maragonian dissi-
dents to his faction, and rallied them against the insolent blue-bloods of Mueta. The northern winds are sharp and chill
Foreigners had chosen the time of the civil war to raid Muetar, but Egalon now As orphans cringe beneath the sill
raised emergency levies and flung back the marauders: Goblins, barbarians, And archers aim their bows to kill
Ponese, horse nomads, Vidarnans, and even Hothiorans. The poor of Maragonia.

Egalon realized that his country required a professional military class and an The monarch's slayers press the fight
economy to sustain it. With this end in mind, he extended serfdom in areas of Though snowfall turns the woodlands white
less personal support, believing that it was fit that the great mass should labor And women cower filled with fright
to support the warrior elite that the empire needed so much. No hope for Maragonia.

The coercion of Muetar's freeholders into bondsmen was bitterly resented, but But some few serfs endure the pain
in the hand-to-mouth existence of the of the Muetaran serfs itself prevented seri- Though few will ever know peace again
ous uprisings. But by the time of the Great Quake, the conditions in the land The lucky ones shall be the slain
had improved considerably. Trade fairs flourished and town-populations won Who sleep in Maragonia.
concessions from their local lords, usually in exchange for large loans. Further,
new ideas were propagated, even among the serfs, where new ideas were most In sunken valleys and mountain beds
dangerous. The missionaries of the cults, particularly the cult of Huisinga, Weary plowmen hang their heads
preached the doctrine of the equality of all men before the gods, and this gave And weep for loved ones lying dead
rise to rational for rebellion. For crows in Maragonia.

The monster earthquake of 1354 disrupted the flow of the Wanderer and Freedom dies in the frozen night
deprived much land of its irrigation. The emperor turned to trade to make up for The bravest man gives up the fight
the injury to the kingdom's agriculture, dredging and widening the River Deep The stoutest heart must yield to might
for deep-draft navigation. The new trade spurred even more town life. Then die for Maragonia.

The Great Plague of 1355 caused great losses among Muetar's serfs. Not long Tortured nights and hopeless days
after it was over, the damaged fabric of life in the country erupted into piecemeal Huisinga's name is gasped in praise
revolts -- more serious than any of those in the past, especially with the king- The desperate ones learn Nonnus' ways
dom's military revenues reduced consequent of the plague. Also, it was not long Then die in Maragonia.
after the epidemic that the peasants learned that their labor was much-valued
by the landlords whose serfs had been depleted. High wages were available By Sankari's shrines where no one dwells
for free laborers, and landlords did not ask many questions of a willing worker. The bitter wind rings vesper bells
The climate of the times reversed the trend toward serfdom that Egalon had It's only ghosts who sound the knells
advocated. The dead of Maragonia.

The crown's attempt to find and return runaway bondsmen caused an explo- When barren fields are overgrown
sion, especially in the malcontent areas of Maragonia and in the impoverished And one dull beggar slogs alone
regions of Groat. The revolt is remembered especially because it found a His worn-out boots turn up a bone
leader in a disgruntled mercenary captain, the warrior maid Trouble. For most A child's of Maragonia.
of a year the countryside east of Lake Carth, mainly inhabited by Maragonians,
blazed. After half-measures failed, the cash-strapped government brought the But snowdrops bloom in the warm spring air
full weight of the army down on the rebels and slew them by the tens of thou- As tiny creatures leave their lair
sands, which only added to the manpower shortage and added to the momen- And trilling birds nest pair by pair
tum for serious societal reorganization. New songs for Maragonia.

A missionary of Sankari's cult wrote this lament about the bitter aftermate of the A infant cries in a peasant's bed
last Marigonian revolt against Muetar: A man and woman lately wed
Must think of life, not of the dead
Who sleep in Maragonia.
Marigonia
To date, six Pirostar emperors have reigned, some able, none totally discred-
Deep snow falls on a winter day itable. The current emperor, Herrott Golden Helm, has so far met every chal-
While tattered peasants kneel to pray lenge, effectively if not always mercifully. He still exudes confidence and vigor
And hunger takes their strength away and his subjects remain hopeful that now that the great trials of the recent past
It war in Maragonia. have been successfully passed, that they shall have peace and quiet.

In soldier camps coarse footmen bide

While frightened peasants run and hide
Too helpless to oppose the tide