Axdel: Difference between revisions

It has been hypothesised that the Axdelian peninsula and several other areas of Aurora were inhabited by a now-extinct sapient species before the first migration of anatomically modern Elves and Humans into aurora. The theory emerged as a response to the complete absence of elves and early human species in multiple regions up until the beginning of the last interglacial period, with biologist Varen Buzela hypothesising in 1886 that it could be due to competition with an undiscovered race. His idea was somewhat popular, however due no such competitor species being found it was dismissed by many of his contemporaries, though the underlying issue persisted. In 1899, the palaeontologist Felip Smith claimed to have discovered leg bones belonging to an extinct species of sentient, upright-standing avians at a site in the [[Molvian Corridor]]. He named it [[Cava Man]], and produced a paper theorising that the species went extinct after the arrival of modern humans. The scientific community at the time was divided until the Morstaybishlian royal society purchased the remains in 1902 and dubiously classified them as belonging to an extinct species of ratites. Smith's theories were rejected and replaced with the dominant theory of heavy, persistent glaciation fuelled by Sempiternan ocean currents preventing habitation instead.

 

 

=== Prehistory and early history ===

=== Early Antiquity (13th - 8th century BCE) ===

With the the end of the 14th century BCE, many small kingdoms and chiefdoms had been founded along the length of the Ueclid river as a result of the power vacuum left by the sudden collapse of Lapytia. This era has become known as the first dark age, as texts from the time are infrequent and some remain unreadable due to writing in several undeciphered scripts. Additionally, a significant amount of the written material from the Lapytian period was lost in civil wars which razed remnant cities and towns across its former territory. The political landscape at the time is difficult to reconstruct and is frequently debated, but all evidence suggests it was extremely tumultuous and fraught with war.

In the 12th century BCE, the walled city state of Quen exited a long period of social unrest, and began a highly successful conquest under Kind Eida which saw the entire Upper Ueclid come under his dominion. The Soltic confederacy, a naval coastal state east of the Ueclids mouth, began its own simultaneous campaign to control the kingdoms of the fertile floodplains in the area. The powers came into conflict in the middle of the century provoked war with Eida's Ueclidian Empire sending warships up the river to raid towns and constrict trade. Taking advantage of their weak land forces, Eida pushed down the valley and sieged their holdings on the river and the coast. However, many areas were able to hold out thanks to supplies brought in by their navy. Eida was succeeded by his son Eida II, who launched a campaign into Soltic territory which eventually succeeded, putting the entire Ueclid valley and the Northern coast under his dominion by the 11th century BCE. The unified Ueclidian empire remained the status quo for approximately a century and a half as the regions dominant power. In this time, a standardised system of writing and booms in trade leading to increased record-keeping signifies the end of the first dark age.