History of Batu and Loch Arach

Ancient History
(1000 BP – 800 AP)

Most of the people on the mainland have long considered Batu a wild land, inhabited by human barbarians roaming the plains and mountains, savage orcs doing battle with dwarves in dark caverns, and ancient Fey roaming the wilds.

There is a grain of truth to that, but the reality is far more complex.

About 4000 years ago the Empire of Bael Turath came into being. Its rulers were once humans, but they made alliances with devils and their bloodline carried a diabolical taint, giving rise to the tiefling race.

Bael Turath came into conflict with the fey Kingdom of Cendriane. If Cendriane was what it had been in its glory days the fey no doubt would have triumphed. But the fey were in decline. The elves had already largely forsaken their homeland in the Feywild and the eladrin had delved into secrets better left alone, causing most of the Cendriane to simply vanish. As it was, the conflict between Bael Turath and Cendriane was a near thing. The eladrin and elves fought valiantly together. Bael Turath finally triumphed when General Garrel, a warlock in the service of Asmodeus, tamed and captured all the wild magic of the world into a star buried deep beneath the surface. He crafted a scepter to allow him to tap into that source of magic. (Of course his victory allowed him to stage a coup and take over the empire, setting up a new capital at the Presidum. Even today most cultures use the calendar dating back to the founding of the Presidium as the capital of Bael Turath.

With the wild magic of the land receding, many of the fey left this world for Feywild, a plane parallel to our own. Most of those who stayed settled on the Batu Islands. The remaining eladrin archmages created stone circles at places where the boundaries between the material plane and the Feywild were thin, allowing some remnant of the wild magic to remain.
Nearly a thousand years after the founding of the Presidium the people of Batu had their revenge, aiding the Arkhosian Empire in its war against Bael Turath. Both empires were laid waste in the final battles. Those survivors from Batu that did not return home after the war went on to settle in the Crescent Plains of the mainland.

Civilization Comes to Batu
(800 – 2250 AP)

One of the many nations which appeared after the fall of the Presidum was the Kingdom of Nytel. Its kings maintained power by use of the Scepter of the Source of Magic created by Bael Turath. In the 1,955th year since the founding of the Presidium a rebellion against the tyrant wizard-kings succeeded.. The Scepter was destroyed and wild magic was again released across the face of the world. The leaders of the rebellion moved quickly to consolidate their power, transforming Nytel into an powerful, though largely benign, empire. The Empire of Nytel spent most of its existence dealing with threats unleashed by the return of wild magic.
Loch Arach featured prominently in one of these conflicts. About ten years into the Empire’s existence the towns around Loch Arach were conquered by the Vodoni, a race of powerful werewolves rumored to hail from the void between the stars. This vale became their beachhead in a war designed to conquer all of Farren. Eventually Nytel, aided by the Empire of Demia, triumphed against the Vodoni. The final battle was led by Admiral Khal the Dark of Nytel, who died in the effort to destroy the tyrant werewolves. In the aftermath of this war, the island of Batu was brought into the Empire of Nytel, with the newly founded city of Khal’s Landing serving as the provincial capital of the northern portion of the island.

The Rise and Fall of the Kingdom of Nerath
(2250-2750)

The Empire of Nytel fell quickly and with little warning. One day in 2250 the Wild Hunt appeared and marched over central Nytel. Before word of the invasion could spread the mystic Feywood covered where the capital had once been. A brief war of succession followed, but no party gained the upper hand, resulting in several successor states. On the island of Batu the Kingdom of Nerath was founded, ruling over the Batu Islands.

Nerath was a shining force for good in the world. Many races lived in harmony with one another. It spread to the mainland, covering much of the former Empire of Nytel. But it was not to last. It is rumored that some dark god, or alliance of such gods, was determined to see Nerath fall. And so over time darkness nipped at the edges of the kingdom. But before long darkness was everywhere. Gnolls wandered the Crescent Plains and the Northern Barrens of Batu. Goblin and orc raids became more and more frequent and more and more organized. The stone circles became corrupted, twisting their extraplanar connections to bring in influences form the Shadowfell, the Abyss, and the Nine Hells.

This went on year after year. Many champions tried to fight against the encroaching darkness. However, the kingdom was doomed. In 2749 a great gnoll host, led by the demon prince Yeenoghu marched through Loch Arach, laying waste to Khal’s landing. Though this was just a step in their journey to the city of Lundenweir, capital of Nerath. Baron Anton Radu II of Loch Arach fell trying to stop this army. His son, Baron Anton Radu III wished to give chase but was forced to stay to defend Loch Arach from the host of devils, goblins, and orcs that threatened the surviving settlements.

Baron Anton Radu III eventually learned that the source of the problems plaguing Loch Arach was the corrupted stone circle of Corag Baragu. An exarch of Vecna, dark god of magic and the undead, was personally leading the dark forces there. Baron Radu led his surviving forces to Corag Baragu. None know exactly what happened in that battle as none of Radu’s forces survived that battle, but it is known that Vecna’s exarch was no more and the union of the dark forces was broken. The immediate threat to Loch Arach was broken. But it was also alone – word came from down south that the last King Elidyr and his sons had fallen in battle – though they defeated Yeenoghu and his gnoll host, the Kingdom of Nerath was no more.

Point of Light in the Darkness
(2750 – present)