tered communities, travelers from Girion, the southern sub-continent of Minaria,

inform us that a state under the political sway of free and independent Lloroi still
endures. This closed and xenophobic land is called Anuwin and it is said to
anchor itself upon a mighty mountain fortress that neither time nor the hand of
Man has ever permanently overthrown. Some Minarian Lloroi have made pil-
grimages to this distant haven, but the way is both long and hazardous and
many wayfarers never return.

Khersemo's account of the Lloroi begins with their irruption from the East,
mighty in war-craft and skilled in sorcery. The invaders soon found their
advance blocked by various indigenous peoples, especially Khos, a city of mys-
tic wisdom ruled by a priestly aristocracy. War resulted and when the hosts of
the Lloroi appeared before Khos their best attacks were checked. Neither did
the Khosites stand alone, for they headed a powerful alliance united in the
desire to repel the invaders.

The war lasted many years, but was not continuous. The Lloroi sidled around
Khos into lands less well-defended and made permanent conquests there.
The Origin of Minaria Always, though, they returned to war on Khos. When direct assaults on Khos
were given up, the invaders fought a war of attrition, raiding the hinterlands and
oppressing the Khosite-allied towns. Eventually, many Khosite allies defected
Prior to the Lloroi invasion 2500 years before the present, Minarian history is, and made peace with the Lloroi.
essentially, lost history. Undecipherable steles and hieroglyphics exist to be
sure, as do artifacts and ruins, but the story behind these crumbling monuments The Khosites grew ever more isolated, but such unreasoning hatred dominated
and fading traces in most cases must go untold. the Lloroi camp its leaders knew that yielding meant annihilation for Khos. At
last the main Khosite army was brought to a faithful battle. A ballad based upon
The most widely-available account of the foundation of the Lloroi Empire is Khersemo's account tells the tragic story:
found in the Histories of Khersemo, a widely- traveling scholar of Mivior who
wrote prior to the "Invasion of the Abominations of the Land and the Horrors of
the Air." Born circa 880 A.C. (After the Cataclysm), the historian's death is tra- The Fall of Khos
ditionally given as 929 A.C. Though the disaster which befell Mivior in 949 cast
his book into obscurity, the robust revival of learning that took place in the late
[The Chorus]
Eleventh Century brought it back into the light of day.
When the phantom knights ride by
Khersemo, by virtue of his time period and extensive travels, gained access to
The owls startle high.
manuscripts which are not now extant. Even the libraries of Neuth and the
Drumming hoofbeats in the night
Eaters of Wisdom have in late centuries been sadly depleted by war and inva-
Score the land with fright --
sion. Much of what our authority says needs to be taken on faith -- at least until
Echoes of the wraiths who haunts the ruins of Khos.
chance discovery or diligent scholarship refutes him.
It's been two dozen centuries since that dead city thrived;
More than any other early historian, Khersemo revitalized antiquarian research.
The million souls who peopled it have left no seed alive.
His overall theme was the growth and glory of Mivioran civilization and power,
Our elders still do shiver, tho, for reasons dread and fell,
but he gave his subject a very broad perspective. Those chapters which he
They know the Khosites as their ghosts still rule upon the tell.
devoted to the Lloroi represent, by and large, all that any non-specialist knows.
While some scholars claim to see errors, they have nothing to offer in the way
There is little that we know,
of facts. Our account of Minaria's primeval days must therefore be drawn large-
But centuries ago
ly from Khersemo.
The Lloroi sieged this city on the plains.
Possessed by fear and hate,
In Book I, Khersemo tells us that the Lloroi race originated outside Minaria, in
They achieved a dreadful fate,
the vast, unknown lands east of the Barrier Mountains. The greatest of histori-
Waging slaughter till not one Khosite remains.
cal mysteries centers on the question as to why the Lloroi people should have
ventured west. Did some ancient empire send their armies and families on
Chorus
expedition to Minaria? Had the original Lloroi nation fallen to attack or natural
disaster, forcing its survivors to migrate? Were the Lloroi a subject race driven
They fought a mighty battle as Khos' hopes were growing dim;
into revolt, seeking freedom in a land they might make their own?
Cornered 'gainst a canyon cliff and driven to its rim,
Khos could not stem the Lloroi press, outnumbered by the foe;
Whatever the truth, the Lloroi people still exist in Minaria and their physical type
So they turned to leap the precipice, but plummeted below.
is well-known. The typical Lloroi is tall, thin, and very pale of skin. His face is
longish, his nose narrow. His eyes are heavily-lidded, his mouth is small and
When they searched along the floor
his lips narrow. The Lloroi's litheness of frame is belied by his physical strength;
The knights were there no more,
yet it is in intellectual endeavors that he most often excels. Though generally
Vanishing like vultures who had flown.
disliked by Minarians, Lloroi individuals tend to be prominent in the fields of
But rather than be lost,
scholarship, medicine, trade, and banking. But they do little to make them-
They were conjured back to Khos
selves liked by non-Lloroi and frequently the charge of crime and vice is laid at
So that wizard city kept its own.
their feet. They are clannish and avoid contact with alien society, except where
their economic needs make such contact necessary.
Chorus
Most encylopedists class the Lloroi with the Elves, and some describe them as
Their king had rent his garments, stunned by anger and regret,
"high-elves," as opposed to the "common" or "wood" Elf of Neuth. Interestingly,
Then summoned in the priestesses who served the Lord of Death.
while men may breed with Elves and sire healthy, fertile offspring, the mules
He offered Doom his city, whatsoever be its fate,
derived from the union of men with Lloroi are invariably sterile. On the contrary,
If God but turn the golden key that opened up His gate.
the scion of Elves and Lloroi are fertile -- leading us to suppose that the Elves
represent a racial stock intermediate between men and Lloroi.
There was no end to strife;
The besiegers lost their life,
Although the present-day Lloroi of Minaria have for a long time existed in scat-

1

Hothioran unit
Vying with the ghostmen of the town.
In a bone yard, so it's said,
Shriek and wail the Lloroi dead,
Who still roar their maddened laugher all around.
Chorus
Aft a century of battle the living quelled the slain;
Of Khos's vanished people scarce two memories remain.
But there's still an invocation that permits its sons no rest
And by its doleful summoning to strife and war they're pressed.
Chorus
The cities of Minaria fell to the invaders one by one, and modern man knows
even less about these antique kingdoms than he does about Khos. The Lloroi,
alas, deliberately destroyed all knowledge of past civilization, preferring that his-
tory should begin with the foundation of their Empire. Since humans predomi -
nate in Minaria today, we must surmise that this was the case in ancient times
also, but obviously the conquerors also encountered Elves and Goblins,
Dwarves, Trolls and, probably, Ogres. The tide of Lloroi conquests reached far
into the South, even into parts of the subcontinent of Girion. Holding such a vast
territory while waging major war proved too difficult even for the Lloroi.
Eventually external war ceased and was succeeded by a process of consolida-
tion.
Thus, after the Lloroi conquest came the Lloroi peace. The ruling race enforced
law and order throughout the realm. Excellent road-systems were built and
2
merchants followed these well-laid tracks to spread pros -
perity far and wide. Lloroi soldiers, increasingly supple-
mented by native volunteers, guarded outposts the length
and breadth of the domain, protecting it against foreign
raiders while suppressing banditry and uprisings. Trade
flourished and the Spice Road from Girion brought exotic
items north to grace the homes and tables of both con-
queror and conquered alike.
A vibrant culture flowered. Heated homes and indoor
plumbing became too common to remark upon. Wise
agricultural policies fed a burgeoning population. Poets
and playwrights crafted works to edify, and architects
designed cities which were both great and beautiful -- the
most imposing of all being the imperial city of Niiawee on
the peninsula of Umiak. Invaders disturbed the peace
from time to time, but these came like dogs to a feast
table, hoping to snatch a joint of beef, not with dreams of
prevailing over the mighty Lloroi.
The Lloroi ruling class remained ever proud and aloof.
They chose not to dwell in close proximity to their subject
races, but in luxurious enclaves, such as the Peninsula of
Umiak. From Umiak governors and soldiers were dis-
patched to give law to places near and far, but the Lloroi
bureaucrats and soldiers ever pined to return home and
few Lloroi settled by choice among provincial of other
races. Diluting the Lloroi blood was forbidden, and mixed-
bloods were denied the special privileges due true Lloroi.
In time, the conquering race changed in character, and not
for the better. Long peace caused Lloroi's sons to forget
the military ardor of their forefathers. In the middle impe-
rial period non-Lloroi came to fill the lower military ranks.
By the dawning of the late period, they largely filled the
middle ranks, also. Instead of continuing to train military
leaders as in days of old, the Lloroi came to regard army
command as merely another office to fill in the course of a
well-rounded public life. Thus the top commanders were
dilettantes whose military sense, if it existed at all, could
be only accidental. The later Lloroi armies depended upon
the skill of non-Lloroi subordinates to retain its combat
effectiveness, not upon its high command.
The ranks, of course, were almost wholly filled with humans, with special units
being recruited from Goblins, Trolls, Dwarves, and Elves to keep each other and
the humans in line. Inevitably, querulous military cliques developed and,
increasingly, the annals of Lloroi military feats degenerated into a tedious suc -
cession of mutinies and their suppression.
Then that first sign of deadly decline appeared: high taxes. In the early Empire,
taxes were low and receipts from the bustling economy were high. In the late
Empire, taxes were high but the receipts were very low. This was only logical,
since gold is the life's blood of every economy and it must buy goods and pay
wages. Money is wasted when it is poured into an elephantine government to
reward pen-pushing ne'er-do-wells. Corruption in both high offices and low did
not make matters better.
Weak emperors led to bureaucratic arrogance. Philosophical fads were forced
on the empire. Human, Elven, Dwarven, and Goblin traditions were cavalierly
insulted by high-handed leaders -- persons who might be openly immoral,
degenerate and, in the worst cases, even mad.
The Empire, sad to say, rotted from the head. Intellectual pursuits fell into
decline and ego ruled in the arts. Historical study was used to hide well-known
truths and to propagate convenient lies, while scientific thought became a trav -
esty. Artists put aside traditional forms and sought only to shock and offend.
Atheism was officially favored by the imperial government and those who con-
tinued to raise their voices in prayer were punished.
Into this troubled world came the greatest of all would-be tyrants. He called him-
self the Scarlet Witch King and raised a tower of power at the far-northeastern
frontier. The rebel sorcerer had gathered the wild barbarians under his standard
and rallied millions of the angry and the alienated from all parts of the empire.
One wonders why they would serve such a being, but one must understand the
reality of the times. They served the sorcerer because the Lloroi had attacked
and destroyed their traditions; they had nothing of value left to lose and nothing
of worth to realize except an impossible dream of vengeance. It is man's nature
that craving for vengeance is ever the last emotion to die in a stricken heart.
The belatedly-alarmed emperor sent his armies against the usurper and the war
which then began was a long one. Lloroi army leadership was poor, as we have
said, and oftentimes the survival of the Lloroi state hung in the balance of a sin-
gle campaign, especially once the Scarlet Witch King found allies among the
hosts of barbarians then invading Girion from across the sea. A vast horde of
these rude warriors, the confederacy of the Woida, took the Witch King's gold
and streamed toward Umiak, believing themselves protected by their paymas -
ter's magic. Alas, the Lloroi hero Gappa stole their magical safeguard, allowing
Lloroi priests to call a terrible purification spell down upon their heads. Its effect
was mass death on an appalling scale and the invaders' magic-cursed skele-
tons lay where they had fallen, refusing to rot and still may be seen upon the
shunned spot called "the Plain of Bones."
No more caravans came from Girion, for all incoming goods were confiscated
for the treasury. Imperial agents and their enforcers came to regarded all over
the Empire not as part of the natural order, but as hostile occupiers, or merely
the most powerful of the many robber-gangs that were overwhelming the land.
In time, the lesser nobility either lost their lands to rich magnates who had influ-
ence in government, or they turned into robber barons and paid their taxes with
loot. Local law-enforcers, their wages rarely paid by the corrupt imperial
exchequer, often accepted bribes from robbers and even helped them make
more lucrative hauls.
Religion, so long under attack, lost its moral courage, silenced by persecution.
In their place witch covens flourished and demons were worshiped. With no
moral standards apparent, even a noble hero like Morholt could sink to stealing
the sacred "Hundred and Nine Lenses" from Hyyx -- at best a spiteful act of per-
sonal vengeance.
Regarding the few documents from this era which still existed in Khersemo's
time, one is a diatribe attributed to the sage Ojiweii. It denounces the Emperor
Tenguit, son of Nibagisis, and gives us a vivid picture of the evil state of gov -
ernment and society.

That the Lloroi sorcerers could now command such awesome power does them
no credit. Driven to extreme measures, they had erected a pillar of negative
energy and surrounded it with blood-altars by which sacrifices lead to the grant-
ing of their evil wishes. This site still stands, today known as "Greystaff."
Now that the Power of Evil had been brought to bear in the Empire's cause, the
advance of the Scarlet Witch King's armies was halted. Perhaps he only
laughed, knowing that, come what may, he had won a great victory over the
Lloroi. Who more than he would know that his foes had
willingly cursed their own nation in the vain attempt to
save it.
Tenguit, Ojiweii accuses, refused to serve in the army, saying that he hated his
country more than the Scarlet Witch King did. After he became Emperor, he
sold favors to foreign enemies for money. He is further accused of seducing the
virgin daughters of his own supporters; of employing assassins; of not only
using, but also of importing and selling the Black Lotus; of scorning religion and
protecting the immoral even in the very act of immorality. And these are but a
few evil deeds chosen from a list of hundreds attributed to Tenguit, last of the
Lloroi emperors.

Yet priests of the many still-pious cults, especially those

cleaving to the Sun God Taquamenau, constantly
warned the Lloroi leaders, saying that a civilization
based upon black sorcery could not survive. Black
magic, they said, is the foul, distilled essence of decay
and destruction. They urged that Greystaff be destroyed
and all the evil works already performed in the name of
the Empire be repented and denounced. Sadly, bedaz-
zled by the prospect of imminent victory, the counselors
of the Emperor stayed their reckless course. That
moment was, perhaps, the true fall of the Lloroi Empire.
All else which followed was considered by Khersemo to
be only aftermath.

Yet this fact was hardly realized by most people and the
increasingly-victorious war went on. More than any
other, it was the hero Morholt who brought about the final
triumph-before-destruction. His skilled generalship shat-
tered the enemy armies in a series of climactic battles.
The Scarlet Witch King was driven from the material
plane to abide in another world, from whence he found
himself unable to return for many a century. Alas,
though, the malaise which had caused the war still exist-
ed, and the evil evoked in fighting it made matters much
worse.

Peace ensued only because people who hated the

Empire were too exhausted to fight any longer. But even
without armed resistance, the post-war era was a time of
trouble. The ending of military operations did not mean
that taxes would go down; there were too many pockets
in high places that needed filling, too many dependents
with their hands out. With the merchant class impover-
ished by imposts, middle men and suppliers of goods
suffered also. The distribution system for trade goods
had ceased to exist and as such each different region
gradually was forced to depend on local markets only. Mounted Immer Soldiers

3
In the midst of Tenguit's evil-doing, the Great Cataclysm descended upon the
world. All modern races preserve regional myths to explain the Great
Cataclysm. Some say it was sent by the gods to punish Tenguit. Others believe
that the raising of Greystaff and the practice of black magic brought ruin. Still
others hold that the catastrophe was engendered by a war between the tribes
of Heaven. The Dwarves, ever poetic, sing that the Sky Wolf attacked the Sun
and brought ruin to the earth beneath.

The astrologer Benvir of Acalin, eschewing gods and myths, wrote The
Harmony of the Planets to prove that the world had possessed no moon before
the Cataclysm. He believes that the present-day lunar object came from the
Outer Voids to join with the world, and that resulted in the world-wide destruc -
tion collectively called "the Cataclysm."

Whatever the cause, the tally of devastation astonishes. Where there had been
plains before, mountains burst from the substratum. In other localities great
tracks of land subsided into moors. What was dry became wet and what was
wet became dry. As if singled out for special vengeance, the peninsula of Umiak
crumbled into the sea, killing millions of Lloroi. The evil emperor Tenguit him-
self perished that day, along with his thousand-year Empire.

With Umiak lost, the Lloroi became a race without a home. Relatively few had
survived the ruin of Umiak and the remnant lived despised by the provincial,
many of whom blamed Lloroi sorcery for the Cataclysm. The Lloroi were even-
tually forced by custom to live in scattered bands and isolated villages. In later
times, under the law, they were restricted to city ghettos and denied the right to
own land.

The land's climate changed, getting better in some places and worse in others.
Even after so much destruction, the gods did not cease to scourge the world.
Sometime in the early years of Chaos a great stone was thrown from the sky to
struck the south of Minaria, slaying all around for many leagues. The cavity
formed by the stone's impact is today called the Crater. The land was hence-
forth cursed, and to this day magicians lose their ability to weave spells while
standing in the same province of the Crater.

During the Cataclysm's long aftermath, each race sorted itself into tribes, all of
which struggled separately to survive. Only here and there did civilization keep
its feeble light burning -- at the Temple of the Kings, in the ruined cities of Neuth,
in the fertile heartland of Kalruna-Sasir, and in the trading cities of the South
Plains. Whole peoples elsewhere were reduced to brute savagery and, occa-
sionally, cannibalism. Tribes which had been outside the Empire now proved
better able to deal with ruin than civilized men could. Many foreign barbarians
moved south, conquering and barbarizing whatever survivors they found. Then,
too, new barbarian tribes came to be as men and women who had lost their
homes banded together in the wasteland seeking enough to eat. They learned
survival skills the hard way and some of the descendants of these developed
into mighty tribes, tribes such as Vidarna, who would write glorious pages into
history later on.

After the Cataclysm, the entire world seemed to pass under a dark cloud. The
seas ceased to be avenues of commerce and became daunting barriers which
isolated the continents. With time passing, the destruction caused by the Great
Cataclysm healed but slowly, and this healing process is the story of the grad-
ual rise of the independent kingdoms of Minaria.

It is the story of great heroes and proud races -- strong in spirit, defiant, brave,
and, sometimes, even wise.

Let their story be told.

The Beginning....