A History of the Fourth Age, Volume Two
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- Chapter 6: The SeerNearly fifty years had passed since the formation of the Gaelian Alliance, and the tenuous peace continued to last across the region. King Edmond's son, King Edmond Wesfil II, had succeeded his father on the throne of South Umbardom, and numerous towns had sprung up within the kingdom's sovereign territory. It was within one of these towns that an unusual stranger appeared among the working class of miners in the year 398. Known only as "The Seer", this individual claimed to possess higher knowledge of the workings of the world, and they soon gathered a small following within the town. They claimed that they had gazed into the darkness and it had spoken to them, and had directed them to look towards the sun. Within that light they saw the world itself was devised of three circles, entities the darkness called "The Domains", and these domains were ruled by a great and powerful absent god who would one day return, upon which they would smite the wicked who spurned hard work and neighborly love.
- Chapter 7: GwyniaAt first the seer's following was small, but in the following two decades it spread from town to town, until word of a massive cult reached the ears of King Edmond Wesfil II. By this point the seer had adopted the name "Gwynia" and had taken on almost a messianic role within the cult, heralded as a prophetic harbinger who would usher in the god's return. Naturally, such an individual threatened the sovereignty of the crown, and King Wesfil II ordered all cult worship banned throughout South Umbardom. Shortly following this decree, and an established effort to persecute members of the cult, news began to spread across the region of Gwynia's death at the hands of an ambush. But the king himself had no knowledge of such an ambush, and no body was ever found. This, of course, only spurred Gwynia's followers into a fervor, and they continued their practices in secret for the next thirty years.
- Chapter 8: The Sixth KingdomIn the year 451 of the Fourth Age, a new, sixth kingdom had been established to the west of the continent by the members of Gwynia's cult. Dubbed "Gwynia Avono" in honor of their fallen seer, they shed the veil of secrecy and openly began cementing their power in the region. By this time the cult had spread across the continent, and members from all kingdoms began a self-exodus from their respective homelands to this new nation. The other five kingdoms were greatly weakened by this, but held fast. Unfortunately, any attempt at diplomacy with Gwynia Avono was met with hostility, and so they were left to their own devices on the far end of the continent, as no single kingdom desired to war with what quickly became a powerful religious state of awe-inspiring size.
- Chapter 9: The ReturnIt was the year 578, and continuing conflicts with the Simaros remnants led to the diplomatic return of the old capital city, situated on an island at the center of the continent, to its people. The Simaros used this opportunity to reestablish themselves as a single nation, albeit at a fraction of the power they once held in the third age, and within their borders anti-human sentiment festered like a plague. What was meant to be the start of open, friendly relations instead led the Simaros to withdraw within the confines of their island homeland, cutting off nearly all ties with the human kingdoms outside. Though a concern to the neighboring nations, the feeble power of the Simaros at this time posed no real threat to the six powerful human nations, and so like Gwynia Avono, the Simaros, too, were left to their own devices.
- Chapter 10: NorthgaeliaIn the year 709 of the Fourth Age, Queen Austyr ruled Gaelia. She was powerful and bold, and saw the passive nature of her forefathers regarding the Simaros and Gwynia Avono as cowardice. Unwilling to allow either to make the first move against the human kingdoms, she rallied the other rulers to her cause, and spurred the kingdoms of Umbardom, Furgis, and Deicia to all unite with Gaelia under one banner as a singularly massive, continent-sprawling nation which took on the name "Northgaelia". The current king of South Umbardom at this time, King Edmond Wesfil XIV, decided to remain autonomous. But facing pressure from both Austyr and the new nation as a whole, he established numerous trade agreements that favored Northgaelia in exchange for promises of protection from hostility. In the years that followed, tensions broiled across the continent, and border skirmishes erupted between Gwynia Avono and Northgaelia. In addition, the Simaros began raiding shipments across the water, and an all-out war spanning the entire continent was inevitable.
- Chapter 11: CataclysmThe year 815 had dawned, and the war sparked across the continent. A massive Northgaelian army gathered on the border, ready to strike at the heart of Gwynia Avono, and a blockade was set up around the Simaros territory. Just as the drums of war began to sound, however, a massive earthquake unlike anything the world had ever seen shook the continent, devastating everything, everywhere. Structures collapsed, people died by the thousands, and the region's landscape was completely upheaved. Mountains were carved from plains, and deserts gave way to sea. The landscape was forever changed, and many of the high cliffs of the modern day can be attributed to this cataclysmic event.
- Chapter 12: The SunAll kingdoms had been devastated by this event, though they still stood. One kingdom, however, was spared a great deal of impact: that of Gwynia Avono, who saw only minor damage compared to its neighbors. The clergy of the kingdom quickly capitalized on this, spreading the message far and wide that their prosperity was due to the benevolence of their god, and that the devastation of the realm was their wrath upon the warmongering humans. The nation doubled down on their religion of hard work and kindness and began to venerate the sun as an avatar of their great god, returned to watch over the world of man. Rise with the sun to work, they preached, and under its watchful eye shall all be spared further devastation.