Karameikos - Vaults of Pandius

The History of KarameikosMarilenev-supported Baron of Halag,Ulstagh Vargos 40 , was killed, the new cadetbranchVargos ruler of Halag assumed thetitle of duke. In response, Duke VasilIvanovich of Achelos proclaimed himselfKing of Achelos.It was the end of the League, which wasformally dissolved in the same AC 612, andthe beginning of another age of strife. Also,the League’s dissolution marked the end ofMarilenev’s hegemony over Traladara; theweakening of the Duke and of the oldlandowning aristocracy of the city promptedthe new merchant families represented bythe trade guilds to take power in the city witha bloody coup, which ousted the old familiesand reduced the duke to a mere figureheadwhich now had to rule from CastleMarilenev, in the countyside south-west ofthe city 41 .Conflicts between the various clans and citieswould break out openly in AC 653. Anotherwave of vampirism and lycanthropy, togetherwith the spread and the increase of activity ofentropic cults, marked the beginning of atime of religious wars between the clans,known as the Holy Wars, which would go onuntil AC 728. Fear of an uncontrolled spreadof vampirism exploded when the King ofDarokin, Aden III, was discovered to be amember of the undead 42 . This discoveryturned into psychosis and war when it40Mention of Baron Ulstagh’s death in AC 612 is found in theBallad of Nob Nar, in GAZ8.41While this event is borrowed from G. Agosta’s A KarameikosCompanion and from the Fantasy Cities: Specularum project, Ichose to keep the dukes of Marilenev in existence after AC 612,even if deprived of their control over the city itself; this is due to thefact that a “king” of Marilenev is mentioned in Poor Wizard’sAlmanac I, a Radu (likely his name, not his surname) whohappened to be in charge in AC 872.42The story of King Aden III of Darokin was created by A. Nowack(The Kings of Darokin) and expanded by G. Agosta (A KarameikosCompanion).became clear that many Traladaran clanshosted night creatures within their ranks.This stream of conflicts was terrible andwiped out whole clans, going onintermittently among persecutions,stakings, famines, and plagues. Heroes andvillains were raised and perished during thisage; one of those was Gygar, the powerfulwizard-lord of Mistamere Castle (on LakeWindrush) who managed to carve a vastdominion in the surrounding area 43 . Butthis nearly century-long series of wars sawmany terrible events, like the rise and fall ofthe entropic cult of the infamous Monasteryon the Hill 44 , the transformation of theSulescu family head into a nosferatu, aresurgence of orcish and hill giant activity inthe Cruth Lowlands (caused by the defeatof orcs in the Shires around AC 700), andthe rise and defeat of Queen Elendorath ofVaion, who attempted to expand herdomain enlisting humanoid tribes underher banner 45 .The last years of the wars, known as theVampire War (AC 720-28) were particularlyterrible. The necromancer MorphailGorevitch-Woszlany, Count of Gorenenov,43What is known about Gygar comes from the background of thegroup adventure in D&D Basic Set: “Many years ago, this part ofthe Realm of Man was ruled by a magic-user named Gygar, a manof great and mysterioys powers. He ruled the lands from hismighty castle Mistamere, […] Gygar died after a long and peacefulrule, but no successor was named. […] Now, centuries later,[…]”. Gygar’s story and some of his creations (mostly weaponslike Comet’s Edge and the Sword of Gygar) were detailed by G.Agosta in his works (A Karameikos Companion and Lords of theCruth Lowlands); according to gim, Gygar should have died at thebeginning of the Vampire War (AC 720).44The Monstery on the Hill was introduced in B5: Horror on theHill adventure. The place’s background was further detailed andintegrated with Karameikan history by G. Agosta’s A KarameikosCompanion and other works. The Monastery’s location on theaccompanying map follows the hints found in B1-9: In Search ofAdventure.45Queen Elendorath was mentioned in B12: Queen’s Harvestadventure. Her story was further detailed and integrated withKarameikan history by G. Agosta’s A Karameikos Companion andother works.58THRESHOLD: The Mystara Magazine Issue #1