Birth of the Lunarian Kingdom

Created by Yami, Goddess of Darkness, the Mondelves were introduced to the continent to the northwest in massive numbers. With so few resources available, only the strongest survived. Especially when competing with glacielves or worse. It didn't take long for the numerous covens of Mondelves to come together and establish the Capital of Tenmota and the Kingdom of Lunari in year 32. This new nation was founded with the sole intent of providing peace and stability to the region for the purposes of economic growth, as they were severely lacking in resources. Although they spread quickly and took in all who wished to join them, anyone who wasn't created by Yami or Sneg would find themselves beaten, harassed, murdered or even sacrificed. Generally, anyone who was native to the Lunarian continent would see little prejudice. The first leader, Aleksei Vladimir, managed to assemble a capable group of diplomats who managed to convince most of the settlements in the area to join them in the kingdom. Those who refused were crushed without mercy by Lunari's superior magical and military might.

Lunarian Civil War

No longer able to bear the ever rising tax rates or the absurdly strict laws of the land, the massive Dwarven population on the continent began to meet and congregate in secret. Even the leaders of some cities joined in on the conspiracy to overthrow the Mondelven government. The battles were long, grueling and devastating. Young men and women from all walks of life, even children and other civilians, littered the streets of major cities. Bodies of every race could be seen regularly just traveling between cities. The Dwarves found themselves losing every decisive battle and, after 11 long years of bloodshed, the Dwarven Order surrendered to the Lunari Kingdom. Those who possessed ideal traits and/or skills were taken to the major cities and forced to take a Slave Crest, binding them to their respective employer and paralyzing them entirely should they even begin to attack a Mondelf. Those who resisted or fled were summarily slaughtered and buried in mass graveyards to the far north. All participants in the genocide were placed under strict gag order and the event was twisted in documents and speeches. It was pushed that all Dwarven insurgents had perpetrated the slaughter themselves to place the blame on Mondelves, and the Lunarian forces arrived too late. The Dwarves "responsible" were given a slave crest and sent to maximum security facilities to spend out their days serving the kingdom. By the year 93, 60% of the Lunarian population was Dwarven but virtually all resided either in the harsh northernmost region or living out their days in labor camps.

Reconstruction Era

The new king of Lunari, Nikhil Vladimir, had a deep and raging hatred for the Dwarven races. His previous actions simply were not enough but he would address such things later. First, he used the slave crests on the thousands of captured Dwarves in order to force them to rebuild anything and everything damaged by the civil war. Dwarves with higher levels of skill in a craft were kept aside, given limited freedoms to serve the kingdom with their services. Although conditions for these dwarves were far better than the others, it was still a large workload and they remained slaves to the whims of whichever mondelf bore the required master crest. They were treated like livestock with the male dwarves often forced into construction, work on farms or mining in extremely dangerous conditions. The female dwarves were most often kept as housekeepers, maids and chefs. Their lives weren't too harsh, aside from verbal berating, high expectations and, in some unfortunate cases, the sexual harassment or assault. Dwarves were now, without doubt, considered the lowest class in the system. Every part of their life was intricately controlled as well as ruined by slavemasters who viewed them as nothing more than tools. While this era brought about the physical reconstruction of the lands, stability was at an all-time low and nearby nations begin to wonder if Lunari is the type of land they wish to do business with.

War of Dwarven Liberation

Madera, being roughly 40% Dwarves, was swayed by the influence of the aforementioned to launch a liberation force tasked with freeing and taking the Dwarven populations living in servitude. The Serenian Kingdom, due to the rage of King Solaris upon discovering the manner of their treatment, not only supplied the Maderans with some of their most capable fleet but sent fleets of their own. The entire waters surrounding the south of the continent effectively shutdown trade and separated their inside forces from those outside. The Maderan forces, mainly consisting of Dwarven races themselves, rushed the city of Bereg and laid siege to it. Bereg was home to one of the world's busiest and most valuable ports but was shutdown in nearly an instant. The allied forces took their time breaking the slave crests and taking the refugees aboard. The Lunarian Kingdom put up a fierce resistance but the allied forces were equally determined to succeed. After a mere 13 years, Lunari conceded to the allied powers. Nikhil agreed to outlaw the slave crest, treat Dwarves as equals and to allow the departure of any who wished to leave with the allied parties. The war had finally been won and for the first time in many years, for many dwarves, freedom lied on the horizon.

Restructuring and Turbulence

With the almost complete loss of slave labor, and Dwarven races altogether for that matter, the kingdom was forced to restructure not only their economy but their society itself. Agricultural efforts ground to a halt but mining continued. For now, however, they were mainly used by other nations as a cheap source of labor. However, they remained the most advanced in the world when it came to the production of magical items. Their magical items would be sailed all across the globe, finding themselves in many hands. This brought in the needed revenue for the kingdom to initiate some policies which would transition the land into a military and industrial powerhouse. It took 38 years before their economy finally turned around and actually reported growths. The world economy gradually began to place their faith in them, opening more and more trade networks. While some of this wealth was used to improve the lives of their people, Lunari's top priority remained military growth. King Nikhil II, the son of late King Nikhil, vowed that he would never allow the allied forces to embarrass him again.

Era of the Ice Queen

While Nikhil had largely delivered failure after failure, leaving the economy in a state of turmoil and transforming what was once the Great North into a laughing stock heard across the world, his son did nothing but sit around at the palace doing nothing. He was the new king and yet he was an imbecile on domestic affairs. One woman by the name of Anastasia, cousin to Nikhil II, managed to trick him into drinking poison before using her influence to take complete control over the kingdom. Although there were several factions who refused to submit, she brought down the overwhelming might stockpiled by Nikhil II in order to force them into subservience. Although the revolution lasted no longer than nine years before Anastasia Maria was crowned the queen of Lunari. Her first measures involved downsizing the military, though not by much, and focusing resources on endeavors which would prove useful. She was practical and reasonable, at least in public, but deep down she was sinister and wicked. Any who questioned or opposed her were abducted and silenced forever. Yet the economy boomed and the military followed suit. Lunari quickly became a world power in little time at all. Although mondelves still received preferential treatment in Lunari, other races faced far less discrimination or brutality. The only exceptions were foreigners from Madera or Serenum. By the year 214, Anastasia had immortalized her legacy as ruler.

War of the Moon and Sun

Everything seemed peaceful with the newly established kingdoms, as they had all but snuffed out any opposing forces in their respective parts of the world. This changed, however, as Lunari desired richer land for the purposes of agriculture, as such would be needed for the growth of their populations in the harsh arctic north. This, along with irreconcilable religious and cultural differences, led them to invade the Serenian continent to the northwest. Many settlements and villages were laid to waste before the Serenian Kingdom could even realize what was going on. All troops and forces were mobilized, with even adventurers being conscripted to aid in the repulsion of the Lunarian invaders. It was a hard-fought battle and even though the Serenian's managed to repel the invading forces with the aid of Anemos and Miesta, who had joined the war to protect their trade interests, they had taken heavy losses in terms of lives, infrastructure and naval fleets. Fortunately, representatives of Shimaguni traveled to Lunari in order to solidify their interests in becoming both economic and military allies. Queen Anastasia gladly accepted and the two have worked together against the interests of the Serenum Kingdom since.

Naval Supremacy

Although Lunari had secured itself as a popular and lucrative partner in trade with other nations, they found themselves at odds often with other nations. More pressing, their cargo were regularly plundered by pirates across the globe. At a certain point, Anastasia decided enough was enough. She already had her plans of invading Serenum again someday, and what better way than to expand one's navy? For decades, she diverted resources from other projects to be put toward having the largest, most powerful and highest number of naval fleets at her disposal. The primary purpose of these fleets may have been to project their power abroad but, more important, it allowed them to protect precious cargo abroad and hunt down pirates wherever possible. Furthermore, nations such as Jazira and Miesta came to welcome Lunari as a valuable trade partner for this reason. So long as they remained on her good side, they believed, then her mighty navy would ensure the security of their own voyages. Not only that, but it meant the security of these small island nations to align themselves with the newly established naval superpower.

The Great Winter War

Although Lunari was a magical powerhouse with few rivals, they had forever longed to take control over the small island, Winter's Keep, not too far below their southern shore. Having advanced and expanded their massive naval fleets, it was in 272 that they officially declared war on the small island and mobilized their forces to take it. With the rest of the world having recognized it as a sovereign and independent state, this move angered Sosaria at large. However, only Serenum and Miesta (fearful it would not be the end of Lunari's imperialism) joined to stop them. The war raged on for no more than 11 years but casualties were in the tens of thousands. Lunari lost countless fleets before finally determined that the small island was no longer worth the losses incurred. Lunari reluctantly retreated promptly. Miesta, however, convinced Winter's Keep to open the trade of magical items with their nation in exchange for their help, whereas Serenum requested a military base from which they could defend the surrounding regions effectively. Although the leaders of the Keep were hesitant to both requests, they agreed.

Isolationist Period

The Isolationist Period, or Era of Isolation to some scholars, comprises the past decades which Lunari has spent largely isolating themselves from the rest of the world. Cultural, religious and even many immigrants who they may fear will pose a negative influence on the native populations. The only dealings they really have with any other nation would be with Shimaguni, with whom they have a close and cooperative relationship with. Through this alliance, they have significantly boosted their combined development. They regularly trade arms, intelligence and food goods with one another. Although Lunari remains ever strict over precisely what enters or leaves their borders. With the exception of Mondelves, no other race is permitted to set foot on the continent. This is primarily only enforced in Lunarian cities, or regions with their heavy presence, however, as there are countless beings of numerous races who not only call the lands home but have migrated since long before the period of isolation began. Anyone who was not a Mondelf was promptly exiled and left to, hopefully, die in the harsh and unforgiving north.