M'Riss

M'Riss

Current day M'Riss is a place only the well trained should travel, life isn't easy and most vistors are advised to bring a support group with them. Empaths are scarce, Clerics even more-so.. if you find yourself hunting on what so many of us have come to call home and you fall, I suggest you depart right away unless you know you can get help as it may take some time for someone to stumble upon your corpse. To learn our ways you must learn the history, starting from the very begining.

History of M'Riss

Note: All this information is taken right from The History of Mer'Kresh available at the Globe Arena Library in the Barbarian's Guild.

Ancient History

S'Kra Mur tales say that the "Ancients" founded the ruined city on the island. These legends described the old race as one that lived when Grazhir still circled Elanthia, other stories claimed the Ancient Ones were mages. Still more stories suggest this race of mages built the Star Stones, and that those megaliths are actually a portal to another world through which those mages disappeared. Whatever the truth, the city now lies in ruins, destroyed by time and volcanic activity.

In the centuries after the Ancient Ones, the island was abandoned. The animals that could adapt to the island's harsh environment flourished and evolved. The S'Kra Mur clans made several attempts to settle the island, all failures.

The frequent volcanic eruptions, and native fevers were deadly. Legends of ghostly inhabitants and cursed mages grew with each attempted colony. M'Riss acquired a reputation for being bad luck and even the hardiest pioneers refused to go there. Superstition grew into a legend that the souls of the damned go to M'Riss instead of walking the Starry Path to join with the gods. For all the thousands of years M'Riss remained uninhabited and actively avoided.

Fourfounders

The War of Tears drove Rissan forebearers, people who chose interracial marriages between Human and Elf which was a big no-no on either side, to find a new home. As they wandered among the islands of Qi'Reshalia, they heard tales of a small island which the S'Kra of the province called "The Island of the Damned". Perhaps feeling some commonality with the damned, they decided that this would become home.

However, the island's isolation did not end. The refugees wanted nothing to do with the outside world. It wasn't safe for them on the mainland, and the S'Kra didn't want them anymore than they wanted the S'Kra. Determined, the refugees began to rebuild the ancient city, settle the island and make a wary peace with her. Proud, scorned and scorning, they had to; there was no place left to go.

Life was difficult on M'Riss. The same illnesses that plagued the S'Kra killed the Rissans and the volcano belched and shook the earth. Yellow clouds of poisonous gas seeped from the crevices and bowls of the smaller volcanos. Even so, these living conditions were better than having Keirnion's followers try to murder you for marrying a Human, or for the deceased Kanton's followers to do the same because you had wed an Elf.

A secret trade route developed between M'Riss and Leth Deri'el. Smugglers shipped supplies to M'Riss, and brought back cargos of rum, exotic fruit, brandy, and samatak. Rissan privateers captured ships from both sides of the war, boldly masquerading as either Keirnion's men to board Kanton's ships, or as Kanton's troops to seize one of Keirnion's prizes. People friendly to the Rissan philosophy of racial acceptance were discretely allowed passage to M'Riss. People found to be intolerant were tossed to the fish.

Once the war was over, the Rissans decided to keep as low a profile as a group of smugglers can maintain. They remained neutral to all outside politics and concentrated on colonizing their island. Through contacts in Leth, they kept aware of outside events but never forgot, nor were willing to forgive, the treatment they had received from Human and Elven alike. As time passed, the Rissans developed a peculiar brand of racism -- rather than believing that any particular race was inherently worse than any other, they simply came to believe all off-islanders were "esheceni". For the most part, the Rissans succeeded in evading notice, and lived as they wished while trying to mold the island into a thriving home.

While the Rissans worked, the outside world ate more of its sons' lives. Wars and squabbles were the normal condition of the Empire but the Rissans took little notice of these conflicts. What interest they did have, centered on carefully culling ships from warring factions. As in the War of Tears, the Rissan privateers disguised themselves when attacking. They were cautious to take only a few ships and even then only under conditions that could be explained by storms or a captain's bad luck in encountering the enemy. Plundering ships was fun, but having the combatants turn their attentions to M'Riss wouldn't be at all enjoyable.

Seven Star Empire

Eventually, like the other wars before it, these scattered tantrums ended and the Rissans were surprised to learn they had been conquered, in a manner of speaking. The Province of Qi'Reshalia had became part of the Seven-Starred Empire, and whether Qi'Reshalia was actually aware of the Rissans or not, the Empire was aware of, and claimed that section of ocean containing M'Riss. Any doubt the Rissans had that they were now citizens of the Empire was swept away when two ships of Imperial troops landed on the island and established a garrison.

The soldiers assigned to M'Riss were met mostly with indifference. The garrison commander issued a great many officious orders, which the Rissans casually ignored. The soldiers set about building their fortress in the forest east of (OLD) Mer'Kresh. On paydays, the soldiers would visit town, strutting around in typical Imperial style, which impressed none but young women, who adored flashy uniforms. As the months passed, and the lonely soldiers became acquainted with the local ladies, marriages between them were made and babies followed. The garrison commander nodded happily, pleased that the Rissans would be absorbed into the Empire peacefully. The Rissan elders nodded happily, pleased that the soldiers would be absorbed into the native population and ultimately become Rissan.

Although the Rissan Elders were initially annoyed by the garrison's arrival, the soldiers soon proved to be more than marriage fodder for excess daughters. The soldiers numbered many professions among them, including talented engineering mages and empaths. The soldiers and Rissans taught each other so far as they could, and a few guild masters attracted by the garrison and isolation settled on M'Riss.

Three years after the garrison arrived, a particularly violent volcanic eruption shook the city to the ground and buried much of it in ash. The forests and fields were ruined and the people fled their homes. Some of these soldiers and their families crossed the island's leeward desert to the coast. There, they decided to build a new fortification for the garrison. Other settlers and soldiers fled to the bay contained within the curved crescent of the southern shore to wait out the eruption. They lashed boats together and floated on the bay, this sparked the idea of making a permanent floating platform where the Rissans could wait out future eruptions.

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Mer'Kresh