The Empire of Mu was formed under the leadership of Ferdinand the Great – First Emperor of Mu. At the time, the lands were in disarray following the Baron Wars and the overthrow of Razen, the despotic King of the Munkatha. 

Ferdinand united the Great Houses under his banner and formed the united realm of Muaryia. This included the pronouncement of the seven duchies: Inkatha and Sinkatha (formerly of the Kingdom of Munkatha), Ashtal, Baálak, Dyrth, Mogarran, and Zukerland.

The five realms bordering Muaryia (in order of joining the Empire) include: the highlands of Krakenlore (to the North), the desert lands of Harkens (West), the verdant plains of Verderan (North East), New Illanthea home to the invading sea people (South) and lastly the secluded lands of the Ordea, formerly of the fallen Holy Ordean Empire. 

When volcanic upheavals began to sink their Island homeland, the Illantheans fled. Initially, those fleeing to the shores of Ormuzd were incarcerated. Antioch, the opportunistic potentate, had them interned as slave labour to work on his ambitious Great Works program.

​

Eventually, an armada of refugees, protected by the warships of the Illanthean High Seas Fleet, arrived. Led by its Qesar, King Fārādin, the Illantheans established a foothold in the Wild Isles. After many diplomatic exchanges, the Illanthean High Seas Fleet engaged the Holy Ordean Imperial Navy in a mighty battle at Termanin Sound. In crushing the Iltanean power base, the victorious King Fārādin crushed the Holy Ordean Empire and annexed Ormuzd.

 

At the same time, the Northern Essenee took South Essenee and proclaimed the larger lands as  Verderan. Emperor Constantine convinced Overlord Valakan to make Verderan part of the Empire. To avoid isolation, King Fārādin offered to join this newly emerging Empire.  Wary at first, the Imperial Council hesitated, suspecting a ruse. When the seafaring Illantheans eventually joined, trade and prosperity followed. In recognition, Fārādin was appointed Sealord to the Empire.

The Holy Ordean Empire ushered in a new era of civilisation for humankind. Merchant Barons rose in prominence, and an age of trade and prosperity ensued. It peacefully coexisted with the Muaryians during the overthrow of Razen, the despotic Munkathan King, which preceded the emergence of the Empire of Mu. ​The Holy Ordean Empire lasted for almost two centuries. Having never married, Astera appointed her consorts and eldest son to rule as the empire’s potentates. True political power, however, vested in the Ordean Ruling Council, controlled by the Vitaras, or city leaders of Lagos, Helios, and Vedic Noir.

 

Historians argue the decline began with the death of its founding Empress and the abrogation of control to the provincial potentates. As time passed, the potentates became insular and squabbled. Finally, only the superior might of the Imperial Navy and the sea trade it protected united the Empire.

 

The Illanthaen arrival, led by an armada of refugees, led to the empire's ultimate demise. In a climactic battle fought at Termanin Sound, the Illanthean High Seas Fleet defeated the Ordean Imperial Navy. With its power base vanquished, the Holy Ordean Empire collapsed, leaving ancient Tahkt as its only remnant. Factional wars, pirate raids, and pillaging descended upon Tahkt into an unruly realm. The three independent city-states of Lagos, Helios, and Vedic Noir remained the only bastions of law and order.

Enclosed by a two-thousand-foot escarpment of Sheerfell, and protected by a treacherous rocky coastline, Ordea is a world of sea mists and forests. Famous for their cliff-face abodes and coastal fortress keeps, the Ordeans claim to be the descendants of neighbouring realms and distant offshore lands.

​

In the early ages, like most places of the time, these secluded and protected lands consisted of feudal Barrens. Isolated and undisturbed, civilisation advanced quickly and gave rise to three ancient religious communities steeped in the arcane arts. Each grew in prominence, establishing cities of learning. The Order of Light rose in the City of Lagos along with the Order of Healing in Helios and the Order of Powers in the forbidden island city of Vedic Noir.

​

It was Astera, High Priestess of the Powers and the eldest daughter of Baron Atellion, who fulfilled the prophecy of “The promised lands of Tahkt.” She united the three Holy Orders and conquered the coastal lands of modern Mu, including the Lands of Tahk and the vassal states of Ormuzd & South Essenee, to form the Holy Ordean Empire - the First Empire of Mu.

In the upheaval that destroyed Onness, navigable passes opened, enabling peoples to migrate through the frozen wildernesses beyond the Kraken Ranges and Atlans Mountains. The first of the new arrivals were the tall and strongly built “Highlanders.”

​

Three Highlander clans survived the miraculous passage to discover the volcanic lands of Krakenlore. Upon arrival, they were heralded by dragonkind as the Kra Ken or “the chosen ones.” The Kraken people learned to live with dragonkind and formed separate Kindren alliances with each of the gold-, red-, and black-scaled dragons. These kindren grew in power and influence, dominating the lands of Mu - creating an Age of Krakenlore Rule.

In the midst of the Dark Ages, the High Lords of Krakenlore descended from the north and crushed the land-grabbing barons and power-hungry mages. In concert with their dragon masters, they reigned supreme over much of Mu for hundreds of cycles. Under Krakenlore's rule, a long period of civilised development ensued. 

​

The rivalry between the three dragon races, or Draken, got out of hand. A war erupted, pitting one kindren alliance against the other.  For over three hundred solar cycles, the kindrens of Ragnorök (gold), Rogen (red) and Orlog (black) battled in their remote volcanic highlands of the far north. In the High Lords' absence, Krakenlore's rule over Mu fell into abeyance. A power vacuum formed, and an Age of Empire-building ensued, giving rise to new kingdoms and new realms. Dragons were no longer seen and, for most, long forgotten, except as tales in folklore.

The Imanishi claim to be the true descendants of Onness, the ancient capital of humanity's first great civilisation. After the Tempest destroyed this ancient world, the sea retreated, and the Desolation followed, forming the Harkens Desert.

​

​If the Desolation wasn't bad enough, the Tempest cracked the lands, opening the gate to the twilight demon world of Kharon. From this dark place, the denizen hordes invaded. At night, the survivors of the Tempest were ravaged by nocturnal terrors, and by day subjected to the Desolation. During the Dark Ages that followed, this struggle for survival bred the hardy desert nomads known as the Imanishi.

​

​Regarded as the fiercest of warriors, the Imanishi continue to defend the empire’s western flank, battling the nocturnal denizens that emerge from the catacombs beneath the Harkens. Many believe this nightmarish burden prevents the Imanishi from returning to civilisation.

In the northwest of Mu, the sweeping grassland plains of Verderan are enclosed by the frozen wildernesses of Atlans. Verderan boasts the most productive farm and hunting lands of Mu, and is renowned for its horse breeding and wagon & chariot craftsmanship. It is home to two peoples:

​

The North Essenee were an influx of peoples that followed the Tempest. Olive-skinned with lean musculature and almond-shaped hazel-green eyes, the North Essenee are distinct from their fairer-skinned southern cousins. As graziers and hunters, the North Essenee had to contend with marauding trolls from the Atlans mountains, the warring Woodelven to their east, and defend their western flank from opportunistic Highlanders. In surviving these threats, the North Essenee rose in fighting prowess to become the celebrated warrior horsemen - known as the mighty Riders of Essenee. 

​

While the North Essenee were kept busy fending off neighbour incursions, South Essenee had become a vassal state of the Holy Ordean Empire. When the empire's navy was defeated by the seafaring Illantheans, the North Essenee annexed the South from Ordean control and formed the greater Realm of Verderan. Due to its importance as a centre of trade and commerce, Antark, the ancient port city of South Essenee, became Verderan's seat of power.