560 years ago...

An event called The Great Revolution took place. It began with the disappearance of the heir to the throne of the Gath Empire and his betrºothed, who at the time was the daughter of the king regent. The kidnapper was none other than the now-infamous Lord Darvinyan.

Due to the political unrest caused by the succession crisis, Darvinyan began an expansionist campaign toward the north of the Elvish Confederation, near the Gath border. Pushing as far as the Peaks border up north and the eastern edge of Uknon Forest toward the capital, Darvinyan commanded one of the deadliest armies in Archian history.

Unending political turmoil was to blame for the utter incompetence of Gath forces to repel the invasion, but unknown to both sides of the war, tides would change drastically when three heroes found Aram Dvorak and helped him rescue his wife. Much of the details regarding these events are now lost to time after the great fire at the Gath Archive 350 years ago.

While heir to the throne Aram was being rescued, Gath researchers in the Peaks found a runic orb and began developing a new form of arcane energy that we now call runic current.

It is undeniable that these two events helped turn the war in Gath’s favor, as political turmoil came to an end when Aram was crowned on the 38th of Salt, 3650. Powerful arcane weapons were developed to stop Darvinyan’s advances toward the capital.

Darvinyan was imprisoned in the coldest, darkest, and most horrid dungeon of that time — the Kullige Sheol — where he spent the rest of his days.

Darvinyan’s titles were seized and annexed by the Gath Empire, leading to the beginning of tense relations with the Elven Confederation over the claim to those lands, directly causing the Southern Archian Conflict many years later. Regardless, Aram’s coronation is considered by many the end of the Great Revolution and the beginning of the Gath Golden Age.

King and later Emperor Aram, called The Crown Jewel by many and considered the greatest leader in Gath’s history, ruled the empire until his death in 3718. During his life, Aram managed to conquer most of Archia and established protectorates throughout Machia and the Nean Isles, effectively controlling nearly all of the known world de facto.

His empire was prosperous and ushered the world into a golden age of arcane, philosophical, metaphysical, cultural, and scientific studies. Unfortunately, it was also short-lived. Aram never managed to properly raise his heir, and when his son was crowned after the emperor’s death, crisis ensued.

Itzhak Dvorak was an incompetent, arrogant, and selfish man, and many factions were already seeking independence by the time Aram grew old and frail. During the Cultures Festival in the Marble Citadel, an Elephantine ambassador killed Itzhak in cold blood, declaring the complete independence of all states in the Criphan continent. The Dwarvendom of the Peaks called the political climate dire and also filed for independence soon after.

While Gath was planning to retaliate on the Elephantine Empire, their plans were thwarted when months later, the Southern Archian Conflict began as the Elven Confederation marched north, trying to retake the lands claimed by Aram so many years before. The result of this bloody conflict was an Elven victory, with both sides suffering great losses and Gath surrendering its territories in the Blazing Lands to the Confederation.

While the Golden Age of Gath was over, the political climate quickly stabilized after the war, and a period of peace ensued. Thankfully for us, Aram’s gifts to this world live on to this day in the form of his wisdom and the progress he brought to every corner of Gilnehas.