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by The Glittery Fantasy Land of Aynia Moreaux. . 85 reads.

Caer Sidi History: The Fall of Syvisa and the Rise of the Seasonal Queens



The two original Seasonal Queens that would originally become the founding Diarchy of Caer Sidi, their guard, and the first citizens of Caer Sidi were not born there at all. In fact up until they were forced out of their home, almost all of them were born, lived their lives and passed on without even knowing of the existence of other warrens. Their home warren was a beautiful and serene place known as Syvisa. The people lived in relative peace with each other, the land being ruled by a single Monarch with an even hand and even smoother temperament. Conflict was rare and more often than not inconsequential. Syvisa was what would be called a near human utopia, until the day it no longer was...

Centuries ago now, the people of Syvisa arrived in Caer Sidi not by choice, but by chance. The Seasonal Queens were not Queens as you know them now, but in fact nobles who had a natural curiosity of how reality and magic worked and entertwined. Their studies and supported experiments eventually struck gold, and evidence of multiple Warrens was discovered for the first time. Driven by the need for more knowledge, the two sponsored magical research into the Warrens, at first simply observing, but eventually attempting to control the ability to access the Warrens at will, and to travel between them. They poured years of time and untold amounts of resources into the breakthrough they were determined to find.

But it all went horribly wrong: in their quest to find new warrens to observe and explore, the researchers and sorcerers stumbled upon an abyssal like warren full of unimaginable malevolence. The ability to open or close the warrens was still in it’s infancy, and the evils within the abyss forced open Syvisa to the point of breaking. Syvisa was wounded, trapped in constant contact with the yawning abyss that had been unleashed. It was flooded with unspeakable evils, malevolent creatures, and demonic lords, and the merger threatened to destroy the boundaries between the two.

The entire warren of Syvisa was mobilized. Armies were raised to fight the incoming aberrations but had no knowledge of their enemy, and though they regularly practiced training drills, not a person had actually experienced war in ages. The battles that erupted to save their home seemed futile and short lived, with heavy losses. Where the warren began consuming their homeland all was lost with no chance of return. It was a large loss, as experiments were taking place at a renowned academy for magics, and some of the best minds of the realm were immediately wiped out. The capitol city was the second to fall, as it was located near the mouth of the invading warren and emitted powerful magic resonance. When the capitol fell, the people knew they were doomed to suffer the same fate if they were unable to pull off what seemed to be an impossibility.

With Syvisa beginning it’s death throes and the close circle of the ruling elite all but wiped out, the soon to be Seasonal Queens rushed to lead the remaining military and battered citizens out of their dying home. They hurriedly gathered the best and brightest minds that were still alive and reachable and attempted to open another warren, though all were nervous of what they might find there. If there was any chance the warren they found could be like the one which was destroying Syvisa, their fates were sealed. With the gathered knowledge and literature from the nobles who caused this mess they worked as quickly as possible to open a new portal, one that would hopefully offer them safe harbour.


Where they arrived was Caer Sidi: a land of survival of the fittest. The Warren of Caer Sidi was ruled over by one being, The Chaolich. Self absorbed, malicious and with an interest only in the immediate things affecting him, the rest of the warren was left to chaos and anarchy. The same thing that had happened to Syvisa had happened to Caer Sidi, albeit in a slightly different way. Instead of colliding with Caer Sidi by accident, the Chaolich used his power to rip open a pathway to Caer Sidi and proceeded to overrun it, claiming it as an extension of his kingdom within the Chaosium.

Determined to find a new home, the battered refugees forged a makeshift civilization tucked away on a peninsula, what is now known as The Queensland. Their presence did not go unnoticed by the Chaolich and his forces, but due to arrogance it was assumed they would not survive long in the hostile world and were forgotten about and left to perish in the wilds. The population was still fairly moderate. The majority of Syvisa were never able to leave it and perished to the invading warren of nightmares. The remaining set up the best they could, finding some protection from the peninsula and plenty of natural resources. The two nobles who doomed their homeland were also the two who acted to lead them to safety. After their entrance into Caer Sidi, they continued their leadership roles, acting in the stead of their once beloved, now deceased Monarch. The regret and guilt sat heavy on their shoulders, and they both felt a duty to their people to keep them protected and grow their new civilization. However the people were also grateful to be alive, and though with some resistance, they came to accept the noblewomen as their leaders.

For years they bided their time in silence and planned their future hidden away in the wilds of The Queensland, known to them at that time as The New Syvisan Peninsula. Survival was tough, as though the peninsula offered some protection, roving bands of creatures and abominations regularly funneled in from the northeast and had to be fought off. Eventually the people were able to raise a capable, if somewhat shoddy, army and soon began the Conquest against the Chaolich and the forces of chaos that he ruled. It was the beginning of the long war. It was during this war that the Aimsir Citadel was discovered a ways southeast of their home peninsula, a giant citadel full of warren entrances and the source of the Chaos that was rampant across Caer Sidi. They did not know how or when it was built, or what magics opened and closed the portals to various warrens within, but they realized quickly it was the source of the Chaoliches power, and where the creatures of Chaosium freely came and went between Caer Sidi and their original home.


The war was long, lasting almost 34 years until the Chaolich was defeated and the forces of Chaos were finally pushed back into the warren of Chaosium. It seemed as if the war would never end, as each step forward for the soon to be Queens and their armies resulted in a step backward somewhere else. The Chaolich and his army of Shadowlings and Fomorians resisted the Conquest through decades, and what had over the years become the Seasonal Armies were on the verge of defeat numerous times. Originally, the armies fought as one, without specialties and with brute force. Not long into the war however it was realized that they needed to focus on multiple things, and their soldiers all had their own unique proficiencies that were not being used to their fullest. The two noblewomen split the duties of leading the armies, each taking a different focus. One would focus on attacking and the battles on the front lines, the other would focus on assistance, healing the wounded, and harnessing their remaining wizards and magical folk to find a way to give them any sort of edge they could have. This set the stage for what would become the Seasonal Armies of Summer and Winter, each following who would become the Seasonal Queens. It came at a great cost however, as the division of Summer and Winter had already begun. The strategy of splitting focus between offensive and defensive forces paid off and, eventually, the armies prevailed and the Chaolich was finally destroyed. At his death, his hold over the warren of Caer Sidi was broken. His minions weakened and retreating back into Chaosium. Within months after his defeat, the peninsula as well as the stretch to and around Aimsir was completely within their control.

After the war ended, the Seasonal Queens officially took their place on the thrones of Caer Sidi. Aimsir Citadel was considered too dangerous to have it’s warrens opened at all, and the structure was closed completely until travel between the warrens was better understood. The Citadel became regulated and guarded to bring a stable society to the people of Caer Sidi. The Queens watched Aimsir, for they knew its true power and the dangers that come with it. They once more resumed their studies, with a new focus on Aimsir and a much more careful hand...


Today, Aimsir has been breached once more. The holdfasts are on the brink of war again. What will become of Caer Sidi with the approach of this new threat?

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