History of Rashemen

The history of Rashemen dates back to the arrival of Shemen's tribe in -5000 DR

Early Settlement
A tribe of Raumviran humans ventured west from the Endless Wastes in -5000 DR, led by a man named Shemen. They found a region known then as the Lakelands, named for it's three large lakes, and settled there. Thirty seven years later, Shemen died, and in his honor, his people renamed the Lakelands the "lands of Shemen" which in their tongue, was Rashemen.

Because of how isolated the Rashemi were, and how little they communicated with neighboring lands, their deeds went largely unnoticed and unrecorded for the next three millennia. Even the dwarven kingdom of Dareth, established in the Icerim Mountains on Rashemen's northern border in -2642 DR, took over three centuries to begin trading with the Rashemi.

It was not until -1967 DR that Rashemen entered the international consciousness, when their warriors hired themselves out as mercenaries in the First Mulhorand-Unther War, fighting on both sides of the conflict.

Rashemi mercenaries were again hired by Mulhorand when the Orcgate was opened on the Thayan Plateau in -1076 DR, sparking the Orcgate Wars. However, Rashemen itself was inundated by orcs, who overran the nation for the next seven years. At the conclusion of the Wars, the orcs fled into the Sunrise Mountains on Rashemen's eastern border. In the immediate wake of the Wars, Nars created the kingdom of Ashanath on Rashemen's western border while the battered Rashemi rebuilt and recovered from the damage caused by the orcs.

There was almost a century of relative peace after that, until Thargaun Crell, the Nentyarch of Tharos began his unification war in the west, culminating in the conquest of Ashanath in -946 DR, putting his demonic forces right on Rashemen's doorstep. The Rashemi held out against Narfell's influence up until they quite literally got caught in the middle of the Great Conflagration between Narfell and Raumathar. In the final two years of that devastating conflict, Rashemen became infested with fiends and was pelted by destructive magic. Even after the destruction of both empires, Rashemen continued to be plagued by demons, and in the, the demon lord Eltab conquered the nation.

Eltab ruled for forty three years, but was ousted due to the arrival of two new groups into the region. First, in the, a group of female Raumviran witches who'd survived the fall of Raumathar, began quietly gathering allies from among the Rashemi around Lake Tirulag. Second, three years later, a large group of Illuskan berserkers called the Rus arrived in Rashemen through a malfunctioning portal. The Rus and the witches joined with the native Rashemi in an insurrection to remove Eltab from power in the. Rashemen was finally freed in the when the half-Rus/half-Rashemi warrior Yvengi, wielding the sword Hadryllis, severely wounded Eltab, causing him to flee hundreds of miles to the south, into the Sharawood. The witches followed, catching up with him, and used their magic to entomb Eltab beneath the forest floor, and bound the undead green dragon Xavarathimius to guard his prison. As payment for their invaluable service, the witches demanded the right to pick the future rulers of Rashemen.

Modern Rashemen
In the, the pharaoh of Mulhorand decided to annex Rashemen, and sent a huge army through the Gorge of Gauros. An army of Rashemi berserkers, nature spirits, and witches successfully opposed the invasion.

In the, the death of the Iron Lord of Rashemen prompted a five-year-long civil war, when forces loyal to Bregg the Strong revolted against the witches when they did not name him as the new Iron Lord. When the witches emerged victorious, they decided that from then on, they would hide their identities in public so as not to be such an easy target for anyone who took issue with their decisions.

In the, the descendants of the orcs from the Orcgate Wars came pouring out of the Sunrise Mountains into Rashemen, though the Rashemi managed to force them out of their land. Nearly three centuries later, a schism within the Rashemi witches led to the separation of the Durthan from the Wychlaran, and their subsequent expulsion from Rashemen.

The first of many wars with Thay occurred in the, when they, like their Mulhorandi ancestors, invaded through the Gorge of Gauros. Just like those ancestors though, the Thayans failed. Notable future Thayan invasions would occur in 1159; 1359; 1362; 1365; 1370; and 1375 DR.

The nearby nation of Thesk, in 1366 DR, offered to improve Rashemen's section of the Golden Way. The offer was accepted and roadbuilders got to work that very summer. Over the following years, these improvements created the desired increase in trade traffic, prompting merchants and immigrants to travel to Rashemen in large numbers and ended the nation's relative isolation from the rest of the world.

After centuries of the Durthan's meddling in Rashemen's affairs for their own benefit, when the War of the Zulkirs removed the potential threat of yet another Thayan invasion, the Wychlaran moved to completely eradicate the Durthan order, attacking the Durthans who had concentrated their power at Citadel Tralkarn. In what became known as the Witch War of Rashemen, the Durthans were utterly crushed.