A Written History of Castrovalva, Volume 1 (1 BC to 50 AC)

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For Reference
Years are dated in Before Castrovalva (BC) and After Castrovalva (AC).
These terms are relevant to the founding of Castrovalva.

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In the beginning there were 5 tribes. The Castros, known for their compassion and pacifism. The Valvans, known for their belligerence and aggressiveness. The Traken, known for their neutrality and general invisibility on a national scale. The Dragonfire, known for their exile from the more civilized tribes. The Timelash, known for their understanding of time and its consequences.

The tribes are each led by a single leader, each known for their own qualities. The Castros, led by Shardovan, known for his peacefulness and serenity. The Valvans, led by Mergrave, known for his war-like mind and aggressive attitude. The Traken, led by Nyssa, known for her understanding of life and seclusion. The Dragonfire, led by Kane, a vengeful, belligerent fellow who is caught often bad-mouthing Mergrave, sparking multiple skirmishes. finally, the Timelash, led by Adric, known for his understanding of mathematics and time. The leaders typically secluded themselves from the others, but in the midst of a Dargonfire raid, Shardovan and Mergrave met on a mountain in the Dwellings of Simplicity to talk about a unification. The two got along very well, despite their people's general uneasiness with the situation. At last the two come to an agreement. A sanctuary on the hill for those in need. The tribes would be unified as one, known as the Castrovalvan People.

When reaching out to the other tribes about such unification, the Traken leader Nyssa expressed interest but decided to not unify as she felt uncomfortable about the state of her people being assimilated with the other tribes. The Dragonfire leader Kane immediately dissented to the idea, viewing it as cowardly and would make his tribe appear weak, and therefore disagreed. The Timelash leader Adric took a few days to think about the offer, but decided it was better for the Timelash people to stay together than to join into another tribe.

And thus the Dwellings of Castrovalva was created. Shardovan, who first had the idea to unify, named himself leader of the new peoples, and established a sanctuary on the mountain in the Dwellings of Simplicity. The Dwellings of Castrovalva was to be a safehaven, a place where all were welcome regardless of background to heal and to recover. There was to be no government, the people ruled the area, but Shardovan remained in power of the major decisions. The first of which was to open a library to educate and entertain the people of Castrovalva, of which he would be the Librarian.

Shardovan has decided to deal with his uneasy populous by taking a solo trip to the Forest Shrine. He will return in three day's time.

Shardovan has not been found, nearly a week after his departure. The Valvan leader Mergrave has stated he will take the throne.

Shardovan's body has been found with multiple wounds. He has been declared dead. Mergrave has stated that a Valvan committed the crime, and thus the sanctuary has fallen to war.

After 10 years of fighting, the Valvan leader Mergrave has taken the leadership of the sanctuary.