[u][b]Faction[/b][/u]
Sharodites, Fire Islanders

[u][b]Race[/b][/u]
Humans, Sirens

[u][b]Location[/b][/u]
Northwestern archipelago, on and around the volcanic island.

[u][b]Backstory-History[/b][/u]
Sharod is a distant land far removed from Ganajya by a great gulf known as the Sea of Glass, which extends five hundred leagues from the western shores of Ganajya to those of Sharod. Travelers who have returned from this land recount a wooded, hilly land of poplars and cedars situated on the flank of a low mountain range. A people with fair, olive skin called this land home for many centuries. A tradition of shipbuilding and metallurgy gained the realms of this land some renown. Their mastery of the forging of iron blades and the ability to craft tunics of shimmering bronze gave the Sharodites a mighty advantage in battle against their neighbors. In great cycles, mighty and tyrannical dynasties would gain control over Sharod and launch great expeditions into foreign lands, only to decay and collapse on the account of their bloated, unwieldly domains.

King Harupun of the Amon Dynasty was the first Sharodite king to launch one such foray to Ganajya nine centuries before. His army of bronze-clad warriors marched from the recently-conquered realm of Batkra along the Western Shoulder into Ganajya proper. In shimmering phalanxes and chariots, King Harupun's host marched two hundred leagues in search of a rumored city deep in the mountains, said to be full of vaults of gold and treasure. King Harupun and his warriors found this city at Sadyo Raj, along with a mighty Vishatan host commanding a far mightier host of slaves that stood in wait for the foreign marauders in those deep mountain passes. Unprepared to be thought a coward, Harupun foolhardily launched his armies against the Vishatan defenders. The Sharodite host, accustomed to battles on level terrain where their chariots could be brought to bear against their enemies, were woefully unprepared to fight in Vishatan warriors in the close confines of the mountain passes. The Sharodites were utterly crushed; King Harupun and his survivors beat a hasty and shameful retreat back home.

King Melechon of the Sardosh Dynasty brought a greater host to bear against The Vishatan Empire four hundred years later. Twenty thousand warriors came by sea, sailing past the Fire Isles and down south along the western coast of Ganajya to plunder the vault cities of Tatpu and Angor. The Sharodites marched inland, fresh and eager to take the riches of Angor back to Sharod. Melechon's forces met ten thousand Visha leading another ten thousand slave warriors on the plains of the Angala River. At the helm of the Vishatan army was the Samraat himself, flanked on either side by a cadre of automatons - marvels the likes of which the Sharodites had never seen. The automatons, beasts of metal with fire and steam for blood, crushed rank after rank of Sharodite hoplites. The Vishatan warriors followed in close behind the automatons, rending through the shattered ranks while the slave levies went about to flank the invading army. Melechon's legions were utterly broken that day. Those who survived and evaded capture fled East on their ships to an archipelago several leagues off the mainland. The descendants of that routed invasion survive to this day as the Uwanese.

The century after the debacle at Angor saw the Sardosh Dynasty decline towards collapse. The tremendous expense and loss of warriors incurred by the Ganajya campaign catalyzed the empire's impending decline. Splintered factions camped outside the Sardosh capital at Yerak and laid siege to its mighty walls on and off for nearly a decade. But control of Sharod did not fall to the warring factions within the vast empire, but to enemies beyond Sharod's shores. Just beyond the shore, that is.

A legion of sirens rose up from the waves and invaded Sharod, slithering in from the very surf. This vile legion of undersea warriors was led by Gormon, a purportedly handsome and majestic sea demon who held dominion over the sirens as their lord and master. Gormon and his sirens waged a savage war against the Sharodites, making up for its brevity with sheer brutality. The Sharodites attempted vainly to reunite to stand against the sea demons, but generations of infighting had weakened their armies too gravely to resist. The besiegers of Yerak were brushed aside; Gormon entered the capital and disposed of the Sardosh Emperor, claiming Sharod as his own.

For three centuries, Sharod languished under the yoke of its sea demon masters. The ancient Uraic faith was supplanted, temples that had stood for more than one thousand years were demolished. Slaves raised high the stones of shrines built to honor the vanity of their siren masters. Yerak was razed, and [i]Chakum Gorma[/i] - the City of Gormon - was built in it's place. It was the largest and most lavish palace in all the world. A hundred thousand thralls perished to realize a house worthy of the Master of the Oceans, their new god.

Gormon's appetite for all things was voracious. New annexes of the palace-city were under ceaseless construction even when there were entire portions of the palace which he had never visited. Concubines from throughout the known world were brought to his chambers to partake in heinous - often lethal - acts of fornication. But the gods had cursed Gormon with boundless avarice; nothing could satisfy the Siren King's appetites. And so his legions of enslaved Sharodites must march across the world, plundering neighboring realms that the spoils of their conquests might appease their god. And it is said that the ancient underground nexus cities of Ganajya are full of Visha treasures.

Little surprise it is then that Gormon has moved to secure a foothold in Ganajya. The Siren warlord Enuma, backed by a fleet of Sharodite warrior-thralls, arrived in the Fire islands a generation ago and subjugated the indigenous peoples. In the years since their arrival, the lush forests of the islands have been felled to build ships and fuel forges. Very soon, the Siren-led Sharodites will make an effort to secure a foothold on the mainland. And once there, the Sirens will not be sated until all the treasures of the Visha are theirs.