The saga of Dorn: A history of the Dornari people

The saga of Dorn: A history of the Dornari people

Before mankind’s rise

When the world was young, before the rise of mankind, there existed the 4 elder races. The Nov, elves in the human tongue, the Dwarves, the orcs and the Drakonkin. The Nov were naturalists, adept at the magical arts and long lived. The Dwarves were expert artisans, and their rune magics were nothing to scoff at, though they were much less hauty then the Nov. Orcs, though savage brutes, lived simply and humbly. The Drakonkin were descended from extinct Dragons, wise beyond their years and quick to act when they needed to. For centuries, the four races lived, warred, and advanced, until the Drakonkin made a realization; the more they advanced technologically, the more of their plane’s finite resources would be used up. Thus, in a great act of solidarity, the elder races swore to restrict their progress for the sake of their world and it’s natural beauty. And the world remained in this technological stasis for many more centuries, with magic filling the gaps. The elder races lived on in relative peace for a time, until one day, strange messengers appeared in their lands, hailing from a land they called Dorn.

The rise of humanity: The kingdom of Dorn

In the time the elder races had been interacting with one another, a race began to advance on it’s own. To the Nov, they were known as Davi, to the Dwarves, Kazan. The orcs called them Pales, and the Drakonkin referred to them as the fleeting ones. To themselves however, they were Humans. They possessed not the lifespan of the Nov, or “Elves” in their own tongue, nor the deep knowledge of the earth of the dwarves, the strength of the Orcs or the wisdom of the Drakonkin, and in any other circumstance, they would be a footnote. A group of tribals that would have no impact on the grand scheme of history had it not been for their willingness to persevere or adapt. They grew together, and united under a single ruler. Their Kingdom of Dorn would now catch the attention of the elder races, impressed that this short lived race had grew so fast outside their knowledge. The elder races would try and guide the Humans, and gifted them knowledge. From the Nov gifted them the knowledge of magic, a rare talent amongst the people of Dorn. The Dwarves gifted the lore of the earth, and taught the smiths of the Humans much of metallurgy. The orcs taught them to fight, as that was as much as the orc’s could teach. Finally, from the Drakonkin, came not knowledge, but a warning. The plane was a fickle thing, and to drain it’s resources before they could replenish would doom all who lived. The humans would be grateful for what was gifted, and for the next many generations, would abide by the wise warnings of the dragon-men. But, as time passed, and generations passed with it, the younger members of the Kingdom wondered why they could not devise easier ways to do work. What merit did the words of some scaly men who claim to be the wisest beings have? Why *should* they not look into the natural world and exploit what they found?




The rise of Humanity: The warring years

The kingdom would soon be divided among those that would seek progress and understanding, and those who would heed the warning and keep the technological stasis for the sake of the world. Secret meetings to discuss what would be known as “The natural sciences”  would take place far from the watchful eye, and slowly, more of the younger members of the Human race would be drawn into it. Philosophy would also prove to be a popular, and tolerated form of progression, albeit one of the mind. However, the King would soon catch wind of the meetings, and all those found during raids would be put to death, a practice that horrified all but the orcs. The Nov, Dwarves and Drakonkin sent representatives to the King to try and persuade him against such barbaric actions, after all, the elder races saw much potential in humanity, as long as they did not descend into meaningless violence that could be avoided. The king took their words into consideration, and began to imprison or exile those caught in raids. He was beginning to be seen as a bloodthirsty tyrant, who’s adherence to his ancestor’s agreements took precedence over his own people’s lives. After his change in methods, the wider populace began to relax, he had listened to the elder races, and to his own people; but to those who believed he was holding them back, there was no easy forgiveness. Many sympathetic to their cause began to debate the merits of the monarchy, and whether such an old form of government was really fit to rule over the Dornari of the current time. Over the next few years, the exiles, imprisoned and their sympathisers devised a plot to overthrow the king, and to install a new form of government: A Democracy. The people of their nation would decide how things would be, not just a single man. A war would erupt, and would last a decade. The elder races, disturbed at the proclivity for politically and ideologically driven violence, would not want any part in the Human civil war. The orcs, however, would be willing mercenaries to the king. Even so, the new would prevail against the old, and the King would die with his guards in his palace during the final battle. Later that month, the Republic of Dorn would form, and the elder races feared for what would come.

The zenith of humanity: The republican century

With the establishment of the Republic of Dorn, the first free elections in the history of the plane would take place. Granted, many of the people were illiterate, and criers would need to tally votes. When the representatives were finally elected, they had much to debate and discuss. After weeks of such debate, the Dornari Constitution was written and signed. Never again would humanity be held back by the superstition of the elder races. Humanity didn’t need them, and would carve out it’s own destiny free from the grooming of the other races of the plane. This revelation terrified the elder races, and the 4 slowly distanced themselves from the burgenning new republic. The Republic of Dorn, free from the restrictions of the old regime, would rapidly advance in technology, achieving their industrial revolution in a matter of 2 centuries. The factories of Dorn would choke the skies around them with the smog of coalfire, and the mages of Dorn would learn to bind small, non sentient fire elementals to engines, reducing the need for other fuel sources. Forests would disappear in a matter of years as the demand for goods from the quickly increasing Dornari population ever heightened. Guns became *the* method of warfare as airships took to the skies, lifted by the merging of science and magic, and armored with Dornari steel. Science and medicine would flourish as the government granted funds towards their advancement. This would be a golden age for all of Humanity, with life spans increasing by decades from 40 years to 70 thanks to the marvels of epidemiology and proper hygiene practices. This, however, would not last. The elder races, perhaps out of jealousy, perhaps out of terror for the well being of the plane they lived on, had enough of the humans tainting the land.


The fall of the plane: The 3 centuries’ war

The elder races demanded the Dornari give up their technology, and revert back to how things were while the plane could still heal the damage the humans had done. The humans, as stubborn as always, responded simply: “You can try, but you will not succeed.” And thus, The Novdani kingdom, the Dwarven holds, the Orc tribal confederation and the Drakonkin enclaves went to war against the Republic of Dorn. The initial battles were one sided bloodbaths, as thousands of beings were cut down in their spear formations by Dornari machine guns, which were then countered by arcane explosion magic. The Dornari countered by establishing hardened positions in the earth with trenchworks and concrete bunkers. The trenches would provide protection from the indirect effects of the explosive magic, and the guns of the humans would scythe through Nov leathers, Dwarven runesteel, Orc muscle and Drakonkin scales. The coalition, as the elder races began to be referred to as, had no shortage of fanatical soldiers in far greater numbers then the Dornari had, and trenches entered would be a mess of melee combat as sword met bayonet and shield met pistol. The Dornari, for their part, had no shortage of manpower either. Their expanded population helped keep the factories functioning as hundreds of thousands of young men enlisted in the Republican Army, Navy and Home Guard. Morale was high on both sides, as both were sure their forces held the decisive edge on the other. However, as the months turned to years, and years to decades, and decades to the first 100 years since the beginning of the war, attitudes turned dour, the enthusiastic recruits and fanatic soldiers of both sides were replaced with conscripts given enough training on how to kill the enemy and thrust into suicidal charges and desperate holds on land too bombed out to be useful for any other reason then to move supplies through. Both sides were too stubborn to give in; The Dornari unwilling to become luddites and the elder races unwilling to allow the taint the humans spread to continue. Millions died, and in the Republic, a shortage in manpower 70 years into the war created a panic, and breeding programs were developed to ensure the Dornari population would, if not increase, stagnate. Technology too advanced, with the appearance of Drakonkin pseudo-drakes raining fire down upon Dornari trenches gave way to both flamethrowers and aircraft, as fighters battled drake riders in sky bound duels of fire and machine gun bullets. The appearance of the trolls and ogres of the orcs gave way to large caliber “Anti-beast rifles” which would burst the heads and limbs of any smaller being they hit. Nov stealth raids would give rise to the use of quick firing submachine guns to counter the slow firing speeds of Dornari rifles, and the sudden discovery of Dwarven tunnels and trenches gave rise to Dornari trench raiders armed with shotguns to clear the close quarters of the underground. Airships clad in steel plating would rain down artillery shells filled with all kinds of horrific payloads from choking gas to gaseous acids that ate away at the exposed flesh of the forces of the elder races.

The fall of the plane: The calamity of nature’s slow death

The areas where fighting took place went from idyllic grasslands and rolling hills occasionally peppered with bullet holes to trampled, muddy swaths of useless land filled with shards of rusted metal and remnants of soldiers long since dead. Unexploded Dornari ordinance littered the no man’s land with whole charging formations periodically being buried alive by the freak detonation of a 50 year old shell. The chemicals used by the Dornari seeped into the earth, making it barren and poisonous. Nothing would ever grow there, not trees, not grass, not even the heartiest of fungus. Lakes of toxic, stagnant rainwater would fill bomb craters, and mutated life lurked below the surface, devouring anything that fell in, living or dead. The great forests of the Nov were slowly being eaten away at to provide more weapons for Novdani soldiers, Dwarven mountain mines would frequently dry up, forcing the mining towns to migrate or die out from a lack of income. The old orc spirit of fighting would grow tired, jaded from nearly 2 centuries of senseless violence and death too much for even the most bloodthirsty of their kind; and the Drakonkin would call to their Dragon ancestors for guidance in this slow planar apocalypse. In the Republic, Conscription orders culled the population of males not selected for the breeding program as women toiled to extract resources and manufacture in factories. The skies around major human cities would become a thick smog of coal and oil smoke; and while this prevented Drakonkin reconnaissance of the Dornari, also lead to lung diseases. The only way to “treat” the afflicted was decided to be forming suicide squads and having them charge the hated enemy to provide a quick ending to the ceaseless coughing that claimed their lives slowly while providing one last patriotic act for the Republic they so dearly loved in spite of all that had happened. Orphans would grow up in government run boarding schools where they were taught from a young age the paths they could take, which consisted of repopulation, fighting or laboring. Gas masks became a normal part of everyday clothing to keep the smog from claiming yet more lives, which put an end to the use of blacklung suicide squads. The plane’s natural resources were being depleted at an unrecoverable rate, and it was certain that the plane would die, no matter who won, though no one who knew would ever admit it or believe it for a second.

The fall of the plane: The sea wars

The Dornari navy was a hardened corp of dreadnoughts, frigates, and aircraft carriers supported by airships, while the elder races relied on ramming ships and manipulation of sea life to combat the ships of the humans. The wooden ramming ships quickly were shown to splinter and shatter against the steel hulls of the Dornari vessels, and would quickly fall out of use by the elder races. Only the Dwarves, who utilized runeiron ships had any chance of successful ramming actions, though their lack of ranged weaponry and a single Dwarvish port which could produce them lead to the ships becoming a rare sight. Novdani galleys produced spell broadsides that could cripple all but the largest of Dornari Dreadnoughts in a single volley, though their wooden construction lead to fast moving Dornari corvettes dousing them in napalm, leaving the Nov onboard to die from drowning, the flames, or by suicide; an option far too many were forced to take rather then face a slow and painful end. Drake riders were torn apart by Flak fire and airships deployed drop-troopers to board the largest of elder race vessels, their submachine guns and shotguns proving all too effective against the lightly armed and armored crews. The Nov and Drakonkin, searching the depths of their Arcane knowledge, discovered spells that would allow for the control of the massive beasts that had kept below the waves, and thus unleashed krakens and Dragon turtles upon the Dornari navy to compensate for the horrendous losses that had been afflicted upon them. Men were dragged into the depths, screaming and flailing against the horrors the deep ocean had to offer.

The fall of the plane: The terror campaigns

In the latter half of the second century of the war, the Dornari experimented with new tactics devised to crush the spirit of the civilians of the Elder race’s nations; terror bombing. New long range bombers were created, and packed with bombs. The payload of the bombs varied from incendiary compounds to toxic gases to mage-scourge, a new weapon that stripped the souls of the more magicly attuned members of a race. Vast swaths of cities burned, entire blocks became uninhabitable as gas lingered, the viuralant compounds dissolving most organic matter, causing buildings to weaken and collapse. The safest from this campaign were the dwarves, who’s mountain homes were naturally protected from the falling bombs, though on occasion, sections of the mountains would collapse, killing thousands. The elder races responded with vast rituals which called massive storms over the cities of the Republic, lightning falling upon the steel structures, melting the supports and collapsing them on their inhabitants. The humans responded to this with wider spread usage of Mage-scourge, damning the souls of thousands to oblivion devoid of the afterlife. The cities of the elder races tried to defend themselves in any way they could, magic barriers, anti-aircraft artillery, controlled animals, and other methods. Sometimes they would work, though many times the planes of the humans flew too high for the defenses to mean anything, and death rained down regardless. In spite of the horrific civilian casualties, the Elder races continued on, ever confident their ways would prevail.

The death of the plane: The end of all things

It had been over 300 years since the war began, and the plane began to show its death throes. Harvests came up less and less every year, the ground polluted and toxic. The air itself began to become toxic and poisoned by the wide scale use of gases and the fumes of factories that had toiled for almost half a millennia. The end would come soon, but the Republic had an idea. A horrible idea, but one that would save their people, and their people alone. Recently, the biggest scientific breakthrough was the discovery of planar travel. Small scale planar gates were constructed, and things could be sent through without issue. The republic’s government began a multi-step process to finish the war once and for all, by escaping the plane and destroying it entirely. Several new mega-factories were tasked with designing and producing massive habitation airships, which would house the vast majority of Dorn’s population in the escape. Scientists began work on a planar bomb which would destabilize and shred their home plane apart upon their departure. Massive amounts of resources were taken from the military-industrial complex to fuel this endeavor, and for the first time, the Elder races seemingly had gained the upper hand. 30 years after the initiation of the plan, the planar gates were constructed, and the new Home Fleet of the Dorn began to be filled with the millions of civilians that inhabited the Republic’s lands. Entire cities had been torn down and recycled into airships for their rehabilitation, and large sections of the fleet were divided into sub-fleets with names taken from the cities their parts were recycled from. The largest complication the republic faced would be their soldiers. The republic did not intend to let their military become martyrs for the escape, and thus they called out to the elder races for a “ceasefire” to discuss “terms of surrender”. The Elder races, exhausted from centuries of bloodshed and drained or resources did not see the ruse, and accepted. This gave the Republic the time it needed to extract their military from the front lines and into the Home Fleet. Ultimately, the sun rose upon the final day of the plane’s existence, and when the representatives of the Elder races showed up to the suspiciously empty meeting place, and the last of the Home fleet’s ships left through the planar gate, the Bomb was set off, and the Planarcide left nought but the astral energies that the plane had been created from. It was done, the war ended, Dorn remained the sole victor. But the end did not leave them in a good place.

The new beginning: Rise of the Dornari Emergency Coalition

In the months it took the Home fleet to pass through to the new plane, the Home fleet was racked with civil unrest, and the military needed to step in to cease riots and other forms of unrest. The republic was falling, and everyone knew it. In the end, the Republic of Dorn would formally dissolve, and a new government, the Dornari Emergency Coalition would take its place...