Odrathaer

Odrathaer was a former province of the The Kingdom of Kaedras in the North-Eastern reaches of the continent Ethora.

History
The province of Odrathaer was a short lived realm in the far north of the Kingdom of Kaedras. Founded in 1479 DR by High King Ranulf IV and named for his son, Crown Prince Odrath, Odrathaer would remain a  possession of the crown for only 17 years, falling to the local elves ruled by Coronal Enethyhl in 1496 DR. Odrathaer was situated on the northeastern corner of Ethora, bordered by the Callous Peaks to the west and south, and by Ranulf's Barrens, known as the Steppes of Dor'Ceran to the elves, to the east and north. It's landscape is dominated by rocky outcroppings and ancient mesas surrounded by seas of scrub forests and shrub land.

Little was known of the territory we now call Odrathaer for hundreds of years. Due to the treacherous and impassable nature of the Callous Peaks, travel to their eastern slopes was largely impossible for all but the most experienced climbers. Those that managed to venture over their peaks and back brought with them tales of unspoiled highlands and prairies abounding with beasts beyond description, however without a viable means to explore such claims fully, the tales drifted off into the world of myth.

The veil of mystery surrounding the lands beyond the mountains began to dissipate in 1473 DR with the territorial aspirations of High King Ranulf IV. Having concluded his campaign against renegade city-sates of the Western Reach in 1472DR, and now exercising tacit control of the western shores, he turned his attention eastward. Scouts were dispatched in droves to scale the rugged Callous Peaks and return with a location of a pass to the "Lands Beyond", but after months of searching, the operation was countermanded in lieu of a more daring plan. At the High King's behest,  the Crown's envoys to the various Dwarven kingdoms began to enlist the services of the finest engineers the Underfoot had to offer. For five years, two thousand Dwarven engineers and over twenty thousand laborers toiled to bore a passage through the Callous Peaks to the unknown beyond. With each passing year, various ore veins were discovered, helping to bankroll the intrepid project. On Tarsakh 21, 1479DR the now named Traverse of the Underdepths was completed. It numbered fifty-nine miles long and averaged seventy feet across at its narrowest points. The subterranean settlement of  Silverdowns was founded at its midpoint to accommodate travelers on the two day journey to the other side.

Within a week of the tunnel's completion, High King Ranulf IV led an expeditionary force beyond the Callous Peaks. The region they discovered was harsh and unforgiving. Entering the territory from the southwest, the host arrived in southern highlands we now know as Odrathaer. Here the mountains turn to craggy hills covered in a blanket of Juniper and Pinyon trees. In the northwest, mesas and sandstone rock formations create a natural barrier from from the plains beyond. Water is sparse, save the few streams flowing down from the mountains and pools created by seasonal thunderstorms. Odrathaer is land of climate extremes, suffering from wind-whipped, arid summers and frigid, icy winters. Such formidable conditions bred likewise formidable beasts that populate the expanse. Here giant snakes and dire wolves hunt long horned bison and great elk. Rocs soar overhead, ever-ready to swoop down and snatch an unwary traveler or wild horse. On rare occasion, Mammoths from the steppes meander into the scrub in search of water, bringing sabre-toothed cats in pursuit. Through this brutish landscape the army journied until discovering an appropriate site to build an encampment. Located in the Southern Vale between two mountain streams, the High King founded the provincial capital of Ehrlun.

The thousands of tunnel laborers and their families were escorted by horsemen through the "Lands Beyond",  to settle the new city. The cliffs of the mountains were quarried, the forests hewed, and soon a burg worthy of the Crown rose from the hinterland. However, such  development did not go unnoticed, and soon an elven delegation had arrived to parlay with the sovereign of Odrathaer. In a much debated circumstance, High King Ranulf IV invited the emissaries into his new domain, only to be stridently rebuked by Coronal Enethyhl for desecrating the Elve's sacred groves and disturbing the tranquility of their realm. The elves were then expelled from Odrathaer leading to a volatile relationship with the Kingdom's new neighbor. The coming years saw fitful bouts of conflict between the two peoples, with elves staging raids on traveler's in the wilderness and the armies of Ranulf IV leading forays into the steppes in reprisal. Beginning in 1483DR, the High King had a series of border forts erected atop the mesas that dotted the northern boundaries of his domain, establishing the borders of Odrathaer we now recognize. With an increased  military pressence at the entries to the province, a relative peace was achieved, allowing the the newborn province to flourish. The local magistrate, Baron Gonhilde, turned his attention to infrastructure, further taming the wilds of Odrathaer with the implementation of cobbled roads and irrigation ditches. Mines and quarries poured precious ores and stones on to the tradeways of Kaedras. Odrathan beast furs teemed in marketplaces far and wide, creating a lucrative trade for those brave enough to encroach upon the frontiers. But the prosperity would be short lived.

As stated before, the fur trade was ever prevalent and booming. It is estimated tens of thousands  of beasts were slaughtered for export through out the Kingdom. Poaching in the realm of the elves became all too tempting and raiding parties of huntsman into the steppes became commonplace. In Eleasis of 1495DR, to commemorate the twentieth anniversary of coronation of Ranulf IV, Baron Gonhilde issued a bounty for the hide of a rare white bison, to be fashioned into a cloak for the High King. The commission led to a frenetic hunting season, resulting in the largest mass slaughter the plains had likely experienced. Presumably unbeknownst to the hunters, the elves of the steppe hold the bison in extremely high esteem, with the white variation assuming near deity status. News quickly spread to Coronal Enethyhl, who immediately summoned his legions to march on Ehrlun. Word was sent to Rhyre of the elven mobilization and High King Ranulf IV himself return to Odrathaer to lead his host. The two armies met at the Brier Gardens of Althias on Marpenoth 8, 1496 in what would become the most sorrowful defeat in the history of Kaedras. Tales abound of what occur ed that day. It is known the High King arrived with three thousand horse and six thousand men-at-arms pitted against an elven army estimated at four thousand mounted warriors. The rest eludes scholars, succumbing to the mystery of the "Lands Beyond". Some say that just before Granulf IV was to command his advance, a great horn blast erupted from the elven camp, reverberating throughout the wilderness until its was met by all the howls and cries of every beast in the North, who then joined with the elves to crush their enemy in a mighty stampede. Others claim that victory was within Granulf's reach, when he struck down by separatists in his own ranks, who then brokered peace with the elves and live as serfs under them to this day.

What is understood of the battle is the destruction of the Traverse of the Underdepths in it's aftermath. As war was raged on, a lone courier was dispatched from the battlefield to the eastern entrance, carrying a writ from the High King. Stating merely, "All is lost.  Seal my son's birthright from this madness.", but bearing the royal sigil, Granulf's writ was considered an edict of the Crown and carried out forthwith. Black powder was ignited in the far eastern sections of the tunnel, sealing both the province of Odrathaer and High King Granulf IV behind a wall of stone. In the years since it's abandonment, the remnants of the tunnel have come to serve as an ephemeral tomb for the missing High King.