A'Roastad

The Empire of A'Roastad is an elf-majority country located entirely in the southwestern hemisphere. It takes up the entire E'Deon Peninsula south of the Ra'Acen Isthmus on Ditarre, the South Däe Peninsula on Däegarden, and the southern coastline of the North Däe peninsula.. The Ditarre portion is bordered to the north by the Ilois Republic, while the Däegarden portion is bordered to the east by Gogeget and to the northeast Ahodra Bay, which separates the South Däe Peninsula from Nodal. Its capital is A'Roafana.

A'Roastad has existed for thousands of years. Since the end of the Immortal War, it is the only Elf-majority nation.

Early history and settlement
The E'Deon peninsula was first settled in about 300 BT. Two groups of Ynoforan Elves left their territory in the central Garden Continent. The first settled on Däe near the Däe River, while the second went further west until reaching Ditarre. These groups were the ancestors of the Ydelhiad and A'Roafan elves, respectively. The A'Roafan Elves lived in three scattered kingdoms that alternately fought and had periods of peace. These were the Kingdoms of Ygasa L'Donorene, A'Roafana, and E'Deonadi. Their conflicts were driven by territorial claims, but their shared A'Thanist beliefs brought them back to peace.

A'Roastar, 110 AT-938 AT
Prior to becoming the Tulkon, Princess Nyrota of the Kingdom of A'Roafana travelled the E'Deon Peninsula to reunite the kingdoms under the flag of her kingdom. Despite being a formidable warrior, Nyrota was able to unite the three Kingdoms peacefully under the flag of A'Roastar. A few groups did fight back, but she was able to quickly neutralize them.

A'Roastar helped fight the Demons' First invasion during the lifetime of Tulkons Kedur and Ageus.

From 448 AT to 478 AT, A'Roastar opposed Bytu's Conquest. They supported Tulkon Ytinise's founding of the Usybork Republic. They also opposed Tulkon Epi'hu, who attempted to conquer Ditarre in the 800s.

E'Deonadi Empire, 938 AT
In about 930 AT, War then broke out between the longtime rival nations of Ilois IHS and A’Roastar, and Däe Ydelhiad also entered as a third party to end the fighting. After heavy casualties on all three sides, the war ended. Afterwards, A’Roastar fell into a civil war and was reorganized into the E’Deonadi Empire. Tulkon Eoonanone sensed that the king of the new country had intentions of world domination, and went to negotiate with him. The negotiations failed and war once again broke out. Däe Ydelhiad was victorious and occupied E’Deonadi for a time before the region restabilized, ending its ambitions of world domination and founding the nation of A'Roastad.

A'Roastad, 938 AT-2905 AT
In 1076 AT, a war broke out between A'Roastad and Däe Ydelhiad over ownership of the Acadon Islands. Atuhy, a human immigrant to Däe Ydelhiad, revealed her status as the Tulkon by unleashing a burst of energy that ended the conflict. The two nations decided to jointly govern the islands in Atuhy's memory.

In the years leading up to the 40-Year War, each of the four races became increasingly militaristic and imperialistic, and all eyes were turning towards the Garden Continents. Tensions erupted when the president of the IHS Council was assassinated, so Orcanth and Däe Ydelhiad declared war on the RIHS, while A’Roastad supported their human allies. Norte-Muldox remained outside of the conflict, but rogue groups of Dwarves did join the fight. The conflict lasted 8 years until the Demons returned in 1160. A'Roastad supplied troops and weapons to combat the new threat, and accepted a huge influx of Elven refugees from Nyfo Ynofora and Däe Ydelhiad. The war ended in 1192 with Yaaamemon's Sacrifice Ydelhiad Elves formed a wider diaspora and did not rebuild the country of Däe Ydelhiad, as their Däeist philosophy emphasized impermanence. The Däeist monasteries in the country were rebuilt, and some Ydelhiad Elves joined the new country of Ynofora, while many other refugees remained in A'Roastad, diversifying the country's culture.

The lifetime of Tulkon Ilhohore was an eventful period in A'Roastad history. Gogeget declared war on Nodal in 2393, and A’Roastad and Honsin came to its defense. Ilhohore joined the fight, but found himself unable to take any lives and was appalled by the violence on both sides. When his platoon left back to A’Roafana, Ilhohore remained behind to help the affected nations rebuild. He relocated to E’Deonadi afterwards. He was struck by lightning and became immortal, being the second Tulkon to attain this status after Tulkon Epi’hu. Again, he grappled with his status as an immortal Tulkon, and questioned if it was fair for him to be the Tulkon for so long. Decades later, Ilois IHS once again attempted to conquer A’Roastad. Ilhohore pleaded with the leaders of both nations to stop the fighting, but neither listened. He was forcibly conscripted and put on the front line. The violence shook him; in a rage, he killed king O’Odosore of A’Roastad and ended the fighting. However, his actions led to unrest in A’Roastad, which became torn by civil war. Without choice, he fled E’Deonadi and resettled in Ynofora, where he remotely commanded the rebellion. The rebellious city of Ygasa L'Donorene was nearly destroyed in the fighting and many survivors moved to a city of mixed elf-humans under Iloisa rule called Ygasa Vardo. Ilhohore gave in to the violence and gained a reputation of being unforgiving and cruel. When he turned 100, he realized what a monster he had become, and ended the war. He went to Onor to seek guidance from Amorim, who gladly welcomed him as a friend. Amorim reminded him that as the Tulkon, he had to do what was necessary to maintain balance, including violence, but he must seek amends for his actions. He returned to the site of his final battle and used his abilities to heal the people of A’Roastad. He was forgiven by its people and returned home. He converted to Däeism, and for the rest of his life he would be a benevolent spiritual leader.

A'Roastad opposed the Orc Conquest in the 2470s.

During the lifetime of Tulkon E'Acoradi, Gogeget declared war on Ynofora (they believed the Ynoforan lands were rightfully theirs) and nearly wiped the country out, nearly destroying Ynoforan elf culture (which had persisted for over 3000 years). A’Roastad was enraged and declared war on Gogeget. E’Acoradi’s mother was Ynoforan, so he reluctantly joined the fight. The Elves achieved victory, and Gogeget paid reparations to survivors for the next several centuries. E’Acoradi established the country of Nyfo Ynoforiad in the place of Ynofora, made up of survivors and A’Roafan-Ynoforans. E’Acoradi would maintain the peace for the next few decades. In A’Roastad, the city of A’Roafana grew dissatisfied with the rule of King Ifeet, a very deceitful and hateful man, and started a rebellion. E’Acoradi was convinced to lead it. Ifeet was killed and succeeded by Seahilo, an even more brutal ruler. Seahilo was personally killed by E’Acoradi and the war ended. E’Acoradi became the king of the reformed A’Roastad, which was a prosperous, peaceful nation. However, E'Acoradi was assassinated by King Zetopa of Orcanth (allegedly in self-defense) in 2876 AT, and anti-Tulkon propaganda spread around the world that tarnished his legacy.

In 2880, several nations joined the Empire of Orcanth. The Ilois IHS refused to join the empire with the rest of the RIHS, leading to the Zatem Crisis that nearly started a war. However, the conflict was averted, in part thanks to the intervention of the A'Roastad government. In 2896 AT, the Empire of Orcanth became the Immortal Empire, starting the Immortal War. A'Roastad joined the Free Alliance and fought back against the Empire. The country's forces were instrumental in the toppling of the IHS, but failed to prevent the Second Ynoforan Genocide by Gogeget's forces. The survivors fled to A'Roastad. The country was bombed by Zetopa during a ceasefire in 2905 AT, leading to its surrender and annexation into the Empire. The annexation was short-lived, however, as Zetopa was killed by Tulkon Vonha, causing the Empire to crumble.

A'Roastad Empire, 2905 AT-
In the aftermath of the Immortal War, A'Roastad claimed the southern Däe Peninsula and allowed the many refugees it took in during the war to relocate there, and advocated for immigration there by A'Roafan Elves. Due to its new geographic spread and encompassment of all three major Elf cultures, A'Roastad became the A'Roastad Empire. In the early 3030s, the disease Colitzl affected the E'Deon territory, and killed about half of those it infected. Tulkon Ico sacrificed himself to eradicate the disease.

As of 3000 AT, it is the only remaining Elf-majority nation.

Ethnicity
The vast majority of A'Roastad's population are Elves, from all four main Elf ethnicities. The A'Roafan, Ydelhiad, Ynoforan, and Acadon groups are all present in near-equal parts. After various instances of relocation, genocide, and territory loss throughout Elven history, the global Elven population concentrated itself in A'Roastad territory. Many A'Roics have blended ancestry, with about half of the population being of mixed A'Roafan, Ydelhiad, and Ynoforan ancestry.

In the modern era, there have been surges of immigration from Ilois, Gogeget, and Nodal. Ilois and A'Roastad have a long and storied relationship with each other, and have influenced each other's culture (especially near borders) for millennia.

Religion
By the time that the A'Roafan Elves reached the E'Deon peninsula, the Elf race as a whole had abandoned worship of Sehoha Ataadinua, a god from the E'Ash pantheon that the ancestors of the Elves worshipped during the Infinite War. In 300 BT they developed the religion of A'Thanism, which believed in the inherent divinity of nature and presence of spirits in the natural world. A'Thanism dominated A'Roafan culture for millennia.

After the 40-Year War, the destruction of Däe Ydelhiad led thousands of Ydelhiad Elves to migrate to A'Roastad, and they brought the Däeist religion with them. Däeism quickly took root in A'Roastad, becoming the country's largest religion. Däeism still remains the most popular religion in the modern era, especially since the annexation of the South Däe Peninsula (adding the Däeist Ynoforan population to the mix) although A'Thanism still remains in practice by a large minority. A'Roastad became home to a unique syncretization of Däeist and A'Thanist beliefs known as A'Thäe, which took hold in the southern regions of the E'Deon Peninsula as well as the Acadon Islands. The Monastic Schools, considered by scholars to be the oldest schools of Däeism, remain the most popular amongst Elves who identify with the Ydelhiad group. Zern is especially popular with Ynoforans.

Tulkonism is practiced by a small minority, especially in the north of the E'Deon peninsula.