Aratola is one of the most ancient realms bordering on the
Blue Sea. Originally an independent state it was conquered by the
Pelorean Empire but retained its identity as a province of
that Empire.
When the Great Darkness came it was one of the
few countries around the Blue Sea to retain its national infrastructure although the change in climate led
to a severely straightened existence for its citizens. The climate in the area, however, was too mild for
the Frost Giants that roamed the Northern Plains and they largely left Aratola alone. When the Darkness broke
therefore Aratola was able to recover quickly which enabled it to dominate the Blue Sea area politically for
seven hundred years.
The geography of Aratola is such that is almost impossible to invade by land. The only viable route to do so is
along a narrow coastal strip in the north and to increase their security the Kings of Aratola built a wall across
this plain. The wall was mostly symbolic, however, as the kingdom's rivals in this period were independent
city states (many themselves originally founded by Aritolans) who lacked the military resources to mount an attack
on the wealthy eastern kingdom. When the
Eastern Horde conquered
Sankhar the Aritolans desperately tried to recruit mercenaries to man their northern wall
but to no avail. The Horde took but a single day to break through the wall and pour into Aritola. Although they
didn't massacre the population as many feared the Horde systematically looted the country. Sadly for scholars
the library at Arnen was completely ransacked by the invaders and the last records in the West of life before
the Great Darkness were lost.
The Southern Khanate did not, however, last as long as other parts of the Great Khan's Empire and although there
was little overt resistance by the Aritolan population it is said that many of the resistance movements in the
Raj and
Sirayn Basin were financed by Aritolan merchants. In less than a hundred years the
Khanate was dissolved into smaller provinces and eventually in -73 Aratola became the last of those provinces to
secure independence form the Great Khan.
Gradually Aratola rebuilt its trading empire situated as it was at a crossroads of North-South and East-West trading routes. By 600 it was once again considered to be the wealthiest nation on the shores of the Blue Sea and
its universities and public buildings are the envy of other nations. It has also successfully built up a
tradition of educating its population in the magical arts with a view to enabling its mages to recreating the great
magical feats of the past. This drive for magical learning is not unconnected with the fact that its neighbouring
country is
Fenghast, a country ruled by possibly the greatest sorceress who has ever lived
whose intentions towards her neighbours are never clear.