History of Morcado
Birth of a kingdom
The kingdom of Morcado found its start as a small way station set up by Venelatrian trade caravans in the 142nd year of the First Age, acting as an intermediate between the long journey from the capital into Dongothvarn and Hykilgoth. Though largely used solely for that purpose, news of its existence began to spread and merchants from all over began moving to the way station to sell their goods to the passing caravans in hopes of great fortune. While unintentional, those who set up shop in the city also began trading with one another, allowing for trades previous thought impossible or undesirable. Now, goblins could acquire the seraph's intoxicating ale in exchange for valuable minerals that the seraph could use to construct great cities. By the 180th year of the First Age, the way station had grown into a self-sustaining city.
In the 238th year of the First Age, the city underwent an economic boom, when a young Venelatrian merchant, named Jarod Morcado, traveled into the deep depths of the Greenwald, into the Sylvan homeland, to seek trade opportunities. Though the trolls declined the man's offer with much disdain, he found the elvish folk far more open to the idea. Though the elves were a primitive race compared to the humans and vampires, who had already constructed massive cities, their attunement toward nature allowed them to grow rich spices that were unparalleled by anything known to man. Jarod, seeing a great opportunity in the untapped resource, constructed a trade agreement with the elvish priests, which outlined the following:
- Firstly, the elves agreed not to trade with anyone other than Jarod and the trolls. The troll's unwillingness to trade outside the forest assured Jarod that no spices would be gained through them, and the merchant did not wish to anger the trolls or upset the balance of his trade with the elves.
- The elves did not have adequate means to traverse the Great Grass to the trade way station or Venelatria, all while protecting their precious trade goods from the beasts and bandits that littered the trade paths of the grasslands, so Jarod agreed to lead a caravan from the way station to the edge of the Greenwald. There, he would meet with the elven spice merchants and complete the trade.
- In exchange for Jarod and his caravan making the journey across the Great Grass, the spice traders would trade their goods under value, but would still receive valuable goods and information (one of which was the technology of the waterwheel) in exchange. Jarod, who despised people taking advantage of others, shared this information and the subject of 'fair trade' with the elves to ensure that the spice merchants would not be cheated out of a trade.
- Once the trade was made, Jarod would return to the city, where he traded with Venelatria's base caravan, upselling the rare and valuable spices, which soon became highly-sought after in the capital. There, he would acquire any good or plan requested by the spice merchants (often at the request of the Elven Conclave) for the subsequent trade. All profit afterward was his to do as he will.
Jarod's savy merchanting assured his place as the middleman in the spice trade, as the elves refused to trade directly to any Venelatrian or Dongothian caravans, honoring the agreement made between Jarod and the spice merchants. This also ensured that the elves were given a fair trade and not tricked by less reputable merchants. Because of this, the city erupted into an economic power, and, by the 261st year of the First Age, was powerful enough to declare its secession from Venelatria. It then became known as Morcado, named after the savy merchant and first king to rule the country.
The following year, the then-expanding empire of Venelatria, who did not want to allow the newly-proclaimed kingdom--which had been bringing in a great deal of revenue that Venelatria had been using to fuel its aggressive expansion--to separate from the empire, sent its Central Army to reclaim the city. King Morcado, however, was prepared. Though the elves did not have the means to support Morcado in its time of need, the vampires of Dongothvarn, with whom King Morcado had made a trade agreement with--selling the much-covenanted elvish spices at a greatly reduced price, just over what they were bought for, in exchange for military support--did, and sent their army into Morcado as Venelatria's Central Army arrived.
Accepting they were completely outmatched by the physically-superior vampires without having to even lift a blade, the Central Army withdrew, and Venelatria, reluctantly, officially recognized Morcado's sovereignty.
Growth and expansion
Despite being bitter about losing it, Venelatria eventually reached good terms with Morcado, and, in the 458th year of the First Age, the two forged a powerful alliance, reconciling the past and marking the start of a prosperous era. In return for a reduced trade price for the elven spices, Venelatria agreed to defend Morcado with its Central Army.
Over the next century, Morcado grew and expanded, eventually claiming all the Great Grass west of Venelatria's border region of Beinsk. It became a center of trade for all the nations of the world, constructing a Grand Plaza of Exchange in the capital of Jaroton, a place where merchants from all over gathered to exchange order notes for their goods (some of which could easily pass hands of a hundred merchants before being exchanged for the actual goods entailed therein). Those who were fortunate enough to set up shop in the city saw great wealth with very little work, and it became the golden land for all merchants across Nirmana.
In the 534th year of the First Age, at the end of the Leijonni Pride War, Morcado offered safe haven to the defeated umbra clan, Varjoia. The Varjoia clan, which had been nearly wiped out and chased down by the victorious Kirkasu, the sun clan, was given refuge and a new home within Morcado's borders, and was assuredly safe from the sun clan, who would not dare invoke the fury of the combined forces of the Central Army and the vampires that Morcado could call upon. Within its borders, the Varjoia clan was allowed to regrow, with no restrictions or guidelines with how they had to live (as long as it did not hinder or endanger Morcado's foundation or citizens), and were even allowed to integrate fully and indiscriminately into Morcadian society--to the point where the Leijonni could even obtain the rank of Morcadian nobility.
During the conflict between Venelatria and Dongothvarn in the 574th year of the First Age, Morcado, having an alliance with both nations, remained neutral, only offering aid to the wounded during Venelatria's withdraw from Dongothvarn. Though both sides requested Morcado's help in the conflict, it remained steadfast to its neutrality and did not participate in the bloodshed. As such, the vampires were allowed to pass through quietly during the Venelatria Massacre.
The kingdom continued to grow in leaps and bounds throughout the First Age, acquiring great wealth from the savy merchants who wisely traded the advancing technology for great profit, proudly following in the footsteps of the kingdom's founder.
The Gods' War
At the dawn of the Gods' War, the High Emperor of Venelatria sent word to the queen of Morcado, requesting aid in their fight against Dongothvarn. Morcado, however, having had long-standing relationship with both empires, and was reluctant to get involved in the conflict either way, remained to its neutrality. However, that changed after many Laetrian followers began demanding Morcado sever ties with Dongothvarn and join Venelatria in the war. The queen, though a devoted Laetrian herself, tried to keep its political neutrality, but when demands gave way to riots and talks of revolution, the queen reluctantly gave into the demands and turned against its long-time ally.
The western border region of Morcado, which it shared with the dark god's lands, took the brunt of the damage from the war, with most of the early fighting between Venelatria and Dongothvarn occurring there. Despite claiming to be the righteous side of the war, Venelatria abused Morcado's alliance, taking what they needed from the citizens to supply their forces, regardless of the toll it would place on the people, and demanding the service of all able-bodied men. The emperor claimed it Morcado's duty in supplying the army, for it was the goddess's will.
Betrayal
In the 302nd year of the Second Age, Morcado, in a combination of rallying support of Erdri—led by the king himself, who devout follower of the earth god—in the war, movements to restore Morcado's severed alliance with Dongothvarn, and growing distaste with how Venelatria was treating its citizens, betrayed the empire, providing the vampire army a path through Morcado and behind Venelatria's borders, forcing the Central Army to withdraw to fend of the invading vampire force.
Morcado's betrayal advanced the vampire's foothold well into the Great Grass and right next to Venelatria's border. This allowed Verdamal's forces more opportunities to invade the empire, and, with Morcado's support, kept his units well-armed and well-supplied. However, this meant that Morcado's eastern border now felt the brunt of the war's damage. To keep the swaying momentum in Verdamal's favor, Morcado's army joined with Dongothvarn's, bolstering the ranks significantly.
After the war
When Erdei allied with Laetria following Verdamal's banishment, Morcado's alliance was restored with Venelatria, but their betrayal was never forgotten, and the empire never trusted it as it once had.
Morcado, which had taken the largest brunt of the war along both its borders, as well as suffering heavy loss from the supplies given to Verdamal's forces and the damages from the war, was left to pick up the war-scarred pieces of their nation. Though Jaroton still largely stood, the Grand Plaza of Exchange was destroyed, as well as many of the outer cities that stood near the borders.
Morcado suffered long through its slow, tedious recovery. Plague and famine swept through the nation regularly, and most citizens could not even afford the most basic of living needs, many of which died on the streets. Riots and revolutions were regular, though were always quieted by the Morcadian army. But despite its hardships, the kingdom of Morcado was most certainly recovering, and appeared as if it were getting through the worse. Then Azazel, the Blighted, appeared.
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