Arcol Steppe

The Arcol Steppe is a high plateau at the extreme north-eastern end of the Agras Plain. It is bordered to the north by the Stormreaver Range and on the east by the Barrier Range, then hemmed in from the Agras by the Little Treonas.

Access

Arcol is reachable by two mountain passes: the Senna Pass leading up from the Agras Plane, and the Lacandos Pass, which grants access to the Lacados Rift Valley.

Directly north of the Arcol lies a region called the Teeth of the World, considered to be the most treacherous and impassable mountains anywhere. However, it is possible that the Necromancers tamed that wilderness.

History

Mage Wars

Arcol was likely uninhabited during the Age of Darkness, but by the early First Chaotic Period had become the primary center for Necromancy. By the end of the Golden Age of Necromancy, the Arcol had turned mostly to desert and was abandoned by the Necromancers.

During the Dynastic Period, the region was subject to attacks by the Marcon Alliance. The necromancers had all but abandoned the place, maintaining enclaves where good supplies of fresh water could be maintained, and making pilgrimages to the now ancient ruins of temples and important cult sites. Various nomadic tribes also made a home in the region, and valuable mines were fought over. Different groups transformed necromancer temples into fortresses and buuilt a series of short-lived civilizations over the ruins left behind. Some city states attained enough power to build mage towers, but these were quickly put down by the Marcons.

Towards the end of the Dynastic Period, Arcol had gained a reputation as a brutal, violent place. Warlords fought amongst themselves, and raiders from the neighboring regions were fierce. Whenever one group obtained any real power, they were put down by the Marcons. However, the environent had begun to change again, with large-scale agriculture improving the possibilities for a strong population.

By the Second Chaotic Period the land has become lush once more. As a gateway to one of only two entrances to the much-disputed Lacandos Rift Valley, it retained great strategic value. The Necromancers returned as the Grey Temple, and were quick to reclaim important holy sites. The now long-resident tribes were subjugated or wiped out, and the era so the reign of high priests who ruled as emperors.

By the end of the second chaotic period, Arcol had become a terrifying place. A population of non-Necromancers lived as slaves to a series of powerful litches who ruled the domain from death. The undead were everywhere, and the living Necromancers carried out a brutal, totalitarian regime. Arcol made to attack neighboring Ataya, with the first battles decimating the smaller Atayan armies. With few other choices, the Atayans brought out their most sacred artifact, an enchanted sword, and gave it to their last surviving military leader, a young lietenant named Eieber. The rest is history.

Alliance Era

Eieber's campaign in Arcol so badly decimated the region that the very environment was changed once more. In the Second Chaotic Period, the fertile land was irigated with underground canals that had been cut over the centuries. Eiebers warriors stopped these up. They aso salted the earth, and wherever they could, destroyed the old Necromancer temples and the earthly bodies of the Litches.

The freed peoples or Arcol joined Eieber's forces, and the region was abandoned. With Ataya's population decimated, much of it was abandoned as well. The survivors of the campaign went on to found the city of Arindell, leaving Arcol once again abandoned. It remained empty for much of the Golden Age, visited by treasure hunters. Necromancers of the area, despite the reverence for the region, felt that it was 'tainted' by the evils done under the Grey Temple regime, and made no claim to the region.

During the early Second Age, the region was explored extensively by Merres and Ella Cornwall, using bush planes to site important ruins, and explore them in detail on the ground. They brought back pottery and weapons from centuries earlier, which ignited interest in the region. Of greater percieved value, however, was it's proximity to Arindell and the recently-completed canal way that served the high mountain city.

In A.Y. 2157, a dam was constructed high on the Little Treonas river, and a series of irrigation canals added. Idealy, food could be grown in Arcol to feed Arindell. Large parcels of land were given away, and new towns were built. While some effort was made to preserve the cultural treasures of the region, it was little enforced, and wholesale looting became commonplace. Many farmers supplemented their income by selling antiquities from the ruins near their land, and some companies even used this as a draw. Advertisements for land grants included the prospect of wealth through treasure hunting.

The increased activity drew the attention or archeologists and serious scholars, who realized the history of the region was very important. Arcol contained many ancient ruins from both the Mage Wars and the early days of Necromancy. Many well-preserved proto-necromancer-temples had been unearthed, as well as tombs and artifacts.

In A.Y. 2220, the Arcol Steppe Authority was formed with the express purpose of putting an end to looting and destruction of historic sites. While much of Arcol was still uninhabited at this time, the authority was able to identify and protect many important sites. Agents were stationed in these areas and supplied with homes and other neccesities, which facilitated the construction of roads. This made the region more accessible, so many agents began to trade on their locations and turn them into tourist attractions. The looting of antiquities was still tightly controlled, but interest in the region flourished.

Unfortunately, a new problem arose. Food crops did not grow well on the irrigated land, while better industrial farming techniques emerging on the Agras Plain proved far more economical. With the barge canal to Long Lake, it was still cheaper to ship supplies from Agras than to grow them in Arcol. Gradually, the farms on the steppe switched to cotton production, but the water supply from the Treonas was not enough.

By the middle of the Second Age, agriculture had shifted to only occur near the reservoir and river, and shifted primary to simply feeding the sparse population. The Arcol Steppe Authority had given rise to the Museum State, large ruins owned by rich families who opened them to tourism and archaeology.

In the mid Third Age

Arcology

Because of the unique history of the region, academics who specialize in it are called 'Archaeologists', a portmanteau of 'Arcol' and 'Archaeology'.