Mirikel: History and Rumors

Originally a strictly elven island, however, as their population thinned when they moved to Voltrex, a large number of humans, halflings, and even dwarves have disembarked on its shores in search of new opportunities. It has been divided into regions called shires. After the coming of the Dark Ages in 1402, the influx of people increased as the warm climate and vast expanses of uninhabited open fields and robust forests have spared Vanavar from the worst famine.

Each shire kept to itself in the past, functioning autonomously but maintaining trade routes to ensure access to raw materials not present in their lands. This arrangement allowed sharp contrasts to develop in the panorama of the settlements. North Hampton was a robust region that provided public works for its happy population, and Cel, on the island's southern shore, was characterized by clusters of hovels, shanties, and huts where sewage flowed freely on the streets as rats scurried by without a thought for the miserable pedestrians. This gap between the shires was propagated, and it was seen as acceptable for a Celian to never aspire to be more than a farmer, herder, or fisherman.

In the past, the native elves remained in their woods and in the central Broken Mountains, sporadically trading with the settlements that bordered their lands. They also made their fair share of enemies as they aggressively defended their woods against large-scale poaching and abusive logging. The mountain elves kept away from the new inhabitants until recently, and now, since the cleansing of Mith'oromarde's taint by mostly non-elven adventurers and the formation of a new kingdom, some effort has gone into establishing a good relationship with the other races.

In 1405, three years after the clouds came, Miranda Mirikel, a young woman of elven descent, decided she had seen enough poverty in the south and enough waste in the north and dreamed of a united land under a common leadership. She timidly shared this idea with her elven friends, and for some reason, they decided to support her despite her inexperience in the art of politics. She was soft mannered and always wanted to consider all options, but she was also a shrewd one.

She began her long march by first convincing the elves to side with her, how she did this, nobody knows. As a testament to how the land needed unification, she drew the dwarven population of Ironhand to her with an elven entourage. In three years, she had brought the whole of the south to her side, leaving only the wealthy northern shires to be dealt with since they were not too inclined to share their prosperity with the poorer regions.

A bit of diplomacy, a bit of bribing, and ultimately, after a decision of Miranda's that surprised her councilors, a bit of intimidation that included a combined army of elven, dwarven, and southern human forces, all helped to convince the reeves and shire-reeves of Silgar, Loy, and North Hampton to sway toward a single nation.

In 1409, Miranda with the support of most of the island's shire-reeves, declared the land united and was declared queen of the realm that was christened with her family's name. Her throne was set in the wealthiest city, North Hampton; not for luxuries or comfort, but to best keep an eye on the last shire to fall in line with her proposal. As the Queen's Council was formed, large caravans of grains and supplies were shipped to the southern shires much to the northerner's chagrin but to the relief of the hungry and ill-prepared southern lands.

Since then, migrations have increased as the poorer folks from the south seek the riches of northern industry, while entrepreneurs and merchants from the north, interested in new markets, have begun to take new approaches to production and agriculture and have made their way south. Cel is no longer the shanty town of decades before. It's still largely poor; however, the growing fishing trade has gained investments and provides jobs and trade for anyone willing to get their hands dirty.