The passage of events cy 4851 - 4862

Being the summary of important events in the eleven years that Morikand, Vetrick and the party were lost as Gresil's Plane was attacked by Muziel (see here)

Rulers and their kingdoms - several kingdoms have seen their old monarchs fall or die of old age. Below we see the most important changes and a little background knowledge into why.

Drenai - the death of King Rufus IV was - like most things in Drenai - shrouded with mystery. Tales of assassination and dark conspiracies abound. Somewhere within this web of deceit lies a truth well hidden. The new king was the younger brother to Rufus IV and assumed the kingly mantle with a twist. He refers to himself (and insists others label him) as Invincible. He openly states that he has never lost a fight or a battle though some are sceptical as to these claims whilst others point out that he has never actual fought a battle. Rufus the Invincible is a leader in the mould of Drusor Luckwarden; powerful yet without the guile of his more illustrious brother. He has caused a stir during his three year tenure by turning the Drenai focus away from spying; he openly pours money into the military and if he wasn't king he would have made a general before long.

Talkhand - at around the same time King Rostar of the Talik was gravely ill. A tired, frail old man he succumbed to a natural death and left a void behind. Rostar had ruled well for twenty one years; he brought stability and prosperity despite being in the shadow of the mighty Darim kingdom. Grestarn is his oldest son and stepped into his father's shoes without anyone really noticing a change. Despite this Grestarn has made his mark and drawn the resentment of the merchant classes by raising taxes to almost crippling proportions. Some say Grestarn is a lunatic whilst others say he is trying to make Talkhand a political and economic force in the region.

Darim - Brallon II ended his fifteen year reign by stepping aside for the his nephew, Syvestar. The young king Syvestar has been groomed by the nobility of the day, trained in the very best academies and has a grasp of diplomacy unrivalled in monarchs across Grayhawk. He was born to rule and has spent all of his life honing the skills of statecraft for the day when he would succeed Brallon. In cy 4855 he got his chance and became king. Initially things went well but there are rumblings of disquiet in Darim society; unrest amongst the ruling nobles are beginning to cause problems within the kingdom - in places there is almost civil war between powerful noble factions. Syvestar seems powerless to control his nobles and his growing reputation amongst the ladies of Darim is not helping his cause.

Kordos - with the death of king Gathas the small kingdom was thrown temporarily into crisis. No obvious heir to the throne meant a search for anyone with any connection whatsoever to the throne. Hyreld was the man they found. Distantly related to the king he starts his reign without clear authority and with growing unrest amongst the ruling classes.

Rosen - after the destruction of Rosengrad by Malakar the people of the Rosen had to rebuild. Since Malakarians were treated with suspicion at best and hatred at worst. They decided to elect a king - candidates from all over the realm were considered by a hierarchical process and eventually one man stood head and shoulders above the rest. King Dramnir of Rosen was a nobleman who held the respect of his peers and slowly turned the sceptics to his way of thinking. A brilliant politician Dramnir started to win friends in the north (Valadain) and to the west (Illeum). He began to rebuild the army but is a long way from the forces that Archibald had at his disposal.

New Bretonia - the death of Korven effectively put an end to the savage civil war that had claimed hundreds of thousands of lives. The tri-state empire lost its appetite for bloodshed and quickly fell under the rule of the Necromancer Illeum Runesabre. A man with a long history of leadership Illeum rebuilt New Bretonia quickly and peace descended on the region for the first time in six years. Prosperity followed as treaties were forged with other lands and after five years Illeum began to gain complete control over the lands of his birth.