Kingdom's Early Years.
Ever since founding his kingdom, King Xath longed to explore the Great Forest of West Span. For one, he wanted to expand his kingdom. More importantly, he strongly believed that the people in his kingdom are not the only occupants of this world. King Xath wanted to be the one to make first contact with other beings.
King Xath decided to focus his attention on building his kingdom before beginning his exploration into uncharted lands. However, the Barbarian Insurgence that began in 2 AFZ delayed the kingdom's progress. Builders spent as much time rebuilding as building. The Protectorate was established in 3 AFZ to deal with the Barbarians but soldiers and Knights of the kingdom were often called upon to help the Protectors. King Xath simply could not allocate resources to begin exploration.
In 22 AFZ, after a relatively long period of peace following the apparent end of the Barbarian Insurgence, King Xath finally saw the arrival of his opportunity. King Xath led his Grand Army and the Knights as well as Chief Advisor Relsik and his students on an expedition into the Great Forest. He placed Crown Prince Xath II to rule in his stead while Hulzek, the High Commander of the Protectorate, took on responsibility for defending the kingdom.
Expedition.
The expedition began their venture at the southwestern city Zwlf, from which they entered the forest. The Knights at the vanguard chased away wild animals while soldiers cleared trees. Relsik and his students surveyed the land, drawing maps and recording new flora and fauna they encountered. The expeditionary force came across a small stream six months into the expedition which King Xath decided is a good location to build a new settlement. King Xath left a battalion of soldiers to build the settlement while he continued into the forest.
By 23 AFZ, King Xath began to face crippling impediments to his progress. The forest started to become thicker and wild animals were more feral and savage. He lost a few soldiers and Knights to such attacks. Harlek feared for King Xath's life and advised him to return to the settlement. With King Xath safe in the settlement, Harlek led his Knights back into the forest to root out the wild animals. King Xath sent a messenger to deliver a message to Xath II, asking him to encourage citizens to move to the settlement, promising great rewards for hard labour. He dispatched soldiers to build and man outposts on the path from Zwlf to the settlement in order to protect them.
When Harlek was confident that it was safe to proceed with the expedition months later, King Xath hired men living in the settlement to travel with him and help the soldiers clear the forest. He sent a messenger to deliver a message to Guildmaster Morok to contact Daryk of the Wolves with a request to send men to protect citizens living in the settlement.
The soldiers and men cleared the forest and build small settlements throughout the expedition westwards. More men would arrive at these new settlements and join the building efforts. This significantly expanded the kingdom's territory.
The expedition began their venture at the southwestern city Zwlf, from which they entered the forest. The Knights at the vanguard chased away wild animals while soldiers cleared trees. Relsik and his students surveyed the land, drawing maps and recording new flora and fauna they encountered. The expeditionary force came across a small stream six months into the expedition which King Xath decided is a good location to build a new settlement. King Xath left a battalion of soldiers to build the settlement while he continued into the forest.
By 23 AFZ, King Xath began to face crippling impediments to his progress. The forest started to become thicker and wild animals were more feral and savage. He lost a few soldiers and Knights to such attacks. Harlek feared for King Xath's life and advised him to return to the settlement. With King Xath safe in the settlement, Harlek led his Knights back into the forest to root out the wild animals. King Xath sent a messenger to deliver a message to Xath II, asking him to encourage citizens to move to the settlement, promising great rewards for hard labour. He dispatched soldiers to build and man outposts on the path from Zwlf to the settlement in order to protect them.
When Harlek was confident that it was safe to proceed with the expedition months later, King Xath hired men living in the settlement to travel with him and help the soldiers clear the forest. He sent a messenger to deliver a message to Guildmaster Morok to contact Daryk of the Wolves with a request to send men to protect citizens living in the settlement.
The soldiers and men cleared the forest and build small settlements throughout the expedition westwards. More men would arrive at these new settlements and join the building efforts. This significantly expanded the kingdom's territory.
In 25 AFZ, King Xath received dire news: the destruction of the Zegon Monastery, followed by that of the Hall of the Anointed. He was prepared to turn back and deal with the resurgence but Harlek, High Commander of the Grand Army, persuaded him otherwise. Harlek dispatched a small group of Knights along with his orders to return to the Hall to assist in rebuilding efforts.
Contact.
In 26 AFZ, scouts began to report strange sightings of humanoid beings with fair skin and long ears moving about in the forest. King Xath pressed on, eager to meet these strange beings. King Xath's wish came true because not long after, one of the beings approached his camp in the middle of the night. From outside the palisades of the expedition's camp, the emissary used magic never seen before to amplify his voice and to translate his speech into the human tongue. He introduced himself and his people as the Elves, residents of the Great Forest, and he appeared in front of the humans to extend an invitation for the leader of humans to meet with his ruler. King Xath was very excited by the appearance of a new race, and readily agreed to the invitation. Accompanied by Harlek and Relsik, King Xath followed the lithe figure into the forest.
Dawn came, and the trio found themselves surrounded by elves who looked at the them with curiosity. They were greeted and welcomed by Iriol, the ruler of the Silvil. The Silvil is a community of elves that inhabit this part of the Great Forest, and Iriol is, in comparison to the nobility of the kingdom, the Lord of the Silvil. With Lord Iriol as their guide, King Xath, Harlek and Relsik were taken on a tour around the Silvil land and were introduced to many wonders of the forest. Lord Iriol also took the opportunity to demonstrate the combat prowess of his people. Lord Iriol was eager to establish a peace alliance with the Kingdom of Zegon and bade King Xath to end his exploration westwards lest they intrude upon Silvil lands. King Xath accepted the alliance and agreed to establish a trade route between his kingdom and the Silvil.
End of Expedition.
After King Xath returned to his camp, he ordered his men to build a path to the Silvil, after which they would return to their settlements. He led his soldiers and Knights back to the palace.
However, King Xath remained very interested in exploring the world. On many occasions in the following years, he would travel to Silvil to converse with Iriol and learn more about the elves. Years later, with the blessings of Iriol, King Xath would venture deeper into the Great Forest.
