The continent of Terafa has seen the rise and fall of several empires, each of which has left ruins to be explored and treasures to be found. The five major empires, and the order in which they fell, is as follows:
Talkalasa: There is much debate about the dragonborn Empire of the Seven Sins, largely due to dating - the dragonborn insist that their empire lasted for some twelve thousand years before the cataclysm that led to the return to the egg. However, ancient sages have calculated the age of the world at 5781 years, leading to an obvious contradiction.
Regardless of the facts, it is unquestionable that artifacts of lost Talkalasa are out there to be found, and seemingly in increasing numbers. The ancient dragonborn empire was a place of obvious martial and magical might, and so those ruins that can be found are often the resting places of powerful items of interest to many adventurers.
Alvarost: The first human empire was founded in the centuries after the Arrival of Man, and lasted for scarcely a generation before being brought down by betrayal and infighting. The purported villain of this piece was the archmage Pelenor Corariath, who was said to have insinuated himself into the court and made a bid for power. However the truth is rather simpler - the court simply tore itself apart in a whirl of lust, jealousy, and betrayal.
Despite its short existance, Alvarost is viewed as a brief and shining golden age for Man, and the artifacts of the few remaining ruins from that antiquity reflect that - such artifacts tend to be both powerful and dedicated to the gods of the Pantheon as it existed in those days. (And, indeed, legend suggests that at that time the Pantheon was yet to become Unbalanced.)
Solrakion - the first Elven Empire: The elves have had two great empires, both named Solrakion. It is the first of these that has left extensive ruins. This was a place of peace and wonder, albeit bought through the sweat and exploitation of dwarves, humans, and orcs. It lasted for several centuries, but it waned in power considerably over that time as the elves grew ever more arrogant and ever less vigilant.
The might of Solrakion was significantly bolstered by their mastery of mithral. Consequently, many of the ruins of that time form the resting places for weapons and armours made of that metal.
Invala: The Invalan Empire still exists to an extent, but its reach has been diminished beyond rebuilding - at its height it covered almost the entirety of Talara, before the entire eastern empire was subsumed into Moritovia. Now it covers scarce a few hundred miles.
Invala was an empire founded on military might. Consequently, there are few places better for finding powerful weapons, both magical and constructed through artifice.
Moritovia: For most of its existence Moritovia was little more than an isolated kingdom in the far east of Talara. However, the final ruler of that empire was the archmage Drachias, who seized power and then held it for centuries. He agressively expanded the kingdom, founding a four-part empire ruled by his four satraps - now known only as the North, South, East, and West. Such was Drachias' paranoia that he implanted a mystical compulsion in his four lieutenants to remain always a hundred miles apart. At its height, Moritovia was able to annex the entire eastern portion of the Invalan empire.
At length, Moritovia was brought down by the Upheaval, which saw that entire region shattered as a great rock from the Fastness of the Divine thundered to the ground. In the chaos, Drachias was elevated to godhood, two of his of lieutenants were slain outright, and the remaining two each attempted to take control of the empire. However, the breaking of the world thwarted them both - each still exists and is plotting a bid for power, but for now they remain obscure.
The entire eastern portion of Talara is the ruin of Moritovia, and the treasures of an empire remain there waiting to be found and claimed. But few would dare such an expedition, for who knows what terrors may guard those treasures?
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