Ancient civilizations
The Lost Civilization of Chaldea
Throughout Agon lie the scattered ruins of old Chaldea . At its peak, this empire's reach encompassed everything from Sanguine in the east to the westernmost wastes of the Mahirim Tribelands. All that remains today are moss-grown monuments and the ruins of once-mighty cities.
The Chaldean civilization originated in present-day Mercia , along the fertile banks of the river Eanna. The humans of this area developed agriculture, and fed Agon's first cities with food from irrigated fields. They also invented the science of mathematics, the first calendar, and the art of writing.
Towards a golden age
The foremost city of the Chaldeans was Ashur, which lay near the present-day location of Sanguine. It was founded by the legendary Ashur-Sin I, who conquered the numerous city-states of the Eannic delta, and was crowned the first king of all Chaldeans.
The Chaldean civilization came into being during a period of relative regional peace. However, their wealth soon proved tempting to neighboring human tribes, who took to raiding and plundering outlying villages and towns. In response to this, the Chaldeans launched a series of successful military campaigns against the belligerent nomads who roamed the peripheries of their land.
When faced with the problem of becalming the conquered barbarians, emperor Ashur-Awan II formulated policies which would shape the future of Chaldea . He decreed that cities be built in barbarian lands, and that the conquered tribes be invited to live in them. Furthermore, the citizens of these new cities would be taught how to farm and make tools. Upon swearing allegiance to Ashur, they would be given full rights as citizens of the empire.
The Benevolent Empire
The Chaldeans were not a warlike people, and they rarely launched wars of conquest. However, they had a tradition of responding decisively to outside aggression, and of permanently pacifying defeated enemies by integrating them into their culture.
As the wealth and fame of Chaldea grew, many tribes and settlements joined the empire voluntarily, in order to partake of its wealth and technology. Ashur became the centre of a vast empire, and the Chaldeans became the traders, thinkers and administrators of the greatest empire Agon has seen.
In addition to all human territories, the empire's borders eventually encompassed the homelands of the orks and the mahirim. Before their subjugation, these races launched countless raids into Chaldea , proving themselves to be dangerous neighbors, and provoking the wrath of the empire.
The alfar were also warlike and fond of staging bloody raids, and eventually Ashur decided to move against the children of the rebel god. Though victorious on the plains of Moldar, not even the emperor's armies could defeat the alfar in the subterranean fastnesses of Nagast. In the end, the Chaldeans had to settle for securing and fortifying the surface parts of the alfar homeland, while Melek's armies retreated underground.
The Chaldeans established friendly relations with the mirdain, the ithwen and the dwarves, and traded extensively with these races.
The Fall of Chaldea
In time, after long centuries of peace and prosperity, the once-vigorous Chaldean civilization stagnated. Few new scientific or magical advances were made, and the people grew content, complacent and set in their ways. Trade still united the land, but the rule of Ashur faded, and after a while, the different regions were practically self-governed, with only symbolic allegiance being paid to the distant emperor.
While the long peace still lasted, this mattered little. But twin disasters would ultimately strike, bringing an end to more than two millennia of Chaldean civilization.
Slightly more than five hundred years ago, the Chaldean heartlands were struck by the worst flood in history. The Eanna, which had given life to a continent-spanning culture, now washed away cities, and ruined so many crops that hunger inevitably followed. Some say the floods coincided with the death of the goddess Eanna, who embodied the life-giving powers of the river, and who was the only deity worshipped by the Chaldeans.
Either through dire coincidence, or due to the machinations of Melek, the flood was immediately followed by a massive Alfar invasion. Hidden from the eyes of the Chaldeans, the evil Alfar had amassed an enormous army, which now poured from the Nagast caverns, out onto the heartlands of present-day Mercia .
More than 400 years after emperor Ashur-ubaid VI shattered Melek's armies and laid waste to Moldar, the Alfar had their revenge. They defeated an ill-prepared army led by emperor Ashur-awan II, and then tore into the rich cities of the Chaldean heartland.
Appalled by the slaughter, the provinces gathered their armies and marched on Ashur. Aided by armies of Dwarves and Mirdain, they routed the Alfar before the fresh conquests could be secured for the rule of Melek.
However, no heir of Ashur-awan II lived, and the towns of the Chaldean heartlands lay shattered. When the regional armies returned to their homelands, they returned to independent nations and city-states. Chaldea was no more.
The final outpost
As the Alfar armies approached, some leading citizens of Ashur fled through a teleportation portal to the trading post of Kasdim on the wasteland continent of Cairn. Bringing with them as many books and artifacts as possible, they became the final guardians of Benevolent Empire's accumulated learning. In Kasdim, they remained secluded for centuries, until climate changes dried out freshwater lakes that the city depended on, rendering it uninhabitable.
Preparing for their final date with oblivion, the last Chaldeans hid their books and artifacts within an exceptionally well-defended dungeon, called the Halls of Learning, which lies at the heart of Kasdim. To this day, none have penetrated to the deepest levels of this dungeon, where the most valuable secrets of Chaldea are said to lie hidden.
Shards of forgotten knowledge
The Chaldeans knew much that is now forgotten, about the early history of Agon, and about the origins of its gods, races and monsters. They also mastered many aspects of magic, architecture and engineering that still haven't been reinvented by the people of the present age.
The Chaldeans collected the central pillars of their learning in The Book of Chaldea, a legendary tome which was considered utterly lost. A few months ago, however, an adventuring clan found a scroll containing six fragments of the Book in an ithwen ruin on the continent of Yssam.
Though they were small, these fragments revealed much that had been forgotten about the first ages of the world. Many say that some of Agon's gods have been actively seeking to destroy all trace of the Book of Chaldea, and that they are redoubling the efforts in the wake of the recent find.
The art and architecture of Chaldea
Chaldean architecture changed little over the centuries, and throughout their history, they only ever changed minor aspects of it. Rows of tall, slender columns were always a dominant feature, as was lush and colorful interior decoration, and massive statuary flanking important entryways.
The Chaldeans liked to build on a massive scale, and they preferred clean, slightly rounded lines and shapes. Their houses were large, and contained spacious living rooms, as well as tall, arched hallways. Their roads and squares were paved with such consummate skill that some of them still see everyday usage.
The Chaldeans preferred to build with large, square-cut slabs of white rock. While ordinary houses tended to be constructed using locally available rock, statues and monuments were crafted out of marble, which Chaldeans considered the noblest of materials.
When colonizing new lands, the Chaldeans routinely sent architects and craftsmen who co-operated with local workers on town centers. These centers of integration and civilization always included a large square, a town hall, and a villa for the Chaldean governor.
Statues and symbols
Instead of warrior-kings with drawn weapons, Chaldean statues often depicted bearded philosopher-kings holding scrolls. Their ideal was the learned man or woman who brought civilization to barbarian tribes and this is reflected in the statues they left behind. Many statues also show the Chaldean river-goddess Eanna, who is usually depicted wearing a tiara and carrying a staff or rod symbolizing rulership.
Chaldean men commonly wore their beards in fine braids, and tended to wear tunics in summer, light robes in winter. Chaldean women wore their hair long and unbraided, and tended wore tunics that were colorfully decorated along broad hems. A period of warm summers and mild winters coincided with the Chaldean golden age, and they rarely needed the kind of heavy winter clothing that is worn in Mercia today.
The most commonly found symbol on Chaldean buildings and monuments is the Wave of Eanna, which consists of three wavy lines in a horizontal row. Sometimes the Wave is depicted above a wheat sheaves or an open book. The jagged, many-pointed Star of Ashur is also quite common in Chaldean ruins, especially in what were the heartlands of the fallen civilization.
The Buried City - a Chaldean dungeon
In a sparsely populated region of Agon's main continent, a recent storm revealed long-hidden Chaldean ruins. Though nature has already begun to reclaim what the wind unearthed, the ruins of a large, crumbling villa are still visible, as are broken statues that lie scattered near it. A number of broken paving stones, protruding from the earth at twisted angles, indicate that the villa was once part of a larger whole. Presumably, the ruins were part of one of the town centres that the Chaldeans built to administrate the provinces of their empire.
The grave robbers
On the ground floor of the broken villa, a large, freshly dug hole leads down into the earth. Near the hole, many clues broken crates, rope, and the odd discarded artefact indicate recent activity. Ropes and pulleys, as well as an improvised, hand-pulled elevator, hang down into the darkness of the round hole, which is guarded by a small band of armed thugs. The thugs tell all who approach to be on their way, and attack those who fail to comply.
A large excavated Chaldean chamber directly underneath the hole contains the improvised headquarters of a large-scale tomb raiding operation. A large number of thugs attack all who descend into the building, first using slings and crossbows, then drawing swords and scimitars. All who survive the onslaught will be able to search through a large collection of Chaldean artefacts gathered near the entrance, ready to be hoisted up out through the ceiling. Most of these items are of interest to collectors only.
The rooms of the building's single underground level have been thoroughly plundered, and most of the objects that were too large to be stolen have been vandalised in some way or other. The leader of the grave robbing operation doesn't engage in the general melee in the first chamber, but waits (along with his elite guards) to ambush intruders in his fairly luxurious quarters, which lie in the western part of the excavation.
The deeper tomb
A single, large and barred trapdoor conceals a winding stairway leading further down. The trapdoor has been barricaded with an assortment of items that were handy at the time, such as statues, blocks of stone and crates full of rocks and debris. It should be obvious that the descent has been barred by the grave robbers, and that someone or something has tried to break into excavation area from below.
Below the barred trapdoor lies an ancient Chaldean burial complex. Dozens of nobles rest in beautifully decorated sarcophagi that are placed within richly furnished chambers. The chambers join together to form an unbroken circle, which the stairs access through a door at its southern end.
The circle of chambers is defended by a number of Revenants, fighting as a team, and in the northernmost chambers, two dead nobles rise as Greater Mummies if anyone disturbs their place of rest. The mummies are powerful spellcasters, and they wear headpiece-stones of exceptional value. From the northern end of one of the mummy chambers, a steep, winding stairway leads further down.
The departure chamber
After a long descent, the stairway opens up into a tall-roofed stone chamber. Here there are no symbols or paintings on the walls, but the floor is covered in water that reaches a human male to the waist. Floating in the far end is a small, black boat which is still intact, even if it appears to be centuries old. A warning is written near the entrance: We have sailed but our shadows remain. Approach at your peril.
If anyone enters the chamber, several Grievous Shades rise from the waters to attack them. At the same time, the door slams shut and doesn't open from the inside until the last shade is killed. Among the attackers is a Sentient Shade of exceptional size, who wears the Chaldean headpiece of a pharaoh. Rich treasures lie aboard the ship, including a relic which grants a bonus to all woodland resources when inserted into a clanstone.
