Holy Pàdraig's Night!

Top o’the Wednesday to ye, mortals! This Friday, we celebrate HOLY PÀDRAIG’S NIGHT! Here on the far Western fringe of the Shattered Empire, the Sha-Kye-Rish peoples resisted imperial rule for centuries, & each year they celebrate their hero, Holy Pàdraig. Bring salted meat, wear something green, & join us Friday 8PT on HOLY PÀDRAIG’S NIGHT!

Below—find a short recounting of some major events from Sha-Kye-Rish history, which I gathered from some local archives & storytellers:

SHA-KYE-RISH HISTORY
An Abbreviated Chronicling

• In an unknown year, unknown millennia before present: A small group of Elvish settlers—the first wave of thinking beings to head this far West—find an icy new river, a lake as still as a mirror, & rolling meadowed hills.

• In an unknown year, one millennium later: The Elvish settlers vanish through what folk now refer to as the “Færie Gate,” a massive edifice of marble & mushroom.

• Approx. 1000 Ӕ.A. (Ӕror Anweald, “Before the Empire”): A group of Human & Dwarrow tribesmen, pushed Westward by the Warlock’s Drought, come upon the Elvish settlement’s ruins. They build up villages around the elegant stoneworks & tree-forts, & ponder the mysteries of the “Færie Gate.”

• 817 Ӕ.A.: An envoy of the Gnomish Protectorate arrives, & is rebuffed, violently. Weeks later, an army of the Gnomish Protectorate arrives instead, beginning the “Dawn War.”

• 815 Ӕ.A.: Led by Queen Sha-Kye, the Dawn War ends in a total rout of the Gnomish forces. They sign an accord, promising open trade, & æternal peace, with the people now known as the “Sha-Kye-Rish.”

• 779 Ӕ.A.: The Gnomish Protectorate collapses.

• 117 Ӕ.A.: After almost 700 relatively peaceful years, the Sha-Kye-Rish suffer upheaval, as the original Elvish settlers suddenly return through the “Færie Gate.” This begins the “Year of Sorrow.”

• 116 Ӕ.A.: Broadleaf Redcrown, daughter of the Elvish hierophant, brokers peace with the Sha-Kye-Rish. They agree to a “truth & reconciliation” process, where both sides acknowledge the massacres & trickery & wrongs. The Elves meld into the Sha-Kye-Rish thereafter.

• 7 A.I. (Anno Imperialis, “Imperial Year”): An envoy of the new Empire arrives, & is rebuffed, peacefully. Weeks later, an army of the Empire arrives instead, beginning the “Righteous War.”

• 9 A.I.: The “Righteous War” pauses with a truce, due to an extreme Winter; both sides plan to resume fighting.

• 27 A.I., Spring: Hostilities resume.

• 27 A.I., Autumn: Elvish members of the Sha-Kye-Rish bring a silver dragon through the “Færie Gate,” ending the hostilities, bringing the first full phase of the “Righteous War” to a close.

• 127 A.I.: An Elvish emperor decides to “re-unite” his “scattered people,” & declares the Sha-Kye-Rish land an Imperial possession. A young druid named Pàdraig rides a silver dragon all the way to the heart of the empire, declaring the throne a Sha-Kye-Rish possession. Both declarations are rescinded, & for saving the Sha-Kye-Rish from another war, Pàdraig becomes known as “Holy Pàdraig.”

• 324 A.I.: Emperor Parth-Kor the Half-Elven resumes his father’s dream; he marches on the Sha-Kye-Rish with a full wing of red dragon-riders, a troop of death-knights, & 7,000 spears. The Sha-Kye-Rish surrender, to save their children, & accept suzerainty.

• 331 A.I.: 7 years of constant insurgency & attacks on Imperial tax-collectors, leads to the “First Wrath.” Imperial death knights burn wheat-fields & slay livestock; red dragon-riders enforce a trade embargo. Several die of famine in the Winter—though fewer than might have, thanks to secret food shipments brought through the “Færie Gate.”

• 333 A.I.: This cruelty only hardens the resolve of the Sha-Kye-Rish; the insurgency escalates, leading to the “Second Wrath.” Emperor Parth-Kor visits in person, & incinerates the elders’ council. He declares the first “total embargo,” using Dwarrow warlocks to isolate the Sha-Kye-Rish land from all worlds at once. With no way in nor out, neither magickal nor otherwise, hunger devastates the Sha-Kye-Rish.

• 335 A.I.: Dwarrow & half-Dwarrow members of the Sha-Kye-Rish manage to tunnel so deeply that they reach below the embargo mythal’s reach, & they construct tunnels to friendly neighboring territory. Flow of food resumes, as well as trade goods, wands, & armor.

• 337 A.I.: The Sha-Kye-Rish signal to the Emperor that they wish to end the embargo, & submit fully to his will. He arrives in person, with a minimal guard, in his arrogance. The reign of Emperor Parth-Kor the Half-Elven ends, rather abruptly, 11 minutes after his arrival, & the Sha-Kye-Rish lands remain independent until the Shattering.

• 492 A.I.: Rumours emerge that the Sha-Kye-Rish have been funding separatist movements across the Empire; token Imperial expeditions arrive to “punish” agitators, but mysteriously, no culprits are ever found.

• 504 A.I. / ᚠ.ᛡ. 0 (Frēo-Ġēar, the present epoch): The Empire ends, after 504 years, with Sha-Kye-Rish warriors dancing upon the sundered throne.

Thank ye for reading, mortals—& thank ye to those generous mortals who support our works here with coin!

I hope ye shall join us on HOLY PÀDRAIG’S NIGHT! ‘Til then—be safe, be well, & remember: ‘tis possible to fight an empire & win…

Cheers,
Amœnus Franco
Wizard, Writer, Longing for Sha-Kye-Rish Land