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THE HISTORY OF DRASNIA
like the Rivans and Algars, Drasnians were separated from the
main body of Alorns at the time of the break-up of the empire of
King Cherek Bear-shoulders at the end of the second millennium.
For the first thousand years of their history' the Drasnians appear to
have been nomadic herdsmen following the yearly migrations of the
reindeer herds. One curious feature of their early history was the
existence of a series of fortified camps along the western reaches of
the mountain range which marks their border with Car og Nadrak.
The camps seem not to have been continuously occupied, but
'rather to have been periodically used by any one of a dozen Drasnian
tribes. Evidence exists in the form of artifacts and large quantities of
skeletal remains that a major battle took place in a narrow valley just
before one of these camps. The invading force appears to have been
Angarak, judging from the artifacts and the distinctive skull-shape of
the majority of the remains, and it does appear that the Drasnians
won a decisive victory and stemmed what might have been a prelude
to a major invasion of the west by a highly organized Angarak force.
The event can be roughly dated to the 25th century and appears to
have been a major effort by the Angaraks, to penetrate the west
unlike the continuous probes sent down into Algaria throughout the
third millennium. Thus it is that all the kingdoms of the west owe a
profound debt of gratitude to those unknown Drasnian warriors for
stopping an invasion which, given the unorganized state of the west
in the third millennium, must certainly have resulted in all of us
growing up under an Angarak dictatorship.
* We chose not to follow up on this battle.
Once the aggressive push of the Angaraks was quelled by this
great but unnamed battle and by a number of similar, though
smaller, engagements in Algaria, trade began with the east, and the
Drasnians began construction of their capital at Boktor and their
seaport at Kotu.
Boktor grew rather naturally at the western end of the North
Caravan Route which existed long before it was formalized in the
agreement reached in 3219 between the Kings of Drasnia and Car og
Nadrak. Boktor became a major commercial center in the north long
before the other Alorn cities had even begun to consider the
advantages of trade. Kotu, meanwhile, flourished as the major seaport of
the north. By the middle of the fourth millennium, trade agreements
had brought Drasnia into the commercial empire of Tolnedra,
.although the hard-bargaining Drasnians had so twisted the standard
agreements that it is difficult to say where the advantage actually
lay. Suffice to say that the stipulation that all merchandise transfers
at Boktor take place through the agency of a Drasnian intermediary
brought tears of chagrin to the eyes of Tolnedran merchants, since it
effectively prevented direct trading with eastern merchants at the
terminus of the North Caravan Route.
Drasnia prospered throughout the fourth millennium, and by
the early years of the fifth stood as a commercial power rivaling
Tolnedra.
When the Rivan King was assassinated in 4002, the massed
Drasnian infantry made one of the most astounding treks in history,
covering the thousand leagues from Boktor to the Vale of Aldur in
sixty days to join forces with the Algar cavalry for the overland
assault on Nyissa.
* This was written before the scale was established. It is in fact 80 leagues
from Boktor to