In north western Miig’Jaiach, west of the Goquechi Mountains (Shairid Mountains to non-Lakguene faeries), a human slave tribe rebelled against their goblin masters in 2657 to assert authority for themselves. This human tribe was soon attacked by another Lakguene controlled tribe and the humans were scattered, forming smaller, more desperate tribes. Most of them moved north, where they found Lakguene, especially male Lakguene, in fewer numbers. The soil and plant life was also less scarred by battle.

The reason soon became clear as some of the humans encountered hunting parties of elf women who called themselves Eronguene. Seeking Lakguene men, the Eronguene would capture them and take them to their city, Murolt, in Etrepaen Forest (Maiyuri Forest to the faeries) to ritualistically kill and dismember them in tribute to Eronoa.

Though relations between the free humans and the Eronguene were generally cool, the two groups never attacked each other and even traded on occasion. The Murolt faeries took to referring to these free humans as Withuli, a name which they themselves adopted.

Trading with faeries or other Withuli, the human tribes would typically use shards of glass for currency. The material had been discovered in pits of magically scorched ground hundreds of years earlier, and now the Lachmags of the Withuli tribes had refined their techniques to fire sand with the explicit purpose of making glass. The faeries were particularly fascinated by the material, which had not been seen on Wethepahn before.

The spiritual beliefs of the Withuli became substantially different from those of the enslaved humans. The old beliefs were considered trivial, and silly arguments were often referred to as fights between “Vizy and Lii” (Everi and Limn). Withuli entertainers wrote comical plays portraying the absurd conflicts between the two characters. The Withuli still revered Molyi, but mostly their culture was influenced by magic and hard won survival. So another deity was spoken of, called Lavouldy, who suffused the world with magical energy for humans to use in order to make their own way.

The Withuli began wearing clothes as the faeries allowed them to harvest lumber from Etrepaen Forest for their tents and weapons and also to make looms. Wool from wild mouflon and flax fibres were gathered. And from the faeries, the humans gained silk as well as silver and gold jewellery. The faeries had acquired these metals from modest and careful mining in the Remonli Mountains (which the Withuli called the Resteboche Mountains).

2. Choueis and Lechauswell
2688 – 2703

Desiring to mine and refine silver and gold themselves, a Withuli tribe in 2688 took an old Eronguene mine, with permission, in the eastern Resteboche Mountains. This was almost at the southernmost reaches of the mountain range and the settlement came to be called Choueis.

It wasn’t long before the people of Choueis were also harvesting and refining iron. Stories that had somehow survived from the days of Ormathad inspired the people to develop steel. When Choueis was attacked by Lakguene and Withuli tribes, the people had steel swords and steel tipped spears with which to defend themselves, making Choueis the first human encampment in the area to successfully defend against a Lakguene attack.

Lumber for the town’s needs came from Etrepaen Forest and, in 2697, a settlement at the forest edge took the name of Lechauswell. The town soon had two lumber mills and both human towns had great, wood walls reinforced by steel. Both towns functioned under the leadership of Chief Louven Apinegne who, in 2703, proclaimed all lands north of the two towns to be his domain. He called his kingdom Paelywa.

3. Paely Agriculture and Expansion
2700 – 2800

Although the lands of the newly dubbed country of Paelywa were remarkably lush and filled with easily gathered fruits and plentiful game, it was clear, as the population expanded by absorbing more Withuli tribes, that there would need to be permanent, reliable sources of food in massive quantities. Stories of farms in Ormathad had been passed down and some feeble cultivation had been practiced by the slave tribes, but for the most part, the Paely people had to relearn farming entirely.

Wild aurochs and mouflon were slowly herded into pens and, to provide feed for the animals, Lachmags magically replicated large quantities of gathered wild wheat and oats, but this led to strange mental illnesses in the animals and the people who fed on their meat. People began planting wheat, rye, oats, and barley, but it would be nearly a hundred years before the amateur farms would provide useful yields, and until then, the Paely were forced to rely on magically augmented harvests.

The population of the young country was now at almost a million people and nearly all of the peasantry was afflicted with various forms of madness. Yet this did not hinder expansion so much as to prevent Paelywa from extending northward to mark the Saillopny River as its northern border by 2750. In fact, the rampant mental problems only seemed to inspire fearlessness of pioneering in the people.

There was no attempt to expand southward, as the narrow strip of land between the southern Resteboche Mountains and Etrepaen Forest was easy to defend from roving Lakguene and antagonistic Withuli with the twin fortress towns of Choueis and Lechauswell. The aristocracy was largely free of the madness that struck much of the populace as they usually fed only on naturally grown food and game.

As of 2750, the aristocracy consisted of King Geossfuy, the son of Louven Apinegne, three dukes, and nineteen counts and countesses for each of the existing towns and cities. Royal and noble titles were always inherited; Paely culture prized the idea of central, superior authority, and the mental stability of the aristocracy was clearly more reliable than that of the serf population.

The three provinces were Islevou, in the south, Hannaulo, between the Pouffreling and Saillopny rivers, and Chaoxui, a small, well guarded province west of the Eumily and Pouffreling rivers and east of the Resteboche Mountains.

Initially, Chaoxui’s westernmost town of Bredeshue, in the foothills of the mountain range, was the central settlement of the province, but as the nation’s capital became Ellosteu, Chaoxui became the heart of Paelywa. By 2800, there were two castles in the city; for the Duke and for the King. The Count of Ellosteu resided in a large manor house. As agriculture had by now become equal to the needs of the people, the population had exploded to more than 10 million and the new province of Baet, in the north, had been created where ore from the Teihauswell Mountains began to supply the country.

4. Prosperous Paelywa
2800 – Present (2916)

Although pasta had been produced in Paelywa for about forty years beforehand, the art of bread baking was not introduced to the country until a ship from the Niverikiin city of Kuroisu came across the Veufneu Sea in 2845 to meet the Paely people of Nanrimare. In return, the Paely introduced the Niverikiin to coffee beans.

The people of Kuroisu were less reserved than most Niverikiin peoples, but even they were unnerved by the bizarre and erratic culture of the Paely. Nanrimare Castle was a solid, sprawling, well built structure, as was most of the town, but there were noisy brawls constantly in the streets, often followed by the same hostile parties celebrating with one another in a nearby tavern. No one was ever on time for anything, there were several buildings in such disrepair as to approach ruin, and it seemed only a haphazard attempt was made to keep vines and weeds from overrunning the streets and walls.

This was the state of life for most of Paelywa, especially in Chaoxui, where the people did not need to worry about Lakguene assaults or agriculture. Metalworking was a chief occupation in the province and the quality of metal jewellery and weapons produced there was the most beautiful and intricate in the country, though often not quite as sturdy as swords made in the mining towns of other provinces.

Plays, music, poetry, and paintings were held as tremendously important all over the country, but particularly in Chaoxui where the average citizen was expected to spend a significant portion of his or her time in contemplation and appreciation of art. Aside from artists, metalworkers, and aristocracy, the people of Chaoxui were also merchants, chefs, bookmakers, and magicians. Most magicians no longer suffered from the debilitations of Lachmags as the social stability gave them more time to study and refine their arts. They had no access to the lore of Ormathad, so the Paely wizards created entirely new systems of spells and runes.

Worship of the magical god Lavouldy was observed, though the only religious structures were, for the most part, cathedrals in the province capitals. Each castle had a chapel, and there were a few churches throughout the land, but the people were more likely to attend recitals, plays, or balls than religious services. Even in the most rural settlements, crude plays and dances wholly took the place of religious presentations.

There were hundreds of holidays throughout the year, and harvest time was celebrated with particular fervour, but there were no religious holidays.