The Great Exodus

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The Great Exodus was a major event in the history of Disparatus, marking the arrival of the Humans, Orkans, and Thuwadians to the planet.


The Great Exodus

The Three Empires

In the year 0 AE, the land of Laa Buillo was met with the arrival of the Thuwadian, Human, and Orkan migrants. Until this point, Laa Buillo was mostly uninhabited by humanlike races, as the sole humanlike race of Disparatus at the time, the Alibaas, generally stayed on their own continent, something which has changed little over the past 2,000 years. However, the few Alibaas who did reside there found themselves being invaded by these strange new people. Who were these invaders, and where did they come from?


Fall of Umbra Terra

Far away from the Sister Worlds of Disparatus and Earth existed Umbra Terra, a diverse world governed by the loose confederation of the three 'great races': The Humans, the Orkans, and the Thuwadians. In the year 17 BE, the Thuwadians created a portal to Hell in order to summon a legion of devils to lead in a brute force effort to gain control of the global federation. However, the portal proved to be self-perpetuating; it began to grow out of control, and soon hordes of devils began to emerge from it unimpeded. The Thuwadians made an effort to stop the propagation of the devils, but were defeated out of sheer numbers and brutality.

Within four months, the devils had spread across the entire globe of Umbra Terra. Despite the bomb raids conducted by the Humans and Orkans and the anti-siege efforts perpetuated by the Thuwadians, the unholy legions overtook entire cities, laying waste to the world piece by piece. By opening their own portals to the underworld, the invaders were able to increase their number exponentially. It eventually became obvious that defeating the legion of the damned would prove to be a futile endeavor. The only option was to abandon the world.


Search for a New World

Probes were sent to the most promising star systems in the galaxy by the humans. The Orkans were billed with the task of building a device powerful enough to transport whole populations across the gulf of space. Several candidates were selected by the human probes, but as a result of its proximity to a sun similar to Umbra Terra's, the planet that would later be called Disparatus was chosen. In order to prevent the location of the teleporter from being revealed to the devils, it was constructed underground and in great secrecy. It proved to be a 17 year effort, the culmination of centuries of research into the quantum nature of the universe.

At long last, in the year 1 BE, the teleporter was ready. It could carry groups of only 50 at a time -- a far cry from the original design of 375. However, most resources in recent years had been acquired by the federation and manufactured into defenses against the devil forces. As weeks passed and only a small percentage of the populations had been transferred, it was decided that more teleporters had to be manufactured.


The Exodus

It took six months, but at the end of 1 BE, the eight teleporters were ready. It was decided that two would transport the Orkans, two the Thuwadians, two the Humans, and the final two would be backups in case of a malfunction. By the opening of year 0 AE, the Great Exodus had begun. This division of the three 'great races' would prove to be only the first of countless separations that would mark the ethnic history of Disparatus.

Only four days into the Exodus, the first of the human teleporters malfunctioned. The first backup also proved to be malfunctioning, but the second backup was brought online and the emigration from Umbra Terra continued. The humans possessed far greater numbers than either the Orkans or Thuwadians, a result of the overpopulation issue that had remained a source of internal strife at the time. Eventually, the majority of the Thuwadian and Orkan populations had crossed over into the new world, so the humans began leaving through the now-unoccupied teleporters. However, only two days after the assumption of the rest of the teleporters, they all ceased to operate under mysterious conditions.


New World Ordinance

A full 15% of the massive human population had been left behind with no way of traveling to the new world. Blame was placed immediately upon the Orkans, the people that had designed and built the teleporters. In the New World Ordinance, written in the outset of year zero, guidelines for the colonization of the new world were written. The old federation had long been left behind with the abandonment of Umbra Terra. The Ordinance, in essence, explained that the size of colonies permitted was directly proportionate to the population of the colony. This was an obvious shot at the Orkans, who historically held a much lower population than the Humans and Thuwadians. However, not signing the pact would certainly lead to war, which would leave all involved crippled in their colonization efforts. With little choice, the Orkans signed the pact.

From the survey the races had conducted of the planet before travelling there, they had determined that Disparatus had five major landmasses apart from the one they had selected for their arrival. Back on Umbra Terra, the Thuwadians had evolved in a similiar area to that of the southern continent of Disparatus, and had demanded that resources be pooled to move their race to settle there as soon as possible.

However, the races had barely even set up suitable shelter for themselves on the Laa Buillo landmass, and refused to comply with the Thuwadians for the time being, outlining in the Ordinance that while the Thuwadian races would be permitted exclusive control over the southern continent, aid in helping them settle there would not be given until "such a time that all races have sufficiently established living conditions in place," essentially saying that the Thuwadians were screwed just as much as the Orkans. While they signed the pact, they immediately devoted almost all of their own resorces into getting their people to the southern continent.

The union of the old federation had been shattered. Colonies formed almost entirely of single races. The seeds of contention between them had been sown, which would later prove to be the Orkans' downfall. The age of Disparatus had begun.


Colonization

The "Alibaas Problem"

Because all three populations had arrived in the same place, the vast majority of their numbers remained in Laa Buillo for a time. The Thuwadians were too focused on their own issues to deal with the humans and Orkans, both of whom were constantly feuding with each other. The one issue in which the humans and Orkans were in agreement was over the "Alibaas problem," the issue of the small indigenous groups of Alibaas which inhabited Laa Buillo. Unwilling to share their hard-earned new home with a strange people, even if their numbers were quite few compared to even the Orkans, the invading races dispelled, butchered, or enslaved the Alibaas they encountered, who could offer little resistance against the divine might of the aliens' technology.

By this time, the largest Orkan colony was in the far north, an uninhabited and mostly frigid land where natural resources such as oil and sources of geothermal energy were plentiful. The colony of Sarmilias (Gilded Flame) thrived there, built almost entirely on great geothermal harvesting plants. The Orkans traded geothermal capsules with the mainland Alibaas for diplomatic advantages. It is notable that the mainland Alibaas, unlike their Laa Buillo cousins, quickly acknowledged and opened trade with the foreigners with little trouble. Keen to stake their claim to the lush continent that is now called Alibaas, the Orkans set up a colony there under the consent of various Alibaas tribes. However, the Alibaas tribes were disunited, often warring with one another, causing problems with the Orkans' plans.


The Joribaus Pact

In 23 AE, the Joribaus Pact was signed. The Joribaus Pact was an agreement between Orka and the Orkan-friendly Alibaas tribes, where said tribes would at least temporarily attempt to stop warring with each other and work together in exchange for Orkan support in defeating the tribes not agreeing to the pact. The goal of the Orkans was painfully obvious to the rest of the world: to consolidate the Alibaas mainland under an Orkan-friendly Alibaas rule. In year 24, the Alibaas campaign began. The Humans and Thuwadians maintained a policy of neutrality; after all, they could only benefit from the weakening of the Alibaas, who inhabited the regions they sought control over.

However, while the Orkans' plan seemed to work for a few years, with their supporters having the upper hand, the rebelling Alibaas eventually pushed the fighting back to a stalemate, and within a decade, the Alibaas were back to their old ways.


New Homes

The three invading races soon decided it was best to leave the Alibaas continent mostly alone for the time being (Although the Orkans maintained relations with the Alibaas), as the fighting there was too troublesome for their colonization, while the rest of the world had plenty of other lands for them to take without opposition. By 35 AE, the Humans had established a number of small colonies throughout La Buillo, slowly but steadily assuming control of the entire mainland. Some had even begun going off to explore the Handoran and Arenan continents on occasion, Handora proving more suitable due to its more temperate climate, and the number of these expeditions grew as the years went on.

The Thuwadians had moved most of their population over to the southern continent successfully by this point, with the Lehk`zhulians heading off on their own to the southern pole, beginning construction of a great steel wall around the great glacier they had taken up as their home.

By year 75, the Humans had complete control of Laa Buillo, aside from the Orkan colonies there. The Alibaas minority on Laa Buillo, dwindling in population from foreign diseases and mistreatment, were all but wiped out by this point, unbeknownst to the mainland Alibaas.


Orkan Isolationism and Expansion

The borders of Laa Buillo and Orka, from around 75 AE to 98 AE. Areas marked in red were claimed by Laa Buillo, while those marked in light blue were claimed by Orka.

Though relations were always cold, the Orkans, Thuwadians, and Humans never entered true war with one another through the greater part of this century. Because the majority of the Human and Orkan populations were still on the same continent, and the Thuwadians were still having trouble settling their nations in the south, an all-out war would be bloody and costly to all sides involved. Recognizing this, the Orkans had begun a steady movement towards their northern colonies.

However, it became increasingly obvious that the Orkans needed to establish more tangible colonies. Humans were beginning to form small feudal states throughout Handora, and the Arenan continent was proving unsuitable for the time being. As it maintained good relations with Alibaas, which the Humans and Thuwadians had decided to ignore, they went back to the tactic of trying to control the Alibaas people. It would be this last attempt at a colonization of Alibaas which would set the stage for the second great exodus of the age.


The Great Alibaas War

In the early months of 86 AE, Laa Buillo invaded the continent of Alibaas in one final attempt to gain control of the land which the Orkans were slowly gaining influence. The Alibaas lived in constant strife with one another, which had kept the humans away, but the Orkans gaining territory unopposed was something they weren't going to stand for. With little option, Orka allied with Alibaas once again and waged war with the Humans.

Not ones to pass up a good war, something they hadn't had since leaving Umbra Terra, the Dragonoan Thuwadians joined in the conquest of Alibaas, ultimately choosing to ally with the humans, as the Alibaas and Orkans were a far easier target.

The war raged on for twelve long, painful years. Though the Alibaas had great numbers and knowledge of the land, the Laa Buillo Humans and Thuwadians had superior technology and tactics, permitting them to last long even in the face of global war. In the year 92, six years after the beginning of the war, the Humans reluctantly were forced to begin drawing back, losing territory again to the Alibaas, who were constantly draining their resources at this point.

Despite this, the Alibaas campaign dragged on for another six years after the first withdrawl. At last, their funds drained, their morale shattered, and their foothold completely lost, the human forces withdrew from Alibaas in order to ensure security of the Laa Buillo heartland. The Thuwadians, disappointed at the humans' lack of continued interest in eating bat people despite being forced out of the land, begrudgingly returned home after a short period of continued fighting.

However, it was too soon for the Orkans to celebrate -- the Alibaas had endured 12 years of war with foreign invaders, and were reluctant to invest their trust in the Orkans by this point, as despite their alliance, they were still essentially foreign invaders in their land. The Alibaas demanded the withdrawal of the Orkans from the continent. Weakened from the war, Orka had no choice but to return to their capital in Laa Buillo.


The Midnight Exodus

It had been, until this point, an unspoken rule of war that battle was never waged against the capitals in the mainland. Because of their relative proximity to one another, the capitals of two of the three major empires were exposed to each other. Even in spite of the colonies overseas, the majority of the Umbra Terran population (aside from the Thuwadians) remained in the original settlements on Laa Buillo. A war on the mainland would crush their numbers. In 98 AE, only months after the Orkans had withdrawn from Alibaas, the humans disobeyed this almost century-long doctrine and assaulted the Orkan border.

There was little choice. Though Orka knew that the humans had not the resources to battle for long, they too were dangerously low on funds and military order after the sudden expulsion from Alibaas. The surprise attack caught the Orkans completely offguard. In the middle of the night of the first day of siege, the Orkans decided to leave the mainland and retreat to their northern colonies. The besieging Humans and Thuwadians broke through the line of defenses to find the capital empty. Overnight, the majority of the Orkan population had removed itself to the far north. The new capital of the dwindled Orkan empire was Sarmilias, which was renamed Viadahn, with nearly the entire Orkan population residing there.

Overnight, Sarmilias had grown from a geothermal harvesting community into a metropolis, crowding as many people as possible into existing buildings with the overflow population building caves in the icy rock. Large groups of Orkans began forming what would eventually become known as clans, working together to quickly erect homes for their numbers. By 100 AE, only two years after the so-called Midnight Exodus, Viadahn had grown into a thriving mega-city, the largest in all of Disparatus. Historically, Orka had parliamentary elections every five years. However, the exodus had occured on an election year (perhaps intentionally) and the notion of elections was simply never brought up as the displaced Orkans struggled to survive in the harsh cold of the north.

The parliament that had ordered the exodus was never questioned in authority; without their guidance, the struggling Orkan nation would crumble into anarchy. Elections were postponed indefinitely until order had been restored. They would never be held again.


After a Century

As Orka struggled to rebuild and establish itself as a nation, she disappeared from the global scene. The selection of Sarmilias had not been a random one. There were no valuable resources other than the geothermal vents to be gained from invading the polar north, so it was the safest location. There would be no logical reason for the federation to pursue the Orkans northward. Furthermore, the geothermal energy would provide a stable source of fuel for the development of new technologies, which there was suddenly high demand for. Many innovations were crafted to help facilitate life in the new Orka.

On the global scene, the post-war Disparatus saw a renaissance of sorts. The humans enjoyed their longest peace in more than a century. The Thuwadians continued their expansion across the south. In Handora, more humans were migrating there, forming the ancestors to the lands that would later form the Great Handoran Empire.

Around 270 AE, nearly half of both the Thuwadians and Pre-Handorans vanished from Disparatus, but these losses were nothing compared to the Orkans, who were essentially brought to extinction a few decades later due to the experimentations of the Maladorr clan. In a strange twist of fate to the Humans and Thuwadians, who had once tried to wipe the Alibaas out, the Orkans' continued relationship with the Alibaas prevented the same fate from befalling the rest of the world.