Editing Rails Through Hell (section)

===History===

'''Cruor'''. A land of life surrounded by lifelessness. A huge area of fertile land and freshwater lakes and rivers. Bordered by a seemingly endless salt desert to the east, by a massive mountain range to the west and south, and to the north by arid tundra that ends in eternally frozen glaciers.

Over time, explorers have tried to brave the desert or the ice, or to cross the mountains, but those who returned could only report failure. Some faiths believe that there is nothing beyond the borders.

Long ago, in the barbaric era, Cruor was a land of separate clans and tribes that constantly raided and warred with each other. This was to change with the birth of a man called '''Falcon''', who became the '''First Falcon King'''.

Half human and half elf, Falcon rose to lead both tribes whose blood he had. Some historians say it was done by charm and diplomacy, others that it was by violence and assassination. All agree on what happened next. He created an army from both tribes and led it to war. By their numbers and their different yet combined ways of doing battle, Falcon Army subjugated the neighboring tribes. Rather than enslave and pillage as was usually done, Falcon added the tribes to his force.

Some legends claim that Falcon conquered all of Cruor, but that is not quite true. He started it, but unifying the land under one banner was continued by his son and finished by his granddaughter. And the conquest was not always by sword. Seeing the growing power of Falcon, some tribes willingly bent knee and joined him.

But Falcon was the person who made the unification of Cruor possible. His relentless advance ultimately brought unified opposition. The '''Alliance of the Oath''', formed and led by an elven mystic '''Scorpion'''. He arrived from the great salt desert. Some legends claim that Scorpion came from beyond the desert, but most historians agree that he was most likely a hermit mage who made his home in the desert. Historians disagree on his motivation. Some believe he reacted to the conquest of the tribe of his birth. Others believe he had mystical or philosophic reasons. What is known is that he was an eloquent speaker who warned that Falcon’s way of the conqueror would bring an end to the way of life of the tribes, and to their ancestral traditions by which they had survived, and that disaster would surely follow if the conqueror was not stopped.

Scorpion gathered a force of the still independent tribes, bolstered by exiles and refugees from the conquered tribes who had refused to join Falcon. The Alliance of the Oath met '''Falcon Army''' on a plain that carried a different name then but has since been known as the '''Plain of Bones'''. The Alliance took their name from the oath they swore, to fight for the independence and the traditions of their people. The Alliance outnumbered the Falcon Army, but had less cohesion. Tribal warbands against an organized army. The courage of the Alliance warriors faced the discipline of Falcon Army, and neither broke. Dead piled on both sides as the battle raged. Then the two leaders faced each other as Falcon and Scorpion clashed, knowing that only the fall of a leader could decide the battle.

Sagas and legends tell of the duel, and in more modern times, plays and novels as well. Both combatants had great skill at arms and wielded potent magics as well. The fight was epic. But at the end, Scorpion fell and the Alliance of the Oath lost the battle. Falcon ordered a great tomb built at the site of the duel in respect of his opponent.

That battle ultimately decided the fate of Cruor. There was no unified opposition to Falcon at that scale afterwards. Individual tribes continued to resist, assisted by survivors of the Alliance of the Oath who remained true to their oath. In the years to come, other people would swear the oath, and the freedom fighters of '''Scorpion’s Oath''' would harass the Falcon Army with guerrilla tactics, sabotage at the rear lines, strikes against the supply lines, and other asymmetric warfare. But they only slowed the inevitable. Eventually, even the last of the independent tribes was conquered.



It was Falcon’s granddaughter, '''Adea the Falcon Queen''', who founded the '''Parliament'''. Realizing that the fame of the Royal Line would fade when there would be no further conquests, and that the disparate tribes would begin to chafe under the leadership of a single person not of their people, she created a ruling power that represented all the people and could even veto Royal decrees and decisions. This proved to be a wise choice, although it would eventually cause the Royal House to lose their power to the Parliament. It would be a peaceful transition though. The founding of the parliament slowly brought an end to armed resistance. Even Scorpion’s Oath took their fight to the field of politics, becoming a significant faction within the parliament, and one most opposed to the House of Falcon.

The various faiths of Cruor had been already unified during the time of Falcon. Originally the tribes had their own gods. Understanding that arguments of faith could tear his army and growing nation apart, Falcon made the priests accept his degree that all gods were true and equal, combining the different faiths into what eventually turned into a single polytheistic one.

An unconfirmed legend tells that the unification of Cruor had one exception. The '''Blood Clan'''. Supposedly their faith and cultural practices were so abhorrent that rather than accepting them into his nation, Falcon had the entire clan put to sword, all they had burned to ash, and forbade mentioning them in histories. In bogeyman tales, some of the Blood Clan survived the purge and went into hiding, and if you are bad they may come for you.

And one people were never conquered. The dwarves of '''Stonegate''', living under the eastern mountains beyond a single massive gate that gave them their name. They had rejected Falcon’s diplomatic overtures, and the sound defeat he suffered when he led his army against Stonegate convinced the conqueror to let them be. For their part, the dwarves were content to stay under their mountains.

After Cruor became one nation, ruled by House of Falcon and the Parliament, it had no external enemies and little internal strife. In this environment, arts and sciences started to flourish, and an age of enlightenment began. Villages turned first into towns and then to cities. New techniques and discoveries led to ever further innovations, culminating in the steam engine that gave birth to railroads, and gunpowder that brought firearms. People of various tribes moved from their villages to growing towns and cities as the land became more urban. Yet the countryside was not totally deserted. Some people were dedicated to keeping their tribal culture and traditions alive, and kept living as they always had, hunting and farming.

In politics, the power of the Royal House waned over time until they were largely figureheads, with the true power in the hands of the Parliament.

Trade also flourished once the relationship with Stonegate turned friendlier, with surface products exchanged for minerals and other underground goods. Eventually, a railway was built, connecting '''Falcon City''', the capital, to Stonegate.

All in all Cruor seemed to be experiencing a golden age. And then the '''Dark Devastation''' happened.

There was no warning. No signs or portents. No explanation. It happened on the holiest day of the year and the largest celebration. '''The All Gods’ Day'''. It started in the capital’s grand cathedral where most of Cruor’s notables had gathered for the service. There were no survivors from the cathedral, and few from the capital in general, but what most accounts say is that all of a sudden, darkness like oily black clouds started flowing out of the doors and windows of the cathedral, spreading over the city and rising to the sky to blot out the sun. And within the darkness were beings of nightmare. And everyone they struck down rose back to their feet, dead, and set upon those still living.

It did not stop in the capital. The darkness and horrors spread rapidly, with people trying desperately to flee. The railroad saved countless lives as trains full of refugees fled the Devastation. But where could they go.

A lot of people decided to seek safety from the only place that had successfully resisted the first Falcon King. They headed for Stonegate as the Falcon Army mustered to repel the horrors. But after generations of peace with no threats, the army had shrunk into a token force that had never seen a real battle. Still they tried, assembling into a natural choke point of the '''Highfall Bridge'''. And although they ultimately failed to stop the horrors, they held long enough for countless refugees to reach Stonegate.

Ultimately, the Devastation still reached Stonegate as well. Firing from behind a shield wall, dwarven gunners kept the horrors at bay until the last refugees had got inside. Then they retreated as well, and what had never been done before happened. The Stonegate closed. A massive stone block weighing tens of tons sealed the entrance, leaving the horrors outside.

The sheer amount of refugees stretched the resources of the dwarven republic to the limits. Temporary housing was hastily quarried into abandoned mining tunnels. Food rationing was announced as new farms were set up in underground halls while engineers worked around the clock to build pumps and pipes from an underground lake to the new farms for irrigation. For all the efforts, malnutrition and even starvation was common in the first years.

Years grew into decades, and although the worst problems passed, life continued to be hard. Many refugees were ill suited for life underground, growing sickly without the light of the sun. Temporary housing turned permanent, with an entire family living in a single room and sleeping in small alcoves in the walls. Food rationing became the norm.

Relationships grew tense as well. Although most dwarves were happy to help, a minority resented the strain the refugees put on them. And while most refugees were grateful, a minority among them resented the better living conditions of the dwarves. Order was largely kept, although at a cost of patrols, checkpoints and curfews.

People tried to find an explanation for what had happened, and rumors and conspiracy theories spread. Revenge of the Blood Clan. Royal House making a pact with demons to regain their lost power. Radicals within Scorpion’s Oath making a pact with demons to bring an end to central authority. Vengeance of the Gods for the sin and decadence of the people who had abandoned the old ways. The explorers found something evil buried in the desert or ice and brought it to capital. The Group I Dislike did it for Reasons.

Scorpion’s Oath was swift to claim that Scorpion the Mystic had foreseen the Dark Devastation, saying that it was the disaster he had spoken of, and that the old traditions abandoned in favor of civilization and progress had kept the threat at bay. But they had an obvious political agenda in making that claim. Both the Parliament and House of Falcon were believed to have perished in the Devastation, for none was known to have reached Stonegate, but a new '''Parliament in Exile''' was formed, working together with the directly elected dwarven Ministers to bring order and governance to the refugees. And the claims of Scorpion’s Oath, whether there was any truth to them, gained them support and power.

Meanwhile, patrols that went above ground through sally points gave bleak news. Darkness had covered the world above and blotted out the sun, and the horrors were still up there.

A generation lived and died in their underground shelter. The next one grew better adapted to the life, but for them, surface and the sun were like fairy tales.

And then a surface patrol brought astounding news. Beams of sunlight. The cover of darkness was breaking.

Parliament in Exile and the dwarven Ministers started hastily talking. Could the surface be won back. But the horrors and the walking dead were still there, and even if they were pushed back, there was no guarantee that the Dark Devastation would not simply repeat. Besides, darkness still covered most of the land, and within it the monsters had the advantage. A decision was soon made that before sending a large army to the surface, they would need to strike at the source. The grand cathedral in the capital. A strike force needed to be sent there. At the very least to find out the truth about Dark Devastation, and if possible – kill it at the source so it would not happen again.

Yet the surface was still mostly covered by darkness and teeming with threats. The capital was hundreds of miles away from Stonegate. It seemed impossible that any force would be capable of reaching it, much less returning.

Then someone pointed out that the railway was still there. If Stonegate was opened long enough to send a train out, it could ride right to the capital. True, the railway might no longer be intact all the way, but if they sent an armored train that could act as a mobile fortified base, and not just soldiers but workers and engineers to repair any broken bridges and rail sections, a train built for war might accomplish what a conventional force would not.