Arnor

Arnor was the capital city of Sorel and the name of the kingdom that covered the continent up until 622 Storm. Founded in year 7 by Jordis I,, the kingdom lasted for more than 600 years. It gave rise to the Arcane University in its early stages and centrally unified the other city-states.

Foundation
Jordis I, known as Jordis of the Glaive, originally hailed from the Grave Isle. At some point she came to the mainland and began gathering support for a unified continent.

The Unification War is recorded as lasting 6 years. She was an active leader, going with her armies into battle and negotiating with conquered leaders herself. Some states allied peacefully, including Cenard and Hanton, as a unified continent presented several improvements in both diplomacy and trade. Others held out longer—Staad was the last city-state to ally, but the Grave Isle continued to resist royal rule for several years after Cole signed the treaty.

At some point during the war, Tyrant used the chaos between Arnor and Staad to take up residence in the Lapis Lake. Military leaders in Staad and Ysas, knowing they were losing ground, were desperate enough to allow him to attack the Arnorian forces on the Lake. Soon, however, Tyrant became a danger to all, and Queen Jordis, her strongest fighters, and Riverspear defeated him.

Early stages
For the first few centuries, Arnor was prosperous, and even the more resistant states such as Staad and Ysas had to concede that everyone's circumstances had improved. Trade with other continents was strictly regulated but not strangled, and diplomatic envoys were often received through the Lapis Lake.

Decline
In 612, the capital city exploded. No one knows the exact circumstances, but most of the sprawling capital was simply wiped off the map, with only outlying buildings and towns left at all intact, and all were heavily damaged. In a larger radius, the land went from verdant lakeside to barren, arid wasteland. Hundreds of thousands of people were lost either in the initial blast or from the aftershocks. In the years since the explosion, there have also been reports of magical side effects near the crater, ranging from magical dead zones to areas of amplification.

Staad immediately seceded and claimed the lands that had previously belonged to the Arnor state. This was met with contention from Cole, Cenard, and most strongly from Ysas. After a few months of heated negotiation, Cole and Cenard were satisfied with only minor increases to their lands, and convinced Ysas to largely back down as well. Staad nearly doubled in size, and there are still many nobles in Ysas who remain bitter over their perceived and real losses.

Hanton also immediately seceded from the kingdom, keeping their existing borders and extending generous trade agreements to those states who did not argue with their claims.

Cole, Cenard, and Trale were most interested in maintaining a unified kingdom, but were not unified on how they wanted that to occur. Staad and Hanton led the exodus, but eventually all city-states declared themselves separate from the kingdom of Arnor. Royal embassies went empty, treaties dissolved, and Arnor was officially defunct.