These are my proposals for the background of Grayhorn. They are not complete for all the races and mainly focus on the humans of Grayhorn. Some of this material comes from information put out by national plot and needs to be incorporated into the final background.
The background I am proposing is designed to serve several purposes. First the PCs are in charge from the get go and will be placed in the role of saviors of the land. Second there is a thread that allows for gritty realistic role-playing. Third there are two high-fantasy threads. Fourth there is a strong barbarian component.
Grayhorn is a land shattered, once a thriving duchy for a mighty empire it has now fallen on hard times. The lands occupied by civilization have been eroding over the past three hundred years and now has taken a catastrophic turn for the worse. Into this dark time steps the Kingdom of Evendarr. The king of Evendarr has decided that the instability of the area threatens the safety of the citizens of Evendarr who trade there and the security of the Duchies bordering. In the year 599 he issues a charter for Kevyn Blackfox, Prince of Northmarch, to create the Duchy of Grayhorn.
Over two thousand years ago, a rift from the plane of chaos emerged here. A brief but destructive war was fought all over Grayhorn and the surrounding lands. The Quentari lead the fight and the rift was eventually sealed with nine crystals of great power: The crystal of the ruby flame, the malachite flame, the amber flame, the emerald flame, the azure flame, the sapphire flame, the amethyst flame, the ebon flame, and the ivory flame. The master crystal was the crystal of the chromatic flame.
The Quentari and their allies left settlements in Grayhorn to watch over the crystals guarding the rift. These settlements joined and formed the Kingdom of Grayhorn. The first King was an elf and it was to him that the chromatic crystal was given for safekeeping. The Kingdom of Grayhorn erected a beautiful city called, Alairneil. For many years Grayhorn knew peace and prosperity. Then after five hundred years the King died in a terrible accident. The races could not agree to a successor. The Dwarves of Khinzu took action and attacked and seized the chromatic crystal.
The next hundred years the tragedy of the Crystal wars ensued. The land was once again ravaged. All sides of the conflict took to hiring outsiders to augment their armies. With one of the mercenaries came a powerful necromancer who was able to seize the crystal and turn it against all the races. All the races united in the grand alliance and brought down the necromancer. At the conclusion of the war the chromatic crystal was lost. The Kingdom of Grayhorn was gone and the different races formed their own realms.
For the next five hundred years Grayhorn was untroubled by outsiders. Then to the north of Grayhorn the Empire of Hadran was founded. They expanded outwards especially toward the green and fertile lands of the south. When the Empire was a hundred years old the current emperor, Hadran III, sent a mighty army along the river Hadran to conquer to it’s source. During this expedition the Empire discovered Grayhorn. Over the next hundred years the Empire sent several expeditions to the source of the Hadran each bringing explorers and traders to Grayhorn. Finally the Empire decided to permanently settle the area and created the Varkli (Duchy) of Grayhorn.
The Empire brought prosperity to Grayhorn and bound the other races into a web of mutual trade. The Varkli of Grayhorn was well off the main route of the Hadran and was backwater in Imperial history. This lasted for several hundred years until the Great Plague hit. Spreading from the barbarian hordes in the east the plague swept through the empire devastating entire regions. In Grayhorn the Elven races closed their borders and many areas under cultivation were abandoned. The plaque died out and Grayhorn and the Empire slowly recovered. Then 41 years before the founding of Evendarr the great imperial mage school exploded in the capital, leveling it and the city.
Every Varkli in the Empire was on their own as Varkl (dukes) and generals warred among themselves for the spoils of the Empire. Grayhorn was threatened on all sides when one man rose and became Varkl. Draco-lindus brilliantly led the forces of Grayhorn and defeated the armies threatening her. Draco-lindus did this by finding the chromatic crystal and using it to forge an alliance of all the races. After his victory he proclaimed the area for the Empire of Grayhorn and invited all the races to join.
At first the Empire was a success holding off Grayhorn’s enemies. But the depopulation caused by the plaque and the war took its toll and the Empire entered into a slow but steady decline. The end came over a hundred years ago when a simultaneous invasion of barbarians from both north and south overwhelmed the last defenses of the Empire. Since then the various regions and towns of Grayhorn have been ruled by a succession of petty kings and tyrants.
As bad as the tyrants were they still brought limited law and order. But then the slavers of Niman realized the easy pickings Grayhorn offered. They established a small based called Larsa fifty years ago and now it has grown into a town. The Nimani searched all over Grayhorn raiding for slaves. The continual loss to the Nimani kept Grayhorn from recovering.
Then ten years ago from the west the undead armies of the Twin Overlords invaded. Supposedly they were two brothers transformed into greater undead. They marched into Grayhorn and ravaged the lands for over a decade. Recently they have managed to sack the largest town in Grayhorn, Stormsport. Only the holding of the Nimani in Larsa remain untouched.