From whence did the once promised lands that are Camon become so tainted with hatred, fear, corruption and intolerance?
                                                                                    Grand Archcardinal Halivan Allard

Grand Archcardinal Allard had once asked that question when he began his calling to make amends with neighboring kingdoms and reform the Church. But the forces of evil that began what is now called The Betrayal War struck down that one bright hope for a Camon that would shed itself of old and backward ways of thinking (see the tome A Candle in the Darkness by Chrysalia Nollan for more information). So where did these traits come from and how did Camon come into being? The answer takes us back to the very beginnings of the Kal-a-nor Empire in 1400 A.C.
 The Kal society gave rise to values that humans were superior to non-humans and strong humans were valued above all. That thinking was carried over into Camon when  the four splinter tribes broke off with the Empire in 1723 A.C. by  refusing  to bow to Jolokas ki Grilnas rule & accept Ceynara as the patron goddess. The four groups believed that Shanis and Targon should be valued and worshiped above all because it was they who created humans. It was their duty as faithful children to await their return. The four splinter tribes were ‘allowed’ to leave as that Jolokas was too busy building an army for conquest. 
Jorisid Kamon led the tribes to the shores of  Shanis River by 1729 A.C. There they stopped and settled near the Tears of Shanis until an unknown event happened that they abandoned the settlement in 1756 A.C. The four tribes meet up with humans from the Great Exodus in 1770 A.C. as they flowed into the valley of the Wolfhead ranges. 
War soon broke out between the humans and the Goblinish tribes that had settled there. Salizar Kamon led the human tribes to victory over the Goblins and by 1800 A.C. had pushed them out of the Wolfhead Valley. Salizar then did something unprecedented by renounced the spelling of his last name. He bestowed upon himself and the conquered lands the new name of Camon in 1801 A.C. Salizar proclaimed that a new order and age of humans had thus begun. But old traditions do not die so easily. Soon, two factions emerged. The first refused to live under a rule similar to that they had escaped from during the Great Exodus. The other sought to emulate the Kal social & military structure that they were familiar with. 
Over the next 5 centuries this factionalism resulted in warfare and power struggles. It was Camon’s continued luck that the Kal Empire continued to focus their attentions on the southern regions. By 2300 A.C. a feudal system had emerged with 37 noble houses. Of those thirty-seven, only seven houses, Travane, Rhodes, Baravold, Moore, Aldayern, Verrin, and Camon, emerge to vie for control of the lands held in the jaws of the Wolfhead Valley. 
Some noble houses were better and more benevolent than others but none emerged as strong rulers able to unite the land under one rule. By 2380 there was such a political and religious vacuum (descendants of the Kal splinter tribes had long abandoned the hope of Shanis and Targon’s return) that the region was ripe for a new power to emerge. In 2390 a man known only as The Chosen began to preach about the “one true God” Archanon and many began to follow his teachings. Whomever or what ever The Chosen was (there has been much speculation and debate) he brought about a chain of events that lead to uniting the warring noble houses under one rule. 
With the support of the Church of Archanon, Erik Camon is proclaimed as King and unites  most of the noble houses in 2466 A.C.  The remaining kingdoms on the south side of the Southern Fangs, Baravold & Rhodes, fall to the rule of Camon in 2532 A.C. The Church of Archanon is ‘granted leave’ by the King (a mere formality since the Church was really in control all along) to form the Paladins of the Holy Sword. This military order was created to be under the direct command of the Archcardinal. Construction of the citadel in the Wolf River Pass also begins at this time. 
With a large & established military order the Church flexes it’s political muscle and has the Kingdom of Camon outlaw worship of the Ascended in 2805 A.C. It is proclaimed that Archanon is the only true God. Anyone claiming to have powers granted by the Ascended are heathens and demon-worshipers. A small rebellion of Camoners that defended their belief in the Ascended are ruthlessly and viciously wiped out by the Church’s Paladins in 2807 A.C.  King Warick Travane and his forces do not intercede.  Warick Travane dies without a direct heir in 2835 A.C. Power hungry ultra-conservatives in the Church seize the opportunity to do away with the right of Succession and declare that their most Holy Lord has decreed the Camon will henceforth be ruled by the Church. The Prelacy of Camon begins at this time. Heads of the noble houses became the Noble Council whom provide administration over the lands and act as ‘advisory council’ to the Grand Archcardinal. In short, they were reduced to nothing more than bureaucratic figureheads. Angered by the Church’s totalitarian rule, some noble houses begin secretly recruiting Cavaliers as a military force to help restore balance to the rule of Camon by toppling the power of the Church and restoring a King to the throne. 
In 2838 A.C. the Prelacy issues the Purification Mandate in which all non-humans are to be removed from Camon or enslaved. All practitioners of magic are declared demon-worshipers and are to be handed over to the Cardinal of Judgment for ‘ purification’. Many refugees pour into Galea to escape persecution. More border skirmishes break out between Camon and the neighboring kingdoms of Olara and Galea. Alarmed by the growing military strength and fighting prowess of the Cavaliers the Prelacy outlaws the order in 2873 A.C. Nonetheless the Cavaliers go underground and continue to be freedom fighters. 
Then in 3019, Halivan Allard is ordained as Grand Archcardinal. Receiving visions from Archanon himself, Halivan begins his rule with teaching tolerance and attempts to turn the Church from totalitarian rule. But unbeknownst to Halivan and to the Cavaliers secretly protecting him, the Cardinal of Judgment, Mandris Toman and the Supreme Paladin, Sir Glain Nollan had made a pact with the forces of Darkness and Flame to forcefully remove Grand Archcardinal Allard and any others who support the powers of Light. And so, in 3021 A.C.  the Open Hand Peace Conference turned into a massacre of almost all who attended. And so begins the events that surround the Betrayal War.
It is not until the  final battle the culminates into an end of the Betrayal War that a shining being emerges as Archanon and joins with the Ascended to help defeat the forces of evil.
But because Archanon suffered a great loss of power, ultra-conservatives once again gained control of the Church in 3023 A.C. The Bloody Iron Hand was the purging of all ‘enemies’ of the Church. House Baravold & House Rhodes where stripped of their titles whence it was found that both houses were heavily involved with the Cavaliers and were operating to overthrow the power of the Church. Had it not been for the Dwarves intervening and closing off the Prelacy’s  access through Defience Pass the general populance would have been massacred as an act of ‘purification’. Although King Daniel Argorn and Queen Iolie Rhodes Argorn declared the lands held by Baravold and Rhodes under Galean protection, those ‘kingdoms’ located outside the jaws of the Wolfhead ranges  still consider themselves part of Camon. Now almost a hundred years later the two sides of Camon, the Prelacy and the Royalists,  stand at the brink of civil war. 

        Jonkeph Skein
                                                                                           Shaintar: Yesteryears and Today