Ivory Asylum Tâchpachâr

Tâchpachâr, a Langurâpha word, loosely translates to Ivory Asylum. It symbolized a place of safety and unification for the Elderaunt tribes then squabbling over Athoreon's coasts and islands. The leader behind this unification was the hero Jurmalon. He sought to break the tribal in-fighting that had been going on since 1619 HE. This was the year that the Elderaunt's former masters, and creators, were driven out of the region. With the Hydrocur gone, the victors turned to tribal allegiance.

In the last century of the First Epoch, Salzârrâk, a channel sea separating two continents, was becoming a major trade route to the islands ports of Râpha-Nâr. To help quell internal unrest, Ba'lith's government sponsored battle, openly supporting pirating and mercenary ventures; the seeds that would start the Horn Tusk Conflict (1023 - 1467).

The Minotaur Inlet became a hunting ground for pirates that came to outnumber Ba'lith's small navy. State-sponsored pirating became a serious threat to the Elderaunt city-state Rîni. This city on the western side of the strait, party of the Râpha-Nâr Oversight Board, was charged with policing the area's commerce. Greatly affected by Ba'lith's mischief, and unable to cope with their neighbor's growing naval presence alone, the unification of Athoreon's elderaunt city-states was forced. In 11 Brightstar 921, Ba'lith's aggression gives rise to the elderaunt empire Ivory Aslyum. The figure behind this Elderaunt unification was Jurmalon. With a people still tribal to who they answered to, it was a confederacy of city-states and tribes. It would grow to become a federalist system. Tribal thinking is still an issue, with four great tribes holding more political influence over the many smaller ones.

Their massive coastal dwellings behind deep bays, a long history of naval tradition and battle experience, cannon studded island forts and coastal defenses bristling with Cyclops Cannons, makes Ivory Asylum one of the premier naval empires of the realm. Their sailors are masters of the seas, raised from youth aboard ships for roughly four years by law. So, it is no small wonder, that they are some of the best sailors of the Ten Seas.

- Admiral Gima-Kilc, of the Knights Fleet, excerpt from his book - "Naval Might - The Ivory Asylum"

Ivory Asylum see themselves as the saviors of the Tragarans that came to populate Hells Womb and the Lands of Purity. This is because, during the Gulmbor Cataclysm, the Tragarans were often pursed by the navy of the First Khazarkar Empire. At the Battle of Satheon, the elderaunts came to battle with the Khazarkars and crippled their navy. This victory allowed the refugees of Gulimbor to sail north away from their pursuers and the cataclysm befalling Gulimbor.

In the centuries that followed, Ivory Asylum aid has not always been welcomed. The Elderaunt "superior civilization complex" frequently strained diplomatic relations. The aid of the elderaunts has taken many forms, "coastal patrolling", sending expeditionary forces, punitive naval actions, and the not-so-welcome colonialism.

Ivory Asylum and Ba'lith have had many conflicts. From the state-sponsored pirating of Ba'lith to a period of Ivory Imperialism (971) where through culture and enlightenment one tried to quell the beast in the other. The height of these hostilities, an on-and-off war, became known as the Horn Tusk Conflict.

In 983, party to the Treaty of Mazâd-Khâl, Ivory Asylum gives up claim to Mazâd-Khâl and Tigošal.

Ivory Asylum projects its naval presence by establishing ports on distant shores. In 1020, they built on the western coasts of Ma'Ohari, founding Ivory Ward. This place and Salandirik would for many centuries become major ports and act as defenses against Ba'lith aggression and the growing pirate threat coming out of the Buccaneer Archipelago.

In 1244, the Giff League crossed the Void. They arriving in the region Izagunbar, establishing diplomatic relations with Ivory Asylum. The two empires began a brisk trade and formed a military alliance that has never been broken. In fact, their bond is so great, that Elderaunt and Giff citizens have dual citizenship.

In 1509, Ivory Asylum set-up the Târuk Hidar colony on Vhurghad.

In 1595, the Ora Tubruš was sent on a punitive expedition against the pirates of Ratgorthor. In the ruins of this wererat haven, the elderaunts found tomes that explained the unusual population growth of Weretopia's lycanthrope population.

In 1693, Ivory Asylum joined the Pact of Behemoths. Thirty-six years later, after the Azrik Blockade (1693 - 1729), this would have the effect of ending Ba'lith's long tradition of sponsoring and harboring pirates.

In 1712, the Sargolmon Federation forced Ivory Asylum to abandon their colonies on Vhurghad.

In addition to their home areas of northern Straiden, the empire has several island cities on the Pearl Sea, and colonies on a number of continents. Many see them as imperialists, establishing footholds before taking control of the lands around it.

In the Black Tide War (1465 - 1504), thousands of Farinteens, mostly Tragarans, became citizens of Ivory Asylum. The empire's Mezrack population are ancestors of Agibandal. When that city-state fell to Rilirthad, these people went east, joining Ivory Asylum.

States of the Confederation

The Ivory Asylum is comprised of many elderaunt tribes. Each tribe serves the interests of its people and the common interests of all elderaunts of Ivory Asylum. Together the tribes form the confederacy that is called Ivory Asylum. Ivory Asylum has four main tribal states representing a geographical area. The four states of Ivory Asylum are:

Architecture

The settlements of the elderaunts are influenced by the long naval traditions of the empire. Buildings are sometimes built triangular, thus resembling great sail. Street grids have a pattern like that of a ship wheel. A central market is at the core and the spokes leading outward into the city are the thoroughfares. Many towers of the empire have spinnerets which are shaped and decorated like a crow's nest.

The architecture of the Ethâr is built around the captured structures of the Rilirthad. The stonemasons and engineers realized that it would be far too costly to change the cities to match their typical styles. Thus, they worked the stone to match the architecture of the Karnegmoth's former builders. Ethâr cities are impressive sites, rising high above the swamps and jungles surrounding them. They sit on a base of crushed stone and sand, hills made by the toil of Rilirthad's elemental sandmen and miner genies.