Chapter 3: The Mantle Empire
As previously discussed, when the Elements were banished, Dust was left in their wake. Humanity used Dust to their advantage, battling the Grimm and using it also to power their new machines. Eventually, Humanity banded together under the banner of a single clan known as Mantle. Together, they expanded across nearly all of Remnant and forged a glorious Empire known today as The Mantle Empire.
Yet Humanity was not the only race that lived on Remnant, for far away on the island of Menagerie lied the Troll City of Zuldazar, which had stood against the wrath of the Elements for years.
When the Elements suddenly vanished, leaving only Dust, the Trolls were understandably confused. Yesterday, they had been fighting life and limb against the Elemental forces yet now there were these strange crystals in their stead. Curious, the Trolls sent out harvesters to gather this strange material, where they were brought to the High Priests to discuss and deliberate on what to do with the crystals.
The High Priests could sense the raw power that Dust contained, and what wonders it could achieve. But they also sensed great anger and unbridled rage within the Dust, for it was still bound to the Elements that had been imprisoned. Sensing the great distress within the Dust, the High Priests came to a deliberation: Dust was not to be used by the Troll people. In their eyes, Dust was the remains of dark and chaotic forces and therefore could not be trusted. So Troll culture instead stuck to the preferred voodoo magic, which had been perfected over the years and was considered more reliable, voodoo not tending to blow up in a practitioners face if they sneezed when using it.
As the Trolls ebbed out a living in this new world, their people began to grow in number. Soon, Zuldazar could not hold the entire populace, and many smaller villages began to expand. This would lead to disastrous consequences however, as certain tribes began to band together in an attempt to take Zuldazar for their own. These 'collectives' as they were called, were united by common interest or by blood, the most prominent being the Gurubashi, Amani, Farraki and Drakkari.
As long as the Zandalari held control of Zuldazar, they were safe, but their enemies surrounded them on all sides. They knew that it was only a matter of time before the collectives united together to usurp the Zandalari, or for one to attack them whilst they dealt with another. The Zandalari would never give up Zuldazar, so instead they decided to give the collectives another option: to leave Menagerie and colonise the rest of the world, which was now there's for the taking. The collectives agreed, each setting out to sea in search of new lands to colonise.
The Gurubashi collective (consisting of the Gurubashi, Bloodscalp, Shatterspear, Skullsplitter and Darkspear Tribes) travelled East to the jungle forests of Animus, changing their name to the Gurubashi Empire, spanning far and wide from their Temple City of Zul'Gurub. The Amani collective (consisting of the Amani, Mossflayer, Witherbark, Vilebranch, Smolderthorn and Revantusk Tribes) also became an Empire of its own, taking refuge in the Highlands of Sanus, where they spread out from their City of Zul'Aman.
The Farraki collective (consisting only of the Farraki and Sandfury Tribes) became a small Empire deep in the deserts of Sanus, their City of Zul'Farrak a shining jewel in an arid wasteland. The Drakkari collective (consisting of the Drakkari, Frostmane and Winterax Tribes) travelled the furthest north, forging a mighty Empire in Solitas named Zul'Drak, the centre of power being the Temple of Gundrak.
And so the Trolls spread out across the globe at a remarkable rate. Zuldazar would always be considered the Trolls spiritual home, and the new Empires leaders kept in close contact with the High Priests of the Zandalari, strange considering how they had once threatened to overthrow them. Despite the separate Empires functioning differently, even worshipping different Gods, one rule was shared across all the Troll people: never use Dust.
But as with all rules, it was eventually broken. At first the rebellious lot were few in number, and were easily sussed out and executed. Yet soon more and more began to practice the use of Dust. So great had the use of Dust become, the Troll Leaders sought advice from the Zandalari, who had managed to keep Dust use to a low. The Zandalari, seeing themselves as responsible for these new Empires, trained certain Trolls the art of a special art of voodoo. These Trolls were masters of subtlety and assassination, and soon Dust began to go down in use as the Troll people began to fear these mysterious 'Shadow Hunters'.
Yet still, even with the Shadow Hunters policing the Empires, some still used Dust. Yet these Trolls soon began to notice that their bodies were beginning to change, as if mutated by some strange affliction. Realising they could not hide any longer, these individuals left their Cities and lived off of the land. Not many were seen again, but some did survive.
A small group of Jungle Trolls who had banded together to survive were quick to assume that these mutations were the result of Dust exposure, and they were quite right indeed. To avoid further mutations, this group of outcasts decided to never again use the substance and live as deformed hermits. Yet soon they learned that these 'defects' were actually benefits in disguise. They had become more graceful in both appearance and form, and their intelligence had also increased noticeably. These hermits would soon grow into a small civilisation that whilst small, had great potential. They became known as Kaldorei, or more commonly known as Night Elves.
Not only did these Night Elves become more graceful and intelligent, but also became surprisingly in tune with nature. They began to commune not just with one another, but with the land itself, at a far greater scale than their old Troll Priests could. But the Night Elves had settled in the territory of the Green Dragons, who did not take kindly to strangers. Yet the Green Dragons were intrigued by this new race that had appeared out of nowhere. What intrigued them most though was the fact that whilst Humans and Trolls would destroy a forest to build a house, the Night Elves would build around the forest, sometimes using the trees themselves as their houses. And so a deep bond between the two races was formed: the Green Dragons would live alongside the Night Elves as long as they dedicated themselves to safeguarding nature.
The majority of Troll outcasts however did continue to use Dust, and thus mutated even further. Eventually, these outcasts would become known to us as Faunus. The Faunus were Human in appearance, though they also possessed a number of traits from their Troll fore bearers, such as their regeneration and adaptability. Yet perhaps the most striking difference was the number of animal appendages they possessed, from cat like ears to monkey like tails.
Eventually, small pockets of Faunus stumbled upon the Mantle Empire, who were bewildered and fascinated by the Faunus. They were the first non-Human race that they had found that also seemed to hold a degree of intelligence similar to their own. They began to run tests on the Faunus, experimenting with their genetics. Fascination of the Faunus however, soon turned into fear of them, as they soon discovered that the Faunus were superior in terms of DNA structure, and therefore had the potential to usurp them.
So the leaders of the Empire took matters into their own hands. They began to exterminate the Faunus, wiping them clean from history. The Faunus were saved from complete annihilation though when some of the Empires leaders believed that the Faunus' adaptability would make them perfect for the role of working in conditions too dangerous for Humans. And so the Faunus survivors found themselves not with blades at their throats, but with chains.
Realising that the Faunus had to have come from somewhere, the Mantle Empire authorised multiple expeditions into uncharted territories, in the hopes of expanding their Empire, finding 'lesser' races to enslave, and destroying competition.
Most races discovered, such as the Hyena like Gnolls and the Rat faced Kobolds proved too challenging and widespread to break, and were mostly left alone. Many more Faunus communities that had not come into contact with Humanity were rounded up and enslaved like their brethren.
The Night Elves were fortunate and evaded enslavement. Their relation to the Green Dragonflight kept them safe, all Human expeditions into their lands being bombarded by poison breath strafes and guerilla tactics. All Humans who entered Night Elven lands never returned.
The Trolls weren't so lucky. Their cities were discovered with ease, and Humanity entered a swift and brutal war with them. Despite the Trolls adaptability, strength and powerful voodoo magic, the Humans advanced technology and superior numbers proved too much. Even the mighty Shadow Hunters were brought low, cutting down hundred of Humans before falling.
The Humans sacked the Troll Cities, the once proud creatures slipping into myth and legend. The only known City that escaped such devastation was the Zandalari stronghold of Zuldazar, located far away on the island of Menagerie, which was considered a wasteland by Humanity. Many surviving Troll Priests and Chieftains migrated back to Menagerie, regrowing their Tribes in the safety of their walls whilst nursing a deep hatred for all non-Trolls.
Many Tribes remained in the shadows of their Cities, which were abandoned and left to rot by the Humans. These small Tribes would grow in number once again, but the Empires of old would never rise again.
Those Humans who had returned from their campaigns soon found themselves hailed as heroes, with many landmarks built that are still standing. Even today, one can travel to Lothar Square in front of the Schnee Manor, where the statue of the great war hero Anduin Lothar, Lion of Mantle, still stands, unchanged by time. For Humanity, the times that were to come were prosperous, 'the Golden Age' it was called at the time. But the Faunus call it by a different name, 'the Age of Oppression'.
And so for millennia, the Mantle Empire would prosper for generations. Its banner covered nearly the entirety of Remnant, all other noteworthy civilisations either ground to dust like the Trolls or brought to heel like the Faunus. But as the Empire grew, so to did the dangers that faced it. The Grimm were a constant threat, and with only so many Soldiers to spare not all of the Empire could be protected.
Small portions began to fear for their security, and fear drew the Grimm. In order to protect its borders and its people, the authorities of Mantle began to issue near draconian laws, stamping down on peoples rights to express themselves. This new turn had severe consequences, and talks of civil war erupted. It was only a matter of time before words turned to action.
Known today as the Great War, the Civil War engulfed the entirety of the Empire. Once the dust had settled, and the fighting stopped, all that remained of the Mantle Empire was a small City that had escaped ruin. The Empire was no more.
In its place however, four new fledgling Kingdoms arose. These were the Kingdoms known today as Vale, Vacuo, Mistral and Atlas. Yet already, these fledgling Kingdoms were soon under attack by the ravenous Grimm, who had been driven into a frenzy by the Great War.
With no standing Army to protect them, the new Kingdoms held no prayer against the wrath of the Grimm. Once more, Humanity was on the verge of becoming extinct. However, four individuals rose up to fight the Grimm and defended the new Kingdoms. These four individuals were the first Hunters, and were descended from those the Maiden's had entrusted the Relics to long ago.
With the aid of these new warriors, the Kingdoms began to flourish, eventually transforming into the Kingdoms as they are today. The Hunters then offered to help train others the art of Hunting Grimm, asking for nothing in return. The new leaders agreed, and great keeps were built within the four Kingdoms, where future generations of warriors would be trained. These keeps would later be known as the Huntsman Academies of Beacon, Atlas, Haven and Shade.
The Academies also served another purpose, as a vault for the Relics. Now forever more, the Relics would be protected deep within the Academies, with a host of Warriors to protect them.
With the collapse of Mantle, the slave trade that had dominated the Faunus' lives also collapsed. For the first time in years, Faunus had control of their own lives. Yet despite this, the old prejudices of the Empire lingered. Faunus were still being treated as second class citizens, and were frowned upon by local authorities and the general populace. Despite many attempts to appeal to the governing bodies of the new Kingdoms, they were ignored on all accounts. After generations of slavery, the Faunus rose up and openly attacked their Human neighbours.
At first, none took the Faunus threat seriously. During the age of Mantle there had been many slave revolts and all of them were crushed quickly. But this time, the Faunus had access to weapons they didn't have back then, and there were a small number of Humans who did sympathise with the plight of the Faunus.
Using both guerilla tactics and their advanced genealogy, the Faunus began to attack the Human borders, slowly whittling them down through a war of attrition. Eventually, fearing another collapse, the Kingdoms crumbled beneath the demands of the Faunus. For the first time in years, the Faunus were treated with equality. To be-rid themselves of further Faunus related troubles, the Kingdoms offered up the island continent of Menagerie, fully aware that the island was mostly desert.
News eventually reached the Trolls who had been living unopposed for generations. They were outraged that their ancestral home was being given to the Faunus, who in their eyes were traitors to their own kin, having disobeyed their laws and hinting of their existence to the Humans. Yet despite making a stand, the Trolls took peculiar action.
When the first boats containing Faunus arrived, they were greeted not by a Troll war party making a defiant stand, but by no one whatsoever. As far as the Faunus were concerned, they were the only inhabitants of the island.
In truth, the Trolls had retreated back to their City of Zuldazar. Some say that the Trolls are afraid that if they try to fight the Faunus, they would fail and be wiped out, but the that is far from the truth. In reality, the Trolls are preparing for War and are simply waiting for an ample opportunity to strike.