Velgassi (nation)
The Republic-- and later, Empire-- of Velgassi was a human kingdom on the northeastern Mainland.
History
The kingdom of Velgassi was formed in the Ancient World as a unified government of city-states, with Vyetka as the seat of power. Though not the first attempt at a large-scale human government after King Pelycto's Eastmarch, it was by far the most successful. The government lasted, in some form or other, for over 2,000 years, finally collapsing after the Keelan War's climax in 847 ME.
Around 2900 BME, the first major human kingdom was established in the western Mainland. It survived for nearly 7 centuries before its capital was besieged by hobgoblins led by Thuun Shatterbones. King Ardius Pelycto fled the city, realizing the situation was hopeless. Pelycto gathered the scattered remnants of his kingdom, and other humans, and eventually kicked off a period of mass nomadic migration to the east. The human diaspora resulted in the settling of the valleys of Nentir and Elsir.
By 1330 BME, human city-states in the Nentir Vale still lacked consistent central leadership. Several would-be empires sprung up over the years, and numerous truces and alliances were formed. The city-states and empires fought each other more often than not. In Around 1325 BME, under the command of city-state Queen Hildegaard Reika Zauer, Vyetkan soldiers defeated a force of Iconian invaders on the hills outside the city. The losses suffered in the battle, however, led to a defeat at the hands of the fledgling Sheylan Empire at Wolf River a few weeks later.
Queen Zauer fled back to Vyetka with the use of magic. Following the defeat at Wolf River, several loyalist generals also managed to escape, and would continue to harass the advancing Sheylans using guerilla tactics. By the time the Sheylan Empire arrived at Vyetka, the Queen had organized strong defenses to counter a potential siege. The self-styled Emperor Salo Caead of the Sheylan city-state ordered his beleaguered troops to surround the city. Queen Zauer sent out an invitation to enter the city and discuss terms of truce.
The Queen's wizards executed her plan to trap Caead in the great hall of Vyetka, along with his contingent, and burn down the building using a combination of spells which would later become canonized as wall of force and flaming sphere. Unable to escape, Emperor Caead and his entire retinue perished. An illusion spell (most likely major illusion, though spells were not organized as such at this time) was used to fake Caead's likeness from the top of the Vyetkan wall. Hildegaard Zauer spun a masterful ruse with deliberately-burned clothing and injuries, spinning a tale of her brave rescue of the Emperor from the burning of the great hall by a traitorous Sheylan official. The gambit worked; with Caead's likeness and voice supporting her words from the wall top, the Shelyan army was ordered to break the siege. But the Queen's guile went even further as she "married" the Emperor in a hasty ceremony. Vyetka and the Sheylan Empire were absorbed into the new Kingdom of Velgassi, named after the grasslands between Vyetka and Sheylas.
With King Caead an illusion and Queen Zauer the true power, Velgassi was born out of a magical deception. The illusion of King Caead was maintained as a sort of figurehead for years until his untimely "death". The wizard responsible for the illusion, Mordenkainen, recorded the true events of the kingdom's founding in his Vault; without those records, Echelon would likely have never known the true story, as Queen Zauer's gambit was never made public knowledge otherwise.