The Living Realm is separated into Five Kingdoms:
Each of these kingdom has it's own borders, and while most currently allow trade and travel freely, there are long histories and equally long memories.
Very few verifiable records exist from this long ago. Each kingdom has their own legends about their founding, but what is known is that it was around this time that the first cities were formed. A few decades later, those cities formed into loose kingdoms, and eventually those kingdoms unified into the Five Kingdoms.
For centuries the Kingdoms were prosperous, and the land was hearty and lush. Referred to as "The Golden Age", since "grain flowed like water into any outstretched hand".
All good things must come to an end, and The Golden Age was no different. After centuries of prosperity, no one was prepared when the harshest winter in recorded history came early, wiping out crops, and freezing to death any unlucky enough to be caught without spare firewood. The people, half starved, half frozen, turned on each other, with neighbors killing neighbors, just for scraps of food.
Rima was the first to put together an army. Being the northern most Kingdom, they were hit the hardest, but they were also the most prepared for cold. They had little in the way of experience, but they were motivated to survive.
Kelir tried to stop the advance, but the Rimean forces overwhelmed the little force they could muster. The did, however, manage to stall Rima long enough for the other Kingdoms to get forces together. Realizing their mistake, Rima formed an alliance with Gerel, and the First War of the Kingdoms began.
Since large scale war had been unheard of before, no side really won. The fighting continued, mainly inside of Kelir, until the long winter ended, and most of the forces deserted to go back to their homes. Both the war and the crisis was over, but the trust between the Kingdoms was shattered.
For the next few centuries, there was an unease amongst the Kingdoms. Each denied everything, claiming the events of the War of the Kingdoms was water under the preverbal bridge. In secret, however, each Kingdom was training their own military, learning the other's secrets, and waiting.
It's unclear what triggered the Second War of the Kingdoms, but the few surviving records tell tales of armies as far as the eye can see, lead by generals with fantastic magical abilities, controlled by dark entities. These Dark Mages waged vicious, merciless war, with little concern for loss of life on either side. They reveled in death, and it soon became clear that destruction was their own goal. Not even their kings and queens could control them.
The end of the war is even more mysterious than it's start. Heroes, shrouded in light, came from no where, with power equal to these Dark Mages. Both sides destroyed each other utterly. The only sign that these heroes and villains really existed and battled are the Fields of Kemer, in Kelir. These fields bear deep scars and cracks in the ground. At the center of them, half buried in the ground are the Weapons of the Heroes, magical weapons that do not decay, but also cannot be removed from where they sit, half buried in the field. Legends say there's more to the Fields than you can see; including the bodies of the heroes themselves, frozen at the moment of their deaths. However, any attempt to move the earth, or dig near the Weapons simply doesn't work.
After so much loss of life, the Kingdoms were reluctant to engage in another war. No one would admit to how they discovered the secret magics that they'd used, though each side suspected that Umumtu, Goddess of Magic, had betrayed them, giving each side magic in equal measure to their rivals.
A few centuries passed, and while border skirmishes were common, no large scale invasions or wars were declared. Rima did, notably, annex a large portion of Kelir for over a century before an alliance of Kalisha and Tetri drove the Rimeans from Kelir for good.
It was shortly after that the Great Famine came, wiping out crops overnight. Not only did crops in the field die, but grain in storage rotted over night. Bread became worth more than gold. Thirty percent of the world population starved to death.
While blame runs in all directions, no war resulted from this tragedy; no one felt like fighting while they were all trying just to survive.
It took decades, but eventually the Kingdoms rebuilt. Distrust was at an all-time high; each side jealous of the success of the other, while discounting their own accomplishments rebuilding. Each Kingdom's military was rebuilt to heights not seen since the Second War of the Kingdoms. Everyone waited with baited breath, to see what would set off the powder keg this time.
In the end, it was an attempt to de-escalate the situation. The King of Kalisha was visiting the Queen of Rima to discuss the formation of an alliance between all the Kingdoms, and a reduction in military forces. The King was returning from his trip when tragedy struck. To hear Rimeans tell the story, he died when his carriage slipped from a mountain pass, on his way into Kelir. To hear a Kalishtar tell the story, the Queen of Rima had him killed, and launched her invasion of Kelir that same day. Either way, the Queen of Kalisha readied her armies and marched on Kelir as soon as she recieved news.
The Kalisha/Rima conflict was all the other Kingdoms needed. Kelir was trapped in the middle, unwilling to side with either, and therefore fighting a battle on two sides, all while urging peace.
Gerel and Tetri could see that Kelir was likely to fall, with the two most powerful Kingdoms pushing well into her borders. They formed a pact, agreeing to carve up Kelir lands in return for a non-aggression understanding between their forces.
Kelir was now fighting a war on four fronts, and there seemed no way to win. The Kelir people were captured, and sold as slaves, or much worse. Queen Ratha of Kelir, a young elf barely in her twenties, ordered her army to burn their own crops and salt their own fields as they retreated. Every citizen of Kelir was urged to abandon their lands, and head to the capital city of Bala. At the same time, the Queen put the population (including the military stationed there) to massively expanding the city, building a series of interlocking walls and defenses, as well as underground housing for the refugee population that flooded the city.
Despite all odds, the Queen turned Bala into the most heavily defended city in the world. At it's height, over a million refugees lived in the newly created underground housing projects. The surface of the city was covered in topsoil from the surrounding area, and Bala was able to feed and protect it's citizens through the height of the war.
It's generally accepted that had the Kelir army simply retreated, even with the salting and burning of the fields, Rima or Kalisha would have eventually claimed Kelir as their own. However, fate smiled on Kelir. An early and remarkably harsh winter fell on the kingdoms, and war became much more difficult. This was not the same kind of winter as what lead to the First War of the Kingdoms, but the reminder was not lost on the troops. Many of them felt that this was Veza, Goddess of Life, punishing them for how they treated Kelir.
As if to emphasize that point, a sickness spread across the entire world of Byakti. Only Kelireans appeared immune. The Queen of Kelir claims it was because at the time their diet was primarily root vegetables, and the recently exposed stone of the walls of their new city contained a mineral that helped combat the disease, but it does not fail anyone's notice that she is a known worshiper of Veza, and assume the Goddess hears her prayers.
With winter and the strange illness decimating their forces, the Queens of Rima, Kelir and Kalisha called for a truce. Gerel and Tetri sent representatives, but did not formally attend. All forces agreed to redraw until the end of the winter, to return in the Spring for formal negotiations on an end to the war.
The Queen of Kelir wasted no time once the invaders had left her land. Despite the harsh conditions and frozen ground, she had underground tunnels from the capital to each of the border cities built. These "tunnels" were filled with large railed carts, allowing large numbers of troops and supplies to move much faster than above ground. In just three months, one of the most massive infrastructure projects in known history was completed.
When the armies returned, Kelir representatives met with the King and Queen leading each Kingdom's forces. It was clear they made to occupy the border towns, and had every intention of reigniting the war. The Kelir representatives all had the same instructions. They offered to throw a feast in honor of the occupying force. After such strife, the decadence of a feast seemed absurd. But no one was going to say no.
As the forces of each army celebrated for days, the Kelireans set to work. The first thing they did was sneak into the army's camp and steal any and all weapons and supplies. Then, as the leadership of the army became drunk and lowered their guard all generals and high ranking members were abducted on the same night. The Kings and Queens were also captured, and brought to Bala. Meanwhile the generals of each army were transported to different cities than the ones their armies occupied. They each woke up in a strange city filled with the troops of an enemy.
Needless to say, the confusion caused by the missing supplies and mixed up leadership made the forces easy for the Kelirean army to subdue. The Kings and Queens of the other Kingdoms watched as the Queen of Kelir systematically dismantled their military might.
It's rumored that once the last report of success came in, Queen Ratha pulled out a dried apple. She cut into it, removing one seed for each of the other Rulers she held captive. She handed a seed to each, and said, "When you return home, plant this. Each time you or the generations that come after you look on this tree, think of me and remember. For my life is long, and I will never forget each of you, and what you did to my people. May the fruit of this day not be sour."
Within days, all the leaders of the Kingdoms had drafted and signed the Kelir Accords; a document that described the rules of warfare among the Kingdoms, should a dispute ever happen again. Each kingdom agrees to come to the aid of those being attacked. It designates Kelir in general and Bala specifically as neutral ground upon which any representative of a Kingdom may negotiate without fear of harm. The Kingdoms also agree to keep a portion of their forces in the city of Bala, for immediate deployment should one Kingdom attack another. By the same turn, should Kelir ever be the aggressor, all other Kingdoms already have strongholds in the capital city.
The Kingdoms are currently at peace. The Kelir Accords have become the defining laws governing interactions among the kingdoms. So far, no Kingdom has wanted to risk the wrath of the others, especially Queen Ratha. As always, Rima does what ever they want, though even they've avoided overtly violating the accords.
Despite the relative lack of conflict, this has been no era of prosperity. Times are tougher than ever. Fields produce less and less each year, and there's rumors of a coming famine. None of the official sources have admitted anything, but merchants talk, and grain prices are much higher than normal as those with money have started trying to hoard. Just in case, obviously.