Fleeing from war and persecution in the East, the Avar people reached the fertile plains of the Carpathian Basin, led by Nemes Ilona, through the rugged mountain passes of the Uzhgorod and onto the Great Plains. Matras Vadas had defeated the great dragon and left the path open for the Avar to follow. Finding peace in this new land, they flourished with the help of the faerie kind, the Angyalok and Torpek, and spread across the region. Following their tribal leaders, they divided the lands into seven principalities, each ruled by a tribal Prince: Nyirseg, Temeskoz, Mezoseg, Sarkozy, Gomor, Sopron and Uzhgorod.
As happens in the history of all men, there would be conflicts – periods of war and peace, fighting among themselves, or allied against the Angyalok wizards, forcing their exile to the hinterlands of the North. It was during this time that magic was believed to have disappeared from the land, when the last of the faerie cities fell to the armies of Grand Prince Ügyek. After the time of Ügyek, the Avar lands were invaded from the East by the forces of the Imperium, who marched into their lands with deadly purpose, and dominated all who stood before them. Divided and isolated, Vengriya endured for a time as provinces of the Imperium, compelled to welcome the Imperial Legions as occupiers, and to pay tribute to their new masters.
It was during this time that the standing armies of the Hetumoger were largely disbanded, releasing great numbers of liege men from their lords, and leaving them to their own devices. Seeking to avoid being drafted unwillingly into the Legions, some turned to banditry, using their strength-of-arms to secure a living from those who could not defend themselves; others took to a life of adventuring, travelling the lands of the great plains and beyond to seek out fortune and fame. Fewer still returned to their families and traded their swords for plowshares. It was a lawless time outside of the cities, and even the vaunted Legions could do little more than protect themselves, yet alone the people. Things improved little when the Imperium unexpectedly withdrew, taking their laws, their customs, their icons – and their troops – back to their Capitol in the West.
…And then the Plagues began…