Interesting New Official Lore from EQ1

[Wilin]

As part of the run up to the new EQ1 expansion, Seeds of Destruction, they have been releasing some lore features. The second in the series, "Seeds of Destruction, Unfolding the Lore Part 2" talks about the early days of Oceangreen and the surrounding area. I found some things to seem contrary to what we've seen in EQ2. I know that the timelines diverged at the end of PoT, but this is lore about events of the same past that is shared between the games so I found it appropriate for us.

Here is the article:

http://eqplayers.station.sony.com/n...cle.vm?id=51130

First, it starts immediately by inferring that Qeynos and Freeport were the result of the Combine Empire falling with the humans migrating afterwards to form villages that became Qeynos/Freeport and it mentions that Oceangreen became Qeynos.

From my understanding, we have been observing the birth of humans in the Ethernaut stories. Barbarians migrated out of Everfrost and formed villages and one of those villages is Oceangreen. So, there cannot be a human empire(Combine Empire) providing displaced humans for Oceangreen if the humans are just being born/segregated from their barbarian ancestors.

Second, there is mention of a plague brought to Oceangreen by Bert and his followers. Antonius Bayle was born during the plague period and grew into a great leader during that time. He lead some hunters and warriors out to fight the plague and later founded Qeynos.

Does that mesh with what we already knew about the Great Unifier?

[Zutan]

"To the west, the city of Qeynos grew from the foundations of Oceangreen village, under the noble rule of Antonius Bayle, the Great Unifier. "This doesnt, to me, contradict what we already know about the founding of Qeynos. It only adds to the story.From another site:Barbarians are the direct ancestors of humans, and thus more distant ancestors of Erudites.And this:"The Combine Empire, as this lost race of Humans is called, spread throughout the known world, but then died even more quickly than it grew, and for reasons still unknown. And while they are the ancestors of every Human on Norrath and their relics and ruins still litter the lands from Odus to Faydwer, little history of the period remains." These dont seem to contradict eachother either. It is entirely possble that the early humans formed the Combine empire well before the Antonius Bayle/Qeynos era. I dont find anything saying Barbarians founded the towns/cities in Oceangreen area just that Humans did.. perhaps the ancestors of the Combine.

[valkry]

Maybe....

So Oceangreen is founded by Barbs/proto-Humans? My question is could Oceangreen be part of the Combine Empire, and continue to exist after the Empire falls. (IE London wasn't a PERMANENT village before becoming a part of the Roman Empire. Empire falls, but Londinium is Anglized and becomes London.) With a power vacuum in Human politics, Oceangreen renamed Qeynos becomes more significant.

Also Is Eathernaut "Bayle" "Antonius" or is he is he his fore-father? Many cultures take the father's given name for the child's surname. Antonius might just be one of the many children/grandchildren of Bayle's line.

In that case it is quite possible that little 'Tony' might have lived through a plague (well after grnadpops was dead) and afterwards helped rebuild grampy's stomping grounds of Oceangreen into the might metropolis of Qeynos.

[Wilin]

Zutan wrote:

"To the west, the city of Qeynos grew from the foundations of Oceangreen village, under the noble rule of Antonius Bayle, the Great Unifier. "This doesnt, to me, contradict what we already know about the founding of Qeynos. It only adds to the story.From another site:Barbarians are the direct ancestors of humans, and thus more distant ancestors of Erudites.And this:"The Combine Empire, as this lost race of Humans is called, spread throughout the known world, but then died even more quickly than it grew, and for reasons still unknown. And while they are the ancestors of every Human on Norrath and their relics and ruins still litter the lands from Odus to Faydwer, little history of the period remains." These dont seem to contradict eachother either. It is entirely possble that the early humans formed the Combine empire well before the Antonius Bayle/Qeynos era. I dont find anything saying Barbarians founded the towns/cities in Oceangreen area just that Humans did.. perhaps the ancestors of the Combine.

So how can Barbarians be the direct ancestors of humans and yet the Combine Empire is the ancestor of every human on Norrath?

The only way that would be possible is if the barbarians became the humans that became the combine empire. That's technically possible.

But, back to the lore story, it starts by saying that Oceangreen was formed as a result of the fall of the Combine Empire. And yet we've been told in EQ2 lore that Oceangreen was formed by barbarians who migrated out of the mountains.

[valkry]

ProtoHumans (ie Barbs who imigrated out of Halas to get away from constant warfare) created Combine Empire. Humans come for Combine & Bards because they are the same group. Events are happening concurrently, not one after another as in your example.

Oceangreen/Qeynos probably is not just one city (Qeynos) built on the remains of another village (Oceangreen), but multiple versions of each. The city Biblical archeolgists think is Jericho is about 13 cities deep. Barb village created. It's a good site, so they keep rebuilding Oceangreen version 2.0 etc on top. Sometime after the Empire falls & newest version of QG is build, the Bayle kid comes along, rebuilds it even bigger & better then ever & decides to name it Qeynos (instead of OG 16.299). Post EQ1 moon falls out of the sky, wars happen, Halas falls, Humans re-re-re-rebuild Qeynos again. The orignial village is still formed by barbs/proto-humans.

[Zutan]

Barbarians -> Combine Humans -> Current HumansThe 'direct ancestor' statement doesnt say 'except combine'... they are ALL humans so the statement is true.Also, I dont think Oceangreen is a village/town.. I think its a region where several villages formed.

[Rezikai]

valkry wrote:

ProtoHumans (ie Barbs who imigrated out of Halas to get away from constant warfare) created Combine Empire. Humans come for Combine & Bards because they are the same group. Events are happening concurrently, not one after another as in your example.

Oceangreen/Qeynos probably is not just one city (Qeynos) built on the remains of another village (Oceangreen), but multiple versions of each. The city Biblical archeolgists think is Jericho is about 13 cities deep. Barb village created. It's a good site, so they keep rebuilding Oceangreen version 2.0 etc on top. Sometime after the Empire falls & newest version of QG is build, the Bayle kid comes along, rebuilds it even bigger & better then ever & decides to name it Qeynos (instead of OG 16.299). Post EQ1 moon falls out of the sky, wars happen, Halas falls, Humans re-re-re-rebuild Qeynos again. The orignial village is still formed by barbs/proto-humans.

I agree, Oceangreen was a tiny village in the Ethernaught tale, i think the "build up" to call it a city after the Combine empire rose and fell isnt too far of a stretch, even most of rome burned if you remember at one point in history. Another thing that caught my eye while reading it was the talk Antonius Bayle leading his men into the Karanas to fight off the plague, which was spoken about to a small extent while questing in EQoA. EQoA started during the 2nd year of Antonius Bayle thw 2nds reign and continued from there. What i find more interesting is the way they are implementing this into EQ1.. are these time portals that adventurers are entering to go back in Norraths history and play out events? (ala the tunare/Innoruuk diety quest events pre-EoF?) if so i'd love to see such things come here to EQ2.

[Sharakari]

You people amaze me.  I never played EQ1 and I got into EQ2 around the KoS expansion.  Your knowledge of Lore is just amazing.  I don't understand a darn thing being posted in the History and Lore forums yet I still read them.  Is there some kind of book on this stuff or did you just learn it from the game?

[Rezikai]

Sharakari@Unrest wrote:

You people amaze me.  I never played EQ1 and I got into EQ2 around the KoS expansion.  Your knowledge of Lore is just amazing.  I don't understand a darn thing being posted in the History and Lore forums yet I still read them.  Is there some kind of book on this stuff or did you just learn it from the game?

if only..... if only.... I'd have 2 copies.. one for home use and one travel edition.

[Wilin]

Ok, we're backtracking too much on other threads here. It was already stated by missdoomcookie that there is a timeline discrepancy between EQ1 and EQ2 concerning the Combine Empire.

In case you missed it, here it is:

"I can't comment on what is going on with EQ1's conflicting reports about the Combine Empire, but to verify things on our end, on our official timeline, as far as I have always seen, the Age of Blood does come before the Lost Age, but the Combine Empire occurred during the Lost Age. The Ethernaut storyline takes place at the very, very beginning of the Lost Age. So shortly into it, in fact, that all of the characters would have been born in the Age of Blood. " -missdoomcookie

So, now that we've reviewed what's already been verified, I'll go back to my original point.

If the Lost Age began after the Ethernauts were born, and the Combine Empire occurred during the Lost Age and the fall of the Combine Empire lead to the humans forming villages on the Karanas. And the youngest member of the Ethernauts is probably Bayle in his 20s. So, then the Combine Empire appeared and disappeared within about 15 years?

Is that correct or is this another case of the lores not meshing?

[Wilin]

Sharakari@Unrest wrote:

You people amaze me.  I never played EQ1 and I got into EQ2 around the KoS expansion.  Your knowledge of Lore is just amazing.  I don't understand a darn thing being posted in the History and Lore forums yet I still read them.  Is there some kind of book on this stuff or did you just learn it from the game?

Learned from the game and from the boards.

But I did play EQ1 from launch until EQ2 launched.

[Apocroph]

Sharakari@Unrest wrote:

You people amaze me.  I never played EQ1 and I got into EQ2 around the KoS expansion.  Your knowledge of Lore is just amazing.  I don't understand a darn thing being posted in the History and Lore forums yet I still read them.  Is there some kind of book on this stuff or did you just learn it from the game?

www.lorelibrary.comThat'll get you started.

[Zutan]

The 'human race' was created about 2555 years before the rise of the Combine Empire. (The Mar Twins did something to a small number of barbarians to create humans)Combine Empire was around for approximately 200 years.  Antonius Bayle I was borm about 105 years after the fall of the Combine empire.He was about 25 years old when Qeynos was founded.How this fits in with the ethernaughts? I'm not entirely sure.. but thats the timeline we have had for quite a while now.

[Wilin]

Zutan wrote:

The 'human race' was created about 2555 years before the rise of the Combine Empire. (The Mar Twins did something to a small number of barbarians to create humans)Combine Empire was around for approximately 200 years.  Antonius Bayle I was borm about 105 years after the fall of the Combine empire.He was about 25 years old when Qeynos was founded.How this fits in with the ethernaughts? I'm not entirely sure.. but thats the timeline we have had for quite a while now.

Yep, that sounds right. And that's what I'm saying. You don't know how it fits and I'm saying that it absolutely does not fit with what's in that new EQ1 lore article unless the Combine Empire lasted for about 15 years.

[Apocroph]

I'm inclined to think that EQlive's lore is in conflict here.  Not much of an empire if it only lasted 15 years.

[Zutan]

There is a conflict someplace.. the Combine empire began and fell in the Age of Blood not the Lost Age.  So whatever reference to it being in the Lost Age is where the conflict is.  If you put that where it should be, the timeline seems ok.

[Arianah]

I'm not sure how true this is - but I remember reading that EQ1 doesn't currently have any dedicated lore devs, they all kind of work on it together now... that could be playing a part in this. /shrug

[Cusashorn]

Zutan wrote:

There is a conflict someplace.. the Combine empire began and fell in the Age of Blood not the Lost Age.  So whatever reference to it being in the Lost Age is where the conflict is.  If you put that where it should be, the timeline seems ok.

Actually, it did take place in the Lost Age. This is what has been written in the History of Norrath since the very start of the game.

To quote myself from another recent thread...

Cusashorn wrote:

Paraphrasing the important parts of the story, just for clarification:

---

"...Slowly the forest gave way to desert, and eventually even great Takish-Hiz crumbled and the elves were forced to flee Antonica, leaving much of thier greatness behind. Thus began the Lost Age.

This next period of the Norrathean history as it relates to many of the races is the least known. It is surmised by the more knowledgable historians that while the elder races regrouped and reestablished themselves, a small group of Barbarians were suddenly transformed both physically and intellectually. Most believe this to be the last major and direct act of divine intervention, and perhaps the reason so little is known about this period is that the gods wish it to be so, deciding afterwards that they would have less to do with thier creations. In any case, this small and enlightened group were the fathers of the Human race, and they rapidly gained a foothold throughout the lands, studying the lost art of geomancy. The Combine Empire, as this lost race of Humans is called, spread throughout the known world, but then died even more quickly than it grew, and for reasons still unknown..."

---

Of course, we do know what the cause of it's fall is, but that's not important right here.

As for there not being any dedicated lore devs on the EQlive team anymore... Well this new development in thier lore is part of the reason why I'm glad that Vhalen wrote most of the lore in EQ up until EQ2 came out, and then continued it into this game right up through The Shadow Odyssey next month. Even though we know that he didn't write all of it, and that the other developers have contributed thier own ideas and such, he did head everything for the most part. What we know he told us about EQlive still stands despite anything that changes in the game at this point in time.

[RaphaNissi]

Zutan wrote:

There is a conflict someplace.. the Combine empire began and fell in the Age of Blood not the Lost Age.  So whatever reference to it being in the Lost Age is where the conflict is.  If you put that where it should be, the timeline seems ok.

This simply isn't true.  Doomcookie already explained the Combine Empire took place in the Lost Age.EDIT:  I'm not understanding where the dates and timeline came from for the Rise of Humans and the Combine Empire.  They don't add up at all to original lore.  In the piece Cusa quoted, it says the humans who became the Combine Empire gained a foothold RAPIDLY and died out even quicker.  There was only one ruler of that empire, Katta.  It couldn't have lasted for 200 years since humans don't live anywhere near that long.  "Rapidly" and "quicker" to the human race would not be long at all.  15 years is a very reasonable age for the Combine Empire to have survived.  The lore has also always said that Qeynos and Freeport were formed when the Combine Empire fell and the people were scattered.  I'm not seeing where any of the new eq1 lore about the cities forming has any conflict with what we know.  It says the humans lived in villages on the plains of Karana.  That doesn't say the villages didn't exist before the Combine Empire.  They would have had to because the barbarians who left Halas settled somewhere. 

[Zutan]

See, this is where the conflict is...Here is an excerpt from Eqplayers website..The Age of BloodAs the dust settled, the last of the gods came to Norrath. Mithaniel Marr, god of Valor, and Erollisi Marr,her twin sister, the goddess of Love, created the Barbarians, a hardy race who settled the cold and rugged northlands, near the ruins of the Giant empire.

Being the youngest race, they were generally unwashed and rugged, possessing very few social graces. And while they too had a warlike culture, there were those amongst them who began to believe in something more.

By this time the other civilizations of Norrath had either long since declined, or were well on their way, and this small minority of Barbarians saw an opportunity to triumph where the others had failed.

Perhaps this was a seed of wisdom planted by the Marr Twins, or perhaps it was only by chance, but as the Barbarians spread out across the lands, warring with both each other and any other race encountered, this tiny movement continued to grow. And so even amidst desolation and war, there was hope.

This small and enlightened group of Barbarians were the fathers of the Human race, and they rapidly gained a foothold throughout the lands, studying the lost art of geomancy.

The Combine Empire, as this lost race of Humans is called, spread throughout the known world, but then died even more quickly than it grew, and for reasons still unknown. And while they are the ancestors of every Human on Norrath and their relics and ruins still litter the lands from Odus to Faydwer, little history of this period remains.

[Zutan]

I should also note: that when 'we' found out about the Combine Empire back in EQ1 I was also under the impression they came before Lost Age.

[Cusashorn]

Zutan wrote:

See, this is where the conflict is...Here is an excerpt from Eqplayers website..The Age of BloodAs the dust settled, the last of the gods came to Norrath. Mithaniel Marr, god of Valor, and Erollisi Marr,her twin sister, the goddess of Love, created the Barbarians, a hardy race who settled the cold and rugged northlands, near the ruins of the Giant empire.

Being the youngest race, they were generally unwashed and rugged, possessing very few social graces. And while they too had a warlike culture, there were those amongst them who began to believe in something more.

By this time the other civilizations of Norrath had either long since declined, or were well on their way, and this small minority of Barbarians saw an opportunity to triumph where the others had failed.

Perhaps this was a seed of wisdom planted by the Marr Twins, or perhaps it was only by chance, but as the Barbarians spread out across the lands, warring with both each other and any other race encountered, this tiny movement continued to grow. And so even amidst desolation and war, there was hope.

This small and enlightened group of Barbarians were the fathers of the Human race, and they rapidly gained a foothold throughout the lands, studying the lost art of geomancy.

The Combine Empire, as this lost race of Humans is called, spread throughout the known world, but then died even more quickly than it grew, and for reasons still unknown. And while they are the ancestors of every Human on Norrath and their relics and ruins still litter the lands from Odus to Faydwer, little history of this period remains.

That whole story was retconned only very recently in EQlive within the last few months. The true lore is stated in The History of Norrath. Remember, Vhalen wrote most of EQlive's lore. He left the dev team for that game when EQ2 started, and with him gone, the EQlive lore has diverted heavily since then.

[Jindrack]

Zutan wrote:

See, this is where the conflict is...Here is an excerpt from Eqplayers website..The Age of BloodAs the dust settled, the last of the gods came to Norrath. Mithaniel Marr, god of Valor, and Erollisi Marr,her twin sister, the goddess of Love, created the Barbarians, a hardy race who settled the cold and rugged northlands, near the ruins of the Giant empire.

Being the youngest race, they were generally unwashed and rugged, possessing very few social graces. And while they too had a warlike culture, there were those amongst them who began to believe in something more.

By this time the other civilizations of Norrath had either long since declined, or were well on their way, and this small minority of Barbarians saw an opportunity to triumph where the others had failed.

Perhaps this was a seed of wisdom planted by the Marr Twins, or perhaps it was only by chance, but as the Barbarians spread out across the lands, warring with both each other and any other race encountered, this tiny movement continued to grow. And so even amidst desolation and war, there was hope.

This small and enlightened group of Barbarians were the fathers of the Human race, and they rapidly gained a foothold throughout the lands, studying the lost art of geomancy.

The Combine Empire, as this lost race of Humans is called, spread throughout the known world, but then died even more quickly than it grew, and for reasons still unknown. And while they are the ancestors of every Human on Norrath and their relics and ruins still litter the lands from Odus to Faydwer, little history of this period remains.

I'm really not in aggreement with that last couple of lines.  The Combine Empire came about later in the Lost Age when the Humans were clearly established in their villages and cities, descended from the Barbarians.  Putting the Combine Empire in the Age of Blood really doesn't work and goes against most everything written.  The rise and fall of the Combine Empire is one of the major events that defines and names the Lost Age.

[Zutan]

If thats the case they definitely need to sync up.  If both teams are changing 'history' on their own its gonna make a mess.

[Rezikai]

Jindrack wrote:

Zutan wrote:

See, this is where the conflict is...Here is an excerpt from Eqplayers website..The Age of BloodAs the dust settled, the last of the gods came to Norrath. Mithaniel Marr, god of Valor, and Erollisi Marr,her twin sister, the goddess of Love, created the Barbarians, a hardy race who settled the cold and rugged northlands, near the ruins of the Giant empire.

Being the youngest race, they were generally unwashed and rugged, possessing very few social graces. And while they too had a warlike culture, there were those amongst them who began to believe in something more.

By this time the other civilizations of Norrath had either long since declined, or were well on their way, and this small minority of Barbarians saw an opportunity to triumph where the others had failed.

Perhaps this was a seed of wisdom planted by the Marr Twins, or perhaps it was only by chance, but as the Barbarians spread out across the lands, warring with both each other and any other race encountered, this tiny movement continued to grow. And so even amidst desolation and war, there was hope.

This small and enlightened group of Barbarians were the fathers of the Human race, and they rapidly gained a foothold throughout the lands, studying the lost art of geomancy.

The Combine Empire, as this lost race of Humans is called, spread throughout the known world, but then died even more quickly than it grew, and for reasons still unknown. And while they are the ancestors of every Human on Norrath and their relics and ruins still litter the lands from Odus to Faydwer, little history of this period remains.

I'm really not in aggreement with that last couple of lines.  The Combine Empire came about later in the Lost Age when the Humans were clearly established in their villages and cities, descended from the Barbarians.  Putting the Combine Empire in the Age of Blood really doesn't work and goes against most everything written.  The rise and fall of the Combine Empire is one of the major events that defines and names the Lost Age.

Hmmm I'm thinking more is that the Age of Blood text above is 1/2 correct and 1/2 a continuation, to somewhat correlate to what missdoomcookie said that the Ethernaughts were born at the enmd of the Age of Blood but lived during the begining of the Lost Age.So the Combined empires people may have been born during the Age of Blood but the actual forming of the Empire in the Lost Age.

[Zutan]

The 24 barbarians where 'turned' humans in Age of Blood but nothing I found says exactly how long that age lasted... However there is a known timeline of 'years' listed someplace gathered from stories and in game info and dev info.  It doesnt mark which age starts when, but it does show the # of years between.The statement that Qeynos was formed close enough to the beginning of Lost Age for the people (Humans) to have been born in Age of Blood seems like it HAS to be wrong.  Other parts of this could fit together ok if not for that.

[RaphaNissi]

Zutan wrote:

The 24 barbarians where 'turned' humans in Age of Blood but nothing I found says exactly how long that age lasted... However there is a known timeline of 'years' listed someplace gathered from stories and in game info and dev info.  It doesnt mark which age starts when, but it does show the # of years between.The statement that Qeynos was formed close enough to the beginning of Lost Age for the people (Humans) to have been born in Age of Blood seems like it HAS to be wrong.  Other parts of this could fit together ok if not for that.

I think most all would agree that Qeynos itself was formed much later than the Lost Age.  Oceangreen and surrounding villages were formed in the beginning and those enlightened barbarians who became the humans were most likely born in the Age of Blood.  But Qeynos itself came a while after the Lost Age and the Combine Empire.Official EQ2 info on Oceangreen

Vhalen

As for Qeynos of yore, here is a bit taken from one of my tomes:

... A band of humans made its way through the gnoll infested hills and founded a small fishing village alongside the northern Coldwind Coast shoreline. The shores of the new coastal village were teeming with fish and the land could be easily defended from attack. If most of the resources were put towards the defense, this large village could provide for the scattered human settlements of the plains. This new village must be more than a mere village, it must be a stronghold. The village settlers would send word to the clans of the plains. Most of the human chieftains of the plains voted to migrate to the coast and begin work on reinforcing the construction efforts there. The new sprawling stronghold city was named Oceangreen, after the beauty that nestled it. The defense of Oceangreen and the remaining settlements of the plains demanded the training of a human army. There was no loss of volunteers and the new clan militias of Oceangreen swelled. Each of the nine warrior clans of the militia specialized in their own art of war; each thinking their way was superior to all others. Weekly duels occurred with the winner retaining the ceremonial Qeynos Claymore, an ancient sword returned to the human settlements by an adventuring spirit named Vallius Bayle. These duels eventually grew into large bloody battles. Jealousy erupted and the warrior clans began to war with one another. Villagers were forced to choose sides or be beaten. Walls between the clans soon were erected. The new city of Oceangreen was beginning to look as barbaric as the Northland clans that the humans left so long ago. ...

and also Vhalen

There are multiple myths about when and how these two great cities were founded. Most of the confusion is centered around the small communites that existed before the founding of these cities. These communties were located on the same location we find these cities now. So... so many stories, many false. Instead of debunking these tales, (maybe later), I will tell you some basics. 

Freeport and Qeynos were both founded during the Age of Enlightenment. They were human strongholds and trade cities made to defy the harsh wilds of the age. They did rise from smaller communities that struggled to exist. Behind both cities creation we can find elements of valor that defended the cities populace of the time.  

[Cusashorn]

Zutan wrote:

The 24 barbarians where 'turned' humans in Age of Blood but nothing I found says exactly how long that age lasted... However there is a known timeline of 'years' listed someplace gathered from stories and in game info and dev info.  It doesnt mark which age starts when, but it does show the # of years between.The statement that Qeynos was formed close enough to the beginning of Lost Age for the people (Humans) to have been born in Age of Blood seems like it HAS to be wrong.  Other parts of this could fit together ok if not for that.

You aren't going to find anywhere in the entire existance of Everquest any information on just how long certain time periods have actually lasted. All we ever get is "Such and such happened in the very broad ballpark figure of so many years ago"

Also, as already mentioned in this thread, Ages are not defined by the people who live in them. Only when future generations look back at the history that happened, do they actually name the era that it took place in.

[Mary the Prophetess]

Isn't Vahlar the EQ Live lore developer?

According to her the Combine fell 130 years prior to the founding of Qeynos, and 100 years before the birth of Antonius Bayle I.

[Foolsfolly]

The Combine Empire was formed by many different races coming together and combining their unique talents to make an empire capable of far greater feats than any other empire at that time. Sound familiar?Maybe Bayle and his friends founded the Combine Empire, starting with their ragtag team of races from across norrath. Their friendship and leadership held the Combine Empire together, but like all mortals they eventually aged and died. Without the Ethernauts to hold them together, the various races found they could no longer tolerate eachother.While most of the citizens of the empire returned to their race's respective hometowns, some members of the more benevolent races found they could still tolerate eachother and decided to settle down in the home of CE's greatest leader and hero; Oceangreen. With it's surging population, the little village quickly grew into a town, and then a city, and eventually a castle which was named Qeynos. Likewise some of the more nefarious races congregated within freeport, which also grew with it's newfound might and became a mighty city in it's own right.As for the barbarians becoming humans, I don't recall anything suggesting that the process could not have occured gradually over the course of these events. The humans may not have come to be as we know them until well after Qeynos was built. As I read it, the changes within the Ethernaught lore was more of a change of philosophy and lifestyle choice, not yet reflected in their physical appearance.