The era of conquest was somewhat chaotic, politically. A conqueror would unite the Thearaddans, drive across yet more Wesstua land—and then, he (or occasionally, she) would die, and the empire would fall apart as quickly as it had emerged. This was a pattern that went all the way back to Kormonan himself.
After the conquest was complete, the political life of the Thearaddans settled down somewhat. Sacawisha was carved into many realms—bigger than the Wesstua city-states they had replaced, but not much.
The heartland of Thearaddan civilization was the upper valley of the River Nelegorant—the first place that the invaders had conquered. The chief city, and one of the oldest, was Relarion, about fifty miles from the mountains of The North. Here, about 750 years ago, was begun the work that would lead to the greatest Thearaddan nation in history.
At this time, the realm (the Thearaddan word ona, translated throughout as realm, is a catch-all term for a united land of any size, and might be compared to the German word reich) of Relarion was the largest in the area, about 1,000 miles square. But the ruler, a brilliant lady named Merodorish, had grandiose ambitions—and was competent enough to realize them. In her day, Relarion became a kingdom (queendom?), and encompassed the entire northern course of the Nelegorant.
Slow expansion followed. Thearaddans were attracted to the peace and order that good government brought. Some areas joined the kingdom voluntarily, other realms were incorporated by force or persuasion (backed by force). 113 years after the death of Queen Merodorish (about 610 years ago), her great-great-grandson proclaimed the realm to be an empire.
At this time, Relarion ruled (in modern terms) the Wet Towns, western Chelmarrond, Animona, and most of Coravant. The Elave was the eastern boundary, and Chelmarrond was the capital of the Eastern Realm (“eastern realm” is chelmara—thus Chelmarrond, “city of the eastern realm”).
The empire grew over the next 300 years. It provided stable government, and the empire was well received and supported by its citizens. It eventually came to encompass northern Simlarin, and reached out to take in the western Dry Towns as well.
Unfortunately, Relarion, like most other human societies, employed non-human slaves. The mysterious demi-humans now known as the People of Woe were well represented in the major cities of the empire. When they decided that they preferred death to further enslavement, they sang the Song of Woe.
Just like every other nation of the time, the Song destroyed the Empire of Relarion. Relarion the city was buried in the middle of a major Song Zone—nobody now remembers exactly where the city was located. All the cities of the northwest, the heart of the empire, suffered death rates over 85%. The survivors (at least, the ones who were still sane) fled the new Song Zones, which were rife in the area, for safer lands. Most ended up in the Wet Towns, where they slowly recovered. Chelmarrond, which had few of the People of Woe, and a college of magic, recovered more quickly than many. The Coravant, second only to the northwest as a center of Thearaddan population and culture, was shattered, and became the hodgepodge of states and races that it is now. Out of the destruction of Relarion, then, came the Sacawisha of today.