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Bestiary

Adventurer Granson Cayle of Mill

Deep in the frozen expanse of the Burning Tundra, there is said to be a spectral flame, ever-burning with icy warmth. The monsters that thrive there are enchanted with its magic, faintly glowing as they roam the wastes.

Tall Tales of the Reach: City of Serpents

Fire Song, Great Poet of Dalamand

Through the low canyon,
crimson cooked in the heat of the suns,
travel merchants of death
Those purveyors of bounty and baubles
purloined from the coffers
of old kings and royalty entombed
Through the low canyon,
crimson cooked they walk,
to the clandestine city of Sarantara
To sell their bounty to the Serpent Lords
for the price of freedom and fealty
Through the low canyon,
crimson cooked, they die
In the land of the Red Sun,
elder than the depths of Her victory

Dialogue in Sable, Edition Seven: Year of the Sapling

Curte Redwind of Nischatel

Great Baraid in the cold lands of Andos, currently ruled by Mountain-King Gralloch Skybane, stands as an everlasting monument of strength and will against all enemies. No invading force, in all of recorded history, have ever breached it's impregnable defenses - not Izil the Firelord in his Age of Flame, nor Horlg's Cleansing - not even the horrific, ancient Dark, which wiped out nearly all of the world's population. Great Baraid has stood firm against all. However, due to this invincibility, some politicians and court attendees believe the kingdom to be complacent, and a useless ally, even secretly silent and malicious. For what need is there for Baraid to pledge to alliance? They can withstand it all! Alas, I believe that not even the mighty and immortal Fala would be able to break through its legendary gates, and if that were the case, then my musings are irrelevant...

Glories of Fala

War-Historian Bernadette Laen of Fala

In the Dark Age, the Great Forest was brought to ruin by the Demon Kings and Isindil burned. The burning of the world tree awoke the ancient dragon god of old, Salaseth, from his slumber in High Shasir. It is said, our great lord, Gadros, God-King of Fala, Undefeated Champion and Ruler of our Immortal Kingdom, rode the world-drake into battle, uniting the old Helfaust Clans and Invincible Legion of the mountain under a single banner against the demonic lords.

The Aegis of Fala is an enchanted shield used by an ancient god in the wars against the Dark. It now rests above the Immortal Throne, alongside other artifacts of incredible power.

The waters flow gently down the river Dine,
to the land of Kings, mighty in their reign
and lofty sat in their immortal throne,
exalted by the divine
The waters flow gently down the river Dine
by where the blood of Eren fed the roots,
of the oaks that stood and watched
great empires fall and rise
The waters flow gently down the river Dine,
of which the muds bank, walked on by
scores of voyagers, their feet leaving prints
fleeting with time
Named of the Lady White, by whose purity
the people were graced and were from
the shadow led - to be blessed
by the light that shines,
sparkling on the water
of the river Dine,
where the waters flow gently

History of the Ages, Volume I

Kept by the Scribes of Valoris

Agal's Rock in the Lost Age was used as a shamanic meeting ground for the clans of the Helfaust in their alliance against the World-Beast. Eventually, it became known as Deathrock, and the Battle of Deathrock blasted the landscape around it. Only now, in the new age, has greenery begun to return to its surroundings. Only the tip of the once mighty stone is now visible, an old survivor of war returning to the soil.

The most fearsome, monstrous beasts on all of Elorae roam the plains of Awakul, the Land of Giants. The untamed wilds were once broken and scarred by ages of war, but when the Infinity washed over the landscape, life bloomed thrice over. The bravest warriors and hunters traveled to the land hearing tales of the gargantuan monsters, seeking fame and glory in the hunt. Centuries later, Dhar Awakul, the Great Kingdom of the High Hunters, stands tall over the plains - it's massive walls adorned with the skulls and bones of the primal world.

... and when the great kingdoms of Fala and Myrna united under a single banner, the Helfaust trembled in defeat. Never again would they rise to such might as in the days of The Supremacy. Out of their defeat arose the Kingdom of Morath and those who wished to conserve the ways of yore fled, never to return to the plains of their ancestral home.

The Morathi have come a long way from their savage heritage. Living within the walls of a Great Kingdom, the metropolis of Morath provides comfort, order, and civilized culture to its forty thousand denizens. The Morathi still hold the strength and tenacity of their Helfaust ancestors, however, they have grown refined over decades of imperialism by the Great Kingdoms of the west. Over the ages, they have traveled far and across the realms -to many, they are seen still as dangerous, primal. Yet to most, they are greeted with open arms- either in true respect or for fear of the wrath of Fala or Myrna.

History of the Ages: Volume II

Kept by the Scribes of Valoris

Nowhere in all the world is there such natural comfort than in the great land of Syr Sable. Its idyllic region of Estic Orne is filled with rolling green fields of pastoral beauty and farm villages at peace. The mighty Fala and the great kingdoms of the world acknowledge its neutrality, and leave it alone with respect to its history.

Ilium Legendarium

Miriem Benedath, Historian of Aratta Tum

When the Eren Dominion marched northward out of Ala Nahri on their genocidal conquest, they came out of the desert wastes upon the sparkling waters of the Kingdom of Aghoras. The Dominion, drunk on the blood of the Samafites, entered the territory and prepared for their next victory. However, they were undeniably bewildered when the cities and villages they knew to exist had vanished. The High Sorcerers of Aghoras, the magical masters of the old ways, phased the kingdom out in its entirety - as they knew they could not withstand the onslaught of the blooddrunk army. And so the Dominion continued on, with newfound caution, to meet the Golossian Kings on the northern battlefields - and ultimately, writhe in defeat at the hands of Krael, the Mighty and Immortal.

History of the Ages: Volume III

Kept by the Scribes of Valoris

After the Great Collapse came the Deep Withering, when the leylines ran dry. It was then soon after that the ashborne people enslaved the deepfolk and erected their central Kingdom of Yn'rylith. And from this atrocity birthed the unending Spawn Wars, which perpetuate a millenia later, unto this very day.

It began in IV-2150, when the Mad Wizard-King of Angham, Horlg the Vile, commanded the city-gates to be chained shut, and his apothecaries to test their abominable, toxic concoctions upon his own people. In the demented horror, it is said the King waded into the market square and ensorcelled himself while basking in the screams of the afflicted. Come morning, the gates opened once again, and the infected survivors, now thralls of the King, were unleashed upon the land to spread their horrid pestilence.

The Legend of Creation

Violes Ward, Dark Age Historian and Scribe of the Concord

Before the beginning of time, in the Timeless Void, there walked the entities greater than gods. These beings would be known as the Ancients, the shapers of the cosmic void. The Ancients created the innumerable stars, moons, and worlds under the direction of the designator of their work, the Prime Cosmic Lord. By the will of that Lord, the Ancients were to enact the design of an endless vision of ordered creation. The rule of the Prime Lord was absolute. And so, unseen, five ancients went, to the farthest, deepest reaches of the endless nothing, against the will of their lord. They formed a world into being - a planet - to be their own. Hidden away in the far void, the five ancients would work in secrecy. Without the watchful gaze of the Prime Cosmic Lord, the rogue ancients began to exercise their full, unrestrained power. Unto the clandestine world they had shaped, the rules of creation were broken. The Elder magics of their origin were discarded. Instead they fathomed a new framework, wholly separate in nature and boundless in potential. With magic unlimited and formless measure given form, inside a dimension within and without the mercurial abyss, they began their great work. Upon the surface of the planet, they etched and imbued their formations. The five ancients would come to learn each their own domains, and in their secret endeavor, gave themselves titles. They were named after their creations, by the language they bore into being. For the creator of dimensional space and the passage of moments, - Aghor, (Time-God), Ancient of Time and Dimensions. For the creator of the lands diverse, the designer of mountain and forest, plain and desert - Hesk (The Wild), Ancient of the Wilds. For the creator of the streams and storms, wind and ocean, - Auralon, (Without Depth or Form), Ancient of the Skies and Seas. For the creator of darkness and shadow - Sthistu, (Dark One), Ancient of the Dark. And for the creator of the first light, the suns, and the first flame in duality and balance with the Dark, - Caurobor, (Free From Shadow), Ancient of the Light. They then chose to combine their power, to discover new potential - from this endeavor they created sentient life - all manner of strange and magnificent animals and living creatures spread over the lands, skies, and seas. To protect their collaborative wonder, they birthed a defender, a new Ancient in might - Salaseth, (Great Warrior), The Ancient of War. The warden of the world would safeguard against any threat beyond their dimensional plane - a threat from the realmless expanse from whence they came, led by the Prime Cosmic Lord who was then given the name, Maegoroth, (Doom Bringer). For they knew, in the vision of Maegoroth and their Ancient kin, their covert creation was pure heresy against the order of the cosmos and would be destroyed if it were found. And so, lastly, they named their creation Elor Ae, the World Away. The Ancients each then manifested their own, private demi-realms, Elor Agh, the World of Time, Elor Hesk, the World Wild, Elor Aura, the World Without Depth, Elor Sthis, the World Dark, and Elor Boros, the World of No Shadow, to observe the passing of the ages.

The Lost Era, Vol II, Yollonde: The Rise, Fall, and Rebirth of a Dynasty

Ecleasor Fern of Caer Lire

...she inherited an empire impossible to rule. It wasn't a birthright. It was a curse.

The Lost Era, Vol III, Nischatel: Liberation and Ascension of Nation and Goddess

Ecleasor Fern of Caer Lire

The War of the Six Kings ended when the Promised Queen cast her soul into the heavens and fostered divinity within her being. Into the Ochre Depths, then, the deposed Lords were banished, and forever in that realm of doom would they remain.

In the old hills, beyond the walls of the capital toward Sarthe and even northward, towards Thryne, are old ruins - once holy chapels of the Twins. Fena, and to a lesser degree, her sister, Nadra, were worshiped throughout Nischatel during the reign of the Dalamand Monarchy, but when it was ended by the Six Kings, religious freedom was banished. Only after our bountiful Queen-Goddess Sar Sareen liberated us, have we begun to return to these shrines of our old faith, and rekindle what was lost.

Megana, our Goddess of Arcane Secrets and Lore Profound

Vereen Starheart

When the Godform destroyed Aghor, they absorbed his soul thrice - Rathalon, Malicator, and Elraim each. However, it is understood that Aghor's death sent ripples cascading into the Infinity enshrouding our world. Thus it is such that in deep places untouched by common hands and old ruins that once held might, there pools hidden power. These concentrations may harbor secrets of the arcane, fonts of isolated magic and memory, or fragments of supernal knowledge once held by the highest God of yore. One rising sorceress, enamored by this truth, grew a following of acolytes drawn by her passion for the discovery of ancient wisdom. In youth, her name was Megana, and by the hands of her and her scholars through devotion alone, found divinity.

Military History of Nybei III

The Scribes of San Zai

Of the five great nations of Far Nybei, the elevated and war-torn High Kaiden with their unyielding warriors alone defended the land against the final onslaught of the Cursed Army of Balos. The greatest of these heroes became known as the Cursebreakers, and their legendary order has since defended the five nations for eight generations. (However, we must add, the Venerable Jiku of Otan, of Kanta Masa, believes that the Curse of Balos was not destroyed, and that Kaiden now carries it in secret. This remains a mere myth.) Some say that even the might of the legendary and immortal Fala would not be enough to defeat the Legion of Kaiden, led by the Great Shogura Isai IV. Perhaps, Fala feigns disinterest in light of this truth.

Musings of an Old Mason

Jann Hardwind

In Wonders, by Wise Tamilan, I read that deep in the Great Green Domain lies the Archwood, "the truest manifestation of the grandeur and colossal magnificence of our natural world." How often we forget about the wild existence outside our city walls as we live and labor in smoke filled corridors and cobbled streets. How quickly I would I run far away, to exotic realms on foreign shores, how quick I would, if only I were young again. Alas, I am not... my lot was that of a brickmason, and a laborer I will die. In another life...

Mysteries of Old

Scholar Han Farrah

From Sudal's Rainbow Coast, set out to sail as far east as east goes, then keep going. Beyond all distance a sane sailor would travel, you'll eventually reach the mist covered land of Far Nybei, where the narrow mountains stretch toward the sky, the wilds are untamed yet in balance, and the people are peaceful, yet mightier than one could believe.

The Vespertine Keepers guard their extravagant palace filled with magical secrets. Master Renraen says under the guidance of the one who they call the Vesper Lord, they perform great rituals to Astar, the dead god of the twilight.

The Warrior-Monks of Nixil Valley practice the sacred ways of an ancient master said to have found inner peace. Throughout the ages, deep underground, they have followed the doctrines and principles of utmost duty, the inseparable marriage of body and mind, and unwavering perseverance. However, some believe them to be hiding some unseen sinistry.

Tales tell of a paradise tucked away in the farthest, unreachable place of all the realms. In all the days from the creation of the planes to the ravages of cosmic war, it has remained pristine and has never experienced destruction. It is only spoken of in detail by one culture - the Highborne of Essen Revir write of it as 'an elysian glade of gentle creeks, cresting waterfalls, singing birds, and gardens of immortal flora that are ever-touched by early-mornings dawnlight'.

Over beyond the Plains of Autumn, built into a mountainside high above the Three Rapids is a chapel with no known path of entrance. Long ago it was called Minfidium, and served as a home to faithless heretics. It is unknown what lies within now.

The Nature of the Divines

Barthemael Arnast, High Priest of Thryne

It is known that divinity is a thing that within every soul can be achieved. Whether thou be a child birthed with royal blood coursing through thine veins, or a modest farmer, whose hands tendeth the seeds and soil. For thou knowest the length of life may be extended through heroic virtue, or pure might - it is of our nature, akin. It is thus, that those of legend whomst found within themselves the strength of will to manifest some remnant of the fractured Infinity, after the death of God, become worshiped, or feared, in kind.

On Greenmen

Abadeen Melmor, Felinellan Scholar

The savage calling of the wilds beckons those with wild souls within. To leave the comfortable confines of wrought stone and iron to rejoin the wooded ways is a life that only some wish to embrace. However, the embrace of the forests is only the beginning - the practice of Green magic in kind, is the calling of the Greenmen. Green magic, the magic of the Wild Gods, can grant the secrets of life itself - from the rejuvenating waters of springs and glades, the life force of the wildlife, or the perseverance of the deeprooted trees that ever enshroud its harmony. Though harmonious always, it is not... Greenfolk may often be of peace and tranquility, but, as the suns and the moons rise and fall, so is the duality of peace and violence. Those of the savage ways, touched by the carnivorous taint of the Cursed Hunt - the path of blood and carnage, are savage Greenmen who seek to despoil and feast upon the innocent. Often, Greenmen, savage or peaceful, might practice Beast magic, changing their bodies or transmorphing their forms into that of non-humanoids. Some might by cursed with Blood magic, tainted further by the curse to devolve into bloodcrazed monsters, such as in cases of lycanthropy. Many would not know of these facts, but alas they do not venture too far into the sylvan domains...

Peoples, Cultures, Ways of Life

Remis Hanlaud, Professor of the Folk at the Valorum

The Rose Knights protect the beauty of the Singing Glade deep in the Elen Asvan heartland. Many unwise wayfarers from the lands of Morath and foolish traders from Tumunz often 'explore' the lands near the Glade without permission. They do not suspect the wrath of the armored guardians, nor for their corpses to soon fertilize the fields of flowers, forbidden to outsiders.

The central region of the continent Essen Revir is ruled by the Great Kingdom of the Highborne, Elen Asva. It is bordered by the Great Kingdom of Tumunz in the west, and by the Great Kingdom of Morath to the East. The capital itself is deep inland, surrounded by bountiful forests and glades inhabited by all manner of people. You can see the influence of Elen Asva in much of the surrounding architecture and culture in its refinement. Elen Asva is in alliance with the mighty and immortal Kingdom of Fala, as are most of the Great Kingdoms.

The Arrows of Andos are elite rangers who patrol the snow-covered crags of the Andosan Rise against monstrous ice creatures.

The Rangers of Roq are a squadron of archers hailing out of the peaks of the Roq Mountains who are known to command great flying mounts.

The sethian are a strong folk, native to the fiery peaks of Shasir. They have spread far and wide, showing their resilience, inhabiting every climate across the realm from the Frostlands to the jungles of Canthir. Their societies are deeply steeped in tradition and they often worship gods of old. For a sethian, family is all and to be ostracized is a fate worse than death.

Philosophical Thoughts and Commentary

Elisse Ward, Custodian of the Great Archive in Valoris

And as the land was reformed and Elorae built into true glory, new kingdoms arose to monolithic heights unseen since the mythic age of the Infinite Throne. These came to be known as The Great Kingdoms, dwarfing the estimated size of Old Seltandor, Ancient Argavos of the North, and Ajin'tatel in the Primordial Greenrealm. Each Great Kingdom was built on a legendary discovery such as The Great Glass City, unparalleled might such as the indomitable and immortal Fala, or such incomparable wealth as Tumunz. Yet there is one Great Kingdom that scholars such as I are confounded by, whose origins are steeped in mystery, and whose very foundations are unknown. That is of course, the sky-city of Adventus Eternal, ruled by The Ageless Lord, known only to appear before great catastrophe as a grim omen.

The Rites

Translated from ancient Nybeian texts circa II-900, unknown authors

To craft an empire, one needeth devote thyself
to rule a people, one needeth command thyself foremost
To conquer, one needeth relinquish thy burdens,
to destroy thine enemy, one needeth save thine people
An empire commanded by devotion
shant ever fall to meek opposition
or be shadowed by the Darkness
A dynasty commanded by devotion,
shall ruled be - by thy son's son
and by thy daughter's daughter,
forevermore
Such is the way of Kaiden I,
first ruler,
king of kings,
emperor of emperors

Twin Fates: Lore of the Celestial Sands

Compiled by the South Dawn Conclave

In alabaster sands,
beyond glimmering seas
of forbidden emeralds,
grassed desert marshes
bestow wondrous life
into wondrous blooms,
great and resplendent
Of diligence and grace
the pained tenders dwell,
duty-bound and resolute
In forbiddance of those
harvesters of power
Blessed and cursed,
duty and bane, betwixt
In the white eyes of Sura,
and in the black eyes of Sana

Seasons

Hollan Meer of Asva

The gentle autumn breeze blew in and filled the countryside with a welcomed warmth. The foliage was gold as prosperity and the wine flowed like the Sullen River.

Warnings of the Blooded Prophet

The whispers in the Dark get only louder. They call to something lingering. Something old. We must listen, lest we lose ourselves to the delights of the new world.

The horns sound once more in the deep.

Worldly Stories

Scholar Em Tirne

The Old Irildar Ruins are lost deep under the burning desert sands. Stories that tell of its history say it was once a city that was destroyed by a tyrant pyromancer, others, that it was conquered and razed by the fabled Houses of Vald. Yet some few scholars give credence to the writings that say it was swallowed by the night itself and its people were cursed to forever haunt the sands as restless wraiths.

The land of Samafi is an exceptionally diverse place despite it's heat, rolling sand dunes, and landmarks of colossal bleached-bone remains. The eclectic Sages of Preste claim there to be a sprawling underground realm the size of the desert itself. They say it to be 'a land of ice and frost, as if some ancient god were attempting to rise out of the depths and freeze the surface world'.

The great countryside of Voh is like another realm compared to the bustle of civilization in a Great Kingdom. With a days travel through the countryside, you'll see wooded glades, crashing waterfalls, open croplands, and rest in some of the most delightful taverns you'll ever visit. The farmers and commoners that inhabit the region are humble, strong, simple folk that will welcome you with open arms.

The briny shores of Vnoll are ever blasted by tumultuous waves of the bottomless sea. The coast dwellers speak of terrors of the deep, shared nightmares, and storms that make lifelong sailors disappear forever.

The tale of the Betrayer is one that finds itself entwined within the tales of the Godform and in old world history. Often, the stories are told to children as a wise lesson, as proverbs found within cultures across the realm, or sung before tavern hearths in versions of "The Betrayer's Lament." In the story, one theme is that of a fallen saint - a good and just man who falls to temptation and regret, another is on the traitorous betrayal of love and trust.

The Godslayer spoke of the dangers of the rift, but the Keepers of the Source did not heed his counsel. Though, when the day came and the raw infinity poured forth consuming all, tearing them from their seats of power and rule, it is said their screams from within the chamber betrayed their stubborn pride.

Words of Promise

Fanastan, the Poet of Greenbank

Far beyond the borders of those dark places
where lingers carnage and hate
Beyond the reach of the corrupt and raucous
- the politics of civility
Beyond the suffering and death
that once befell our people
We live on, fed by the seeds in soil
planted by heroes past
Out of the despair of oblivion,
into the dawnlight anew

The Wretched Tragedy of Elraim

Lady Filibeth

In the echoing silence of thy city, a cacophony of abandonment, thou sitteth, forlorn - a lord of nothing.
Thine empire, to ash, crumbled as dust in the wind.
Thine people with pain and hatred, scattered across the land.
Solitude, in pursuit of mankind's liberation.
Even now, thou hold'st the power to dethrone the Divines thrice over.
Yet, without want, it is said power is without meaning.
So by thy kin, is thy passion returned.
Nurtured by thy tripartite soul, thou find'st want.
Doubtless, to the epicenter of yore, tread'st thee.
An attempt to unbefoul thy tarnished legacy.
Thus, as it was from Third to Fourth, so shall it be, from Fourth to Fifth.
Infinity. Casteth upon the world, by the sacrifice of a great and wretched lord.
And so the world is saved.
Forever on, shall thy stories be written.
In the land promised, by the sprouting of a sapling pink.

Thy roots which runneth deep,
thy veins from which thou bleed,
by thy leaves, shalt we guided be,
life, given by thee, sanctuary.
Thou shalt guarded be,
by thine children, eternally,
for we followeth their decree,
so thee, shalt darkness, never see.