GR Local Game

Tuesday Game

The World

The world is composed of three continents. The northwestern continent is Aveth. The northeastern continent is Thonas. The southern continent is Shalera.

Aveth

There are seven major factions/nations that exist on the continet of Aveth

• Igthaer
• Golkaav
• Tha'velen
• The United North
• Quanris
• Lafavel
• Rokdar

Thonas

There are seven major factions/nations that exist on the continet of Thonas

• Brenthal
• Daragoul
• Covina
• Faerengar
• Savoth
• Jid
• The Scaled Cliffs

Shalera

There are four major factions/nations that exist on the continent of Shalera.

• Rytheria
• Londova
• Zekarna
• Navkadrak

History

Odal and Vesta were the first to exist. Odal covered the world with flora and fauna that Vesta breathed life into. Between the both of them, they created most of the world. Little is known of this period in history.

The world is connected to the astral plane through a series of connection points scattered across the world known as Bridges. These bridges exist where ley lines meet/cross paths. Perhaps it is more accurate to say the the ley lines stem from the bridges and spread out over the world as a result of the connection to the astral plane. In the early time, there were a great many Bridges and magic flowed freely across the land for any to use.

Onda was the first to create mortal creatures. The Dwarves were first born of this world. Onda created them so she could share her knowledge of the forge with them. Under her guidance, they build architectural wonders the likes of which will likely never be seen again in the world. They carved out great swaths of earth beneath towering mountains to make their cities.

Shortly after Onda had created the Dwarves, Ezion decided to bring the Gnomes into being. They would study, learn, and tinker. They were to be the driving force of industry and knowledge in the world. They observed and studied what the Dwarves had done and set off to find mountains of their own to inhabit. They eventually found one and carved their home into it.

With all the activity that was taking place on the world, Odal decided his creations needed needed gardeners and care takers. Instead of creating something entirely new, he found one of his previous creations and modified it. They were upright, two legged creatures, similar in shape to the Dwarves and Gnomes that had been created, although significantly taller. At the time, Odal did not realize what a crucial role the creatures he used as a base would play in the future of the world. He imbued them with magic, extending the length of their lives and eschewing the need to sleep, instead simply needing to meditate for a few hours. He fostered a great love and respect for nature in these new creatures as well. And with that, Odal had created the Elves. They built great cities all throughout the forests that covered the land, using powerful magics to shape the living wood into cities far above the forest floor.

Uundara poured his power into the world, creating the Halflings. He created them to be free spirited creatures who could get along with any who would talk with them. He taught them a great many songs and tales that they might recite to others around a fire to entertain them.

Baol saw these races being created and grew jealous. She wanted something to call her own. But, she lacked the cleverness to create something from her raw power alone. So, she went to the creatures that Odal had formed the Elves out of and stole some of them for herself. With her power and influence, the creatures changed. They grew thick cords of muscle with half as much effort as almost any other race. They grew small fangs that protruded from their mouths and their tempers shortened. Baol had created the Orks.

It was the appearance of the Orks that set the first wars in motion. They followed the ideals of Baol and used their strength to take what they wanted from the world. The Elves and Dwarves formed an alliance and struck against the Orks with deadly coordination and precision. The war’s tide quickly changed and it seemed as though the Orks were going to be crushed. It was at this point that Drakka used his power to form the first Dragons. Giant winged and scaled beasts that had unprecedented control over the elements.

The appearance of the Dragons turned the war on its head and spun things further into chaos as forests were reduced to fields of ash and Dwarves were burned out of their mountain fortress-cities. Throughout the war, the creatures that Odal and Baol had taken to make their creations were the ones to suffer the greatest. The Orks quickly enslaved large numbers of them, considering them to be inferior to their brutal strength. When the dragons struck and the world burned, the small groups that dwelled in the plains were burnt out. The few that survived banded together and wandered as starving nomads.

It was among these wandering wretches that Two-souled Igta was born and raised. Igta was different from the rest. They had a connection to the magic that flowed through the world that was stronger than any other of their kind. Many of their kin could do small acts of magic, but Igta seemingly had perfect and full control over the arcane. This mastery of arcane powers was demonstrated when Igta reduced a band of marauding Orks to ash with seemingly little to no effort. Under the guidance of Igta, these creatures began to recover. Their numbers swelled as entire generations were no longer wiped out by the various dangers of the world. Eventually, when the group of wanderers was too large to move effectively, Igta called upon the arcane to raise a fortress of solid, smooth rock from the earth in the middle of a vast field. It was large enough to house all the wanderers should danger find them, but most took to creating crude structures around the outside of the fortress as to have more living space. The creation of this fortress marked the birth of the first Human empire.

Humans quickly adapted to their sedentary lifestyle. They set about creating farms and roads. Two-souled Igta spent long hours teaching and training any who would listen the secrets of the arcane. Within two decades, they had built a city so grand that the other races began to take notice. It was the Orks who were the first to strike at the newly constructed Human city. They were easily repelled as the world began to realize that these new Humans might be here to stay. The Ork’s defeat was closely followed by an assault by Dragons who were hoping to capitalize on a war weary people for a swift victory. The fighting was vicious, with both sides taking a great deal of losses. Eventually, the Dragons retreated, feeling that they had been too weakened to continue the assault.

It was during these wars and battles that the rest of the world began to follow in the Human’s footsteps and uplift themselves from their more animalistic natures. The end of the Dragon’s assault on the Human city brought about an end to the first age, the age of Creation, and ushered in the second age. Although no one knew it yet, this was to be the age of Wonder. The first age lasted enough enough to see the birth of four generations of Elves.

The age of Wonder was a time of creation and exploration. During this time, most of the other creatures and races came to be. Some uplifted themselves as the Humans had done, others were the results of magical experiments. Much of the knowledge was lost in the coming conflicts. Records of the old factions, nations, and empires have been gathered from the ruins found across the world from ages long past.

The Elves had split into four distinct factions. The southern most were the Elves that inhabited the vast forests of the continent known as Shalera. They believed in following the old ways, shaping their cities from the living wood of the trees and vigilantly defending the woods from any unwelcome intruders. There were the Elves of the swamplands and marshes known as Ogdrak. These reclusive Elves hid themselves deep in the heart of the swamp. They alone knew how to navigate the treacherous peat bogs and unstable ground of the swamps. And there were the northernmost Elves, inhabiting the dense forests along the north western corner of what was once the whole continent of Avethonas (Now the two individual continents of Aveth and Thonas). Of all the Elves, they were the most amiable to outsiders entering their lands and would often encourage trade between them and the other nations. The last of the Elves took to the earth as the Dwarves had. Their home forest had been burned and destroyed by the Dragons and Orks. They grew to despise the other races for the wrongs they had done to the Elves and became bitter and spiteful. These Elves would later become known as the Drow.

The Dwarves had two distinct factions. The northernmost inhabited the mountains of the Narrow Pass. Their cities spilled out from the mountains and they began to build up and around the surrounding area, creating a very large city-nation. Being so far north, they weren’t on any trade route, so they began to encourage the creation of fine goods to bring trade to them. After some time, their city was known as the trade capital of the world. The other Dwarves found their way to the mountains of Shalera. There, they dug deep into the earth and isolated themselves from the surface world. They had an understanding with the Elves of Shalera that both were to leave the other be. Shalera was more populated by “wild races” and less by what would have been considered a standard civilized world, so the Elves and the Dwarves took extra measures to insulate themselves from the other potential threats of the land.

The Gnomes remained in their capital city, continuing to expand around it.

The Halflings spread across the world was surprising speed. Their homelands were the rolling plains of Jid, but their natural inclination for storytelling and expressiveness saw them welcomed as bards and troubadours in most parts of the world.

The Orks made their home in the Hilt Peninsula on Shalera and the southern coast of the Ogdrak swamplands. After their initial conquest, their numbers were decimated by the other races when they combined forces to repel the Orkish threat.

The Humans filled in most everywhere else. The great empire of Igthaer (named after Two-souled Igta) expanded quickly through the southern sun-bathed fields of (what is now) Aveth. Their capital was the city that sprung up around the rock moulded fortress that Igta called from the earth. To their west was the sea faring nation of Galen. They built their homes on the edge of the Pantekar Sea. They were renowned sailors and merchants. Little remains of their civilization after the Rending. East of the, across the Pantekar was the northern nation of Yevar. Yevar’s shared its borders with Jid. As a result, they found little in the way of trade or travel because of Jid’s cultural influence. It is said that Yevar was a very insular nation as a result of that. All that is known is that Yevarian weapons are said to be very, very deadly. Their blades never dull and the metal never rusts. To the south of Jid and the west of the Odrakian swamplands was the queendom of Lunimeth. Entirely unlike Yevar, Lunimeth was likely one of the cultural centers of the known world. Their lands were passed through by many coming or going from Jid. Their economy thrived on trade tariffs and wine from their many vineyards.

None are sure when the Dragonborn first arrived, but when they did, they claimed the islands west of Thonas as their land. They built a mighty empire out of those two islands.

It was during this time of discovery and expansion that the Trolls first emerged. The Trolls were as smart as they were cruel. In combination with their inherent strength and incredible regeneration, they quickly carved out a large area of the Ogdrak swamp land for themselves. They laid waste to the Elves that dwelled in those woods, forcing the remainder of them deep into hiding. Similarly, they crushed the Orks along the coast. But, with each victory, they did not leave a trail of ruined villages and broken bodies. The Trolls kept the death toll to an absolute minimum, instead taking slaves to be sent back to their capital city. Due to their rapid regeneration, their armies needed little time between battles and those wounded during the fighting were ready to take the field when the next conflict happened. It was for these reasons that the Trolls spread so quickly across the land. By the time the other nations and kingdoms rallied and put up any amount of unified defense, the Trolls had carved out a significant chunk of land for themselves.

Yet there was one place they had not managed to overtake. On one of the most central convergence of ley lines stood a university and temple to Ezion. The combined knowledge of the many mages had kept the Trolls at bay. And the sophisticated runes and glyphs laid into the grounds allowed for teleportation of goods and supplies to help those trapped inside withstand the siege. It was here that the greatest minds of the time convened. They knew that if the Trolls were able to take the university, their power would grow tenfold; they would likely be unstoppable after that. So, as it often does, desperation paved the way to a drastic plan. The most powerful mages and arcanists were teleported in from across the land. Together, they all formed a ritual circle and began weaving a spell that would, hopefully, quell the Troll invasion for good.

The ground shook and buildings began to crack and tumble because of the amount of raw power being drawn in. The ley line convergance was tapped into by all who participated in the spell. It was this spell that caused the continent to tear in half; the Rending. The earth simply parted where the convergance was, or had been, as the amount of energy drawn from it caused the Bridge to collapse. This, in turn, caused a back draft across the rest of the ley lines. Many fizzled out, some exploded with new power, others vanished and reappeared in other parts of the world. But, the spell went off. It addled the minds of the Trolls. All of them, and any who would come in future generations. They went from wickedly clever creatures who had almost brought the whole world to its knees to little more than animals in the blink of an eye. Although they still had all of their previous malice. Many of them fell into the hole that had been rent into the earth. Those that weren’t killed by the fall were drowned as the ocean and the sea mixed together to fill in the sudden void of solid earth.

Although no record officially exists, explorers have found ruins of the Drow’s capital city under the ley line convergence. It seems likely that they had been siphoning power and energy from it. When the earth split open, all they had built and worked towards was dashed as the ocean flooded in.

Aside from defeating the Troll threat, the actions of those mages forever changed the world. They ley lines never recovered. Not everyone was tapped into the flow of energy anymore. Not everyone could manipulate it to their will. Now, only the most talented people could work and mold the arcane energies. And even then, it took years of practice and study to achieve results that had been considered commonplace before.

The gods grew silent on the day of the rending. They no longer physically manifested on the material plane. The energy required to host a physical shell for them simply did not exist anymore. Although they were effectively banished from the material plane, their influence and power still lingered. On rare occasions, they were able to imbue a fraction of their power into a mortal champion, but could give them nothing in the way of direction, simply having to trust that their chosen champion would carry out their will.

The age of Wonder had come to an end. The third age was upon the world and none knew what the future would hold. It took a great many years, but the different races of the world recovered from the Rending. The Humans and Orks recovered the fastest because they could reproduce quickly. Dwarves and Elves had a much harder time. They lived long lives and didn’t sire offspring nearly as quickly. And even after they did, the effort involved in raising the child to the point of independence was significantly higher than the other races.

When the continent tore asunder, a gigantic mountain range was thrust into the sky as the earth’s tectonic plates collided. This mountain range destroyed any cities close to Jid’s inner coast. The mountains also turned Jid into a waterless desert. The land quickly deteriorated from lush grasslands to a sun blasted wasteland. Many Halflings left to start their lives elsewhere in the world, but just as many stayed and did their best to rebuild Jid.

The next period of history is shrouded in mystery and inaccuracies as everyone tried to rebuild. But, the world before had been a place where magic and power had been abundant and easily accessible by anyone. This new world was something entirely different. At best, one out of every twenty people had the ability to manipulate the arcane, and even then, their abilities were significantly weaker after the collapse of one of the Bridges. Civilizations that had relied on the daily use of magic for common things crumbled as their way of life was no longer feasible. For a time, it almost seemed as though the cost to stop the Troll thread had been too great. It looked as though it was going to wipe out civilization entirely.

But, as is often the case, life found a way to keep going. The second generation found it easier to live without magic, and the third even easier, until most people not having access to the arcane simply became the norm.

The Silent Pantheon

Major

Odal

God of nature and beasts. Fauna and flora. Creator of humans, father of elves

Vesta

Goddess of life and death. Not one or the other, in particular, but the whole of life from start to finish.

Middling

Ezion

God of knowledge and magic, father of gnomes

Yovna

Goddess of honor and courage

Uundara

God of communication and emotions, father of halflings

Nastak

Goddess of trickery and luck

Minor

Baol

Goddess of strength and war/conquest, mother of orks

Suthifal

God of trade and travel

Onda

Goddess of metals and the forge/crafting, mother of dwarves

Drakka

God of the elements and chaos, father of dragons

Theruvun

Goddess of order/law and conviction, also known as the oathbinder

Dolma

God of weather and good harvest

Yxti

Goddess of the unknown and the far planes

Poxital

God of plagues and famine