The Campaign Builder's Guild

Hmm, been awhile since I've posted anything. I've been away due to the birth of my son. Now that things have settled, I should have a chance to post more stuff on Night Reign. I've been continually working and even have a playtest going now to try out the tech side of things and so far so good.

The problem I generally have is getting it from paper to the computer. For motivation I got several of my usual DnD players involved with the design on a basic level for input and I found that their questions about the world got me going pretty well as well as my upcoming first playtest this upcoming Saturday.

Races of Falamor I

The Elves of Falamor are broken down into two distinct subraces known as Sun Elves and Shadow Elves.

[spoiler=Elven Society]The Beginning
The Elves of Falamor were the first of the Divine Races upon the world, created by the Sun to spread the light and beauty across the land. As the first, the Elves were given two gifts, one by the Sun and one by the Moon. The Sun, referred to as Corlis in the Elven tongue, gifted the Elves with the knowledge of life magic and beauty. The Moon, referred to as Moros in the Elven tongue, gifted the Elves with natural grace and agility. With these gifts came a duty to care for the land and to oversee the creatures that called the land home. The first two Elves created by the Sun were the Sorceress Loth and Magus Silvus who chose their home at the center of the world within the Great Forest and called it the Golden Grove.

For many years the Elves prospered and cared for the land. Loth focused on the plants and nature itself, trees being her favorite and Silvus focused upon the animals of the Great Forest, his favor falling onto the wolf and the eagle. Even with all of their duties and all of the life around them, the two felt alone within the Great Forest for they had only each other to speak to and converse, to share their stories and their laughter. And so the two traveled to the highest point of the Great Forest, looked upward and called out to the Sun and the Moon for companions to join them in the Great Forest. The Sun then created the Dwarven Brothers Ikos and Ikar followed by the Humans Lyssa and Lylos. Together, the six settled the Great Forest with the Dwarves upon the Astral Mountains and the Humans at Hopeâ,¬,,¢s Glen. Each divine race upheld their duties of the world and the Great Balance began.

Many years later while all of the Divine races spoke, they wished that they could have children and share the love that the animals felt when caring for their offspring. And so with the brothers Ikos and Ikarâ,¬,,¢s prayers to the Gods they as for children of their own and the Sun granted them their wish and before long, children of elves, dwarves and humans ran through the Great Woods carefree.

The War
   The elves took the Betrayal of Ilius hard due to the death of Shilo. With the help of the Wyrms of Spring and Summer, Silvus and Loth reformed the societal structure of the Elven people to create the Guardian Caste which numerous elves joined in the name of the Shilo. Together with the Dwarven Paladins and the Human Knights, the Divine races marched to Ilium to have Ilius answer for the crimes he had committed in the name of the Moon, which resulted in the War of the Black Rose. The war did not go well for the Divine Races as Ilius proved too powerful to overcome. The army of the Divine races were defeated and retreated back to their homelands.

The Schism
   With the death of Shilo and the disagreements of the Council of Divine Races, Loth grew cold and distant from her mate and her friends of the Great Forest. She left the Forest and traveled outside its boundaries to the nothingness. With her great power over life magic, the Sorceress Loth created a new realm with which she could mourn the loss of her daughter alone. Stepping out of the Great Forest she disappeared into the lush new world and began her long walk across the world.

With the loss at Ilium, the elves pulled back to their home in the Great Forest which was renamed Lothâ,¬,,¢anewi, which means Lothâ,¬,,¢s mourning, in remembrance of the Sorceressâ,¬,,¢s journey and those elves that died and began the long walk themselves. Silvus went to the center of the forest and sat with the progenitors of the other two races to discuss what had happened and what course of action to do next. The Convention of Stars discussed the threat of Ilium and what needed to be done to end his Night Reign. Ikos and Ikar recited a prophecy to the Convention and pleaded that it be followed.

Two by three it began and one by one it shall end.
Darkness shall cover the sky and those born of shadow will ascend.
One thousand greetings of the sunâ,¬,,¢s heat shall come to pass.
The Night Reignâ,¬,,¢s grasp will weaken to that of glass.
The birth of the Sunâ,¬,,¢s chosen of the third Divine race.
A son born to the barren, he will resemble the Betrayerâ,¬,,¢s face.
With the mark of the Sun upon his crown
The Solar will gather the divine beneath his eyes of brown.
He will travel the lands of shadow and to the source of the Sunâ,¬,,¢s pain
Where he will battle his father and both be slain.

The Return
During the time of the Empire, the First Sorceress returned to the Great Forest with her followers. The reunion was not pleasant however as time had changed Loth and her people. Years of sorrow had paid a heavy price on the first elf and she had accepted the shadow into her heart which transformed her into a creature much more dark and cruel that she had left. She called herself and her people the Lashè Rashal or Shadow Elves.

The reunion between Loth and Silvus was tentative at first for Loth had changed so much since she had departed. Silvus could still feel the warmth of her heart and soul as it had not been completely driven out and he welcomed her and her people back. He decreed that once again the elves would be as one.

The two people would be cautious for the next two years as they tried to adjust to another. The tension began to build as racial hatred began to build up due to an unfortunate killing of a Lashè Rashal in Lothanewi involving the jealous rage of an elf over a female companion. Racial hatred continued to build and incidents between the two would ultimately lead to the Motherâ,¬,,¢s Massacre where 300 elves were killed in the city of Fallâ,¬,,¢isâ,¬,,¢kithra. The Shadowlight war between the two people started shortly there after which lasted for nearly 200 years of slow and methodical warfare. The war ended with the Daybreak Treaty signed at Lothanewi between Loth and Silvus which reunited all elves under the rule of their founders.

The Falling
   The Council of Divine Races gathered at the Astral Mountains to decide the fate of Iliusâ,¬,,¢ remains which ended in disaster. At first none of the council members could agree in what should be done, arguing over whether or not his soul should be given the same burial rites as all others. The final decision was to keep his soul trapped within a prison of light so that he could not rise again.

   The decision would prove to be a fatal one. Ikar, the Voice of the Moon had killed his twin brother Ikos to during the vote and when his crime had come to light, he turned on the rest of the Council. With the help of the Wyrm of Winter, Ikar killed the founders of the Divine Races. With the death of Loth and Silvus, the Elven people fell into war once more as their two leaders were no longer there to keep the peace. The hostilities continue to the current day.

The Shaping
   With both of the founders gone, the elves began to evolve into the society that they have today. Since the founders were gone, the elves decided to form a Council to guide the actions of the society as a whole, which they called the Council of Twilight. The Council would serve as the government of the Elven people. The Council, to ensure proper representation, would be made up of three chosen representatives from each established Caste of society. The Castes were designed to govern each aspect of Elven way of life which fell into three broad groups; the Worker Caste, the Guardian Caste and the Magus Caste. The Council of Twilight meets at Fall'hi'lithai (Elven capitol of Lothâ,¬,,¢anewi) once every 3 years or during times of crisis. Any caste can request a meeting of the Council though two of the three representatives of that caste must approve of the action before the request for meeting is sent out.
   
The Worker Caste can be broken further into Crafters and Workers. The Crafters fulfill the role of artistic expression and the Workers fulfill the role of creation from farming to clothing to buildings. This caste is by far the largest of the three Castes and one of the most respected as everything that allows a society to function is created by this Caste. The Council Members from the Worker Caste are chosen based on talent of their profession, relations within the Caste and political ability.

Elves that are brought into the Worker Caste begin their apprenticeship at the age of 50 when they are paired with a Juri for 30 years of training. If they show progress and aptitude with the skill, they are then given the status of Deri and assigned to a Hemi for another 40 years of training. Once training has been completed, they are given the status of Juri and allowed to work on their own and take on an apprentice of their own. Beyond Juri is the rank of Hemi which denotes mastery of a given skill.

   The Guardian Casteâ,¬,,¢s purpose within society is protection. Guardianâ,¬,,¢s are trained from early in their life in a variety of martial abilities and follow a very rigid command structure. The Council Members from the Guardian Caste are chosen based on military performance and are usually at or near retirement from active duty.

The training begins at 50 years of age. The first 10 years are spent learning history and tactics from books and a teacher called a Senti. Classes are generally grouped together numbering about 40-50 and individuals are referred to as cubs. During this time they are expected to go through constant physical conditioning to prepare them for the rigors of being apart of a Legion. At the age of 60 they are then given a Calling based upon their abilities shown during their study phase. These assignments include infantry, naval, or calvary. There is a semi-secret fourth assignment dubbed the Sunriders which is directly chosen by the Council of Twilight. These elves are trained in a separate location from the other cubs and generally cover skills such as espionage, intelligence and counter-intelligence.

The infantry assignment is the most common Calling for cubs and represents the base and foundation for the Elven Legions. Within the infantry a cub is trained in the ways of combat with the Filar (Elven scimitar) and the long bow. After the initial training which can take up to 20 years, the cubs are assigned into packs of 10 with the most promising named as Pack Leader. A standard Pack will consist of the Leader, four bowman and five swordsman though this can vary depending on a given situation. Once a pack has been formed, the infantry tries to keep the pack together as much as possible. They believe that a life bond is formed between the members of a pack which helps the pack work together and respond more efficiently to a situation. Once a pack has been trained together for 40 years they are joined with a Legion based on the Packs skills and the Legions needs. This last leg of training is the most grueling for young packs with a variety of duties to be performed such as guard duty within Elven communities or caravan escort. The end result of 70 years of training has led to one of the most effective and disciplined fighting forces in all the lands of Falamor.

The naval assignment is for those cubs that have shown qualities that would be best suited for naval ships and duties. The primary naval training center for the Legions is located near the Red Sea. Cubs are assigned to ship, typically a frigate or cruiser where they are taught the basics of working on a naval ship. Once their training has been completed, typically a 50 year process, the cub is assigned to active duty on a vessel or in a shipyard. A naval ship can typically be out to sea for up to one year.

The rider assignment is for those cubs that have shown qualities that would be best suit for land calvary. An assessment period is required to figure out the aptitude of the cub with the handling of an elven horse. Once this has been determined, each cub is paired with a horse where they are expected to form a relationship and bond between rider and horse. From this point forward, rider and horse are never separated from one another and all training is conducted with both which includes use of a lance, bow and filar on horseback. After training, Guardian and horse a group into a Pack of calvary for further training in Pack tactics and movement. Once this has been concluded, the Pack is assigned to a Legion based on Pack skills and the Legions needs.

The Sunrider assignment is reserved for those cubs that show exceptional aptitude for stealth and espionage. Cubs are assigned to a training facility deep in the north of Lothanewi at the Cathari Mountains where they spend the next 60 years training in intelligence and counter-intelligence for the Elven Nation. Once their training is completed, they are assigned into groups of three called bands which report directly to the Council members for the Guardian Caste.

The Legion is the largest unit within the Elven military and consists of consecutively smaller units. A Legion is headed by a Grand Guardian and consists of 10,000 troops. The Legion can be broken down into two 5,000 troop Company that is headed by a High Guardian. Each Company is further broken down into five Columns of 1,000 troops that are led by a Golden Guardian. Each Colum is further broken down into ten Wings of 100 troops which are led by a Rose Guardian. Each Wing is broken down into ten Packs which are run by the Pack Leader.

The Magus Caste is the smallest of the three castes within the Elven Nation. Their purpose is the spiritual well-being of the Elven people, develop and maintain life magic, maintain the history of the elves and establish goals for the future. Many of the Magus Caste are born into it and raised completely within the Magus Community. This helps build a strong relationship with the religious and magic practices and understanding of workings of the Sun and the Moon.
The Magus Caste has three important locations for their studies and ceremonies. They are known as the Circle of the Dawn, Circle of the Zenith and the Circle of the Night. These temples are constructed of ivory, polished pearl and marble in a circle like fashion and designed in a way that when the appropriate time of day is reached, the Circle is lit up by the light of the Sun.
Each Circle represents the cycle of life and each Caste within Elven society. The Circle of the Dawn is used in rituals concerning birth and renewal. It also represents opportunity and marriage. The Worker caste is associated with the Dawn as they create and beautify the world through their medium.

The Circle of the Zenith is used in rituals concerning longevity, courage and hardship. The Magus Caste is associated with the Zenith as it is the height of the Sunâ,¬,,¢s power thus the center point of religious belief and life magic.

The Circle of the Night is used in rituals concerning death and entropy. Even though there are many things within the world that are associated with the Moon that are considered evil, the Elves still consider it important to pay proper respect to the Moon so that he feels loved and acknowledged for his role within the world. The Guardian Caste is associated with the Night as the purpose of the Guardian is combat and protection, which has a close, connect with death, even in self-defense.

Lashè Rashal
   The Shadow Elves follow a modified elven caste system since their departure from the elves of the Shadowlight Forest. The society is based around four castes, which are the Sun, the Moon, Striders, and Labor Caste. Each Caste has two senators appointed to the Shadow Conclave. From the 8 senators the Minister of the Lashè Rashal is appointed to lead the people. The Minister has always been female since its inception but this is not law. The Shadow Elves see this as a continuation of Lothâ,¬,,¢s influence and guidance over her people.
   The Sun Caste governs the arcane magic of the people. Its duty is to ensure the proper use of arcane magic. The Lashe Rashal are very strict in their teaching and policing of their arcane users. They feel that since they were appointed as the original magi of the world, they should set an example of its use and care.
   The Moon Caste governs the divine magic and religious practice of the people. Its duty is to ensure that the faith is followed properly. Those that are found disloyal to the faith are taken and reeducated in the faith.
   The Strider Caste governs the protection of the people. They ensure that the laws of the people are followed and that the enemies of the people are dealt with swiftly and harshly. As opposed to operating as a massive force, the Striders prefer to operate in smaller groups. They find that this allows for better freedom of movement and access to tightly controlled locations. The Striders have been known to work with the Moon Caste on a regular basis to enforce the faith laws. Those found to have violated the faith laws are known to disappear during the night and many times never seen from again.
   The Labor Caste provides the tools for the people. They ensure that all castes have the tools they need to perform their duties. The labor caste is the largest of the four castes however holds the least amount of power.

Personality: Elves are more often amused than excited, and more likely to be curious than greedy. With such a long life span, they tend to keep a broad perspective on events, remaining aloof and unfazed by petty happenstance. When pursing a goal, however, they can be focused and relentless. They are slow to make friends and enemies and even slower to forget them. Once an elf makes a friendship, they consider it for life and are fiercely loyal.
Physical Description â,¬' Sun Elves: Elves are short and slim, standing about 4 Ã,½ to 5 Ã,½ feet tall and typically weighing 95 to 135 pounds, with men the same height and only marginally heavier than females. Skin tone tends to be pale with light touches of gold highlights along the sides of the neck, shoulders and ribs. Hair color typically ranges from blonde to light brown to red. Elves have no facial or body hair. They prefer light and loose fitting clothing. An elf reaches adulthood at about 110 years of age and can live to more than 700 years old.
Physical Description â,¬' Shadow Elves: Elves are short and slim, standing about 4 Ã,½ to 5 Ã,½ feet tall and typically weighing 95 to 135 pounds, with females the same height and only marginally heavier than males. Skin tone tends to be dusky gray with light touches of silver highlights along the sides of the neck, shoulders and ribs. Hair color typically ranges from silver to white to black. Elves have no facial or body hair. They prefer dark, tight, formfitting clothing. An elf reaches adulthood at about 110 years of age and can live to more than 700 years old.
Relations: Elves consider humans as younger brothers that sometimes need guidance in looking to the future. Dwarves as a wise older brother who needs to be reminded of the joys of life. Cushani are treated as toddlers who are yet to be refined. Halfings a bit staid, Gnomes as trivial, half-elves with pity and half-orcs with suspension.

Sun Elf Racial Traits
â,¬Â¢   +2 Intelligence, -2 Constitution
â,¬Â¢   Medium sized.
â,¬Â¢   Base speed is 30 feet.
â,¬Â¢   Immunity to magic sleep effects and a +2 racial saving throw bonus against enchantment spells or effects.
â,¬Â¢   Low-light vision.
â,¬Â¢   Weapon proficiency: Elven long sword, longbow and shortbow
â,¬Â¢   +2 racial bonus to Listen, Search and Spot checks. Elves can also sense hidden passageways.
â,¬Â¢   Favored Class: Mage

Shadow Elf Racial Traits
â,¬Â¢   +2 Intelligence, -2 Constitution
â,¬Â¢   Medium sized.
â,¬Â¢   Base speed is 30 feet.
â,¬Â¢   +2 racial bonus against all spell and spell like effects.
â,¬Â¢   Darkvision 60 feet.
â,¬Â¢   Weapon proficiency: Elven long sword, crossbow, hand crossbow
â,¬Â¢   +2 racial bonus to Hide and Move Silently checks. Elves can also sense hidden passageways.
â,¬Â¢   Favored Class: Mage[/spoiler]

The Dwarves of Falamor are also divided into two subraces called the Asani and the Winkar.

[spoiler=Dwarven Society]The Beginning
   The Dwarves of Falamor were the second of the Divine Races, created to be the Voice of the Gods and spiritual leaders of the people. From the Astral Mountain the dwarves were created, crafted from the blood of the earth and of stone of the mountain. Twin brothers, Ikos and Ikar came forth to the peak of the mountain and joined the elves with open arms. Ikos would become the Voice of the Sun (also known as Milor) and Ikar the Voice of the Moon (also known as Gar).

   As the elves cared for the land, Ikos and Ikar cared for the spiritual well-being of those of Falamor. It was the brothers that crafted the Land of Dreams as a place for the souls of the departed to journey to for their final resting place and it was them that gave the tenets of faith:

To have love is to be born
To have emotion is to be alive
To have peace is to be in harmony
To have death is to be complete

   For their home the brothers chose the peak of the Astral Mountain as they were the closest to the Gods and from their peak they maintained the faith of the world. When the other Divine Races came to them and asked for children of their own, it was them who raised their voices to the sky and asked the Sun to bless them with children of their own so that many more could follow in the faith of the Sun and the Moon. The Sun then blessed the Divine Races with children of their won. The brothers gave forth children from their own flesh, the braids from their beards woven with mithral from the mountain, which marked the beginning of the Dwarven houses.

   The houses took their place at the Astral Mountains, following the teachings of their founding fathers in matters of religion and crafting the earth. The dwarves founded architecture during this time to provide shelter for all from the seasons and growing population. As time passed, two subgroups of dwarves emerged from race. Those that chose to live atop of the mountain focused on matters of faith and the physical and were known as the Asani. The Asani were generally followers of the Sun under Ikos. Those that lived within the mountain focused on craft and the spiritual were known as the Drasani. The Drasani were generally followers of the Moon under Ikar.

The Questioning
   After the rise of Ilius and the horrors that he had brought to the world became known, Ikar questioned his brother on why the Moon would allow such destruction of people and the land. Ikos pledged that the acts of Ilius were his own and not that of the Moon. The difference in philosophy and expectations led to a division between the Asani and the Drasani as each side began to question the others loyalty of faith or lack there of. This eventually led to the War of the 15 Houses. The war was brief though did result in terrible atrocities between the Houses. Sickened by what the dwarves had become, Ikos attempted to settle differences with his brother in hopes of stopping the bloodshed. Ikar agreed and helped form the Council of House Elders to govern the people in their daily lives and religious practices.

The Decision
   After the death of Ilius to the hands of Horan, the Convention of Stars met to discuss what course of action to take. Ikos and Ikar could not agree in what action to take and this disagreement angered Ikar for he knew the truth of the Moon and did not wish to invoke his wrath should his chosen vesselâ,¬,,¢s soul be destroyed. During the deliberations, Ikar prayed to the Moon for guidance in what he should do.
   
The Moon answered his prayers and sent the Wyrm of Winter to Ikar to sooth his worries and offered him council on what he should do. The Wyrm of Winter, with his cold heart, suggested that Ikar kill his brother, as was the will of the Moon. Ikar was troubled by this course of action and initially did not agree to perform the act. The Wyrm was cunning however and seduced Ikar, whispered doubt into his mind until Ikar finally broke and agreed. Ikar went to his brotherâ,¬,,¢s chambers on the 10th night of deliberations and strangled is brother as he slept.
   
The Convention of Stars was concluded shortly there after with the decision to retain the body of Ilius and hold his soul in stasis forever. Ikar wept for many days after and locked himself away deep within the Astral Mountains. The Council of House Elders was forced to govern their society alone.

The Fallout
   When the Wrym of Summer arrived at the Astral Mountain with the assembled Council of Divine Races, Ikar finally emerged from his isolation a changed being. The light within his heart had dimmed, his temper had grown and his care for the well-being of the world had been shattered by his own act. When the Council questioned Ikar on the death of his brother, he did not deny what he had done and when they tried to force him to pay for the crimes that he had committed under the laws that the twin brothers had given, his temper flared and he went into a berserker rage and killed the Council of Divine Races.

   Whatever kindness was left in Ikar after his murderous rage was now gone and all that was left was his cruelty and hatred of the other races. He gathered the loyal Drasani of the Astral Mountain and left southward. The Asani of the mountain were left to pick up the pieces of Ikarâ,¬,,¢s rage, which left them fractured and helpless against the protest of the other races. The Asani could no longer be trusted and the leaders of the faith fell into darkness.

The Winkar
   Ikar traveled with his people south into the Caves of Sharla. These unknown caves became the new home of the Drasani people and their leader Ikar. Joining him was the Wyrm of Winter who helped Ikar form the foundation of a new society of dwarves that together they called the Winkar. Ikar formed the Council of Winter from which to rule the Winkar. The Council of Winter would be made up of Grand Chancellor and ruler of the people. Beneath the Grand Chancellor are the Warmaster, Grand Architect and the Grand Sage.

The Winkar believe in the divine right of rule established by Ikar the Red. It was stated that all blood descendants of Ikar would have the right to rule the Winkar people. In order to choose the worthiest heir, the Test of Purity was created to judge each heirâ,¬,,¢s worth. This test involved three sections called Soul, Heart and Faith. The test of soul involved the heirâ,¬,,¢s ability to wield divine magic and the use of the shadow element. The test of Heart involved physical prowess and appearance. An heir must prove their ability to use the religious weapon the urgrosh and that they had received the entire set of tattoos required of the faith. The test of Faith involved showing their depth of belief in the faith by performing an act worthy of the Moonâ,¬,,¢s favor. This is the most open of the three tests and is generally open to interpretation. The current Grand Chancellor conducts each Test of Purity if he still holds the position and if not, the Council of Winter will make the final decision on the worthiest heir.

The Reunion
   The reunion of the Winkar and the Asani would take place nearly 400 years after Ikar left the Astral Mountains. During this time, the Winkar had grown in size and created cities and armies. The Asani had been slower in their progress, continually hampered by the continued conflicts of the other races. This left them unprepared when the Winkar returned to the Astral Mountains in full force and attempted to take their ancestral home by force. The battles would last for many years with the Winkar gaining an early edge but quickly leveled off as the Asani and their Thundermount Riders provided more difficult to defeat than originally though.

   At the height of the battles, when Ikar began to personally led his people into battle, it seemed like all was lost until the arrival of Insa, an Asani dwarf believed to be the direct descendant of Ikos arrived back home from the Dragon Wars. The powerful priest of the Sun confronted Ikar directly to have him answer for his crimes committed so long ago. Ikar, a being created by the Moon, proved to be too powerful for even the Asaniâ,¬,,¢s greatest hero to defeat. Insaâ,¬,,¢s broken body was tossed aside by Ikar with a careless toss. Upon his dying breath Insa gave one final prayer to the Sun and called for the Wyrm of Summer to finish the task he had started.

   The Wyrm of Summer answered the call of the Sun and Insa and traveled to the war torn Astral Mountains to confront Ikar. Even with the son of the Sun before him, Ikar refused to relent and attacked the Wyrm of Summer. For as powerful as he was, even Ikar could not defeat the first creature created. With the Sun as his weapon, Summer struck down Ikar and slew him with a ray of the Sun through his heart.

   The Winkar called out for the Wyrm of Winter to answer their prayers and to fight the Wyrm of Summer. Angered that Summer had destroyed its companion, Winter attacked Summer before all of the dwarves. Their battle raged across the caves and deep into the bowels of the mountain until none could see them any longer. With both Wyrms removed from the battlefield, the Winkar attacked the Asani once more.

The Shattering
   With their greatest ally unable to assist them any longer, the Council of House Elders met to decide the fate of the dwarven people. It was clear at this point that the Asani could not win the war that was before them. They could stay and be killed and forever loose the knowledge of history and the faith of the Sun or they could break the Council and Houses and retreat from the Astral Mountains.

   The Council of House Elders decided to shatter the Houses of the Sun and ordered the retreat of their people. From the mountain the houses went their separate ways to settle in distant lands. The houses governed their own and no central government was left in place to direct them. The Asani people were broken and scattered. The Winkar celebrated their victory over their fallen brothers and took the Astral Mountains as their own. From the High Temple of the Sun and Moon the new Grand Chancellor took his throne and ruled the mountains with an iron fist.

Asani Personality: Dwarves are slow to laugh or jest and suspicious of strangers, but they are generous to those few who earn their trust. Dwarves value gold, gems, jewelry and art objects made with these precious materials, and they have been known to succumb to greed. They fight neither recklessly nor timidly, but with careful courage and tenacity. Their sense of justice is strong, but at its worst it can turn into a thirst for vengeance.

Winkar Personality: Winkar are quick to anger as much as they are quick to laugh. They ride their emotions without limitations which can lead to a uncomfortable social situation if one is not prepared to handle the quick turning emotions of a Winkar. Religion is the highest priority of the Winkar within their daily lives and holds the highest value over any other material. Religious items of precious materials are considered sacred. Their sense of justice is swift and brutal with little to no reprieve.

Asani Physical Description: Dwarves stand only 4 to 4 Ã,½ feet tall, but they are so broad and compact that they are, on average, almost as heavy as humans. Dwarf men are slightly taller and noticeably heavier than dwarf women. Dwarvesâ,¬,,¢ skin is typically deep tan of light grown, and their eyes are dark. Their hair is usually black, gray or brown and worn long. Dwarf men value their beards highly and groom them very carefully. Dwarves favor simple styles for their beards and clothes. Dwarves are considered adults at about age 40 and they can live to be more than 400 years old.

Winkar Physical Description: Winkar stand only 4 to 4 Ã,½ feet tall, but they are so broad and compact that they are, on average, almost as heavy as humans. Winkar men are slightly taller and noticeably heavier than winkar women. Winkarâ,¬,,¢s skin is typically a deep red, almost black in color and their eyes are dark. Some rare Winkar eyes are yellow or orange in color with marks a true descendant of Ikar. Their hair is usually black, gray or red and worn long. Dwarf men value their beards highly and groom them very carefully. Dwarves favor simple styles for their beards and clothes. Dwarves are considered adults at about age 40 and they can live to be more than 400 years old.

Asani Racial Traits:
â,¬Â¢   +2 Constitution, -2 Charisma
â,¬Â¢   Medium sized
â,¬Â¢   Base speed is 20 feet
â,¬Â¢   Darkvision of 60 feet
â,¬Â¢   Stonecunning
â,¬Â¢   Dwarven weapons
â,¬Â¢   +4 bonus verse bull-rush and trip attempts
â,¬Â¢   +2 racial bonus verse poison
â,¬Â¢   +2 racial bonus verse spells
â,¬Â¢   +1 racial bonus on attacks against orcs
â,¬Â¢   +4 dodge bonus to AC verse giants
â,¬Â¢   +2 racial bonus on appraisal checks
â,¬Â¢   +2 racial bonus on craft stone checks

Winkar Racial Traits
â,¬Â¢   +2 Wisdom, -2 Charisma
â,¬Â¢   Medium sized
â,¬Â¢   Base speed is 20 feet
â,¬Â¢   Darkvision of 60 feet
â,¬Â¢   Stonecunning
â,¬Â¢   Dwarven weapons
â,¬Â¢   +4 bonus verse bull-rush and trip attempts
â,¬Â¢   +2 racial bonus on craft stone checks
â,¬Â¢   Gain Knowledge (architecture) as a class skill regardless of class. As well, they receive a +2 racial bonus on skill checks.
â,¬Â¢   Shadow manipulation. This ability allows the Winkar to manipulate the light level within a 60 foot area. Shadowy illuminations must already be present within the area of effect. Winkar can, with a standard action, increase the darkness level of the area of effect to create standard complete darkness. This manipulation lasts for a number of rounds equal to the Winkarâ,¬,,¢s Wisdom modifier +1. This ability may be used a number of times per day equal to their Wisdom modifier.[/spoiler]

The Cushani are a proud people and the youngest in Falamor.

[spoiler=Cushani Society]During the Age of Creation, the Great Forest was home to many creatures and the mightiest hunter among them was the Cushani. These powerful feline hunters rules with absolute authority and moved in groups led by the female of the group. During her walks through the forest, Loth came upon the Cushani and saw great potential in them. She took them in her loving arms and gifted them with intelligence and called them her children. She barred the Cushani people from learning magic however, knowing that the power of magic in their grasp would unbalance the Great Forest. The Cushani served Loth with absolute loyalty and love until the time of Ilius the Betrayer.

   When Loth lost her daughter Shilo to Ilius, she left the Great Forest, leaving her loyal servants behind without even an explanation on why she had left. With her departure, the Cushani wage battle among one another for dominance over the forest. The Panja tribe led by Queen Zara eventually won control over the tribes. Under her rule, she led the united Cushani against the elves in a bloody war in an attempt to gain the secrets of magic. This ultimately failed as the Cushani were defeated by the very thing they desired. The tribes were forced to leave the Great Forest and traveled westward on the Long Journey. The tribes, many of which died during the journey, finally arrived at the Kusar Jungles that was inhabited by the Mardok. The Mardok were a proud race of lizard men who had lived in the jungle their whole life.

   Queen Zara led her people on a vast conquest of the jungle, calling for her people to take the jungle in the name of their people as their new home. The Mardok-Cushani war lasted for nearly two decades and a Cushani victory. Most Mardok were killed in the fighting and their vast number of villages and town were destroyed. Those that did survive were made into slaves, forced to work for their dominators

Expansion
   With a new home firmly in their grasp, the tribes quickly spread throughout the jungle. With their high number of litters of newborn cubs, the Cushani population exploded across the region which led to conflicts with several neighboring community and eventually the Ilium Empire. The Cushani and Ilium would not go to a full scale war but many skirmishes between the two lasted for nearly the entire reign of Ilius. From their skirmishes the felines learned several trades that they immediately put to use such as metal smithing and naval ships but still they were unable to learn what they truly desired which was magic. By the Age of Heroes, the Cushani had firm control over the entire Kusar Jungle and multiple cities along the coast of the Red Sea.

Soul bound
   The time for magic came to the Cushani during the Age of Heroes. During the time of the Watcher-Revolutionist war the Cushani were approached by the metallic dragons, offering the gift of divine magic for their assistance in the war against the Revolutionists. The Bonding Ritual brought the two races together spiritually, joining their souls together to unite them as one. The ritual had its price however. For breaking the ban placed upon them by Loth, all first born died within a few days of being born. The Cushani believe that these souls of the first born are carried off to the Moon, forever damned in servitude and never allowed to rest.

   Late in the Age of Heroes, the Company of Four offered the secrets of arcane magic for their help with the Cerian Empire. The Cushani tribes debated for many weeks over the offer to assist the Company of Four and finally the Queen made her decree and accepted their offer. The twins then opened the hearts and minds of the Cushani and showed them the secrets of arcane magic. With this act, the Cushani endured another curse for breaking the ban placed on them by Loth. Each Cushani that lived for that day forth would have their life span cut short, sacrificed so that they could access the powers of magic.

The Brink
   With the act of accepting arcane magic, the Cushani and their Dragon Riders joined the armies of Ro and the heroes of the Realm. The greatest of all Dragon Riders, Grand Marshal Zudan led the dragons into the skies over Ceria where he waged the largest battle in Cushani history against the Cerian army and their griffon riders. Though he was killed when he sacrificed himself to save his men, his deeds in the battle of Ceria is remembered on. When the battle was finished, the Cushani was one of the most powerful nations within the entire region and they took this to their advantage. They used their might to expand their boundaries further than ever before, expanding upon land and sea until they controlled the known western lands and the trading seas of the Red Sea.

   With expansion however came lust for power and as the other kingdoms strived to rebuild, the Cushani began to implode from within from infighting among the noble tribes. The fighting by the nobles escalated to the point that the tribes began to war against one another for the right to rule. The Tribal Wars would last for several generations with no clear victor in sight. It wasnâ,¬,,¢t until the emergence of the Vampire Queen Yaneria that the tribes would reunite.

The Dominion
   Yaneria had spread her influence along the entire Bay of Bones along with her curse to the point that many of the towns in the area of Mount Nightfire. The vampires hunted on all within the area and saw the Cushani like a fine wine, preferring their blood to most others. As the Fao Empire began its push outward, Yaneria began her move to unite her brood under a single banner and began with the Cushani controlled lands of Zaun. The attack came swiftly and brutally with many noble Cushani piked at the center of the city. The Cushani were taken aback by the brutally of the act and attempted to strike back against the vampires but these hunters matched the Cushani in speed and strength but overpowered them due to their undead nature.

   Yaneria pushed far into the tribal lands of the Cushani, stopping only to feed, destroy the farmland and pike her enemies. Her quest took her up to the gates of Zathiris were she was finally stopped by the Dragon Riders. The reigning Queen Thralira of the Cushani had held back the Dragon Riders for fear of her life and only when Yaneria was nearly standing upon her did she unleash the destructive force of the dragon riders. The vampire queen called a retreat, unwilling to risk the unlives of all of her brood just to topple the Cushani. She called for a truce and withdrew from the area back to Mount Nightfire. Queen Thralira was killed shortly after the truce with Yaneria in an honor duel with the noble Hira who was then crown as Queen of the Cushani Dominion.

   Since the ascension of Queen Hiraâ,¬,,¢s bloodline, the Cushani have grown strong once more and the most united of all of the other kingdoms. The tribes though have begun to whisper that the current Queen Lira has grown soft, too distant in the blood from her ancestor. With the rise of Ilius, the strong Dominion could falter and repeat history.

The Society
   The Cushani are a tribal matriarchal society who believes in ascension by lineage. From the beginning, the Cushani have operated in tribes and then in prides. A tribe is the largest family structure of the Cushani, consisting of those that are descendant from common ancestors. A tribe generally has many prides within its lineage and generally holds land in several cities. Each tribe is led by a single female called the Ezadi or First Female. It is the responsibility of the Ezadi to govern the safety of the tribe and further is influence among the other tribes and the royal court.

A pride is a family unit of direct family members. It is also headed by the most dominant female of the pride called the Ezada which means Second Female. The Ezadaâ,¬,,¢s concern is for the direct safety of her pride and her young. She is the only one allowed to breed within the pride and typically has four to six males to choose from at any given time. Males are expected to protect the pride from any who pose a threat to the cubs and serve in times of war when called upon.

Spring is the mating season for the Cushani, a time of great joy but also one of cruelty for some males. Each male within the pride is expected to compete for the attention and affection of the Ezada in hopes of begin chosen by her to mate. This most often will led to honor duels between males in hopes of showing of his right to breed by proving his has the most to provide. Death is not all that uncommon during these duels and even though the Dominion officially frowns upon such needless death, Ezada tend to gain a certain amount of joy from watching males fight over them.

The other females of the pride tend to cubs within the pride. They are taught the necessities of Cushani way of life. Female cubs are taught social skills and politics where the males are taught the ways of combat. Cubs that have grown old enough to begin their own prides, generally the young age of 15, usually most fight the dominate male for the right to leave, to prove that they posses the skills necessary to protect their future pride. Females are not as lucky as the Ezada keeps them close to hopefully prevent future rivals to her pride. A male sutor of a yet released female most fight the dominant male of the pride for the right of the female, again to prove his worth. If the Ezada approves of the performance, she will release the female to begin her own pride.

Personality: The Cushani believe that they are the ultimate predators of the world. With their size and natural strength, few can hope to match a Cushani in a direct confrontation. Their predator instincts have not dulled with the development of their culture, instead serving to refine and sculpt their lust for the hunt even more.

Physical Description: The Cushani have a feline appearance to them with thick fur and extendable claws. Their coats very in color from a blonde to a dark yellow to a brownish-red and eye color of either green or yellow. They are a heavy muscled race though their intelligence still retains some of its animalistic characteristics. Females are slightly larger in size standing 7â,¬,,¢4â,¬Â and 280 lbs, males at 7â,¬,,¢1â,¬Â and 260 lbs. Cushani are considered adults at about age 15 and they can live to be about 80 years old.

Racial Traits:
â,¬Â¢   +2 Strength, -2 Intelligence
â,¬Â¢   Base speed is 40 feet.
â,¬Â¢   Cushani are large sized. They have a â,¬'1 to AC and â,¬'1 to attack rolls.
â,¬Â¢   Low-light vision
â,¬Â¢   Cushani receive the Track feat for free at 1st level
â,¬Â¢   Cushani receive the Survival skill as a class skill, regardless of what class they choose. In addition, they receive a +2 racial bonus to this skill
â,¬Â¢   Cushani have a set of claws at their hands (paws) that can be used as natural weapons. If used as natural weapons, they deal 1d6 plus Strength modifier in lethal damage.
â,¬Â¢   Favored Class: Barbarian[/spoiler]

History (continued)

[spoiler=Age of Heroes]The Age of Heroes
   With the end of Ilius, the Council of Divine Races gathered at the peak of the Astral Mountains to discuss what should be done with the body of Ilius and Horan as well as what to do now that the world was left shattered by the war. It was readily agreed that Horanâ,¬,,¢s body would be enshrined and given the customary burial rights. The discussion over the remains of Ilius proved to be much more controversial. The elves were in favor of destroying the body so that he could not rise from the dead. The humans were in favor giving the customary burial rights since he was still human and entitled to have his soul sent to the afterlife and in addition they did not want to offend the Moon by desecrating the body of his chosen. The dwarves were split in their decision with Ikos favoring the elves and Ikar favoring the humans. With the council undecided, the body was put into stasis through magic until a decision could be reached.
   
During the period of discussion and indecision, the Wyrm of Winter approached Ikar during his prayers to the Moon to discuss the fate of Iliusâ,¬,,¢ body and how it was important that his body survive and his soul be allowed to transcend to the afterlife. The swing vote remained with his brother and for 10 days the brothers talked and argued over the decision. On the evening of the 10th night, the Wyrm of Winter returned to Ikar to ask if a decision had been made. Distraught by the news that none had been made, the Wyrm of Winter deceived Ikar into believing that the only course left was to kill his brother so his vote would not count. Ikar finally agreed and during the middle of the night, Ikar murdered his brother.
   
Ikar then returned to the Council to state that Ikos had taken ill and would not join the Council. He further lied and stated that Ikos had changed his vote in favor to not destroy the body of Ilius the Betrayer. In order to protect the body, the council created the Order of Horan to watch over the body and crown of Ilius. The head of the Order would carry the Sword of Horan as a symbol of leadership and power.

   After the influence of the Wyrm of Winter over the council and the death of his highest priest, the Sun was enraged and punished the Wyrms of Winter and Autumn by banishing them to the land, making them living avatars as opposed to actual demigods. Afterwards, the Sun sent the Wyrms of Spring and Summer to the land to watch over the races, to preserve the peace and to stop the influence of the Moon and his children in the affairs of the mortal races.

   Once the Wyrm of Summer arrived upon Falamor, it arrived at the Council first to announce its presence and intentions and it was the Wyrm that discovered the death of Ikos. Ikar was declared a traitor and the Council attempted to apprehend Ikar so that he could pay for his crimes. The affair would turn deadly with Ikar, along with the Wyrm of Winter, killing the remaining council members.

Ikar quickly left the Council and the region to the south. A few faithful to the priest of the Moon left with him and traveled south to the Lylos Mountains. It was during this trip that Ikar was once again joined by the Wyrm of Winter who counseled him and comforted him. The union between Ikar and the Wyrm of Winter led to the birth of the Winkar, the dark dwarves, many years later.

   Meanwhile, the Army of Light continued to fight the remaining forces of the Ilium Empire that were spread across the vast Empire. Once the remaining armies had been defeated, the Army took the role as peacekeepers across the land, quelling pockets of loyalists to Ilius where needed. By its completion many years later, the Army was finally disbanded and the notable heroes and leaders of the army were given grants of land now available and title to hold that land...

   With peace now settling throughout the world, the people welcomed home their soldiers and heroes from the long campaign. They took comfort that the Wyrms of the Sun had joined them upon the world to help keep the peace. The Wyrms of the Sun however, even as powerful as they were, knew they alone could not watch over the world. In an effort to help the people of Falamor, the Wyrms of Spring and Summer enlisted the help of the dragons. With the title of Watchers of the Realm, the dragons spread across the land to assist the lords and kings in maintaining peace.

For a hundred years the dragons watched over the land and maintained order but not all of the dragons during this time were pleased with their role. Some dragons had become disillusioned with being Watchers over the people that had brought evil into the world. They began to question the role that the Watchers played in Falamor, believing that they should take charge of the region, to lead the people instead of guiding them. Because they were closest to godhood, they knew what was best and leading was a better method. The Wyrm of Autumn, who had been watching the dragons for some time, encouraged this line of thought. He gathered those that had voiced their dissatisfaction and further fueled their desire to take what they believed to be the best for Falamor. His words pushed the rebel faction of dragons to the brink and finally caused a rift between the Watchers and the newly formed Revolutionists. These Revolutionists officially left the Watcher organization, joining the Wyrm of Autumn in an attempt to overthrow the metallic dragons. These dragons deliberately skinned their metallic scales to show that they supported the cause and had shed the false ideals of Spring and Summer. With their metallic scales shed, Autumn gifted the Revolutions with scales from his own body, each color symbolizing a different aspect of what he stood for. They had become the chromatic dragons.

The war between the dragons took place at the heart of the region causing massive destruction across the land. Many villages were destroyed as well as a few cities left devastated from the Dragon War. Even the Wyrms of Winter and Autumn joined in the fighting against the Watchers and the Wyrms of Spring and Summer, facing one another on several occasions but it was the Revolutionists that gained the upper hand by their willingness to sacrifice the lives of the lesser races. The Watchers admitted defeat as they could not stop the constant push by the Revolutionists. The metallic dragons were driven northward to the Great Plains when their hold was finally broken by the chromatics.

The chromatics took control of the land, declaring themselves rulers of all races, which began 150 years of rule. The metallic dragons, on the other hand, spent the time regrouping and strengthening their numbers. Being driven north pushed them into the realm of the Cushani. The youngest of the races, the Cushani were still very much in touch with their feral nature and saw the incursion of the metallic dragons as a threat to their dominance and their domain. The Watchers, however, sued for peace and cooperation with the Cushani in hopes of making allies so they could regain their strength. The dragons offered the Cushani the secrets of divine magic as payment for their help. The Cushani agreed and united together, the metallic dragons and the Cushani began their campaign to end the rule of the Revolutionist dragons.

The Watchers taught the Cushani the ways of divine magic by sharing a portion of their souls with the felines. This sharing linked the two races together and bred a new breed of Cushani that were as one with the dragons. These kindred souls paired together and became the first Dragon Riders.

The Second Dragon war began with a thunderous attack by the united allies of the metallic dragons and the Cushani. The metallic dragons introduced the Dragon Riders to the battle, Cushani warriors that had bonded in mind and spirit to their kindred dragons. The chromatic dragons used their conquered vassals in an attempt to develop Dragon Riders themselves. They were not nearly as efficient as the metallic dragons and the Cushani because no bond existed, only fear. It ended up being the Dragon Riders of the Watchers that shattered the hold of fear and dominance that the Revolutions held on the world and their slaves.

The races of the world were once again in the hands of those who would take charge. The metallic dragons refused to rule over them as the chromatic dragons had and instead took upon their original role as Watchers. It was during this time of peace that many settled within their chosen domains to watch and begin families of their own.  The Wyrm of Spring had settled to watch over Sirenâ,¬,,¢s Lake, an area that he found to be peaceful and relaxing, a place where he cared for the people deeply and in particular a woman named Geladrine Ro.

Together they had a son named Pelus Ro who would later be known as Pelus the Peacekeeper. Pelus was born with incredible strength and sharp wit thanks to his father the Wyrm of Spring. His birth came at a time four hundred years after the last dragon war, a time when reports of creatures began to filter throughout the land. These creatures were powerful children of the ancient Wyrms of Autumn and Winter. The people called them the Shanâ,¬,,¢ree.

Along with the Wyrms of Spring and Summer settling, Autumn and Winter also integrated themselves within society. Winter left the regions of the Winkar to the foothills north of the Astral Mountains where he took the guise of a human and lived among the towns as a bard. With his stories he helped sculpt the minds of the people of the region, even producing several children that he would use as his pawns to spread the ideals of the Moon.  These children were Kisymi, Tikati, Vorad, Vorrcha, Corracha and Chathera.

The Wyrm of Autumn settled in the kingdom of Ceria which already was in favor of the Moonâ,¬,,¢s ideals and wishes. This made it easy for Autumn to integrate himself into the society where he began to manipulate the nobility through deceit and heirs so that he could have his own children rule the kingdom and thus, give him a kingdom from which to spread the influence of the Moon. These heirs were Slyhin, Tarsor, Verinea, Vorisea, Ashrir and Ashardi.

The children of Autumn and Winter collectively became known as the Shanâ,¬,,¢ree or the Shades as it is translated in the ancient holy language developed by Ikos during the Age of Creation. The Shanâ,¬,,¢ree are formed by the infusion of the Breath with a person on the verge of death.. From their fathers they spread out among the world to spread the word of the Moon under the direction of Slyhin, the first born of the Shanâ,¬,,¢ree and self-proclaimed Shade King.

Pelus, along with his brother Felor and the twin daughters of the Wyrm of Summer named Adrianne and Selrianne, united the towns of Sirenâ,¬,,¢s Lake to fight the growing problems of brigands and mercenaries that were under the direction of Tarsor and Vorrcha. Pelus, knowing that he would need more than just an alliance of towns to face the Shanâ,¬,,¢ree and their minions, set out with his three companions to the neighboring kingdoms but none would listen as they were worried about their own lands and people. The kingdoms knew what they faced with the Shades and had no time for towns when their own kingdoms faced danger. The elves however did listen to Pelus, recognizing and acknowledging his heritage. It was they who suggested that Pelus climb the Astral Mountains to ask for guidance from the Sun.

Pelus climbed the mountain and for 10 days and nights he prayed to the Sun, asking for guidance in what he should do. He received a vision on the tenth night, a vision that showed him a united kingdom of the Sirenâ,¬,,¢s Lake and a holy weapon of the Sun that could be used to fight the Shanâ,¬,,¢ree. With his answer, Pelus returned to the elves where he was taught the beginning ways of swordplay, his brother was taught archery and the twins learned the ways of magic. With their new skills, they returned home only to find that the Shades had beaten them to the region and conquered it.

During Pelusâ,¬,,¢ quest and training, Tarsor and Vorrcha made their final push in the area of Sirenâ,¬,,¢s Lake. Their first step was to subdue the Wyrm of Spring so he could not join in the resistance against the mercenaries. To do so, the two Shades captured Geladrine and sacrificed her to the Moon. Using her consecrated blood they fashioned a poison that was given to the Wyrm as he slept. The poison put him into a deep sleep and thus unable to stop the Shanâ,¬,,¢ree from conquering the area.

The Great Four were mortified at the scene they had come upon. The rumors of the horrific acts of the Shanâ,¬,,¢ree were generally considered exaggerated. When they arrived at Sirenâ,¬,,¢s Lake they saw for themselves how truly evil the Shanâ,¬,,¢ree were. The area had been converted into a detention center were executions occurred on nearly a daily basis and then left to the Breath were they would rise as zombies to serve as troops. Survivors were forced to work in harvesting food and crafting weapons and armor. Children were taken from their homes and sent off back to Ceria to be broken into the Cerian way of life and thinking.

Pelus and his companions formed a plan to take back the region by removing Tarsor and Vorrcha from power. With the Shades removed, it would open the door to uniting the local militia against the standing soldiers who would have no leadership to direct them. Under the cover of magic, the four snuck into the city and to the former Dukeâ,¬,,¢s mansion which now housed the Shanâ,¬,,¢ree. The four companions confronted the two Shades in an awe inspiring battle across the mansion with the use of dazzling swordsmanship and magic. Pelus and his companions were victorious in the end and united the region together under his banner. The Kingdom of Ro had been born. The newly formed kingdom would not have any time to rejoice in their creation or develop their society. The soldiers of Ro would be needed on the front line in the north to fight against the nation of Ceria and the Shanâ,¬,,¢ree.

Within Ceria, the home of the Shanâ,¬,,¢ree, the children of the Wyrms were ruled by King Slyhin. Slyhin was born of the royal family line and due to his blood, he had easy access to the King of Ceria. When Slyhin had grown strong enough he killed the King and all his direct descendants by poison and assumed the throne for himself. With the kingdom firmly in his grasp, Slyhin began his push to the Red Sea and the south using mercenaries and the Shanâ,¬,,¢ree to soften the region before committing his own troops to the battle.

Pelus married the Princess Sila of Garus, an ancient kingdom of the north. The marriage solidified an alliance that brought Garus into the war against Ceria with their much needed soldiers. From this marriage Pelus produced two children, Solis and Aiyia. His brother who ruled the coastal cities of the Bay of Stars to the north produced two sons, Sarco and Hasi. The twins Adrianne and Selrianne also produced heirs to their legacy. Adrianne produced two sons; Draci, Latarin and daughter Lanera. Selrianne produced two sons, Balisk, Corris and a daughter Killina. These sons and daughters of the four heroes of Sirenâ,¬,,¢s Lake were born into war and conflict which shaped their views and motivations.

 The children grew up together for the most part, taking part in the same training given to them by their collective parents. Solis became a Knight of the Order of Horan, Aiyia became a Circle Dancer, Sarco became a Knight of Ro, Latarin became a mage, Draci became a bard, Lanera became a priest of the Sun, Hasi became an archer, Balisk became a Knight of the Order of Horan, Corris became a Knight of Ro and Killina became a mage. When they all had finally come of age, they followed their parents into the war. The children were scattered by different assignments in the war and it would be many battles and years later before they were reunited.

Latarin, having been taught the ways of magic from his mother, traveled the world in search of high magic to better fight the Cerian army. His travels ultimately took him to the elves deep within Lothanewi where he underwent several rituals to determine his capabilities as a mage. Having passed the rituals, Latarin was given the test of reviving the sleeping Wyrm of Spring from the poison given to him by the Shanâ,¬,,¢ree.

Latarin first went to Sirenâ,¬,,¢s Lake to visit the Wyrm of Spring to identify the situation. He was joined by Lanera for her divine abilities. They determined that due to the magical properties of the poison that had been given to the Wyrm, it would take a powerful cleansing spell to purge the poison completely. The power would have to be given by the Sun directly in order for the ritual to work. Lanera and Latarin devised a plan to funnel magical energy from the Sun to a single focal point which would be Lanera herself. In order to handle such a large amount of energy, she would need something to help control and shield her. Latarin went off in search of something he could use to create such a shield.

The journey of Latarin took him far and wide and to the edges of the known region. His journey would end on Echo Island, named after the fisherman who discovered the island on the Ocean of Twilight. Latarin found the island to be a powerful focal point of magic, possibly created by Loth during her journey across the Great Plains. He used the focal point to gather a large amount of raw magical energy and used that energy to create the five Scepters of Divinity.

With the Scepters, Latarin joined Lanera and several magi and traveled to Sirenâ,¬,,¢s Lake and to the Wyrm of Spring. Each mage took a Scepter and focused their magical energies into the item which became a focal point and shield for the power of the Sun. Lanera raised her hands to the sky and prayed to the Sun for his assistance and the Sun responded, directing his power through her and to the Wyrm of Spring. The ritual was a success and the Wyrm of Spring awoke from him long slumber. The Wyrm thanked the two heroes before taking to the sky and sought out the Wyrm of Autumn. The battle between the two removed Autumn from the area and thus left the Shanâ,¬,,¢ree alone for the first time.

During the war, Solis quickly made a name for himself as a skilled tactician and swordsman, able to taken on dangerous campaigns with his loyal troops and succeed against the odds. As he laid siege to the city of Akva on the southern edge of Ceria, Solis encountered the Shade Verinea. With the help of his sister Aiyia he was able to defeat the Shanâ,¬,,¢ree and uncovered a plot by Ceria to take the Crown of Ilius from the Order of Horan. Being a knight of the Order, Solis left the final capture of Akva to his sister and rode out to Bend to meet with the order. There, he convinced the council of knights to move the remains of Ilius and his crown to a new location and lay a trap for the forces of Ceria. The plan worked well and the Order of Horan sprung their trap onto the unsuspecting thieves, the three Shades Ashrir, Ashardi and Vorad. The fighting was fierce and deadly, with many knights of the Order slain by the Shanâ,¬,,¢ree, including the leader of the Council of the Order. Solis took command and led the remaining men to defeat the Shades. With his victory, Solis took up the Sword of Horan to lead the Order.

Meanwhile in Akva, the Cerian army captured Aiyia as her troops were overrun. Though some troops were able to escape, it was believed that Aiyia had been killed. This is what the Shanâ,¬,,¢ree wanted everyone to think so they could try and convert Aiyia without her friends interfering. She was taken back to the capitol were she was tortured and held captive for the next several years by the Cerians and the Shanâ,¬,,¢ree Tikati and Chathera. As the time passed, her mind began to crack from the constant torture that she had to endure. The only thing that held her together for so long was the hope that her brother would rescue her from the evil that had befallen her. That hope began to fade as the years passed until finally she cracked and the woman that she had been was no more. She accepted the Breath into her soul that was given to her by King Slyhin. She did not become Shanâ,¬,,¢ree since she was not near death but it did give the king a measure of control over the powerful woman.

At the Red Sea, Balisk led the navy ships of Belos against the kingdom of Ceria. He proved himself a capable sea commander, using hit and run tactics as his navy was outnumbered by the Cerians. Baliskâ,¬,,¢s highest achievement was the Battle of High Point, a string of small islands to the north and off the coast of Ceria. The naval battle was the largest of the war involving over 100 naval vessels. The Cerian naval lost the battle and command of the sea which led to the beginning stages of the invasion of Ceria itself.

During the naval battles, the armies of Ro along with the city-state of Bend, Gateway, the kingdom of Fallstar and Galus all continued to move closer in on Ceria. Draci, a notable bard and swordsman, investigated the region of Millin to gain information for the armies. Posing as a freelancer, Draci wooed his way from tavern to tavern picking up bits of information on the local attitudes and strength of the Cerian Army. During his investigation, Draci was seduced by Kisymi who posed as a simple bard to trap the spy. Draci fell in the love with the Shade, following her into the embrace of the Shanâ,¬,,¢ree. His reports back to the army deceived the commands into believing Millin was lightly guarded and could be easily taken. This led to the disastrous defeat at the Battle of Millin by the vastly outnumbered army of Ro.

With the defeat at Millin, the army had to regroup and find a new strategy of dealing with the Cerian army. Corris was sent to Lothanewi to try and bring the elves into the war. The elves had not entered the war stating that it was a human affair to be dealt with by humans. Blinded by what was happening, they were not aware that they were about to be taken by a surprise enemy that was the Shar. The Shar were the children of Kisymi and Corracha by taking the shadow elves and transmuting them with captured metallic dragons. These half dragons surprised the Elven people with their guerilla style tactics which made it hard to track them down.

In his travel to Lothanewi, Corris uncovered the location of the Shar, a city nestled in between the Great Forest and the Astral Mountains. With the knowledge of their location, Corris quickly made his way to Lothanewi and used the location of the Shar as a diplomatic tool to bring the elves into the war. Corris was later killed by the Shar during his return trip to the army of Ro when he held off the attackers to allow a messenger to escape back to King Pelus.

With word back that the elves had joined in the war, King Pelus redoubled his efforts in the region and sent out Hasi, Killina and Sarco with several thousand men to overtake the Emerald lake and Millin. During the course of the war, Hasi and Killina had grown very close to one another, forming a deep loving relationship with plans to settle away after the war. Their close relationship helped form a strong bond with the men under them which resulted in several quick victories against the Cerians at Emerald Lake. Sarco joined the group on their advance to Millin and helped lead the army to victory of the final stage before the final invasion of the Cerian capital.

During the course of the battles, Sarco had grown jealous of the love between Hasi and Killina as he always had feelings for Killina but never could work up the nerve to express them to her. Because of his hesitation, she had fallen for Hasi instead which left him lonely and jealous. During the victory celebration in Millin, Sarco was visited by the Shade Vorisea who played upon his jealousy and seduced him. With her shadow magic she intensified Sarcoâ,¬,,¢s jealousy to the point of driving him insane. After Hasi and Killina retired from the evening of festivities, Sarco went to their chambers and killed them both. He then fled away with Vorisea to Ceria.

Solis took the remaining knights of the Order of Horan with him to the front line of the war, which his father was leading. Latarin also arrived and turned the Scepters of Divinity to King Pelus so they could be used on the final push to Cera. As the army began its final push on the Cerian capital, all of the heroes of the age began to converge on the area. Where once they were just children, they were now adults, each climbing to the top of their profession as was their destiny as the children of the Great Four. The final battle of the war took place at the Battle of Ceris as the armies of Ro and her allies met the Cerian army and the Shades. The battle lasted for more than two seasons and as the threat of winter began to approach, the fear that the campaign would be lost began to mount. Something had to be done before the winter set in and the armies of Ro were forced to fall back. It was Latarin who stepped forward with a plan to end the war once and for all. The plan called for a combined magical effort between the elves and dwarves who had only partially helped in the ongoing war thus far and Latarin and his students.

The plan called for a diversion created by the main army led by King Pelus while a small band of knights snuck their way into the city via magical means and went after the king of Ceria and the remaining Shanâ,¬,,¢ree. The plan was set into motion the following morning with Solis leading his friends and a few choice knights into the heart of darkness. Latarin, along with the mass gathering of mages, began their spell which sent the group into the city.

Outside the city, King Pelus led his troops against the remaining army of the Cerians. The main battle lasted until dusk with Pelus gaining the upper hand and driving the army backwards. When the sun finally set however, the tables were turned as the dead began to rise from their fallen positions and attack the army of Ro. This new enemy outnumbered the army and Pelus was forced to retreat and regroup. His son was now on his own inside the city without hope of reinforcements.

King Pelus called upon his old companions the twins and his brother Felor and each took one of the Scepters of Divinity. The four gathered together and used the Scepters to call down the might of the Sun onto the army of undead that had risen with Lanera as the focal point as she had done with the Wyrm of Spring. The ritual proved to be even more powerful and taxing than the previous attempt due to the amount of undead that had risen. The Sun once again answered the call of the heroes and sent his power through Lanera.

The rush of power destroyed a majority of the undead, enough to make the battle even once more. The amount of magical energy that Lanera focused was too much and she was killed. The backlash of energy with her death came back against the wielders of the Scepters. Only King Pelus survived the backlash of energy and was severely injured himself. Even with the heavy losses, the army of King Pelus was able to drive the rest of the undead to their final resting place.

Solis led his friends into the city, sneaking along back alleyways and darkened roads up to the main fortress. The group snuck their way in, deceived the guards and disabled the protective wards surrounding the main throne room. Inside was the King himself surrounded by five Shades. The King introduced himself as the Shade King Slyhin, son of the Wyrm of Autumn and ruler of Ceria.

The battle between the Shade King and his sons against Solis and his friends was a titanic affair, covering much of the area in and around the fortress. Hasi and Killina were killed early in the fighting with several more of them injured throughout the fighting. At the end of the fight it was Solis and the Shade King that remained able to fight and it was at that time that the Shade King released his final surprise, Aiyia. Solis was taken by surprise at seeing his sister being held by the Shade King and even more surprised when she attacked him, cursing him for leaving her alone and not rescuing her from the Shades. The fight would not last long as Aiyia was the better swordsman of the two and she put Solis down with a crushing blow. Standing over her brother with his blood on her sword, Aiyia began to cry for what she had done, grief overtaking her completely. The Shade King merely laughed at what she had become but then was surprised himself when Aiyia turned on him, striking him down. She knew nothing but rage at this point, rage for having struck down her own brother, her tormentor and rage at the world that she did not care for anymore.

Aiyia left the main fortress, slipping out during the confusion of combat and the darkness of night. She remained hidden for several weeks, trying to come to grips with what she had become. Aiyia returned to Ceria on the night of its defeat. She made her way to the camp of the armies of Ro where she confronted her father with all that she had done, the evil that she had allowed into her heart. King Pelus recognized what his daughter had become and had it been only that he would have forgiven her but for the death of Solis, his only son, the king could not and drew his blade on his own daughter in grief. The two fought like two giants, destroying everything around them and in the end, Aiyia was the better of the two and killed her father.

Falling to her knees over his body she cried out to the sun, cursing him for what had happened and to the moon for bringing evil into the world. She cursed herself for allowing it all to happen. She spoke the words of magic, weaving a curse upon herself so that she would relive her torments and sins till the end of her days. To cement the curse, she drank the blood of her fallen father. That act, seen by the moon, grew even more with the drinking of the blood than Aiyia had intended. With the power of Pelus in her veins, the son of the Wyrm of Springâ,¬,,¢s blood was too much for the sins that she carried and the curse was twisted so that she would carry her sins for an eternity, never able to die by natural means and never able to see the sun again. She was the first vampire.

The loss of King Pelus was a devastating blow to the Kingdom of Ro as was the loss of so many heroes of the Great Four. The kingdom would hang on the brink of collapse for several years before the youngest of King Pelusâ,¬,,¢ descendants came of age. Prince Relos Ro assumed the throne at the end of the Age to bring order back to the Kingdom.

The ending of the Crusader War brought the fall of the Cerian Kingdom and brought about several new kingdoms. Those heroes that did survive took their fame and wealth to new lands, establishing themselves a place where they could rule. The children of some of the heroes took upon the legacy of their parents, establishing their own places of power in the name of the heroes that had allowed it to happen.[/spoiler]
[spoiler=Age of Sorrows]The Age of Sorrows
After the downfall of Ceria, the world welcomed home its soldiers from the Crusader Wars. The realms enjoyed a surge in newborns as well as a renaissance in art, music and science. The legacy of heroes such as Latarin and Balisk brought renewed interest in history and a better understanding of magic. Aiyia, the sole survivor of the heroes of the Crusader War, secluded herself away at Mount Nightfire in an effort to not be subjected to those that would want revenge for the death of King Pelus.

Near the end of the renaissance period, a descendant family from the Shanâ,¬,,¢ree finally wrestled control of several lands north of the Astral Mountains. Xin Fao the Greater quickly grew his hold on the area through brides, blackmail and assassination. He was then able to expand into the ancestral lands of the elves to a degree. Xin Fao preached racial purity and charged his people to root out those of non-dragon decent and those that did not swear fealty to those of dragon decent. This led to the Wasting where thousands were enslaved and killed. With much of the realm at peace, the Wasting caught the majority off guard and they were unable to stop the Fao Empire.

The one nation that was able to escape the outreach of the Fao Empire was the Nation of Isoâ,¬,,¢Latarin. Being the farthest nation from the Fao Empire, it was the ideal location for refugees to flock to escape the Wasting. The large influx of people into the region caused a wealth of stability problems for the nation as it was simply not equipped to handle so many people. With so many people now in the nation, it was not prepared to handle internal security and the slowly approaching Fao Empire. Eventually, the nation of Isoâ,¬,,¢Latarin was forced to go to battle with the Fao Empire for the good of their people and the stability of their own nation. With heavy use of magic, they were able to rebuff the approaching Empire and even began to turn them backwards to the battle torn Kingdom of Ro.

With war having fully erupted across the region once again, Isoâ,¬,,¢Latarin used their army to stall the Empire while they sent diplomats to the lands of the Cushani tribes. The power of the Cushani and the Dragon Riders was the ideal ally to have against the Empire. The talks would last for several seasons as the Cushani were very reluctant to enter into the conflict that had not chosen to involve them. Isoâ,¬,,¢Latarin however offered the one payment that the tribes eventually could not refuse and that was the knowledge of arcane magic. Since the Cushani had been banned from learning the arts of the arcane by the elves nearly 2,000 years ago, the offer was too much for them to pass up and they agreed to assist in the fight against the Empire.

With the Cushani joining the conflict and most notably with their dragon riders, the conflict went badly for the Empire because of their inability to directly handle the dragon riders. As a result, they were forced to fall back to their own borders. The war ended with the Gateway Accords where the Fao Empire was forced to surrender.

It was also during this time that the ArchPaladin Datalis, leader of the Destiny Knights began receiving visions of a woman trapped in a crystal prison deep within the earth. She would call to him in his dreams, calling out to him to save her from her prison. Datalis was driven by this visions to try and find out who the woman was and where. His research led him to old diaries and writings of previous Destiny Knights that had received the same vision that dated back to the times of Horan. Datalis was only able to find descriptions of the vision, which matched his own but no other helpful information. Consumed by the constant vision, Datalis set out to the Astral Mountains to ask the dwarves about the visions.

Datalis, upon reaching the dwarves, learned of the Mother, a goddess that had originally given birth to the land along with the Sun and the Moon. The ancient texts suggested that she had died early during the Age of Creation. Datalis was not satisfied with the answer as he knew that whoever or whatever this being was, it was communicating with him and was far from dead. He decided to find the Winkar to the south seeing as they could have more knowledge about the death of the Mother since they practiced the faith of Moon.

Upon reaching the Winkar, Datalis was refused entrance because he was a holy warrior of the Sun. Datalis, again pushed by his continued visions, snuck his way into the city and stole the information on the Creation of Falamor. In it he learned that Ikar had written many things of the creation of the world and one of those things was how the Moon had become The Deceiver. From the writings Datalis learned that the Moon had banished the Mother to the center of the earth and imprisoned her in a prison of crystal. Positive that he had found the information he was looking for; the knight began his journey to the center of the earth and took only a few of his closet friends with him.

ArchPaladin Datalis journeyed deep into the earth, taking the caverns that had been created by the Winkar towards his destination. His journey proved to be difficult and trying for the knight and his companions. Demons inhabited the bowels of the earth and the sun could not reach the knights to offer its comfort. The endless battles began to takes its toll on the group to the point where they had run short on food and even the Sun stopped answering their prayers. Datalis would then close his eyes and offer a prayer to the Mother, the first that she had ever received from a mortal being. For even though she was imprisoned, her power allowed her to answer the knight, granting him new visions to guide him to her and granted his request to use divine magic. With renewed strength, the group continued.

A full season later, Datalis finally arrived at the center of the earth and to the crystal prison of the Mother. By this point, Datalis and his companions had gained a lot of experience in fighting demons and the guardian demons at the prison proved to be no match for them. With their howling deaths, the demons called out to their master, alerting him of the intruders that had come. With a powerful earthquake to announce his arrival, the Wyrm of Winter crawled out from the earth and challenged the knight to combat. The fight would last for 10 days and as each day passed, one companion of Datalis perished to the Wyrm of Winter. By the tenth day, only Datalis remained to fight the final guardian of the Mother.

As he faced the Dragon, knowing that this day would be his last, he called upon the Mother once more for strength to fight the Wyrm of Winter. She answered the knight with a vision, to unlock the prison so that the guardian could be banished but to do so would require his sacrifice of mind, body and soul. Datalis did not accept the vision at first, wanting to try and find another way to free the Mother and defeat the Wyrm of Winter. For the full day the knight and the Dragon battled and for the full day the knight could not slay the beast. At the end of the day, the Wyrm of Winter mortally wounded Datalis. He leaned against the crystal prison as he bled and the Dragon stalked its prey one last time. Datalis simply closed his eyes; taking on the last vision he had received from the Mother and gave himself fully to the vision as the Dragon struck the deathblow.

The death of Datalis, his pure blood spilled upon the crystal chamber shattered the prison, which held the Mother. The Wyrm of Winter, consumed in the blood lust of the kill tried to attack the Mother next but quickly held at bay with a motion of her hand. With but a look she banished the Wyrm of Winter back to the realm of the gods. She then turned and cradled the broken body of Datalis, taking his soul into herself and escorted the knight to the Lands of Dreams where he would could be at peace.

Two hundred years would pass that saw the strength of the major nations grow to their greatest heights since the Age of Heroes. The greatest of the nations included Ro, Solis and Isoâ,¬,,¢Latarin, which formed the Alliance of Kings. The exception to this was the Fao Empire whose growth was hampered by the Gateway Accord. The Empire was on the verge of collapse until the last remaining heir of the Fao Dynasty, Min, began to stir the people of his Empire. Min Fao was a charismatic leader, easily able to win the people to his cause and his ideals. He spoke against the alliance of kings that had united against his family and the harsh conditions in which the Empire was now forced to endure. The Empire was more than eager to join the cause and quickly the Empire was united once more under a common goal, to obtain its former glory.

Min Fao, with his Empire united, gathered his most trusted advisors to decide a course of action to reclaim their former glory. They decided that Dracian would be the first nation to be handled in which the Empire would seek an alliance. Doing so would give the Empire access to the Red Sea and provide a wall against the alliance of kings. Next they would move north against Baliska and then Hases to secure the northern region. During the northern campaign efforts, the Empire would also extend a diplomatic hand to the nation of Aiyia. Min Fao figured it would be a stretch to expect the nation of vampires to become involved in the conflict but to have them would create a united front against the Alliance of Kings. This diplomatic reach ultimately failed with the diplomats never returning home.

With the plan set in motion, Min Fao allowed his warlords to carry out the required actions; this allowed the emperor to begin his personal agenda. He went to the mountains that formed the southern border of the Empire where the Nightray Society was located. The Nightray Society was an organization of spies and assassins that had been formed under the rule of Xin Fao during the first years of the Dynasty. The Society was loyal only to the royal family and entrusted with their secrets and ambitions. It was for this reason that Min Fao went to them for he could trust no one else with his ultimate goal which was to raise Ilius the Betrayer from his eternal prison. He believed that Ilius would reward him for freeing him from death.

To fulfill his plan, Min Fao needed to enter the Kingdom of Solis and make way to the Tomb of the Fallen Sky, which was the resting place of the remains of Ilius, Horan and Gesile. The Tomb was located south of the city Hope and heavily guarded by the Order of Horan and celestial beings. In order to successfully infiltrate the tomb, Min Fao would need assistance in dealing with the guardians and so with the help of the Nightray Society, Min Fao set out to find his ancestors, the chromatic dragons.

The search would take Min Fao far to the north, past the great forest and to the Hillshire Mountains that separated the northern fields of ice and the grasslands and forests of central Falamor. Within the mountains Min Fao found one of the greatest of the chromatic dragons, the ancient red wyrm Kraggnoralusvermos that translated to â,¬Å"Destroyer of the Bloodfangâ,¬Â. Kraggnoralusvermos had lived since the creation of the dragons and was one of the first to separate from the metallic dragons during the first dragon wars.

There was only one thing that Kraggnoralusvermos desired more than anything else and that was to achieve the power that had been denied to him at the end of the wars. The chromatic dragons had lost the ability to never grow old and so eventually they would grow old, weak and senile before they died of old age. Kraggnoralusvermos had already reached that point and beyond and he was only able to maintain his life with the magic of the Moon through ritual sacrifice of the young to expand his own life just a little longer. What Kraggnoralusvermos desired more than anything else was to live forever and the only being able to grant him such a power was Ilius.

The ancient red wyrm agreed to assist Min Fao on his quest and called upon his children of the north to rise from their caves and slumber to take to the skies once more. Heading the command of their ruler, the chromatic dragons took to the sky and flew to the kingdom of Solis where they attacked with absolute rage. Min Fao along with his Nightray agents and Kraggnoralusvermos assaulted the Tomb of the Fallen Sky directly, overpowering the guardians with the physical power of the ancient wyrm and the mystical power of Min Fao.

When the defenses had been broken, the group entered the resting place of Ilius, which was bathed in the absolute light of the sun where no shadows could touch his body. Together with the wyrm, Min Fao began a ritual to disrupt the sunlight that covered the room. When the ritual was completed, the moon eclipsed the sun and the light in the room vanished, leaving nothing but the darkness. Overjoyed, the wyrm and the mage called out to Ilius to rise from the dead and to reclaim the land that was rightfully his.

The first event to happen was the Breath as Ilius awoke from his slumber. The air grew cold and the sounds of the tormented souls from the Land of Dreams filled the room. The next event was emergence of light in the form of dark violet flames that wreathed Iliusâ,¬,,¢ body as he stepped off of his bed. The last event was echoing of death screams that filled the Tomb of the Fallen Sky as Ilius destroyed Min Fao and Kraggnoralusvermos, consuming their souls with the Breath.

From the Tomb of the Fallen Sky, the Breath began to spread across the land which instilled fear from all those that were in its path. Ilius walked among the Breath on its journey that took him to the Field of Roses where he looked upon the Red Sea for the first time in two thousand years. He closed his eyes and let his senses extend outward along the Breath, sensing the world around him as if he was in all places at once. He felt the changes in the world, which were so alien to him since he was last alive, before his own son had killed him. Ilius did not find comfort in what he sensed from the world, his dream of unity of all under the Night Reign had failed. He looked to the sky where he saw the Moon blotting out the Sun. Ilius called out to the Moon, to ask for its forgiveness for his failure and his love to empower another attempt but the Moon gave none of these things for even now it did not know how to forgive or how to love.

When his request remained unanswered, Ilius cried for 10 days and during those 10 days the seas swelled and the rains came. Hurricanes struck land with a power only seen during the ancient times of the second age. The Breath fed upon the sorrow of its master, growing more powerful until the world was covered. Ilius looked upon the world again and declared to the Moon, â,¬Å"I shall not fail again.â,¬Â[/spoiler]

Discussion thread is located here

Imagine a world where the nights are long, the days are cold and the shadows become your worst enemy. The lands of Falamor have come under the cloak of the Night Reign and it is now a race to restore the light and survive. Can you fight the darkness? Night Reign is a High Fantasy Dark Gothic Setting where the players are faced with a choice of fighting against the darkness or furthering spread its influence across the lands.

[spoiler=Creation Mythos (Age of Creation)]Jalen held the torch closer to the rock facing, letting the flames illuminate the ancient carvings. Jalen gave a grin and looked to his friend at his side, â,¬Å"I think we have finally found what we have been looking for.â,¬Â

   Ã¢,¬Å"How can you be so sure? Weâ,¬,,¢ve found carvings before that was nothing but rubbish.â,¬Â Replied the little man as he set down his rucksack to the dusty ground.

   Ã¢,¬Å"Well Zellic, you see this rune here?â,¬Â he said, pointing out with his finger to an intricately carved rune, â,¬Å"Its design only matches one form of written language which is Delum. Do you know when Delum was last used?â,¬Â

   Ã¢,¬Å"No, but Iâ,¬,,¢m sure youâ,¬,,¢re going to tell me.â,¬Â Retorted Zellic.

   Jalen gave another grin, â,¬Å"It dates back to the time of the first Emperor. The language was lost when his nation was conquered by the Cerians three thousand years ago.â,¬Â
   Ã¢,¬Å"I thought you were a knight.â,¬Â

â,¬Å"I am a knight Zellic but I havenâ,¬,,¢t always been a knight.â,¬Â He said with a wink, â,¬Å"Before my knighting I was a scholar.â,¬Â He said before looking back to the rock face, â,¬Å"Now, letâ,¬,,¢s see what we haveâ,¬Â¦Ã¢,¬Â his voice fading off into a whisper as he began to read and translate the carvings.

Age of Creation
Upon the void of nothingness, the world came into being, the avatar of the Mother. Ten days passed as the Mother crafted the world and all things upon it. At the beginning of time, before the rise of the divine races, the Mother birth to the Moon and the Sun. The Sun provided gave life and warmth to the Mother. The Moon provided death and entropy.  The world, as much as it held, the Sun wished for companions during his reign to help him rule over life. With that, he created the twin Wyrms and called them Spring and Summer. When the Moon took his reign over the world, he too attempted to created life to join him but life would not be created for him. Upset, the Moon went to the Mother to ask why the Sun was able to create and he could not. The Mother told him no for the power over life was the domain of the Sun. She held him within her arms and told him that she loved him equally as the sun but that his domain was over death and thus unable to create life. The Moon grew jealous of this so as he was unable to comprehend the concept of love. In a vain attempt to show his love in return, he imprisoned the Mother deep within the earth during his reign. When the Sun came upon his throne once more and could not find the Mother, he asked his brother where she had gone and the Moon told the Sun that she had died during his reign, the first lie of the world was told and the Sun, not understanding deception, believed his brother and fell into mourning for his own Mother.

   As the Sun mourned during his reign, his brother helped comfort him and in doing so, caused the day to grow dark, casting long shadows across the world. With the shadows of the living cast, the Moon devised a plan to create his own progeny. From the shadows of the living, the Moon harnessed their own power and created his own children, shadows twins of the Wyrms, which he named Autumn and Winter.

̢,"The world continued on and life thrived under the loving embrace of the Sun. The Wyrms served as the keepers of the world and it was they who called it Falamor. The world though was too large for the Wyrms to maintain order as so they went to the land and took the four precious metals of the earth of gold, silver, bronze and copper and combined them with the rays of the sun. The Wyrms gave birth to the guardians of the land in their own image and called them dragons.

The guardians in turn created the watchers over nature and magic. The dragons took the bark of the tallest trees, the rocks of the earth and the water of the oceans and thus two beings called Elves were born, Loth and Silva. Loth became the First Sorceress, a master of all things magic. Silva became the first Hunter, a master of all things nature. Life was good across the lands of Falamor.

As time passed, Loth and Silva grew lonely with the Great Forest and so they called out to the Sun but he could not hear them. Loth then raised the ground so that she would be closer to him and called out to him again and the Sun listened to her plea. He granted Loth and Silvaâ,¬,,¢s request for companionship. From the mountain and a lock of Lothâ,¬,,¢s hair he created the twin dwarven brothers, Ikar and Ikos. He gave them domain over the divine and craft; thus Ikos became the Voice of the Sun and Ikar became the Voice of the Moon. From the tears of Silva and the wind he created the humans, Lissa and Lylos. He gave them domain over the physical, masters of the heart.

As time passed yet again, the six traveled upon the mountain that they named the Astral Mountain, and called out to the Sun once more. They pleaded with him, asking him for children of their own and so he granted them their wishes so that the world would be plentiful. From this time also saw the rise of the Halflings, those born dwarves and humans as well as the Gnomes, those dwarves that left the Astral Mountain in wanderlust. This time also saw the rise of the Cushani, the great feline hunters of the Great Forest. Loth found them in particular interest, shaping the predatory animals into intelligent hunters and rulers over the animal kingdom. Loth encouraged the Cushani to develop as a race though hindered their ability to understand and use magic as she believed their simple intellect and bestial natures were too primitive to control magic.

 The beings of the world loved their patron in return for he allowed life to come into the world. As the Sun descended and Moon arose to fill his rightful place upon the throne of the world, the beings of the world slept, paying no tribute to his glory. He took from life, drawing curses from the world. The Moon grew jealous of the Sun for all loved him.â,¬Â

Upon a time of his rule, the Moon took the guise of a mortal of the land and visited the beings of the world. As he walked through the fertile land, he found a deer and asked it what it held true to its heart. Its reply was to run free in the forest and watch her fawn play among the butterflies. At first, the Moon could not comprehend its response. He left and found a city of humans where he found a man sleeping among upon his bed with his wife. He watched as the two huddled close for warmth and upon the manâ,¬,,¢s mind he asked what he held true to his heart. The man said he held closest to his heart his wife and unborn child. Again confused, Moon left the man in his slumber and sought another.

The Moon visited many creatures that winter and each response held a pure answer, to be alive was their greatest treasure. Pained, the Moon wept for he had not the power to give life, only take it away. He wept for many cycles of his reign, which brought about the first snow to the world of Falamor.

When the Moon stopped weeping, his jealousy took full control of him. He wanted to be loved as well by the world. To be given tribute and praise for his reign. He took the guise of a mortal once again and sought out the beings of the world once more. This time he went to the center of the world and there he found Ilius and whispered to his dreams for the symbol of all that was life. Ilius dreamed of the rose for it was the first flower created by the Mother. Believing he had a vision, Ilius went out into the world to follow his vision. After ten days and ten nights, his journey brought him to the Red Sea. Upon the beach he found a single rose growing at the grassland of the beach. Ilius then called out to the Moon, offering the rose as tribute to the Lord of Night.

Hungrily, the Moon descended upon the earth during his reign, appearing before Ilius and the rose. The Moon took the rose with each hand, feeling the power it held but he knew it was not enough. He embraced Ilius in his arms and placed a kiss upon his brow. With this kiss the Moon rewards Ilius with the insight into the divine magic. He then turned to Ilius and gave him another vision; to seek out a newborn elven girl for the elves were the first of the divine race to be created. Again Ilius traveled upon the world for ten days and ten nights before he came upon the elven woman Shilo that held a newly born child. Ilius pleaded with Shilo to give him the child as his vision foretold but she refused. Ilius grew angry that Shilo would not follow in the vision given to him and he slew Shilo with his own hands.

No mortal had been slain by another out of cruelty before and the earth shook as Ilius took the newborn child back to the beach, back to the Lord of Night. Ilius presented the child to his patron with delight and the Moon took the child within his arms along with the rose. With the child now in his care he again embraced Ilius and placed a kiss upon his brow. With the kiss Ilius gained insight of arcane magic. The Moon knew that there was one last task to be given to Ilius and so he gave him one last vision to fulfill. Ilius was to find an innocent, bring them to the beach and have them sacrifice the child to the Lord of Night and soak the rose in its blood.

And so Ilius walked upon the world again for ten days and ten nights where he came upon the human Braun. Ilius deceived him through sorcery gifted to him by the Night. Braun fell under a curse that would cause him to sleep during the day. Ilius used this deception to convince the man that the Sun had gone away and helped guide Braun to the conclusion that in order to bring the Sun back, he had to sacrifice a life. As the two reached the beach during the night, Ilius told him that the Sun required a sacrifice and brought forth the child, placing it upon a stone altar. Braun believed that he had to this horrible act to save the world from a life without the love from the sun and so he sacrificed the child and poured its blood upon the single rose.

The Sun screamed in pain and the Moon howled in delight. Innocence was shattered by the act of Braun. The days grew colder and the nights longer as the Moon feed upon the power of the Sun. The Moon then turned to Ilius and embraced him, placing a kiss upon his brow and gifted him with a vision and power. The vision showed Ilius as the ruler of Falamor, the instrument of the Moonâ,¬,,¢s glory. Ilius was then given a gift by his patron, power over shadow and with this power Ilius exhaled a darkened fog that would spread his desire and dominance over the world. The people called this fog the Breath of Ilius and thus the Night Reign had begun.[/spoiler]
[spoiler=Age of Night]The Age of Night
Ilius the Betrayer, as he was now known, then marched upon the world and with him came the Breath. The people could not prevent Ilius from taking their lands and their freedom. Any who stood against Ilius were enveloped by the fog and changed by the power of shadow. From these people the race known as Orcs were created. The first place Ilius descended upon was the city-state of Xilfar along the Red Sea. The city-state was unable to withstand the Breath and the power of Ilius with his Orcs and was quickly conquered. Ilius sat upon his newly acquired throne and renamed the city Ilium.

From his city, Ilius expanded outward, sending his Orcs to the south and east to capture more of the surrounding city-states. To the north he traveled himself to the kingdom of Ceria and through the power of suggestion, convinced the Cerians to invade the Kingdom of Delus. The Cerians had always been jealous of the Delian people due to their more successful trade and they eagerly agreed to invade Delus and ally with Ilius. The Delus-Ceria war would last for over 70 years before Ceria finally captured the capital and conquered its old rival.

The Sun, having been wounded by the sacrifice, called upon Spring and Summer and commanded them to stop Ilius from spreading his power across the land. The Wyrms took to the land and went to each of the divine races to deliver the command of the Sun. With the divine races gathered, the Wyrms put together the Army of the Sun, composed of all races that opposed Ilius and his Night Reign. The Army of the Sun gathered outside of the Field of Roses where Ilius had erected his capital and called it Ilium. For 10 days and 10 nights the armies of Ilius and the Army of the Sun battled. At the end of the battle, Iliusâ,¬,,¢ army had been beaten.

As the Army of the Sun prepared for its final assault upon the city of Ilium, Ilius called out to the Lord of Night, begging for his help for his army had been beaten. The Moon granted Iliusâ,¬,,¢ wish and denied the souls of the dead their place within the Land of Dreams which was the resting place of all the dead. Instead, the Moon sent them back to the Field of Roses where the battle had been fought. The Moon still did not have the power create life and so he taught Ilius how to craft the undead using shadow. The dead rose on the night of the 10th day and fought the Army of the Sun to defeat. In victory, the Breath of Ilius grew more powerful, feeding off of the death of so many and the region was thrown into a continuous night.

With the undead having destroyed the Army of the Sun on the Field of Roses, the leaders of the divine races returned to the Great Forest and to the top of the Astral Mountains where they called out to the Sun for his guidance and his wisdom. The Lord of Day, taken aback by the creation of the undead, made a decree through his Voice, Ikos, that any of those that arise again as the undead shall lose their power when touched by the Sun. Following this the Voice of the Sun made a prophecy of times to come:

Two by three it began and one by one it shall end.
Darkness shall cover the sky and those born of shadow will ascend.
One thousand greetings of the sunâ,¬,,¢s heat shall come to pass.
The Night Reignâ,¬,,¢s grasp will weaken to that of glass.
The birth of the Sunâ,¬,,¢s chosen of the third Divine race.
A son born to the barren, he will resemble the Betrayerâ,¬,,¢s face.
With the mark of the Sun upon his crown
The Solar will gather the divine beneath his eyes of brown.
He will travel the lands of shadow and to the source of the Sunâ,¬,,¢s pain
Where he will battle his father and both be slain.

The council of Divine Races was taken aback by the prophecy, pleased that the Sun had spoken but reserved that the implied timeframe of a thousand years felt too long to try and survive under the Night Reign. The Council of Divine Races gathered the leaders of the world that opposed Ilius and the Night Reign for the Convention of Stars that took place at the Astral Mountains. The Convention relayed the prophecy spoken by Ikos and the current state of affairs. The Convention of Stars would end in disagreement in what was to be done as none of the races could agree in a course of action. Instead, all of them went their separate ways, splintered for the first time. Due to their separation, Ilius was able to manipulate and control each one in turn, creating more Orcs and more undead. Within ten years, Ilius controlled the majority of Falamor.

As a result of the disagreement and no final decision to be made, Loth left the Great Forest for the Western Plains for she was sadden and heartbroken that her children had been used in the sacrifice by Braun and justice could not be served. Those elves that agreed with Loth left with her to the Western Plains. Silvus and the remaining elves were left in the Great Forest to fend off Ilius alone. Due to their familiarity with the Great Forest and command over the animals and nature, the elves were able to hold off the advances of Ilius though a sizeable area of the Great Forest did fall to the now declared Ilium Empire.

The dwarves of Regar in the Astral Mountains proved to be the most difficult to conquer due to the difficulty of placing an army within the mountains. The Empire did not pursue the dwarves for an extended period of time but was somewhat successful in containing the dwarves within the mountains to cut off supplies to the other nations in Falamor. Ultimately, the dwarves fell to infighting between the two Voices. Because of the rise of Ilius in the name of the Moon, Ikos felt betrayed by his brother who insisted that the Moon was still performing its duties and was not evil as others claimed. The infighting led to the Clan Wars for the next 150 years and effectively removed any chance of the Dwarves helping against Ilius. The Clan Wars ended with Ikos and his followers gaining control of the people though still allowed his brother Ikar to hold his position as Voice of the Moon out of brotherly love.

The Cushani, having formed their on tribal society to the northwest of the Empire, generally kept them removed from the conflict with Ilius until he turned his attention to them once the nations of Falamor had been conquered. The Empire would have a difficult time however due to the dense jungles that the Cushani lived within and their natural affinity for the hunting of prey. The Empire was unable to penetrate the tribal boundaries of the Cushani.

The world began to finally settle after the Empire established its boundaries and stopped its advances to focus inward. The might of the Ilium Empire made sure that none would dare attempt to break its hold and the Breath further instilled the fear of the Empire which led the region into 900 years of control under Ilius the Betrayer.

During the time of the Empire, 500 years after Loth left for the Western Plains, the First Sorceress returned to the Great Forest with her followers. The reunion was not pleasant however as time had changed Loth and her people. Years of sorrow had paid a heavy price on the first elf and she had accepted the shadow into her heart which transformed her into a creature much more dark and cruel that she had left. She called herself and her people the Shadow Elves. The meeting between the two people began as cautious with both sides unsure of the other but would erode after an incident two years later in Lothanewi involving the killing of a Shadow Elf. This would spark an increase in racial hatred incidents between the two which led to the Motherâ,¬,,¢s Massacre where 300 elves were killed in the city of Fallâ,¬,,¢isâ,¬,,¢kithra. The Shadowlight war between the two people started shortly there after which lasted for nearly 200 years of slow and methodical warfare. The war ended with the Daybreak Treaty signed at Lothanewi between Loth and Silvus which reunited all elves under the rule of their founders.

Near the end of the Age of Night, Ilius received a vision from the Sun during the day while sleeping. One of his own bloodline would be born with the mark of the Sun upon his brow. His progeny would bring about the end of his rule. Distraught, Ilius began the Dark Blood Massacre as he sought out all of those that he could find that carried his bloodline. Ilius had many mistresses throughout his reign and desperately wanted to prevent his own destruction. Hundreds of people were killed throughout the realm during the massacre and with each death and no birth sign; Ilius grew more and more mad.

Unknown to Ilius, a woman named Gesile gave birth to a son that she named Horan. She had been a mistress to the ruler but was dismissed from his court because she was unable to produce an heir. She took refuge in the Elven community of Fallâ,¬,,¢isâ,¬,,¢millisnor where she raised her son in the ways of the Sun. He bore a circular birthmark upon his brow, which the holy men of the community saw as a blessing, that the Lord of the Light had chosen this child for something great and took every opportunity to embrace him with love and compassion. Throughout his childhood, Horan was continually be given visions and dreams of his future. This dreams showed him leading a great army upon the City of Night where he fought his father for the control of the realm. These dreams never showed the outcome, only the journey to the end.

The news of the Prophecy of Horan began to spread as Ilius continued his search for the child that would end his reign. When the news finally reached the ears of Gesile and her son, Horan gained the confirmation he needed about his own visions. He embraced his destiny and the power of the light. As he grew into a man, he traveled to the Astral Mountains where he sough the Wyrms of Spring and Summer. They confirmed the Prophecy for Horan and taught him the ways of the sword and magic. From the Wyrm of Spring Horan was the ways of magic and from Summer he was taught the ways of the sword which Horan further developed into the first known use of the Circle Dance.

With this training completed he traveled to the Dwarven city of Regar where his initiation to adulthood was confirmed at the temple of the high sun as Ikos himself blessed the young man before he took the stage and gave a rousing speech which inspired the hearts of thousands to take up arms against Ilius and to bring back the light to the world. Thus began the Burning Crusade.

Horan gathered the races of light to his side, traveling to each town and city on his way southward. He spread his holy message to anyone that would listen and his army began to grow with the races of the light; humans, elves and dwarves. On the other side of the world, word finally reached Ilius that his destroyer had been found and was already marching on Ilium. Ilius called upon the powers of the night to begin raising an army of the undead to match this army of light. In addition, he called upon his most loyal to go in search of Horan to try and kill him before he ever reached the holy city.

Each attempt failed as Horan was able to fend off the assassins at each attempt. With each passing day that he got closer to Ilium, more and more killers and enemy presence made themselves known. For one entire year Horan and his army fought their way to the hold city of Ilium. On the night before the siege of the holy city was to begin, Ilius finally was able to gain an advantage as Gesile was captured during the night and brought before Ilius. He asked the woman why she birthed the man that would kill his own father. Her reply was simple, because Horan loved him.

Ilius could not comprehend the answer and in his rage, enspelled Gesile with the thorn of a rose. The spell that Ilius had devised would propel Gesile into protecting Ilius over Horan. It was his last line of defense that he hoped would save him by making the man choose between freeing his mother and killing his father.

Horan meanwhile, began his siege of the city with the full might of his army. For a full turning of the sun and moon the battle waged on and the undead armies soon began to crumble, unable to face the sunlight. As the walls began to fall, Horan made his way into the throne room of Ilius the Betrayer and his mother Gesile. The battle between Ilius and Horan raged across the entire city, destroying entire buildings with their power. The battle came to a close at the fountain of the deceived. Horan stood over the broken body of Ilius and raised his sword high to put an end to his father. It was at that point that Gesile appeared before Horan and pleaded with him not to kill his father. Horan looked to his mother and at that point Ilius pulled a dagger and put it into the heart of his son. As Horan looked to the dagger in his heart, he brought his sword down upon his father with the last of his strength, piercing his heart. Father and son fell into each others arms as Gesile wept. Horan whispered to his father before he passed, â,¬Å"Go with the light. I love you father.â,¬Â The reign of Ilius the Betrayer had come to an end.[/spoiler]

Thank you for the reply and I'm glad you liked the Age of Heroes. To answer some questions:

Ages of Creation and Night: There are some more details added for better flow like what is the Breath, the difference between Wyrms and dragons and so on.

Interesting, with nice detail. Were the humans afraid of angering the moon because the still respected its power? Why don't the elves and half the dwarves?Correct, they may not like the Moon for what he had done but they still respect the fact that he is indeed a god.

Or are the warm dragons still demigods and thus not actually physical? The Wyrms of Spring and Summer take physical form while on the earth to better integrate themselves with the people. Hard for a demigod to help people along if the people won't even look at them (awe or fear).

Balisk's name sounds a lot like basilisk. Is this intentional? Unintentional

Aiyia and the Moon: Yeah, just badly worded there.

Thanks again for the read over.

History has been updated and was so long it had to be broken into two posts. The history covers Age of Creation, Night, Heroes and Sorrows. This is the semi-official history till I find that it needs more tweeking. Enjoy!

Quote from: Phoenix KnightIt's high time I took a detailed look at this setting.

Intro
Very compelling.  I particularly like the "Can you fight the darkness?" line.  Very direct, and generally impossible, so it lends a kind of tragic desperation.  You mean to say, I believe:

Quotethe players are faced with a choice of fighting against the darkness or furthering spread

Thanks for taking the time to do a detailed review. I'll try and answer as best as I can...and fix typos cause lord knows am bad about those.

QuoteCreation Myth
Speaking of which, I don't believe there is such a thing as an "intercity carved rune" (I'm terrible with typos, too).  However, good use of a frame story for your story.

Intricately.[/b] Like I said...

QuoteI like the twin dragons, Spring and Summer.  Good duality between Night and Sun, though it might sound more appropriate the use Night/Day.

How does Night imprison the mother?  Your opening lines led me to believe the mother was the earth, as with Kishar...Are we to take it she rather is a physical being on the planet?

QuoteWith the shadows of the living cast, the Night devised a plan to create his own progeny. From the shadows of the living, Night harnessed their own power and created his own children, shadows twins of the dragons, which he named Autumn and Winter.

The Mother is the goddess of all things and is symbolized by the earth/planet itself. As for her imprisonment by the Moon, he went to her as she slept and crafted a crystal prison of earth around her as she slept, crafting it in such a way with shadow to have her believe that it was always night and thus, always time for her to be sleeping.

As for Autumn and Winter. I love them as they are so fun to write. As a note, in an upcoming revision they will be called the Wyrms of Autumn and Winter (as well as Spring and Summer) to lessen the confusion between normal dragons and these demi-gods.

QuoteI agree with SA, Night is brilliantly tragic character.  As any good villain should be (I don't know he's a villain, but the intro makes it sound like it; I'm writing as I read).

QuoteNo mortal had been slain by another out of cruelty before and the earth shook as Ilius took the newborn child back to the beach, back to the Lord of Night.

I agree and was certainly one of the most fun parts to develop

QuoteTimeline
Every setting should have one of these.  What do the abbreviations stand for?  That is, "bi" and "ab" - it seems like we are talking BCE and CE, but I'm curious what they represent. (is it before Ilius?)

But wait, the Night Reign ended 2000 years ago?  I assume you intended to explain why the setting is called this later?  It sounds from the intro like it has just begun...Has it just started again?

Nicely detailed Age of Heroes.  Do you plan to write up the remaining ages in detail, as well?[/quote]Map
Very nice.  There's so many names it's overwhelming, but I think were I familiar with the setting, that would be very helpful.

So we are clear, Falamor is the name of the world?  The continent?  An empire?[/quote]Races
You've got a nice, condensed trinity of three races.  Do you believe the hybrids add anything in particular to the setting?  I'm not saying you should drop them, but I am curious if you had some specific intent in including them.[/quote]I'd change Loth's name unless you want to reference Lloth.  They are so similar, one cannot help but be mentally drawn to it. (I see you address this later, so nevermind).[/quote]Interesting take on dwarves as spreading love and cheer...That's different.  Also interesting that they are messengers of the Sun, since mythical dwarves avoided sunlight (in some stories it turned them to stone).[/quote]Cushani: A servant race, that's cool.  It allows you diversity without breaking the idea of a trinity.  I don't know if you intend it to be a PC race, but I'd say it is not properly balanced with other PC races without adding a LA.[/quote]Overall
On a side note, a setting like this seems like it should really play up vampires, shadows, werewolves, and other nightstalkers.[/quote]As to the setting itself, you've got some strong ideas.  I know you call it a work in progress, but it is still quite interesting.  I hope to see more, as your time allows.[/quote]Oh, and congrats on the child![/quote]
Thanks! Little Hazard Stephen will be coming around March 19.

Actually that is pretty well done I must say. Not overpowered and a good range of use. Good descriptions as well. Good work overall.

doh! I totally forgot to do that. It's updated now.

I think this is a wonderful idea and I have in turn developed an icon for Night Reign. I know there hasn't been a huge discussion about it really but soon there will be ton of updates...to the tune of a 10,000 word history that is almost done...once I get the proof-read back from my wife that is.

I've been playing one in my DnD game for 2 months and I have to say it rocks. I love the flavor and style of what it brings to the group.

Ah, the age old question. I know for me it is family obligations that have come up with my son on the way. Hopefully more time will free up to do some reviews and work on my own game. Only time will tell.

Added the Cushani race to post #2

Revised the timeline (age of heroes) due to revisions in history.

Added rough draft of Age of Heroes written history.