The Campaign Builder's Guild

[ic]
The Duke of Kenland stared down at the map before him. The Dukes, Earls and Barons were now in open revolt. The goblin hordes of Hwate were streaming down the mountains and straight into King Margath's capital of Paradise. The Armies of Rectland and Castiland stood at the border, waiting for any excuse to cross over and conquer more territory. And that damned Archdruid released throngs of monsters into the world.  If the Duke mustered his forces and left for Paradise, then the Duchy would be left defenseless.The Duke was a loyal vassal but there was nothing he could do. The world had gone mad and now the only thing that mattered were the people who dwelt within his Duchy. The Duke looked into the eyes of the young page - sent as a messenger by Margath - that stood before him, "I cannot send aid to the King."

The page began to object but the Duke stopped him, "Additionally, I wish you to bear this message back to his majesty: I, the Duke of Kenland, do so now separate in perpetuity my Duchy from his Kingdom. From this moment forth Kenland is an independent land. Tell the King that I regret how events have played out and I wish him a long life." The Duke paused for a moment before adding, "May God save your King."

From that moment forth, the continent-spanning Kingdom of Adeland - that had existed since the birth of the Ninth World - ceased to be. It died, not with a roar but, with a whimper...[/ic]

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What is Amalga?

Amalga is a campaign setting about war. It is a setting about the slow decline of the aged Adish Kingdom. It is a setting about mystery, pain, fortune and adventure.  This setting has been crafted over the years through actual play experience with my players. Some of the most important people in the world were once their characters (including, the King of Adeland, the Patriarch of the Church, the King of Castiland and many more). Though Amalga has changed shape and evolved since I ran my first adventure the core belief of the world - providing an exciting backdrop for my player's character's adventures - has remained the same.

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What kind of world is Amalga?

Amalga was a High Fantasy world, where Airships dotted the sky, where  heroes slew the last few mythical beasts, where trans-continental guilds provided services to thousands. Then things began to disintegrate. The Elves of Rhaca  tried to merge their realm with the Feywild, destroying the southern peninsula and covering it with a barren, hostile wasteland. A powerful Dragon awoke, claiming the land around Adeland's new Capital. He gathered an army of Goblins and invaded Adeland on three separate occasions. The wars were brutal and long. In that time, taxes were raised to unsustainable levels and the Kingdom slowly began to lose hold of territories along the fringes of of the realm. The Kingdom of Myrthia appeared out of no where and with it brought the return of Demi-Gods;. They waged a holy war against one another, bringing much hardship to the lands of the North. The Archedruid Treff Jarasal attempted to heal the wounds of the world but his spell was corrupted by the a cabal of Feldruids. The twisted and gnarled spell weakened the bonds between the planes and allowed an untold number of monsters to enter the material plane. These monsters, wreaked havoc and destroyed any hope the world had of stepping away from the precipice. Amalga was shattered and forever changed. Where there was once a single mighty empire, there are now hordes of petty kings. These Kingdoms live and die at the might of the sword and the strength of their rulers' character.

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Map of Amalga

[spoiler=Normal Map][/spoiler]

[spoiler=Map with colored kingdoms][/spoiler]

[spoiler=A smaller version of the colored Kingdoms][/spoiler]

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TABLE OF CONTENTS

- Kingdoms

- Magic

- Other

- Planes and the Cosmos

In the primordial beginning of the universe there was a singular being. Though his name has been lost to the annals of history, he is known today as the First One. He created light, darkness, the First World, the planes and life. He then created the Centaurs, Minotaurs, Satyrs and Ferotaurs to frolic on his new world. These four races lived in harmony with the First One, themselves and Nature. Ancient Centaur legends say that a Ferotaur named Skuro (literally Dark One) grew discontented with his people's life-ways. He was glutinous, eating for the simple joy of eating. He devoured whole fields of berries all by himself. When he exhausted the fields, Skuro moved onto the honey from bee hives. One day while feasting on honey, he accidentally bit and swallowed a bee. This was the first time in the whole of history that something had died. The first time that a being had tasted the flesh of another creature. Skuro wondered if he would enjoy the flesh of other animals. Since hunters and predators were unknown, woodland creatures were unafraid of Ferotaurs. Skuro used this (misplaced) trust to lure animals close so that he could brutally slaughter them and stuff his gullet full of their [note][/note] delicious meaty innards. Skuro shared his discovery with other Ferotaurs, who also grew to love the taste of flesh. Soon, roving hordes of bear-men spread out into the primordial forests, butchering and devouring everything they saw.

The First One was greatly angered by these turn of events. He commanded that the Ferotaurs cease their carnivorous activities. Most Ferotaurs stoped but Skuro could not. He was addicted to the taste of raw meat. One day while wandering around a forest, he spotted a Centaur sleeping in a meadow. Skuro set upon the Centaur with great ferocity. Two mighty slashes with his ferocious claws slayed the Centaur. The Ferotaur ripped whole chunks of flesh off the carcass, savoring ever gulp-full. The skies above darkened, the clouds poured down a heavy rain. Skuro's fur began to glow. In that moment he realized the truth - the First One had given a piece of his divinity to each member of the four races. The Ferotaur knew that he could become as powerful as the First One if he slaughtered more people.

Over the course of the next few days, the Ferotaur became the world's first hunter. He stalked his prey, brutally slaughtered them and absorbed their portion of the divine. Centaur legend says that Skuro killed hundreds. Eventually his power was so great that he became the undisputed ruler of First World. He could kill others just by looking at them. A cabal of Centaurs realized what Skuro was doing and so came to an agreement where the entire cabal would sacrifice themselves to give their strongest member their divinity. Through their sacrifice was born their hero. The Centaur demi-god known as Theroand the Ferotaur demi-god known as Skuro battled one another for a life age, completely evenly matched. Eventually their struggle became so destructive that it was threatening to annihilate the whole world.  At that point, the First One intervened. With a great bolt of lightning, he killed both Thero and Skuro.

[note][/note]However, the First One was heartbroken. He had resorted to killing, something he believed was wrong, no matter the justification. In his volatile state, the First One sloughed off the whole First World and created a new world that would come to be known as Second World. The First One then killed himself as the ultimate punishment for his vile transgressions. Portions of his divinity clumped together, forming the gods of the Second World, who would forge Second World into something very different from the First...

The First World, if we are to believe Centaur Legend, was created by the so called "First One". He was a god-like being that created the heavens, the earth, the plants, animals and races. Over the course of time, a Ferotaur (a long dead race of bear-men) named Skuro discovered (some would say created) glutinous, carnivorous, murderous and covetous behaviors. He also became a god-like being who challenged the First One's divine rule over the cosmos. A Centaur named Thero used the same tools that Skuro had to gain divine powers. The two dueled, eventually leading to the First One ending the fight by killing both. The First One then destroyed First World, sloughing it off like week old stew, and created Second World. From there, the First One killed himself with powers unknown and unimaginable.

The Second World was one very much like our own - it had men, elves, dwarves, goblins, orcs and all manner of other races. They were ruled over by a pantheon of heathen gods. A Dragon called Undergang created a magical font to capture a tiny bit of energy released when mortals die and their spirits ascended to the heavens (or descended to the hells). Undergang created this font at the dawn of the Second World and allowed it to collect energy for a thousand years, at which point the Dragon devoured the font and empowered himself to near-divine levels. Myrthian history tells us that Undergang then opened a thousand portals to the Elemental Plane of Water and flooded the world. Sea levels were said to have risen nearly three hundred feet before Undergang shut off the valve. Second World was utterly shattered and any hope of armed resistance to the Dragon was lost. A fledgling band of humans, elves and dwarves gathered together to form the United Kingdoms of Myrthia, which nobly (and stalwartly) attempted to stem the tide of Kobold legions advancing from the north and hordes of orcs from the east. They may have been successful if not for the banishment of the gods. No one knows how it occurred but it did. The gods - all of them, the whole pantheon, disappeared over night. Here one day, gone the next. Then a magical plague spread like wild fire throughout the Kingdoms, killing untold amounts of people. Thankfully a cure was discovered but not before Undergang had capitalized Myrthia's weakened state. His armies stood at the doorstep of Zilverstaad. Suddenly - and quite unexpectedly - Wee Jas (Goddess of Magic and Death) returned. She was horrified by what Undergang had wrought and took human form. She united the Wizards from across the land for one single, all out assault on the Dragon. The Battle was fierce and brutal. After days of fighting, only Undergang was left to face off against Wee Jas and a half-elven wizard named Nelos. [note][/note]


The Goddess and the Dragon agreed to a single magical duel - a contest of wills, fortitude and mental dexterity - the winner would decide the fate of the world. A single stream of pure, unfettered magic raced from the Dragon's mouth and Wee Jas' Wand meeting in a violent explosion of arcane might betwixt them. There the two combatants and the battlefield stood motionless for three days.  Then the unthinkable occurred. Wee Jas knelt to one knee. She looked over at Nelos and he could see - she was dying, slowly yes, but there was no mistaking it. Nelos grasped Wee Jas' shoulder and gave her his strength. Their combined power was enough to overwhelm Undergang. When he saw that all was lost, he teleported behind his enemies and raked the Goddess in the back with his adamantine claws. So weakened from the fight, Wee Jas could do nothing save to accept her fate. The Dragon then fled the battlefield with great haste. Nelos bent down beside the Goddess, horrified as to what had occurred and greatly saddened at her death. However, while weeping over her body, she made a movement. First her finger, then her hand, then her whole arm. She gently touched Nelos' face and said "The other gods will return. When they see that I am dead, they will wage war. Though they will not mean to do so, their power will be enough to destroy the world.  I do not wish to see this land and her wondrous people destroyed senselessly. Take my power and do what I could not." With that said, she passed away.

Nelos' eyes began to glow, then his whole body. His head ached as he slowly became cognoscente of whole aspects of the world around him, in ways he never dreamed possible. With a flash, Nelos was transported to the Astral Sea. He stood in the Hall of the Gods. From his vantage point he could see the whole world. Nelos used his new found power to uplift the realms of Myrthia and fling them into the distant future - far away from the wrath and power of the Gods. As he did so, the other Gods began to re-appear. Before they could question who or what Nelos was, he disappeared. Nelos bound his divinity around the rock of Myrthia that he had flung into destiny itself. We do not know what happened next, only that Wee Jas' dreadful prediction proved accurate. The world was awash with flames of destruction. It is believed that a handful of the gods survived and created Third World.

Little is known of Third World, its annals and history being mostly unknown to us. It is believed the gods who created Third World did so improperly and so created a hellish plane filled with bale-fire and sulfur springs. Demons and Devils walked the earth and commanded legions of mortal races in their endless wars against one another. As with all things, the world was destroyed and Fourth World born.

The Fourth iteration of Amalga was idyllic and beautiful, standing in stark contrast to the Third. Sweeping vistas, vast skies and floating mountains were the norm. Humans and Dragons dominated Fourth World, the two dividing the world in half along the equator. Eventually, Humans grew so powerful, so dominant over their environment that they believed they could topple the Dragons and control the entire world. The Dragons disagreed, violently. The world was shattered as humanities vast; floating fortresses battled the might of dragonkind. At the apex of the war, the humans constructed a magical bomb powerful enough to destroy an entire city. Their target was the Dragon capital of Rajuda'kalada, a sprawling, floating metropolis built atop the ocean. The bomb decimated not only the city but the surrounding countryside for 20 miles in every direction. The Dragons were horrified but vowed to make the humans pay. Draconic ingenuity proved mighty when they not only copied the design but made it more powerful. Soon bombs were being dropped by both sides. No target was safe, no matter how insignificant or [note][/note]meaningless. Eventually, the entire world became a barren desert. It was at this time that Dragon and Human alike realized the futility of war and brokered an amenable peace deal. To cement their agreement the two sides constructed a massive city-citadel dubbed Khaghutt'kalada (or in our language Peace Reigns Supreme City) to serve as the new capital of their newly created nation. No one knows how Fourth World died; only that it did. Most scholars say that the world had already been battered, beaten and bombed into a de-facto state of destruction. Others say a second war broke out and one side or the other used a world destroying bomb.

Regardless, Fifth World was created. We know very little of this world, only that it was a world of darkness and sorrow. Slavery, butchery, debauchery, these were the ever-constant truths of Fifth World. The Centaurs say that the Drow took possession of Khaghutt'kalada and used it as the central city in their massive empire. To the denizens of Fifth World, the city became known as Slave Citadel. The Fifth World, like all others previous, was destroyed. Uniquely it seems, Fifth World was not destroyed by the gods or by men but by an unknown and unstoppable force the Drow called Casineb-Don (lit. Hate Force). Whatever Casineb-Don was, it completely obliterated their world.

We only possess a few bits of knowledge from Sixth World but it is believed that a god-like being willingly sacrificed his divinity and divided the mystical energy amongst all his followers and believers. This had a disastrous effect as thousands of petty, self-centered gods were created. The repercussions of this action not only destroyed Sixth World but also Seventh and possibly even Eighth World. It is believed by many scholars and theologians that the profuse abuses of divine energy lead the almighty Liffrea - God of the Heavens, creators of all we see before us in Ninth World - to destroy all other gods and absorb their divinity. He accomplished his goal at the twilight of the Eighth World. Liffrea alone would stand as the King of Kings, God of Gods. Fearing similar happenings in his newly created Ninth World, God left the mortal world and all the planes to their own devices. Preferring to only interact with his realms through angelic intermediaries.

And so it was for Fifteen Centuries. It was believed the long chain of global death and renewal was broken. Ninth World would be the last world. Then the Kingdoms of Myrthia appeared out of nowhere and with them the god of Magic and Death - Nelos. His return was difficult; he suffered greatly, bleeding divine energy across the whole of northern Amalga. Any being that was touched by the energy became a demi-god. These new heathen gods battled one another, just like in the stories of old. The chain that connects the Ninth World of Amalga to the previous eight iterations was firmly re-attached.

Liffrea save us from the heathen gods who threaten to destroy that which you created...

Zarfell was the second Angel created by the God-Lord Liffrea. He and Adel (Patron Angel of chivalry, justice, oaths and honor) were the best of friends. They took mortal (human) form and righted many wrongs, especially as beings not from the Ninth World began to pop up across the continent. Both Adel and Zarfell fell in love with Erga (Patron Angel of sun, light, mercy and healing), though she scorned both for she preferred to dedicate herself to helping the people of Amalga and not to courtly, angelic love. As the decades turned into centuries, Zarfell grew more and more obsessed with Erga, even going so far as to tattoo a heart (her symbol) onto his forehead. Regardless of what he did, Erga did not return his feelings.

One day - while wandering a forest - Zarfell chanced upon two humans making love. Curiosity got the better of him and the angel crept closer to watch. As he knelt in the dense undergrowth, he saw that neither were actually humans - they were in fact Adel and Erga! Rage overtook Zarfell. He charged over and ripped Adel from his beloved, then set upon his best friend with great ferocity.

Adel and Zarfell slowly reverted to their Angelic forms and unwittingly ascended to heaven. Locked in death throes, the two beat the tar out of one another. Their battled attracted the attention of the other angels who gathered around and watched the spectacle; never before had there been a brawl in heaven, let alone a fight that would likely end in death.

Liffrea became aware of the conflict and raced from his sanctuary deep within the outer edges of the Astral Sea. With a thunderous cackle of lighting, God commanded that the two stop. When Adel and Zarfell ignored Liffrea, the God-Lord grasped both with his powerful hands and forcibly separated the two. With nary a look, Liffrea simply stated, "Zarfell, you have allowed jealousy and rage to consume you. You are my Angel no longer. I cast thee to the wolves of the abyss."

With one mighty throw, God flung the Angel out of Heaven and straight into the center of the dark Abyss. It is said that as he fell from God's grace, the Fallen Angel looked back up at Heaven and saw his beloved Erga weeping into Adel's chest. At that time, the heart tattoo on Zarfell's forehead cracked in half...

A millennia went by with no word from Zarfell, most considered him long dead. However some centuries ago, a cult of assassins began to arise whose signature was cutting the still beating hearts out of their victims' chests. It is said (by those who traffic in such rumors) that Zarfell collects the hearts in a vain attempt to magically patch his heart-shaped tattoo; believing that once it has been mended his beloved Erga will descend to his demi-plane and become his consort.

  In the beginning the God-Lord Liffrea sloughed off the corrupt Eighth World and cast it down to the farthest depths of the nether. Liffrea then took the core substances of matter – Earth, Fire, Water and Air – from the Elemental Planes and lo did he forge a new world. This new world was idyllic and pure, free from the evils that dwelt in the Eighth. The God-Lord then created the sun and the moons and all of the stars that dot the night sky. He created the clouds and the grass and the trees and the animals. When God was pleased, he said unto the world, "You are as perfect as I can create you."
Liffrea then traveled up into the Astral Plane and forged the first two Angels – Adel and Zarfell – out of the ephemeral cloudstuff that listlessly floats on the plane, going to and fro. The first two angels knelt before God and proclaimed, "You are our God, and we shall hold none higher than you. You are our King, our maker and our friend. We shall do as you command." Looking upon his two stalwart Angels, Liffrea commanded that they create Heaven, for they would be its principle guardians.

The two Angels gazed across the vast, untamed landscape and looked up at God and said, "If we are to create Heaven, then we shall need aid for something so perfect and important should not rest on our shoulders alone." God considered the request before acquiescing. Liffrea then set about fashioning fifteen more angels; their names were Erga, Kaust, Hark, Voleri, Laune, Iha, Rasbaum, Rafsko,  Sinarde, Laskus, Starke, Zorn, Warhung,  Korkas  and Weslie.

Together the seventeen Angels worked tirelessly for a life age. They grasped the ephemeral cloudstuff and forged a wondrously beautiful ivory white realm, replete with gentle snow-white dales and towering alabaster castles. When they were finished, Liffrea looked upon heaven and said, "You have done well my dear Angels. Heaven is indeed perfect."

The God-Lord then went back to the Ninth World and declared, "Out of the damp autumn leaves I create the Elves; out of the icy mountain rock I forge the Dwarves; and out of the warm beach sand I fashion the Humans." And lo' did Liffrea form the first eight Elves, Dwarves and Humans. He said unto his creations, "You shall be the leaders of your respective races, govern them with temperance, tolerance and a kind hand for that is what your God commands." And the twenty-four prostrated themselves before Liffrea and proclaimed, "So says God, so say we." 

If the world freshly created was so perfect, why the need for a separate heaven? It seems that those deities could just as well have dwelled and ruled on earth.

   The God-Lord Liffrea looked upon each of his mortal creations and said, "Lo, are you my children and unto you I bequeath all the earth below your feet, all the air in the sky and all the water in the seas. From your loins shall spring forth a new population of people and unto them you must teach what I shall teach unto you; for they are your children, just as you are mine." And the twenty-four mortals proclaimed, "So says God, so say we!"

   God fashioned a small dale on the island of Uzeti, which in the old tongue meant Beginnings. Uzeti was a serene place with gentle rolling hills in the north, a tall, snow-capped mountain in the center, and dense woodlands in the south. Liffrea brought the mortals to the island and said, "I shall give each of you a task and you shall perform this task unquestioningly." And the twenty-four mortals proclaimed, "So says God, so say we!"

   The God-Lord looked upon the male Elves and said, "Gatthan, Kihon, Ibleih and Kilboa, I command that you shall fell trees and craft things out of wood." Liffrea then looked to the female Elves and said, "Ar, Lumah, Ubala and Ashi, you shall roam the forests, hunt animals and use their hides to fashion clothing." The God-Lord then looked at the male humans and said, "Zelsho, Bilkanah, Ilmech and Danarch, I command that you shall catch fish from the streams and the seas." Liffrea then looked to the female Humans and said, "Sasha, Bazaela, Sohar, Zelucia, you shall plant crops and tend to them with care."  The God-Lord looked upon the male Dwarves and said, "Udama, Dyrus, Ulezar and Nohrai, I command that you shall mine the hills and mountains for precious metals, then smelt the metal to forge tools." Liffrea then looked to the female Dwarves and said, "Calha, Binah, Kera and Bajah, you shall wet the earth and create tools made of clay. The twenty-four mortals proclaimed, "So says God, so say we!"

   Liffrea then spent many years teaching each mortal, helping them to perfect their craft. God was pleased with how well his children were learning, especially the Humans for they were the most devote and hard-working. Zelsho and Zelucia became fast friends, often pooling their time and resources to far outstrip the efforts and contributions of all other mortals. God looked down upon these two and said, "You have become the best of friends and I am pleased. I have selected the two of you to learn the secrets of mating." Zelcho asked, "God, what is mating?" Liffrea smiled as he said, "You will learn shortly."

   The God-Lord Liffrea whisked the two humans away to the nearby island called Uus Ellu, which in the old tongue means new life. God instructed the two in the secret rituals of mating. After nine months, the two were brought back to Uzeti, bearing the most curious of creatures, which the God-Lord called "baby." Zilsho told the other mortals that the babe was named Athen, which meant gift of the island. The twenty-four, now twenty-five, mortals held a great celebration in honor of God's greatest gift.

First off, I want to say that I like your writing, and the pictures and the maps are very nice visual aids. So I'm not meaning to be that negative, although this post is mostly constructive criticism.

I think that it's a little hard to get into at this level. You're writing a lot of grandiose ancient history, and such... while it might seem like a good idea to start at the beginning, and tell the story of how the world came to be, in practice, this method of presentation can be kind of confusing and includes lots of information that is, ultimately, not particularly useful to the average player in the game, GM looking to run the setting, or just random passer-by curious about the place.

For what it's worth, I'd personally like to take a step back from all this mythology and get a look at the setting from the perspective of someone living there "now," in whatever area you consider the be the focus of your creative development at this point.

You've got a cool vibe going on for sure, but like sparkle said, what's it like to live in Amalga today?  What are the kingdoms like?  What are the dominant religions like?  What is politics like?  I could go on and on with these sorts of questions.  Really, a better track might be to introduce me to Amalga as though I were joining yoru gaming group.

I am Regent Farfield the Azure, or as my subjects have dubbed me, Farfield the Weak. I am a member of the First Staff of Alamari and within the First Ring of the First Order of Umbrian Archwizards. Additionally, I am a Knight Supreme. Yet I am also the man who willfully destroyed the Kingdom of Adeland – which has existed for more than seventeen centuries - through my own naiveté. I have no excuses for the sins I have committed. If I could, I would change everything about my reign, I would concentrate on strengthening the northern border, I would force the nobility to bend to my will and I would crush the armies of Rechtsland at the Battle of Darksword Pass. As a powerful Archwizard, it is now within my power to perform this wondrous feat. I have discovered an ancient and unbelievably powerful scroll that will reverse time by twenty-five years. Yet, I waver. I waver because I do not know the consequences of my action. What if Braezel the Dragon capitalizes upon my divided attention and captures Paradise? What if one of the heathen gods discovers the existence of this spell and copies it? What if something unexpected occurs? Perhaps the Kingdom of Adeland was destined to fall? Perhaps I was merely the unfortunate soul who was forced to reign during its fall? Perhaps I am – as my subjects have labeled me - simply weak?  


I am Mortimera Vaum Luum, Duchess of Obelica. I was born nearly one hundred years ago; I am a Konder, scion of High King Geano the Brave and the immortal Queen of Adeland, Juniper the Beautiful. As a Konder, I was barred from ever becoming anything more than a Lady-Princess, a fanciful title that amounted to nothing more than a common courtesan. We Konder are not allowed to rule, not allowed to serve, not allowed to trade. We are a blight upon the land, a constant reminder that the High Kings of Adeland must marry Queen Juniper to maintain their legitimacy as lords of the continent. Yet, I persevered. I married the last Margrave of Obelica – Karlman Vaum Luum. He was a noble and loving man who adored me and showered me with praise and riches. Over the course of our marriage, I manipulated his love to secretly change the laws of local succession within Obelica so that I would inherit the margravate. When that imbecile Farfield put out the call for aid in exchange for a grant of local autonomy (in other words de facto independence) I immediately killed my husband and assumed the title Margave. I then paid off the Bishop of Limerick to crown me Duchess of Obelica. Oh what joy it was to see the righteous condemnation from Farfield's emissaries.  They said a Konder could not rule, they said I could not be given a new title and they said I was not free. I laughed in their faces as I decapitated each in turn. I am free, I am lord of this land, my will is right.


I am Queen Juniper of the Kingdom of Adeland. I was born Lumah when the God-Lord Liffrea created the first mortals. Centuries later, I took the name Gwynider when I created the Elvish language. Centuries after that, I was kidnapped by the future High King Ade the Conqueror. I was forcibly married to Ade and used as a means of justifying his blasphemous conquest of the continent. When he died – as all Humans do – I was tossed from man to man to man down through the ages; each marrying me, some raping me, others ravishing me. I loved some, despised others. Being immortal meant that the amount of time I spent with each man was fleeting at best. My children were barred from possessing any political or religious power, they were feared and reviled. Most served as footmen and died in the countless wars the Human Kingdom fought in a vainglorious attempt to maintain their domination of that which is not their's to rule. I find myself, for the second time, captured by the foolish Dragon who calls himself Braezel. My current husband – High King Margath II – is with me, here in the dank warrens that were once the mighty and awe-inspiring Dwarven metropolis of Suurmana. I have awaited rescue from this hellish place for nearly twenty-five years. My husband grows old and gray. Where are the Knights Supreme? Why have they not rescued us? What delays them?

My name is Anraco Lordan and I am the Mercaro of the Most Sublime Republic of Colina. I stand on the Grand Balcony of the Palazzo Mercale and my eyes feast upon the most powerful naval and mercantile power in the world. The canals are  awash with gold, silver and all manner of trade goods. My very utterances can thrust a peasant to the heights of glory or cast a noble to the bottomless pits of poverty and despair. I - Mercaro Anarco Lordan - am powerful, devilishly handsome and seventy-five years young! I have twenty six women living in my harem and thousands more would give up everything they own for just one awe-inspiring, breathtaking, exhausting night with me! However, no matter how many courtesans and mistresses I take, there is but one - and only one - I hold most dear. Her name, you ask? She is the azure sea that gently sends my people across the world and dutifully brings them back home. Every year, I renew my everlasting and eternal love for the Sea by diving into her and thus baptizing both myself and my people in her crystal clear depths. I do this both to appease her feminine emotionality and to help usher in yet another glorious year for the Republic that is Most Sublime!


I am King Zobens I and I have reigned as the leader of Wesberania since I was a mere child. I was born a Duke and claimed the title King after the Adish abandoned my realm to the what ever hellish fate they believed would befall it. I have spent my entire adult life campaigning. When I was young, I killed Orcs; when I was in my twenties, Trolls; in my thirties, Lycans; in my forties, Dwarvish usurpers and Ogres; in my fifties hellspawn and Konder; in my sixties Tibura, Trolls and Lycans. Now I am in my seventies and I am once more waging  war against Orcs. I feel as if my life has come full circle.  Though I may look old and feeble, I am anything but. My magical blade Orc Slayer has tasted much Orc blood, most especially in the last few days. However, I grow weary of this life and soon I shall fall asleep one night and never awaken. I will be ushered up to Heaven and live amongst fallen friends and comrades. I believe I have done much of Liffrea's will over the course of my life, not just in that I protected the helpless but that I have tried to live by his word and his laws as set down by the first Vater. I looked upon my enemies and always granted them the chance to leave my realm peacefully. After Braezel destroyed Suurmana, I opened Wesberania's borders and embraced any and all Dwarves who were fleeing intolerance from the rest of Adeland. No other realm can claim this. I integrated them into my realm's society so fully that people of the south would be hard pressed to believe Dwarves have not always lived in Wesberania. My people are simple and stalwart. Their greatest desire is to be left alone by the rest of the world and live in peace. That is why I fight, that is why I protect my people and that is why I am a virtuous and honorable Knight. I do what no other noble in the whole of the Ninth World would dare think of, let alone do - live by the words of the Gord-Lord Liffrea. His words have guided my every action and every decision. The people of Wesberania have long wished to dub me "King Zobens the Pius" but I refuse at every turn. To have such a lofty and meaningful title  hoisted upon my shoulders would discredit my work and hardships. I do not seek laurels or accolades. I am a simple man with simple desires. I walk amongst my people and eat the same food and  drink the same mead as they do. I am no different than they - not better, nor worse. We are each given different tasks by Liffrea at the time of our births. Mine was to protect them and their's is to live devote, honorable lives free from fear. I fought for my people at every stage of my life and I hope that, once I die, I am remembered as being both their protector and friend.