The Campaign Builder's Guild

Brindella Hawkmoon raced down the street of Penticost, and swerved by several merchants that had begun the set up shop in the market.  The elf, had waited weeks for one particular merchant to come with the recent caravan.  In her hand she could feel the touch of three silver hawks which would buy the book she had so waited for months to finally read.  With her elven eyesight she quickly spotted the wagon and the fat l the merchant.  Sodly snickered.  "Of course lass I told you I would get it for you while I was in Illumin, here it is."  He handed her the fine book, with a burgandy cover that felt like lizards skin.

"Yes Finally I get a chance to find out what happens." She lifted the book up and smiled. "My thanks Sodly" she paid the man her three hawks, and was on her way in a flash.  She couldn't wait, she had to get home quickly, for like all the rest of the books, the adventures of War Mantle, was the only set of books she really loved.


It is said that in the beginning there were the gods; they were known as light (Illistris), Darkness (Anuiver) and Matter (Eruii).   From these basic elements would spring forth form the world.  This world was named, Charrkram since it was round and symbolized balance.    These beings saw what they had created and were pleased with there accomplishments.  From there joining had come a prosperous world that would be the home for their greatest creations yet to come.
 
In council they discussed how to go about breathing life into this new untamed world.  The Gods smiled as the answer came forth.  They would fashion five rings based on the vary elements they themselves they had forged with the creation of the world.  Of the five rings, they birthed Air'¦Fire'¦Water'¦Earth and Spirit, which would usher forth the beings that would come to inherit the world.  

Yet the gods worried and wondered if their creations were ready to inherit their gift.  So they crafted twenty beings of power, and blessed them with immortality.  The gods whispered to them in their dreams that they would watch over their children and this would be their task.
   
Thus the gods bade their fist children the immortals to witness their greatest creations. From the sea foam of Charrkram came the Eladrin and the Elven host.  They would later become the very first of the Servitor races.  From the very stone mountains awoke the second of the races and the Dwarvan hammers beat their anvils for the first time.  From the fires of Earth came the third race, the humans that came forth and populated the world.  Of the element of Air, Tooks(Halflings), and Gnomish folk   lent their laughter to the winds.  Of the Spirit came the Illuminar, the heavenly host, and their trumpets resounded across the heavens.
   
When the gods saw what they had wrought they were pleased.  Thus they bid the immortals to go forth and give the plentiful races of the world their gifts.
   
To the Eladrin, and Elves, they blessed them with long life, for they would never wither or die except from the wraith of war or blade.
   
To the Dwarvan they gave them the love of smiting the wonders of the earth and shaping of tools, metal and gems.
   
To the humans they gave the gift of mortality for the fire of their heart burned bright and often burned out like the shimmering stars of the sky.
   
To the Tooks and Gnomes they were granted the wanderlust of adventure and the inquisitiveness of invention.
   
To the Illuminar they gave the power of flight, so that the sky would resound with their voice and songs.
   
The gods thought this was well, and tired from their chores they wished to rest.  They bid the Immortals to take care of their children and they slept.  But the god did not know that jealously had crept into the heart of their servants.
   
The Immortals wondered why they had not been given such gifts.  
Were they not greater in stature than the other races?
   
Yet they could not fathom why the gods had done so.  So as the gods slept, the Immortals stole the elemental rings, and in the envy and greed they enslaved the races.  They came upon the Illuminar and Eladrin and cast them as slaves, as they had the Dwarvan.  The Dwarvan were made to craft the metals and riches.  Of the Tooks and Gnomes they used as sport and for jest, for the Immortals had no fear of them.  Of the race of fire the Immortals feared the human first.  Human beings made of fire could not have their spirit quenched no matter how hard they tried to enslave them.
   
It would be the humans that would seek to find a way to shatter their shackles.  They had learned to master the metals of the earth, and travel the seas.  They forged cold-iron that could steal the life of immortality, the only weakness of the immortals.  Thus the Immortals hated men the most.  That fear would be the immortals doom, for it would be man that would call back the gods'¦.

As if coming out of a dream the gods slowly awoke, and they could here the cries of the enslaved upon Charrkram, and at once the sleeping god knew all was not right upon the world.  In Anguish they cried as they saw the horror of what had befallen their children and quickly went about rectifying it.  But the gods had infused most of their power within the five rings and Charrkram their power spent from crafting.  So they went forth and endowed power to those who would lead there people against the Immortals that and grown fat off their power.  These mighty beings that would bring war to their captors were known as the Heralds, and they would usher in the Reckoning War
 
The Reckoning War
   
The war would last hundreds of years.  Yet the heralds fought on, until they were betrayed by one of their own.  
   
To those who knew of him his name was Faustus'¦
   
The Immortal Sharis queen of night and shadows seduced the powerful Herald of force and Faustus downfall spiraled him into darkness.  Even though Sharis had found her champion in her tainting of Faustus the end of the Immortals could not be forestalled, for only seven Immortals existed and those who survived the wars went into hiding.  Nor could she have fathomed that her own evil would prove the unraveling of her plans as Faustus in secret stole the five rings.
   
It was only after his betrayal that his fellow heralds came forth to smite him down, and put right the evil deed that had been done.  Thus the Herald War began, and the sundering of the five rings would shatter the world forever.  The Eladrin were the first to fall prey to the Herald of darkness.  Faustus seduced the Eladrin with security and safety against the alliance of the other races.  This would be known as the tears of the Eladrin.  
   
At this turning the armies of the good heralds could not be defeated.  Led by the herald of strength Sol Diadem the armies went forth and did battle beating Faustus forces back.  The Armies of Diadem would have destroyed the betrayer, yet Faustus had one more trick.
   
Hoisting up the connected, he sundered them into five separate pieces.  It was then the Eladrin saw that they had been tricked and the end of the world was nigh.  From the very spot the five rings shattered water rushed forth and spires erupted from the ground spewing forth great gouts of lava and steam.
   
A great upheaval occurred destroying the land and replacing it with what is called the inner ocean of the Three Kings.  Of the Elves most perished in the sundering of the rings.  The other races escaped from their destructions.  Of Faustus it is said the herald escaped his fate.  Of the Eladrin it is said they are cursed and forsaken, and sleep underneath the waves of the three kings.  Of the Dwarvan it is said they kept the ring of earth and went hence to their dwarf mansion of Terrguard.
   
Of the Tooks and Gnomes they live as they always have with the spirit joy deep in their hearts.  As for man it is said he became master of Charrkram and it is he who is destined to destroy it or save it.
   
And of Faustus it is said that those who listen can still hear his voice on the wind and tells of his return.  

I like it.

It's a little rough, and could use a spellcheck and a little tinkering, but it seems pretty interesting.  It reminds me a lot of Tolkien and The Silmarillion.

Also, that's a really cool picture at the top.  Where'd you get it?

Great creation story. How is the world recovering?

The more I learn about world myth, at least in the west, the more I like the notion of a once great civilization falling, with the current era being long after. In the west, we had the fall of the Roman Empire, and after that were the Dark Ages, where even the knowledge of cement was lost. The Greeks believed in a golden age of heroes. 4E is designed with the notion of a once great civilization lost, the remnants being the current time.

It's no wonder that so many of our settings here have a similar story. I love it for gaming because it leaves many ruins to explore, and creates vivid legends for the past.

Keep it coming Spirit.

Updating Info for Warmantle for 2012-2013.  Warmantle will be debuting ssome time next year as part of My Thaco-Game Mastery book.  Thaco is a stand alone game, touching on several version of Dungeons and Dragons.  here a look at some of the new material for the campaign.

THE FAITH OF WARMANTLE- THE BEGINNING

As the morn war raged across the universe, the gods and the progenitors  battled each other for supremacy of the cosmos. The world of Chalice was one such place.   Of all the bodies of the heavens of all the besieged worlds in the universe the gods loved Chalice best and it was here the war threatened to ravage the pearl of the universe. As the progenitors sought to destroy the world the gods fearing the progenitors victory fashioned a pocket of time and space where the memory of Chalice would remain. Three gods where chosen to be the caretakers of this new plane and close the pocket dimensions from the view of the progenitors. As the final battle of the imortalis gods and the progenitors raged.  The imortalis gods Ishtari mistress of knowledge and light, Mitra lord of good, valour and war,and  Mordansan the lord of evil tyranny sealed the plane forever. Once the planes was sealed the three gods used their celestrial powers to fill the world. The three merged their powers and from their will came forth the laws of the universe.  From the peices of chalice that were taken, the gods forged new lands of gray and brown wet deep seas of cold and green and the brightly lit skies of lapis blue and white clouds. Upon the firmament life grew as their power washed over the sphere.  The imortalis gods created seven helpers of divine power. These immortals did the will of the gods seeding the world and nurishing it powers. The god having wrought the world with spiritual Hammer and divine fire turned to their greatest creations yet. Unlike the immortals that were fashioned from the minds divine magic of the gods. These new creations would be of the gods very essence. First amongst the new races was man, fashioned in the fires of divine spirit. Next were the elves who where formed from the gods breath. From the blood of the divine the Dwarves were created To be the life blood of the earth. And from the tears of the gods joys came forth the Tooks knowing both laughter and sorrow. From the word of the imortalis gods came forth then Kirin the walkers of knowledge. The gods continued on fashioning the world until they were spent and needed to rest.  They charged the immortals to watch the world as they rested to Care for the races as they had been tasked by their own brothers. They themselves flew into the heavens and transformed into the three orbs in the skies. Ishtari begat the sun firey across the east and west Mitra by her side became the dawn moon that rode by her side from dawn to dusk and Mordansan became known as the lord of night, the pale rider, for his moon rode the night skies seperate from the others. The immortalis know charged with protecting the newly formed races, enslaved them instead. During the time of waking, they had grown jealous and spiteful. The immortals had all the attributes of the gods including evil from Mordensanan. with out knowing they had the power of free will and choose evil by enslaving the races.   For thousand years the immortals enslaved he peoples until the humans cried out to their gods whose names still burned bright in their minds. They called forth to ishtari, Mitra,and Mordensanan for release. From their slumber the gods heard their pleas and from the five races they choose hearlds to represent them he gods forged thirteen rings of divine power and gave them to their emmissaries Thirteen ring hearlds were created to battle the immortals. The seven quailed before the might of the hearlds and their power broken by the their might. The seven immortals fled into the shadows their power weakened never to return. Under the ring heralds the world charkam thrived. More untold ages the races of charkram thrived until the ring hearld of peace was turned by the immortal of lust Shariss to be come the ring hearld of darkness. The ring herald sought the other thirteen ring slaying their owners and gathering them up for himself, until five remained to challenge him. Sol diadem the herald of strength and five of the remaining ring heralds challenged he ring herald and smote the land and himself brining about the Herald Cataclysim. The rings were all lost and for a time the races dwelled in a new world of peace, yet unfufilled was their faith and they turned to dark powers. In place of the herald great beast god became the religion of man. Magic both dark and menacing know walked the world. The evil that Mordensanan had blessed the world with had taken shape. The creature of the lower hells heard the call of races and found a footfall and took the shape of these beast lords becoming immortal unto itself.   It would be the beastlords that forged and fashioned the one horned orcs of the world and the green skinned goblins that hunted the forest. The beast lords like those before where shattered when a ring hearld appeared. Endoverien Galdrin came forth and smashed their power to shambles leaving only their cults to survive. Once again the herald was lost as was his ring. Ages shifted and turned to memory and ages returned As did the the hearld of darkness. Who spread his evil upon the world. He sought once more to gain the thirteen rings. Heroes emerged to challenge him and recovered the divine rings, and once more his will was shattered and he was smote from the lands, locked in the ancient halls of the lower hells. His power was taken and he could never return. The thirteen healds had returned and took up the mantle of aspects. Through pacts thy would honor their oaths to the gods and watch over the  races yet not interefer with them. They would be aspects of the gods and lend faith to them with their divine power the aspect and the rings ascended the heavens and became the stars in the night sky where they glitter their today.

QuoteThe races worship the thirteen aspects as well as the Imortalis gods ishtari,mitra,mordensnan

Horoscope and names of months

Aqurin-water- january


Capriservus-change-febuary

Aradi-fire -july

Tarune- earth-march

Gemvius-air-june

Cantherus-moon-august

Leonid-savagery- september

Liberionus-balance-october

Verguin-renewal-november

Dracronis -betrayal december

Unicreius- Speed- may

Sargentus-strength- march

Magisora-Magic -april.

Aspects

Bel-thievery

Asura-war

Nergal-darkness

Canthos-hunting wilderness

Nyke- victory.

Althamus- knowledge

Falis- judgement

Dagon- water.

Hythantis- medicine.

Vaidar- murder.  

Pan- trickery.

Ekadi-storms

Isis-love

WARMANTLE-LORD HERON. 

Character design for, Warmantle.