Great Beasts of Aedes - Lore24

 

In the Wildlands beyond the Echors, the barbarians of Borgondia claim, their great bestial ancestors roam. According to Borgondian myths, their ancestors were born of great spirits in the bodies of animals. These spirits, again, according to the barbarian myths, are the very masters of the natural world, giving shape and substance to the environment. And, if corrupted by Darkening, spreading that corruption.

In the Ecclesiarchic tradition, the Great Beasts are demonic spirits, to be banished or extinguished. But similar to dragons, these Great Beasts appear in unspoiled or ancient natural habitats. They seem to embody natural qualities, natural energies, forces of life. 

In barbarian traditions, these are the Anima by which they live their lives. In Phaetonic tradition, they are monsters that have to be driven out or killed.

Magic made manifest: Dragons - Lore24

When the arcane force of life pools in unscathed and ancient primal lands, the magical force takes on physical form and is incarnated as a dragon. They are formed as small wyrmlings, but soon grow in size, physical strength and magical power. A dragon never stops accumulating magical essence and the most ancient archdragons are masters of both their physical form and the weaving of arcane spells.

According to Ecclesiarchic doctrine, dragons are the most vile spawn of the Mother of Monsters and must be hunted down, as they form great threats to civilization and humankind. True enough, when a dragon nests, its very presence warps the environment, changing it to suit their nature and fraying the threads of reality. A dragon with affinity for fire might cause the surroundings of its lair to develop into a volcanic wasteland, whilst a green dragon emanates energy that causes trees and plants to grow and become poisonous to humans, dwarves and elves.

Fortunately, the lands of the Sovereignty have been dragon-free since the Exodus. Occasionally a small wyrmling or youngling is discovered, recently spawned by nature. But such threats are almost always immediately eliminated.

Fully grown or larger dragons are still present on Aedes, but all of them are far from Aurora, across the Echor Mountains in the Wildlands or beyond. No living human today has ever seen a dragon. Pray to Phaeton that this remains so.

Green stuff: Goblins of Aedes - Lore24

 According to sages the word "goblin" stems from "gob-ling", a creature made from gob. True enough, goblin infestations usually involve large green pools of slime, from which these nasty and skitterish deviants are spawned. 

The slime is speculated to be the very protean arcane reagent from which life itself is born, liquid essence of the Mother of Monsters. In concentrated form, it is highly volatile and magical, leading many human warlords and mad wizards to hunt down sources of goblin infestation, to harvest their spawning slime. The slime is a key component in the weaponized wildfire, employed by the navy of Aurora. 

When left unattended, the slime spawns goblins according to the conditions. A small pool in cool environs, such as a dank cave, can spawn a few (1-4) goblins over the course of a week. Larger pools, in warmer climes, can spawn a dozen or more (3-18) goblins per day.

Goblins populations and their birthing pools are thickest beneath the Echor Mountains, in the former dwarven vaults, but recently have proliferated across the kingdoms of the Sovereignty. In the last ten years, almost all settlements in the Sovereignty have come across goblin slime pools and the cruel small creatures are becoming a pest.

The Parliament of Spiders - Lore24

 

Deep within the ancient forests of Aedes, beyond the borders of gnome mushroom settlements, conclaves of sentient spiders hold sway. Within their dark and webbed confines, these spiders devour gnomes taken captive by their silken strands, and weave their conquests of the woods.

Sages have long sought to understand the motives of these "Parliaments of Spiders", as they are called, yet none have returned alive. Reports of spiders the size of bulls have been increasingly heard, some are even claimed to speak in the Common tongue of the Sovereignty. But more often, the communicate in their own language of clicks, clacks and ruffles. 

Of particular concern is their preference for gnomes. Of late, the threat of spiders around gnome hamlets has been increasing, leading fearful gnomes to call for outside help.

Gnomes, the smallfolk - Lore24

 

The deep eldritch glades of Aedes are not only home to reclusive elves or fey creatures, they are also home to the gnome folk. Small humanoids, three apples high and clad in pointy hats, the gnomes of the forests are claimed by dwarves to be offshoots of their people. No one knows the true origin of gnomes, only that they are intimitaly tied to nature and magic and consider spiderkind their mortal enemies.

Gnomes live in secluded hamlets, in houses constructed from giant mushrooms. They are generally peaceful and defend their settlements by misdirection, illusion magic and alliances with animals of the forest.

Relations with gnome hamlets are uncommon, the gnomes mostly keep to themselves. But that may be changing now that the population of spiders, monsters and orcs in the forests of Aedes is increasing.

Inspiration: the gnomes of Aedes are my stand-ins for halflings. I am a great fan of Tolkien but I can't find a niche for hobbits in my world. And I am always drawn to two childhood influences: Wipneus and Pim, the two little gnomes (kabouters) pictured above, and David the Gnome, an animated series. Plus: who doesn't like pointy hats?

Daylit Stone: the Trolls of Aedes - Lore24

 

After the Maker created the giants - dwarven legend goes on - and cast them out from the halls that would become Isergard, he forged the trolls. Shapes of hewn stone, more smooth and cunning than the giants that came before, smaller and more sophisticated, the Maker brought to life. And in the great halls beneath the Echor Mountains, halls that once bore the bodies of giants and titans, the trolls prospered. They built holdings, explored the tunnels below and the Darkholds beneath. For a time, the trolls were the guardians that stood between the monsters borne of darkness, and the light above. 

But as all things end, so did the short and sweet time of the trolls. Infighting and depravity, and darker impulses overcame them and soon the Maker abandoned his creations, casting them to the surface and beginning work on the dwarves. 

In the current age of humanity, with Phaeton's sunlight guiding the growth of the Sovereignty, the trolls have become a dwindling threat. When trollkind ventured forth from their subterranean halls and into the sunlight above, their inborne flaw became apparant. Not suited to the daylit radiance, they returned to stone as long as the sun shone. Only at dusk would petrified trolls return to life. With the rise of the Sovereignty, humans that encountered large statues during the day would smash these to pieces, preventing hungry and savage trolls to prey on their villages at night. 

Giants in the Earth - Lore24

 

Dwarven myths tell of the forging of their people, as the last and most perfect creations of their deity, the Maker. The first creatures made by the maker were the Titans, prototypes of raw elemental matter, creatures of rock, fire and ice. The second generation were the giants: gargantuan beings hewed out of the very rock of the Echor Mountains, set loose to tame the wilderness. According to the myth, the Maker was not pleased by his creations, his quest for perfection eventually resulting in the birth of dwarvenkind.

Yet the giants remain in the world of Aedes, and have diverged from their roots at the hands of the mythical Maker. They are a bridge between raw elements and static function, each kindred fulfilling a special role in the grand scheme which they inherited from their Maker. They are most numerous in the ranges of the Echors, still, yet scattered groups also have ranged far westward, or even invaded the Borgondian Marklands. 

A special kind of emnity persists between giantkin, dwarves and gnomes. The source of this emnity is unknown yet dwarven priests claim that giants are jealous of the Maker's love for dwarvenkind. No one is known to have heard the giantkin side of the argument.

The Scourge: Of Orcs - Lore24

 Disclaimer: Irredeemable Orcs Ahead. Yes, I'm a subscriber to the theory of orcs as an irredeemable, twisted form of life. I know Warcraft-orcs are a thing and that klingons in Star Trek are much more interesting characters if their heart is in conflict with itself. But the tone of the Sovereignty is classic high fantasy with clear distinctions between good, order versus chaos and evil. Classic High Fantasy needs an antagonistic "monster culture" and in this as all cases, I follow the Great Professor Tolkien.

Orc legends are mutable and wild tellings, as wild as the orcs themselves. According to their own myths, they are either the people chosen by their wild gods to purge the world of "soft" elements, a folk cursed for its sins against forgotten deities, or humanoids uplifted by the Avatar Gruumsh to war against his eternal enemies, the elves.

Whatever the case, orc tribes are masses of unruly and debauched warriors. Cruel and capricious, they understand only the language of violence, inflicting suffering on their offspring and all who come under their gaze. And only violence can keep them in check. As such, tyrants and darkened wizards often employ orcs as thugs or bodyguards.

Orcs were always relatively scarce in the lands of the Sovereignty, while teeming masses of them roamed the far western lands, beyond even the Wildlands of the barbarians. But according to the tribes of Borgondia, a generation ago their numbers in the west soared, and the barbarian forefathers were driven from their ancestral lands. As the human tribesmen travelled east and entered the Sovereignty traversing the Echor Mountains, their orc pursuers followed them.

A few esoteric mages claim that the fates of the orcs, the Borgondian barbarians and the elves are intertwined in a dark and sadistic way. But none so far have forwarded any proof of that claim.

Lore24 - update

 Due to a combination of family life/work matters/stuff that pops up, last week only 2 entries on the Lore24 Challenge were published. That means that this week, monday until sunday, 12 entries must be posted to keep up the pace and end the month with 31 entries. The schedule will be as follows:

Monday, january 22
Orcs of Aedes

Tuesday, january 23
Giants in the Earth
Trolls of the Echor Mountains

Wednesday, january 24
Gnomes of Aedes
Spiders and their Courts

Thursday, january 25
Goblins of the Echor Mountains
Dragons of Aedes

Friday, january 26
The Great Beasts

Saturday, january 27
Economics of the Sovereignty
Languages in the Sovereignty

Sunday, january 28
The Thanatos Knights
Spawn of the Voidstar

Forged in Fire: the Dwarves of Aedes - Lore24

 When humans and elves first explored the lands that would become the Sovereignty, they found the hills and mountains were already claimed. With their genesis deep beneath the Echor Mountains, the folk known as dwarves had built great monuments to their skills under, in and on mountainslopes. To feed their people living under the mountains, holdings were established in hill and dale. When the settlers from the eastern lands first met the dwarves, the latter were masters of a cultured civilization, worshiping a single deity of flame and iron only known as "The Maker".

No sage knows who struck the first blow, but blood was spilled between elf and dwarf, laying the foundations for generations of fued and vendetta. It was this fued that was the first check on the advance of dwarf culture on Aedes. The elves waged war with blade and bow but, as masters of magic in those distant days, also weaved great spells to bring ruin to their fated enemies.

Plucking on the strands of fate, the elves ended the advanced skills of the dwarves and what once was a complex society rapidly devolved into savagery and tribalism. Once united under a High King, the dwarven clans of Isergard and other mountain holds now waged war on each other as well as the elves, penning grudges in blood and dealing death with fire and mithril.

This was the state in the Echors for long centuries before and after the Exodus. The absence of dwarven power allowed humanity to found the Sovereignty in lands that were once under dominance of Isergard. In the past century, the situation for dwarvenkind has worsened further, with monsters and darker things crawling up from the depths below the Echors.

Out of the Darkholds, goblins, trolls and fouler spawn of darkness emerged, laying waste to the deeper levels of the dwarven clanholds. The ancient capital and genesis of dwarvenkind, the vaults of Isergard, were completely overrun.

Now, there are three main sorts of dwarves dwelling in the lands of the Sovereignty:

Dwarves of the Holds
A few remaining mountain vaults still function according to ancient tradition, with a central Forge, warded over by a Royal Warden. These isolated and in all honesty declining societies dedicate themselves to maintaining the ways of old and rarely make contact with outside folk. As such, locations are not readily known and the finding of an ancient mountain vault is an occurence met with distrust by dwarves and excitement by exploring Sovereign humans.

Dwarves of the Boroughs
In the heaths and dales of Burgundy, the surface settlements of old whereby the dwarves of the Echors gained sustenance still remain. In these hills, dwindling dwarven communities live and trade and give birth and grow old. From time to time, a dwarf cuts the close-knit ties of his or her village and travels the breadth of Aedes, but mostly these folk keep to themselves.

Dwarves in Exile
These are wandereres, vagabonds, criminals, outcasts and adventurers. In the regimented life of a dwarf, those who seek excitement and fluidity outside their community are looked down upon, and dwarves who commit a grievous crime are punished with a fate worse than death: exile. These exiled dwarves end up in all manner of predicaments: fighting monsters across the Echors, in service to Sovereign nobles as mercenaries, or prying ancient ruins in search of treasure.

Of Elves, Avatars and the Celestial Sea, part 2 - Lore24

 

Human wizards and sages suspect a more intimate connection between the Elves, their ancestors the Eldar, their Avatar godlings and the stars of the Celestial Sea above. In modern mystical thought, the Celestial Sea is termed "the Astral Plane", and is theorized to be the metaphysical gathering place of all mortal thoughts and wants. Abstract concepts and concrete desires are given essence on the Astral Plane. Essences which are in the minds of a multitude of humans, elves and dwarves are stronger. In turn, these strong essences may give power in the material world of Aedes.

Continuing this line of thought, the Avatars that reside in the Astral Plane may be sentient pools of these essences, confluences of desires and thoughts so strong, that they have become self aware. The power of an Avatar is thus directly tied to belief and their power in the world. It is this fact, that explains the creation of clerics by the Avatars. 

When the inhabitants of the Sovereignty look up at the stars, they see the lights which, according to Church doctrine, are guiding lights of Phaeton. Only a handful of the wise are aware of the true nature of the Celestial Sea, and the power with which it contains chaos, monsters and the ancient evil that is the Mother of Monsters.

Of Elves, Avatars and the Celestial Sea, part 1 - Lore24

Author's note: Due to navigating the difficulties of parenting life, I couldn't post yesterday for the Lore24 challenge. So to compensate, today I will post two entries, both pertaining to the Elves of Aedes and their spiritual life. Let's go!

Children of the Stars
The ancestors of the Elves were the Eldar, "Children of the Stars" in their ancient tongue. According to Elven myths and legends, the Eldar came to Aedes when the world was yet a formless mass shrouded in darkness. From beyond the stars, the Eldar brought light in the darkness, trying to live amid the chaos. In order to shape the world around them, the Eldar called on their ancient gods, called Avatars. From the same space the Eldar hailed from, beyond the stars, these Avatars came to Aedes, adopting names such as Corellon, Sehanine and Melora. But also more sinister beings with names like Gruumsh, Lolth and Asmodeus. Together, the Avatars shaped the Celestial Sea, the starry expanse that surrounds the world, starting time and giving shape and purpose to Aedes. In the new starlit lands under heaven, the children of the Eldar, the Elves, were able to build their empire.

The Lands Under Heaven
The empire of the Elves spanned the known world. In their swanships, the Elves brought light, culture and knowledge of magic to all corners of Aedes. According to their own legends, the Elves even taught bands of primitive human hunter-gatherers these principles, uplifting seven human tribes to kingdoms in their ancient lands. For a while, all was well. Then came the return of Chaos, followed by the Exodus.

After the Exodus
The Lands Under Heaven were forever changed, the old imperial core was devastated, unfit for elf or human to live. The surviving elves were either refugees from the parts now called "Lost Lands", or were colonists living in the western lands already. In the modern age of the Sovereignty, sages categorize these various group of elves:

Light Elves
Living on the island of Lendor, the Light Elves are the descendants of the refugees from their ancient empire. They most closely follow the ancient traditions of their kind, the way of the Avatars and their mystical tradition. They see themselves as champions of law, vanquishers of chaos and monsters. Their swanships are rarely sighted and no human that has sailed to Lendor has ever returned.

Silvanor Elves
The forest of Silvanor, on the western edge of the Borgondian Marklands, bordering the Echor Mountains, is an ancient elven colony in these western lands. Although hailing from the same root as the Light Elves and Wild Elves (see below), the Silvanori already diverged from the traditions set down by the Eldar, even before the Exodus. The Silvanor Elves are more practical, more combative even, than their Lendor counterparts. They have the same aptitude for arcane magic, yet are trained in the arts of sword and bow as well. They are ruled by a king and hold great distrust for the dwarves of the Echors.

Wild Elves
Enclaves of elves living in deep forests throughout the Sovereignty, these Wild Elves have lost all connection to their kin in Silvanor or on Lendor. They have evolved a more primal spiritual tradition, focusing on the beasts of the forests and disconnecting from the arcane traditions of the other elvenfolk. They are more wild and warlike than the other elves, attacking human "invaders" in their forests even unprovoked.

Dark Elves
These elves have turned their backs on the ancient Eldar entirely, forsaking Avatar and mysticism and embracing chaos and corruption. Their magic is focussed on the Darkening and its effects, and they consort with monsters and demons. Their society is debauched and baseless, and is either hidden in the underground Darkholds, or in faraway exotic locations.

Humanity: the Children of Phaeton - Lore24

 

The origin of humanity is shrouded in the mists of time. Wizardly lore tells of a time when primitive human hunter-gatherer bands were lifted up and civilized by the Eldar of old, learning language, culture and even magic from their mystical mentors. These bands were diverse in appearance, with wildly varying skintones, hair colors  and facial characteristics. It is said that small quirks such as the size of the eyes or slant of the ears were determined by what tribe one was born into - hard to imagine in the modern time melting pot that is the Sovereignty.

The Ecclesiastical Codex tellst of the Seven Sons of Phaeton, perfect male humans fathered by the Bringer of Light to tame the wilds and bring culture to Aedes. Each of Phaeton's Sons would go on to found a tribe in eastern lands of Paradise. 

Adunas was fair of hair, with stark blue eyes and white complexion. He is the archfather of the Adunai Tribe.

Bard with the red hair, archfather of the Bardings whose white skin and grey, green and blue eyes was said to blend with the northern reaches of the eastern lands.

Harad was black of hair and black of skin, with dark eyes. He is the archfather of the Haradi Tribe.

Khand had olive skin and green eyes, with aquiline features and curly dark hair. He is the archfather of the Khandi.

Lossoth, archfather of the Lossothi, was of pale yellow complexion with dark hair and dark slanted eyes. 

Rhun had brown skin and dark hair, with shifting eyecolor. He is the archfather of the Rhunai.

Woses, archfather of the Woses, had white skin but black hair and black eyes. 

According to the Codex, every tribe had its own realm in Paradise, led by prophets inspired by Phaeton. During and after the Exodus, the tribes mingled, intermarried, made alliances and the distinct lineages of humanity found a common future in the Sovereignty.

An Age of Conflict - Lore24

 A century ago, the Sovereignty governed all the lands inside the Echor Mountains, and Phaeton's Light brought justice and prosperity to all subjects of the Golden Throne.

But times have grown hard. Gold flows towards the top of the feudal hierarchy and the prosperity of common humans has faded. Crops fail as monster attacks and Darkening have increased. And the western Marklands have been left to their own devices. 

These pressures have caused conflict between feudal entities to become more common, even resulting in the turning over of the Sovereign dynasty a decade ago, bringing King of Kings Rauxes to the Golden Throne.

Conflict in these Darkened days of the Sovereignty is relatively low key, involving warbands of warriors of varying level of skill and prowess. These warbands are typically composed of a few dozen swordsmen, spearmen and elite warriors, and rarely number over a few hundred. During the hot season, these warbands raid and plunder neighboring lands for food, gold, kidnappings or other resources, to return to their fields when the harvest must be brought in.

The most common effect of these raids are burned farmsteads and villages. Rarely do these raids cause borders between principalities to shift. 

In recent weeks, however, there are rumors of the Kingdom of Navarone attempting to do just that: seize land from the Hartlands and secede from the Golden Throne. A dozen and more warbands have gathered within the walls of Navarone's capital Rel Sargent, causing every crowned head in the Sovereignty to worry for the future - not least the court of the Sovereign, Rauxes, himself.

Darkholds - Lore24

 Beneath the ground, in dark holes and deep pits, life festers. As is known, the mystical force of magic that courses through the lands of Aedes is considered by the wise and learned to be the very essence of life itself. Nowhere is it stronger than deep underground.

In this mythic underground, deep in the dark pits, monsters are spawned and the environment takes on a life of its own. Some wizards theorize that the Mother of Monsters, slain or imprisoned as she is by Phaeton (according to the Church) or the Eldar (according to the elven loremasters), still gives birth to new monstrosities and dangers. That the mythic underground is in fact her still-dying body, and the foul creatures it spawns are the antibodies to intruding light, civilization and - dare we say - adventurers. This underground environment is known as the Darkholds.

These adventuring parties that venture into old dungeons and find their way into the Darkholds, regale of strange enemies, powerful and dangerous magic, and ever-shifting corridors and vaults. Some speak of whole cities and societies living underground, kingdoms of debased elves and avaricious dwarves that lost their ways. Some speak of familiar animals being mutated by the magic of the Darkholds. All speak of the slow onset of paranoia and madness claiming those dwelling too long in the deeps.

There are wizards (most of them tainted by Darkening or paranoia) that claim that if one were to venture to the deepest levels of the Darkholds, one would encounter the soul or mind of the Mother of Monsters herself, perhaps an avatar or manifestation. Some say she can be defeated permanently down there, or perhaps recruited to a cause, even brought back to the surface lands of the Sovereignty. But most wise men discount these tales for what they are: baseless ramblings of madmen. Or are they?

Lore24 - On the Origin of Species: Kill, Consume, Multiply, Conquer

According to wizards and scholars, the mystical, magical force that permeates Aedes is the source of life itself. Infinitely malleable, ever changing and growing, magic makes possible the wonders of life. 

It is a small logical step then, to equate the theoretical source of life with the theological concepts of the Mother of Monsters. Life in the wilds is dangerous, red in tooth and claw. According to theologians, these spawn of the Mother of Monsters live by the instincts to kill, consume, multiply and conquer. The Church of Phaeton holds the doctrine that enlightenment and purpose through ecclesiarchic doctrine is what gives life meaning, and that the wilds must be tamed accordingly.

Theological discussions aside, it is a fact that both pristine and savage lands are both home and heart of the most strange forms of flora and fauna. Owlbears, pegasi and enormous spiders are found in nature, as are fearsome chimerae, manticores and dragons. 

Lore24 - The Darkening

Manipulating the very fabric of life, the forces of nature - in other words: Magic - comes with a cost in the lands of the Sovereignty. The world of Aedes is flux with raw arcane power. The more pristine and ancient the lands, the more magic flows through it. Barren plains and deserts are where this power is at its weakest, while glades and stark mountain peaks are places where magic flows strongest. But while the elves of Aedes have learned to live in harmony with these mystical energies, constructing settlements that guide the flow of arcane energies, the dwarven and human civilizations lack this knowledge. Dwarven halls and human towns and cities impede or even block the flow of mystical energy. And the larger these settlements are, the more they obstruct the free movement of magic through the world.

It is no surprise, then, that the lands of the Sovereignty are considerably less steeped in mystical force than the Wildlands across the Echor Mountains. The Sovereign Heartlands, where Aurora is situated, are the most cultivated areas in the entire world, and the force of magic is at its lowest ebb around the City of Dawn.

Yet wizards are able to cast spells all the same, and the clerics of Phaeton use their magic to heal the wounded and bless the cityfolk. Even though the mystical force of Aedes is weak, it can still be accessed. Such access takes a toll on the user, however. Those who weave the fabric of magic and take too much of the world, expose their bodies and minds to heavy exhaustion and mystical corruption. This corruption is known as "the Darkening" and, when left unattended, can influence the magician's surroundings as well. The Darkening warps the corrupted's body and mind, slowly turning them in a monstrous creature if left uncontrolled, and blights the landscape.

It is therefore that wizards must follow strict guidelines known as "the Traditions" to avoid becoming a danger to the Sovereignty. The Church of Phaeton conducts special purification rituals set forth by the Archangel of Light Himself. Waiving the Traditions or foregoing purification results in unchecked Darkened mystical energy, and will swiftly bring knights of Phaeton's Inquisition to purge the corruption with sword and flame.

OSR Rules
For old school rpg-games, substract the maximum spell level of the land, modified by cultivation, from the spell cast. The result is the amount of Darkening points the caster gains. As long as the Darkening remains lower than the caster's Wisdom, the corruption remains under control. As soon as the Darkening exceeds the caster'sWisdom score, the excess Darkening points count as a penalty on all d20-rolls and the influence of the Darkening is applied, per GM fiat, to the caster's surroundings.

Cortex
If a use of magic fails, the power of the land die is applied as a Condition (Darkening).

Lore24 - The Voidstar

The ancestors of the elves, the Eldar, are called the Children of the Stars. According to their legends, they travelled to the primordial chaos that would become Aedes at the dawn of time, fleeing their ancestral enemy. In the tongue of the Eldar, the enemy is called "Tharizdun", in the common tongue, it is known as "the Voidstar".

The legends surrounding the Voidstar tell us it is a sentient hole of darkness, ripped in the fabric of the universe. The Eldar hold it responsible for the destruction of their homeworld, causing them to seek refuge and shape Aedes. 

In the last few decades, elven wizards have come forth, claiming their divination magics tell them the Voidstar is drawing near to Aedes, following the arcane trail laid by the Eldar of old. If this is true, and when the Voidstar will reach Aedes, these divinations haven't yet revealed.

Lore24 - The Sovereignty - The Borgondian Marklands

A wide landscape of heaths and moors, of plains and pastures, of shifting dunes and shimmering streams, bounded by the Echor Mountains to the west, the Winter Sea to the east and low hills to the south, the Marklands of Borgondia stretch before you.

The Sovereignty loosely governs these lands from the city of Antissa, but most of the Marklands are effectively held by anarchic barbarian tribes, hailing from across the Echor Mountains. These semi-autonomous towns, mottes and forts are catalogued as "Marks" by the scribes of the margrave of Antissa. Here, the tribes are allowed to hold on to their strange traditions while paying lip service to the margrave in Antissa and the King of Kings far away in Aurora. 

The true threat to the Borgondian Mark comes from the Barren Lands to the north, where the ancient wizard Keth rules a domain of darkness, served by an increasing number of orc tribes. This is the true purpose of the arrangement between the Sovereignty and the Borgondian tribes: defense against Keth and his evil hordes.

Recently, trouble has also been brewing from the west. Orcs have come over the mountains to the west and have started preying on the elves of Silvanor forest and the Borgondian patrols. The southern Marklands have been overrun by giants boiling out from the Echors, driving refugees north to the other Marks and east towards Antissa. The margrave of Antissa has been reluctant to assist these refugees or even defend the borders of the Marklands, increasing the tension between the Borgondian tribes and the Sovereignty.

Lore24 - The Sovereignty - Magic of the Land

Eldritch power flows through the very lands of Aedes. In places where nature is strong, wizards can harness magical energy to cast mighty spells and rituals. According to these arcanists, the force of magic is the very lifeblood of Aedes, causing plants to grow, animals to procreate, even humanity to give birth to new generations. The force of magic is the force of creation itself.

Heresy, says the Ecclesiarchical Church of Phaeton. There is only one source of life, and that is the light of Phaeton, the Sun's holy radiance. According to the Church, humankind is destined to tame the land, not live in awe of it. To slay the monsters spawned by arcane forces, not try to understand them. As such, wizardry is regarded with suspicion in Aurora and the Hartlands. 

The origin of this suspicion may lie in the very first chapters of the Holy Codex. According to the Codex, Phaeton shaped the world of Aedes out of the corpse of the Mother of Monsters. According to Church theologians, the magic of the land is the emanation of the remains of the Mother of Monsters, while Phaeton's light seeks to tame it.

Whatever myth or legend tells us, the effects of magic are real, as are the influences of human civilization on the land's power. The further one is from civilization, the stronger the spells a wizard is able to cast. Conversely, a mage's power is weakened the larger the human population is around him. Is this perhaps the effect of the ancient struggle between Phaeton and the Mother of Monsters? Only the very wise deign to know the answer.

Notably, only human and dwarven civilization impacts the power that flows through the land. The elves of Aedes, having a greater understanding of the land and magic, know how to live and build in harmony with nature. Their cities leave the flow of magic unimpeded.

OSR

In old school game rules, this impacts the maximum level of spells arcane magic-users are able to cast. 

Plains/Desert/Hills:                      level 3
Forest/Mountain/Water:               level 4
Swamp/Marsh:                             level 6
Heavy Forest/High Mountains:    level 8

Light Cultivation:    -2
Heavy Cultivation:  -4
Large City:              -6

Cortex

For Cortex Prime, the power of the land manifests as a die added to the wizard's dice pool, as follows:

Plains/Desert/Hills:                      d6
Forest/Mountain/Water:               d8
Swamp/Marsh:                             d10
Heavy Forest/High Mountains:    d12

Light Cultivation:    1 step down
Heavy Cultivation:  2 steps down
Large City:              3 steps down

Eldritch Locations

Now, there are places on Aedes where arcane power flows more potently even than in ancient glades or between stark mountain crags. In these eldritch locations, arcane power is one level higher than in even the most mysterious forests and mountains (level 9 in OSR games, d12 for Cortex Prime). These locations are veritable wellsprings of magic and life, and are very rare and often tied to ancient secrets tied to either Phaeton or the Mother of Monsters.

Lore24 - The Sovereignty - The Wildlands

Even though the Church of Phaeton claims it as truth, the world of Aedes does not end at the Echor Mountains. The great stone wall that surrounds the lands claimed by the angel is immense, and scholars disagree about its nature, but the world continues beyond them.

West of the Echors, wild and strange lands are to be found. It is from these lands that the barbarian tribes now inhabiting the Borgondian Mark and the Barren Lands to the north hail. Their ancestors, like all humankind, fled the Lost Lands in the Exodus and gathered in Aurora. But from there, they struck out across the lands of what today is the Sovereignty, over the Echor Mountains, and beyond. In these western hinterlands, legends told by the Borgondians claim that great beasts stalk the land, immense natural forces shape the land and humans live in humility of the wonders of the environment.

The barbarians were changed by these factors. Where in the Sovereignty, mysticism is frowned upon, and deference to authority is king, the Wildlands breed folk steeped in superstition and fiercely independent. In the legends of the Borgondians, the great beasts of the Wildlands are the founders of their tribes and their clanchiefs claim direct descent from creatures like Brother Bear, Dire Wolf and Mountain Lion. But great and terrible lizards also dwell in these wild, western lands, as do woolly and enormous elephants.

The Borgondian seers tell of great and pure mystical power coursing through these lands, which they suggest is the life-giving energy of these beasts and the clans they allegedly fathered. There is truth to these stories, as the seers have a known record of reading signs and omens, and have magical healing powers on the same level as acolytes of the Church.

The stories are a few decades old, however. Three generations ago, the tribes that now live in the shadow of the Sovereignty fled the Wildlands as dark and terrible forces made conflict with the ancestral beasts, and the mystical power of the land was corrupted. None know the cause of this darkening. The Borgondian seers claim immorality and the loss of the ancestral ways is to blame. Scholars of the Sovereignty claim ecological factors. Whatever the case, the Wildlands remain just that: wild, unexplored, and their former sons and daughters now seek refuge in the light of crowns and Golden Throne.

Lore24 - The Sovereignty - The Echor Mountains

When the first human tribes came to these western lands, they mostly settled on the eastern shores, in and around the City of Dawn in what we today call The Hartlands. But some ranged further afield. And like earlier elven ezplorers, the human settlers also reached the mountains at the end of the world, the Echors.

It is said that the Echor Mountains encircle all lands fit for human habitation and civilization. According to the Codex, the most holy of texts of the Church of Phaeton, it was Phaeton Himself that raised these slopes from the bones of Aedes, to set the boundaries of his protection. Within the lands and seas encompassed by the Echors, humanity is subject to Phaeton's aegis, and His divine influence shields the Sovereignty from demonic incursions and unholy threats. Outside of the Echor Mountains, humanity is fated to survive amongst the elements.

No human has ever explored even the near side of all the ringing mountains. Only the eastern edges that form the western borders of the Sovereignty have been charted. But both scholars and wizards alike maintain that the Echors indeed encompass a large mass of land and sea.

The Echors on the western borders of the Sovereignty are of further interest, as beneath the mountain range lie the ancestral halls of dwarvenkind. The great city of Irongard is hewn out of the very core of the western Echor Mountains and their creation myth tells us that their Maker created the dwarves in these very halls.

Lore24 - The Sovereignty - Exodus

According to knowledgeable sages, humanity has had a presence in the lands that would become the Sovereignty even before the mass immigration called "the Exodus" took place. Forlorn ruins and excavated tribal remains testify to that notion. But the biggest proof was the presence of the City of Dawn, Aurora, itself.

Before the Exodus, humans were native to the eastern, paradisical, lands, whose original designation have been lost to time and catastrophe. In this paradise, they were shepherded and tutored by the High Elves of that land. The human tribes learned language, culture, invention and even magic from the elves. In time, the inventive folk of humankind struck out on their own, beyond the shores of paradise, to lands over the horizon. It was a clan of these enterprising humans that founded Aurora as the first human city, a colony in the western lands. 

When magical cataclysm befell the eastern paradisical lands, causing them to become "the Lost Lands", humans of all stripe and color, as well as remaining elves, fled westward to these shores. And while most of the elves settled on the island of Lendor, humanity fled to the bastions of Aurora. From there, groups of like-minded humans struck out into the wilderness, to take land, cultivate food and rebuild civilization. Peoples of all ethnicities flocked together, causing the new cultures of the Sovereignty to become a mix of different clans and populations. Intermarriage between clans and, later on, kingdoms, became common, meaning that the Sovereignty is a true melting pot of creeds and colors. 

What caused the cataclysm is a topic of debate among the wise. Some say it was ecological collapse, a freak natural accident that destroyed the life-giving properties of paradise. Others, more suspicious, say the High Elves cast humanity out, out of fear of their pupils surpassing them in magic and invention. A select few point to the current happenings in the lands of the Sovereignty, the rise of Beastmen and monsters, and say that the Mother of Monsters herself rose up against elves and humans. And other select sages suggest it was all the work of magical experiments of epic proportions - rains of colorless fire, devastating invocations - gone awry.

Whatever the cause, the catastrophe was sudden, the ruin utter. The eastern continent became uninhabitable for both elves and humans. And thus, the Exodus.

Lore24 - The Sovereignty - Creation Myths

For my second entry for Lore24, I will delve into the various myths and legends circulating in the lands of the Sovereignty of how the world, Aedes, was created. It seemed fitting to provide creation myths at the beginning of this project. Furthermore, the central idea for the world of Aedes and the lands of the Sovereignty emerged as I was considering what fantasy I could base on the classic Chaoskampf, specifically the Babylonian creation myth of Marduk and Tiamat. For those well versed in ancient Mesopotamian myths, the following legends may seem familiar.

Ecclesiarchic Church of Phaeton

IN THE BEGINNING - the most holy book of Phaeton, the Codex, claims - there was only Chaos. And Chaos was Darkness. In that Darkness came Phaeton, Angel of Light, Bringer of Civilization, Teacher of Laws and Invention. Phaeton cleaved the Mother of Monsters that was Chaos and brought Light into the Darkness. He planted his spear in the corpse of the Mother of Monsters, and the sun rose for the first time. Phaeton appeared before the leaders of Humankind, who had suffered in the darkness, amidst the monsters born of Chaos, and promised them a a golden land to the west, beyond the blighted shores of the Lost Lands. There, He laid the foundations for the Golden Throne, amidst what would become the City of Dawn, and he chose Claudus, Anaxandron, King of Kings, the most noble Human, to sit upon it. A task was given: "Tame this land and multiply, all that is touched by Light, is yours to reign over." 

Tribal Tradition

FROM THE ELEMENTS AROSE THE ANIMA, Masters of Nature, They who ordered Aedes. And when the Anima had given order and rythm and fate to the world, they fathered children: Dire Wolf, Brother Bear, Mountain Lion and many others. From these children, the Human Clans were born. In our ancestral lands, we lived in harmony and freedom amongst the Anima. We trusted Them, our vigor, our fate. There is no higher purpose than to live in peace and balance with the Anima, to take care of the world and give Aedes unto a new generation in a cycle that never ends.

Dwarves of Irongard

DEEP BENEATH THE EARTH, the Maker, He who first forged this mortal abode from darkness, took soulless rocks and breathed fire into them. Massive statues, Titans, misformed pieces of mountain and hill, were thus birthed onto the world. Deeming them failures, and not satisfied with his work, the Maker cast the Titans back into the Heartforge and, with fireproof hands, kneaded and molded the molten forms into new shapes. Thus was Giantkin created. But they, also, were deemed impure. The Maker reached for finer tools, smaller ingredients, and out of the heart of the mountains, He forged Trolls. But, having spent much of His energy, the Maker breathed too little fire in them and at the first touch of sunlight, these Trolls turned back to stone. Rest, though, would only come to the Maker when his creations would be perfect. He reached for smaller but more pure quantities of rock and earth, breathed wind and fire in them, and watched proudly as the Fathers of Dwarvenkind drew their first breaths in the Heartforge under Irongard.

Elves

BEFORE TIME BEGAN, the children of the stars, the Eldar, came to what would become the world, amidst Darkness, Wild and Chaotic. Amidst these elemental forces, and creatures of darkness, the Eldar were prey, vulnerable. The wisest of the Eldar called to their ancestors and from beyond the Darkness, the stars lighted up. In constellations they took form, shapes akin to gods with names such as Corellon, Melora, Sehanine and Lendor. But also more sinister aspects: Lolth, Asmodeus. These Old Gods kneaded the elements and forged the world of Aedes from the Darkness of Chaos. Under the starlit heavens, the descendents of the Eldar, now called Elves, made their home in beautiful forests, on stark coasts and upon silver oceans. As shepherds, the Elves sailed the seas of Aedes, finding and teaching many lesser peoples.

Lore24 - The Sovereignty - Laying the groundwork

Ever since commencing play in our current 5E-campaign, DM-ADD has tugged on me to create and explore other worlds. Settings such as the Westerrealm and the comedic Burgundy were results of that urge, as was the brief reexamination of Greyhawk.

This spring, I decided to pool all world-building efforts into a reimagining of the homebrew world our group has been exploring for the past 13 years, and enrich it with all that has come before and since (both homebrew and official). In doing so, I hope to create a mix that speaks exactly to my (and my group's!) tastes. Pulling from published sources as well as the rich history of our own homebrew games, I strive to concoct the perfect homebrew.

I will be creating / fleshing out this setting taking part in the Lore24 challenge, launched by Yora of Spriggan's Den. Every day in 2024, a new part of setting lore will be published on this blog. This can be a kingdom, an item, an NPC or a small bit of background. Today, I present Lore 24: The Sovereignty.

The Sovereignty (Basileia)

The Sovereignty is the name by which is referred to all civilized human dominions. A millennium ago, humanity fled the fallen lands to the east to settle on this wild continent. Fanning out from the ancient city of Aurora, on the continent's eastern shore, humanity quickly spread to all corners of the land this side of the great mountain chains that divide this continent. And while the humans that travelled across the mountains fell into strange and barbaric ways, on the eastern side of the mountains great kingdoms were established.

In the beginning, these kingdoms all strove to be independent or in control of one another. But in the first century after the Exodus, it became clear that there was one dominant power in the land: the Golden Throne of Aurora, from which ruled it's divinely appointed Sovereign. And so, all lands east of the mountain chains became known as The Sovereignty, or Basileia in the native tongue of Aurora. The Golden Throne mostly retains power and influence through the application of soft power, religious influence and cultural significance, and money - large sums of money. 

The subject kingdoms and principalities of The Sovereignty, with names such as Navaroigne, Lotharingen and Thule, all have early medieval trappings and technology. Religion in the Sovereignty is a monotheistic state church, dedicated to the worship of a living angel named Phaeton. Civil wars are frequent but of low intensity. Sovereigns are formally elected but de facto frequently members of the same influential dynasty. Dynastic upheaval does occur, however, the latest being a decade ago with the ascension of Sovereign Rauxes Anaxandros, King of Kings, to the Golden Throne.

The Sovereignty is intended to be a setting full of intrigue, adventure, mystery, ruins and unexplored wilderness. PCs are challenged to carve out their own domain, principality, perhaps even kingdom, out of the rivaling kingdoms of the Sovereignty - perhaps even staging an attempt at the Golden Throne itself. 

Inspiration

The Sovereignty is partly inspired by the early Byzantine Empire, a mysterious yet powerful state in early medieval Europe. Hence the monotheistic state church and application of soft power. The look and feel of soldiers of the Sovereignty will be largely influenced by the Easterlings of Peter Jackson's film adaptation of Lord of the Rings. Phaeton's church will be both reminiscent of the most corrupt depictions of the Catholic Church in various media sources, as well as of the manner in which faith is depicted in media such as The Last Kingdom  - as a source of power and hope.

RPG-wise, major influences are both early Greyhawk and the Birthright setting (the latter for reasons that will become apparant in subsequent posts). 

All in all, I seek to invoke a Tolkienesque flavour, but with a twist (such as taking the Byzantine Empire as the cultural analog to the main political power on the continent). 

I look forward to developing this setting in the coming year.