Aos

Aos is a world born of the gods. It has since been filled with all manner of folk, from the varied Elemental Folk to the massive Undine. They gaze at the sky and its two suns and two moons while wondering most often how much longer they'll work on their farms, whether on land or under the waves. Tradesman ride wagons or ships great distances between the towns and few cities of the Aos. Others play politics with commoners, swordsman, and magic as their tools.   Five continents, two subcontinents, and one vast island chain make up the lands of Aos. One empire of the Undine and Aliwa arose on Nisia long ago called Megalo Spiti, or Great Home. It was the first empire to rise and is the only one to remain still, though its rulers have changed many times. The main island of Nisia and by far the largest has usually held its capital throughout the years, though now in addition to that it holds the invasion of desperate Nuwan, lizard-like people even larger than the massive Undine. This empire has long controlled the waters of the west and tends to stay close to the seas from which it was born.   The first dead empire was born of the Elves and their spirit magic, called An Bhfearann, or The Domain. The greatest city state on Ar Ais, the western continent, saw a king rise to power who would begin spreading his influence across the land. At its height, it controlled its original continent, Ar Ais; Mesender, the continent that lies between others, a great crossroads of the world; Dominostra, the eastern continent and birthplace of Humanity; and through strict military control, most of Erdhaus, the home of Dwarves and their high mountains. This empire also spread the first formal understanding of magic through Spirit Magic and their shamans as well as a formal divine magic to beseech the gods and be heard.   The second dead empire was Die Alliierten, The Allies. It was the Dwarven empire, a series of city-states controlled by oligarchies with the greatest among them to guide them on their strict Dwarven Paths. This empire arose as a resistance to strict control by An Bhfearann, and it successfully pushed back the Elves and took their lands, teaching them their resentment, and taught the Humans who their new masters would be. Its grandest mages brought into the world a new magic, Sorcery Magic, using the core essence of people instead of relying on the fickle and obtuse spirits of the world. This empire also conquered the Sand Seas and was the first to bring the light of the forge to Nuwan, or so they claimed as the bringers of civilization.   The third dead empire was the Imperium, the Human empire born of strong national identity and a powerful and organized military. Its rise was swift and held better control over more lands than either of the older empires. It allied with Elves to defeat the Dwarves, fully conquered Somal and Jonub, lands of the Elemental Folk, and gave birth to what is called the root of magical understanding, Rune Magic. This was always tightly controlled within the empire and very closely attached to their military, and only a few times were its true horrors released upon the world. Unlike its predecessors, however, this last great empire did not fall to those it had wronged in a great rebellion, but rather to its own ambitions and its own generals and governors deciding that the heart of the empire had grown stale and dead. These new princes and kings forged their own lands and while the empire struggled at first, it eventually succumbed to the tide of collapse.   The world is smaller now. Roads lead across old provinces and no further. Petty lords and ladies quarrel over scraps of land and the people go on. And in this chaotic time, new powers arise with dark ambitions of new kinds of empires.