Aros

Created by

marcpagnotta

THE REALMS OF TEL'EVANDROS

  The Tales have been told since the people first gathered around the fires of prehistory, tales of the strange and wondrous things hidden in the vast unknown shadows of the world, Tales of creatures divine and beasts demonic, of gods and kings, of myths and monsters. From dark forests to the lands of ice, from desert wastes to the storm-thrashed seas, every corner of Aros has its legends to tell. Stories of heroes and the villains they encounter, of the wilderness and the dangers within. Stories of battle, of love, of order, and of chaos.   Tel’Evandros, a vast land occupied by old histories and diverse societies, saturated with rich cultures and traditions. In times of old the dominant races of dwarves, elves and dragonborn marked the majority of civilization on the continent. In the realms north of Coreinars Grasp, a union of dwarves and elves saw to the governance and protection of the lesser races. While the Dwarves erected great cities and legendary crafts, the elves took to the care of the mysteries of magic, safeguarding the astral conduit which provides magic to the realm through the astral weave that binds our plane to the multiverse. In the realms south of Coreinars grasp lie the faithful theocratic Dragonborn nation which had seen a long history of holy wars and yet the scaled people remain unbowed and unbroken to this day.   The same could not be said for the fates of the dwarves, elves and lesser kind in the north, where a great shift in power led to their near extinction. Under the boot of an orcish occupancy, cities crumbled, and immeasurable amounts of people were slain. It was then, when the end of civilisation drew near, that a foreign people would land on the northern shores, the colonies of humankind from the eastern lands of Tel’Onarafel. The warbands of man clashed against the hordes of orcs and beasts in a bloody engagement that would last for hundreds of years until the humans snuffed out the flame of their foes. The legendary human warchief, Duren, was showered with the gifts of the native people. They were gifted the knowledge of industry and magic and lore of the new world the humans had stepped into. And so, began the age of Duren, whose bloodline would rule the founding human empire to this day, his actions, had been so influential to the northern realms, that the largest nation of humans would be named after him, and emperors would take his name as their surname as a symbol of their leadership.   For several hundred years, the human nations and their allies experienced an age of peace, wounds healed and society recovered. Until the humans and dragonborn made contact. This meeting was met with a short conflict that ended not so long ago, with neither side finding victory, but a tenuous peace was agreed upon.   At present day, the power of the human empire of Durendal and their bannermen lie shaken by civil war. The late emperor Thormund Durendal had passed only one year ago after a prosperous rule, his firstborn son Deverick, the heir to the throne has fled north, for allegedly playing a part in the untimely loss of his father, or so is preached by the current emperor, Thormunds secondborn son Hammond Durendal.   Under Emperor Hammonds rule, Durendal is in turmoil, taxes rise higher and higher, corruption bleeds into the authority, and fear is met in the smallfolk as a wave of oppression covers the plainsmeet. The true emperor Deverick Durendal, stands aside the northern humans of Varendal who hope to see the true leader on the throne. For the first time in history, the humans fight amongst eachother, the northmen and the southrons, and this show of weakness has caused many of their bannermen to detach themselves from the Durendal empire.   Aside from the civil war amongst humankind, a much more ominous and threatening event has occurred, a magical catastrophe on the mystarus peninsula deemed the Mana wastes. The weave of arcana, is and has always been regulated by the Jewel of Arcanus, a towering conduit of magical energy that sits in the heart of the Grand abbey of The Magii. Recently, a mysterious event has caused the Jewel of Arcanus to fracture and go inert, its release of arcane energy decimated the Grand Temple, laid waste to the Magii of the peninsula, and to those who weren't decimated, rumors say they were warped into magical abominations. The release of arcane energy has bled into the leylines across the continent and has caused anomalies among the surrounding land, those who could never harness magic now can, creatures have become more hostile and unpredictable, the dead begin to rise, folk whisper amongst eachother stories and rumors of the rarest sightings and of tall tales which before would be considered myth and legend.    This phenomenon has led to a resergence of adventurers for hire, with the crown's forces run thin fighting amongst eachother, brave and talented men and women take to those in need. Among other cultural shifts, the crown's new emperor has outlawed and judged mages responsible for the bleed and therefore a threat, leading to the ungoverned emergence of mage hunting groups who are rewarded for the capture and execution of wizards, sorcerers and any other who wield arcane power. Arcane practitioners seek refuge with the crown's eldest prince in the frozen north, but those caught on the wrong side of the kingdom have been dealt an ill fate.    

World Map