Ashar

Ashar is a continent defined not by peace, but by the wars that sought to end it. It is a land of fractured oaths, broken empires, and defiant peoples who rose from beneath the heel of ancient powers to forge something new in the flames of revolution.   The bloodiest era in recorded history came with the Infernal War (4400–4749 A.M.), when Balor, God of Demons, led a horrific invasion of Novaris through rifts torn in the very fabric of the world. Demons and dragons ravaged the land, and it was only through divine intervention—and the sacrifice of six mortal heroes—that Balor was finally cast back into the Abyss. Though the gods sealed the wounds, the scars remain. Entire regions were reduced to ash. Kingdoms fell. And from the chaos, new powers emerged.   In the ashes of that war, King Draven rose to prominence. A mortal warrior turned immortal monarch, he united the fragmented Human factions and built a kingdom—The Kingdom of Ashar—upon the ruins of fear and division. His first act of unification was legendary: he slayed the Tarrasque in 5060 A.H., a world-ending beast awoken from the deep, sacrificing his apprentice Allarc in the process. In the aftermath, the Dragonborn and Goliaths, long enslaved by the Elves, pledged themselves to Draven in return for freedom. Their loyalty ignited a new age.   The War of Liberation followed—170 years of relentless conflict where Draven’s forces, bolstered by newly freed peoples, pushed back the Elves and Dwarves who had long ruled from above and below. Cities fell. Borders shifted. The Sylvan Courts were driven into isolation. The Dwarves, stubborn and proud, retreated into fortified mountain holds, their deep roads sealed against surface politics.   Ashar's fragile unity seemed secured—until the Tieflings came.   In 5531 A.H., Tieflings began appearing across the Kingdom, born of mortal blood but touched by infernal ancestry. Some viewed them as a curse, others as a divine mystery. Draven, ever a protector of the oppressed, offered them sanctuary. The nobility revolted.   By 5535, the Separatist War erupted. Fearing the corruption of the bloodline and the rise of “demonic influence,” rebellious factions tried to seize the capital and kidnapped Queen Rayne, Draven’s Tiefling consort. The war was brief but brutal. The Kingdom crushed the rebellion—but to preserve peace, Draven allowed the separatists to secede. Thus, the Concord of Ashar was born: a coalition of idealists, revolutionaries, and exiles seeking a future beyond kings and bloodlines.   Now, in the year 5566 A.H., Ashar stands divided:   The Kingdom of Ashar still endures, ruled by Draven, its immortal king. It is a bastion of stability—but beneath the surface lies unrest, and the burdens of eternity weigh heavily.   The Concord, bold and diverse, pushes north, carving out new cities and philosophies, but lacking the unity that Draven once enforced.   The Sylvan Courts remain in their magical sanctuaries, their arrogance humbled, but their arcane power as potent as ever.   The Dwarves, ever watchful, rule from beneath the mountains in strongholds untouched by outsiders, their silence as loud as any declaration.   And in the shadows, whispers stir: Necromancers seek ancient cities buried beneath the earth. Old gods rattle their chains. And the fires of the Abyss flicker once more.   Ashar is not a land of peace. It is a land of survivors. And the next war may already be written.