Introduction to Elaienna
As the world enters a new age, the innovations of magic and technology are being pushed to their limits, with new problems and blends being discovered regularly.
The world's technological revolution took a monumental hit with the fall of the Dwarven realms in recent history, while magical studies have remained constant and on the up, with the Elves especially proving to be the biggest proponents of such things, their nature predisposing them to magical development and greatness.
Magic isn't everything, however, and nowhere is that more apparent than the realms of humanity. Humans aren't naturally predisposed to magical developments like the elves are, which has led their realms down other paths of development. The Shard Ritual has certainly made some impacts on this paradigm, but the stark departure is clear for any travellers to see.
Elaienna is littered with ruins of the ancient Hysilens and other unknown, yet ancient nations, both of which are hotly contested by factions the world over. Yet, the knowledge remains that the ancient realms fell due to calamities, which is also believed to be causally related to the Hysilens' end. Blame is often prescribed to the Demonic realm for this, but modern magic and science has begun proposing... other suggestions for the cause.
A Calamitous History
The Hysilens and the other ancient realms met their end for a reason, and it is imperative that we find out what that reason is. We must uncover as much as we can of the fall of these realms in order to prevent them occurring again... lest they come for all of us when we are not prepared.Elaienna has a... quite storied history of ancient realms, both of magical and technological persuasions, and more than a few believed to blend the two together. By far the most famous of these is that of the fox-like Hysilens, who were the first race to rise to prominence on Elaienna and are believed to have all but conquered it in their prime, with ruins suggesting their expansion to other realms and worlds entirely. The Hysilens all but vanished in short order, though, leaving little behind of their society and leading many to believe that they ascended to godhood, their greatest figures forming a core part of several well regarded pantheons today. Many of the other ancient realms were less fortunate however, all having ended in brutal calamities that are well recorded - if hectic and devoid of much information on the realms themselves - but the origins of which are unknown. Many believe that the Demonic Realm had some part to play in the events, but a Dwarven study in the astronomical hold of Orldhatun posited a theory that has quickly taken root as the new standard theory for where these events - and many other things - originate from. Many can't help but wonder if there was a force that toppled societies the moment they got too advanced, be that magically or technologically; this force may well have even forced the Hysilens to undertake their ascension, for example. As stated, the initial theories were that this force was Demonic in origin, the realm of the Demon Queen seeking to curtail mortal progression, but Orldhatun's Setzunkupa identified something curious indeed: a turbulent, roiling mass of Aspected Aether located in the Aldrin Passage, a gaseous section of space located in the outer reaches of the system containing Lantyr.
The Aldrin Passage
The Aldrin Passage is only visible from Elaienna through regular telescopes for 30 days every year, while the Setzunkupa could observe it roughly half of the year, and it took the Dwarven observatory a few years to positively identify the roiling masses of aspected aether as what they truly were: Aether Corruption. The Dwarves couldn't determine why it was there, but a theory quickly arose that whatever calamities were being caused, were related to the corruption within the Aldrin Passage... and when the researchers of Orldhatun began to go mad with corruption symptoms following their studies of the Passage, that all but validated the Dwarves' claim to many. If that didn't, what came next certainly did: the Greentide, which brought the united Dwarven kingdom to its knees, shattering its holds and scattering the Dwarf peoples far and wide. The Aldrin Passage soon began to go by another name; the Chaos Nebula, with its influence being referred to as Chaos Magic. This is a big reason why the races of the Greentide are referred to colloquially as the Chaos Races.The Themes of Elaienna
Elaienna is a Knightcore Fantasy world, as defined by the Tones and Settings Alignment Chart. The key theme of the world is that it's a setting that feels both desperate, but also hopeful; the world is entering a new era, but constant strife and calamity works its way into the reality of life on Elaienna, making it hard to reside there with the constant dangers that prevail the world over. Beneath even that, the core dangers of the world still remains; religion is a powerful force on Elaienna, but it's also one that causes conflict and tensions across the world, and species' conflict is rife too. Indeed, many regions of the world are fortunate if they see less than one huge conflict every century, and magic and technology alike often see more use for harm than good. The setting is also hopeful though, a new era of exploration and discovery on the horizon as the races of Elaienna look poised to make the voyage west, past the Primeval Mists that have blocked voyage for centuries, armed with new technological and magical innovations which promise to make such a voyage possible for the first time. But where excitement and opportunity awaits, danger is sure to follow; the ancient realms of eras long ago have left many ruins the world over, and it is likely that yet more will be present beyond the Mists, and the danger of the weapons is a contentious subject indeed... Nobody knows for sure if the realms of today can avoid the mistakes the ended the realms of yore, or if those realms failed because of mistakes in the first place.Hanging on a thin thread between hope and despair; given enough effort, groups of individuals may be able to make a dramatic effect on the world. Even if true permanence is just beyond reach.
An Expansive World
Elaienna is a vast temperate world, roughly the size of planet Earth, with abundant access to a wide variety of different biomes, but with some quite... curious quirks to its geography. Deserts and jungles are more common around the equator of the planet, with a few examples of colder deserts being found in the northern and southern hemispheres, while colder climates can be found nearer the poles.
The planet rarely experiences proper snow and ice in a year-round fashion, and instead many of its biomes only begin to gain snow in the winter. A good example of this is the Geruda Jungle in the far north of the old world, where ice and snow overtakes much of the region in the harsh depths of winter. Elaienna does have poles, but they are uninhabited and of little consequence, so they have been excluded from the images of its world map.
Both Bhailu and Aelnar have areas with significant floating islands, with the famous Wandering Isles being the ancestral home of the Wyvern-like offshoot of the Draconids. In many places, vast Crysium Shards protrude from the ground as well, while the old world is home to a vast subterranean realm known as Subterra.
Elaienna World Map by Airwolf (via Wonderdraft)
Crysium Shards
Nobody is quite certain as to what triggered the first growth of these on Elaienna; some think it was the Hysilens ascension ritual, others link it to the Chaos Nebula, but whatever the origins, these crystals proved revolutionary and changed Elaienna forever. The Crysium Shards are magically-infused crystals, allowing those with them to undertake a special ritual to gain magical power.
Prior to these crystals, magic was a very restrictive and elusive force indeed, limited to those born with a latent magical aptitude for a given type of magic, but over time, these crystals led to the development of the Shard Ritual which allows for the creation of more casters. That said, this is still a very expensive procedure, mostly reserved for the wealthy of society.
Demonic Shard
Demonic Shards are an outlawed, corruptive shard capable of emulating any other shard.
Chaos Shard
Chaos Shards are the vectors through which Chaos Magic can be practiced, and are banned under threat of capital punishment in most realms.
Types of Shard
There are a total of 16 Crysium Shards.
Anemo Shard
Anemo Shards are used to create elemental Air Magic spellcasters.
Pyro Shard
Pyro Shards are used to create elemental Fire Magic spellcasters.
Hydro Shard
Hydro Shards are used to create elemental Water Magic spellcasters.
Geo Shard
Geo Shards are used to create elemental Earth Magic spellcasters.
Dimension Shard
Dimension Shards are used to create Dimension Magic spellcasters.
Memoria Shard
Memoria Shards are used to create Summoning Magic spellcasters.
Rune Shard
Rune Shards are used to create Rune Magic spellcasters.
Radiant Shard
Radiant Shards are used to create Divine Magic spellcasters.
Psionic Shard
Psionic Shards are used to create Psionic Magic spellcasters.
Nature Shard
Nature Shards are used to create Nature Magic spellcasters.
Necrotic Shard
Necrotic Shards are used to create Necrotic Magic spellcasters.
Pure Shard
Pure Shards are used to create Shielding Magic spellcasters.
Temporal Shard
Temporal Shards are used to create Time Magic spellcasters.
Blood Shard
Blood Shards are used to create Blood Magic spellcasters.
Chaos and Corruption
The most dangerous regions on Elaienna are those referred to as Corrupted regions; those regions affected by Aether Corruption. This corruption can be manmade and caused by mage duels and poor Aether-management, but are more often caused by mysterious events tied to the Chaos Nebula. The most well known corrupted regions are located in Aelnar, with Shatterstone, the Great Empty, and the Torn Gates all being regions of intense corruption.
Chaos-based Corrupted regions are notable in that they're far more long-term examples of Aether Corruption, often not proving to subside at all, but the regions themselves are not the most dangerous aspect of the Chaos Nebula's effects. The most dangerous aspect of the Chaos Nebula's impact however, are the Chaos Storms, often referred to as Shardstorms.
Shardstorms have been a constant part of Elaienna for the past few decades, but have historically been confined to very particular parts of the world that house significant aether corruption phenomena, but as of late they have been appearing further afield, with more regularity, and many are not subsiding as they normally should do.
For now, the peoples in the sights of these storms have managed to manage them with the aid of magical and technological advances, but it remains to be seen how things will proceed on that front.
[link to article on Shardstorms here]
Societies of Elaienna
Many different people have risen and fallen all across Elaienna, and while much information has been lost of those who came before, much still remains, and the influence of these ancients goes without saying, their innovations, culture and mindset having considerable impact on the societies of today.The Ancestor Races
The Hysilens
The Hysilens were generally regarded to be the first race to make Elaienna their home, and in their prime were said to have demonstrated complete mastery of the world, bending it to their whims as a matter of daily course. Their society all but vanished from the face of the planet in an event that many purport to be their ascension to divinity - a theory first put forward by the Raqise that followed them. In the recent years, the aftermath of the Great Demonic War has seen many fell tomes of Demonic knowledge fall into the hands of the races, and while much of this is heinous and dangerous, a significant amount of it pertains to ancient ruins and lost technologies of the Hysilens buried in remote locations, or so the tales go. Nowadays, factions and countries alike actively compete for these purported sites, hoping to gain even a modicum of the power of the divine to call their own. Subterra is another discussion point of the Hysilens, as they were said to have been there in large numbers during their time on Elaienna, and while the terrain of the realm is rife with dangers, the prospects of finding untouched Hysilens ruins has proven too great for many to resist.Learn more about the Hysilens
The Hysilens by YOGU
The Imperial Dragons
The Imperial Dragons were a truly ancient race of feral dragons, generally divided by regional distribution as to their appearance. They were believed to have lived alongside the Hysilens and Raqise alike - albeit rarely interacting with either - and to have risen to prominence following the end of both of their fellow ancestor races. The Imperial Dragons' most famous contributions to the world were their collaborations with the other races to rediscover magic, famously aiding Elf researchers in discovering Time Magic again. Perhaps the most... infamous contribution however, was the Imperium, founded by the imperial dragons near the end of the Shard Age ostensibly to prevent a repeat of the Raqise's mistakes, it quickly garnered a reputation as something of a draconic ethno-state, persecuting and enslaving non-dragons in a wide variety of barbaric ways - from cattle slavery to pleasure slavery, experimentation and a lot more besides, famously seeing the first Draconid created as experimental soldiers for the Imperium. It's of little surprise that much resistance against the Imperium rose, and in relatively short time, but not even these could dethrone the draconic realm, as imperial dragons are famously noted to be near-impenetrable to traditional weapons and highly resistant to magic. The only true resistance to the Imperium was the Bhailu Empire, whose Bards and Alchemy were both excellent counters for the techniques of the dragons. The Imperium only shattered when their hubris got the better of them, and their meddling with things beyond their understanding created a surge of Chaos sufficiently disruptive that the Demon forces were able to breach the veil and enter the world, beginning the Great Demonic War, which the Imperium would not survive. Imperial Dragons still exist today, but they're a rarity and are all in exile or sport Draconid forms instead of their natural feral forms; the shame of the Imperium lingers in their eternal psyches to this day, and while it may be ancient history for many by this stage, the dragons will never forget, and will never forgive their own arrogance. They do, however, have something of a situation developing with the Feiten Vulpinari, who have been known to capture and enslave imperial dragons for breeding stock.Learn more about the Imperium
The Raqise
While they lack the cultural... zeitgeist of the Imperium, the Raqise's contributions and heinous acts are of legendary infamy all to themselves. As the successors to the Hysilens' legacy following their ascension, the Raqise are a catlike race that rose to such dizzying heights of magical power that many of their accomplishments rival that of their predecessors. In spite of that, however, the Raqise are remembered for the Confederacy, a magocracy so grand that in its prime it dominated all of Aelnar and Nezrin handily. Initially, the Confederacy had opponents to challenge its power, although who they were is lost to time; either way. the competition forced them to innovate on more useful technologies, beginning to earn the reputation they would go on to have for magical excellence, but that isn't to say that technology wasn't an excellent aspect of the Raqise Confederacy either. Their technological innovations are many, and while they're all lost to time, it's believed that they made these innovations by piggybacking off of conquered realms, effectively using the advancements of others to improve their own culture. Eventually, though, the Confederacy far out scaled its peers, and is believed to have either conquered them, or established buffer zones to keep its borders separated from what independent states remained. With few realms to challenge their power, the Raqise opted to experiment with less... savoury magic instead, conducting grand experiments aiming to push the very limits of their magical techniques and knowledge. It was them who uncovered the darker arts of Psionic Magic's mental domination powers, the limits of Necrotic Magic and the abilities to raise the dead and puppeteer bodies - which would later go on to inform the rise of Blood Magic, which the Raqise are believed to have outright invented - but most famous their folly proved to be their own undoing in a calamitous way. The capital of the Confederacy, Aelantyr, was consumed by a Shardstorm in an instant, and the rest of their land followed. Many of these storms persisted for hundreds, even thousands of years, and the deplorable conditions heralded the start of the Shard Age that saw societal regression as the storms and Shardtouched proved too powerful and omnipresent to form nation-states. Indeed, the Raqise brought about great change to the world at large, but not in the way they expected. Many believe the Raqise to be extinct, but some believe that a precious few of them survived, becoming the first vampires, specifically of the Tal'ayn Covenant.Learn more about the Raqise Confederacy
Modern Societies
Nowadays, many humanoid races exist across all of Elaienna, and while many of them control huge swathes of land, only a few of these species are truly influential nowadays, being the driving forces behind major realms the world over.Humanity and the Empire of Anbennar
Many decades of animosity and strife have led to the Human realms being weak and vulnerable, but nowadays, many of them - including the Empire of Anbennar - have begun to really rise to prominence, spurred on by clockwork engineering inspired by that of the Dwarf and Fique realms. Many human realms have seen meteoric rises in importance in recent years, with the Kingdom of Lorent being another famous example, and while much of their advancement is technological - and thus held up by the loss of the Dwarf holds in the mountains - the Shard Ritual has allowed them to have plenty of impact on magical innovations too. The Empire of Anbennar itself is worth a special mention; an unruly mess of a nation comprised of between 50 and 150 smaller nation states, all swearing fealty to the Emperor - or Empress - of Anbennar, who is the ruler of a state and is elected by the electors of the empire when the prior ruler dies. The princedoms pay tithe to the imperial treasury, contribute troops to the Imperial Army and ships to the Navy. Indeed, while it is currently one of the most decentralized realms in the world, the Empire of Anbennar - should it be able to fully unite its princedoms in a single goal and mobilize every army it has - can field potentially the largest levied army on Elaienna, with approximately 150,000 fighting men between its constituent levies. While it's not the functionally largest levy - that goes to the Kisupet Empire's 85,000 man-strong levies - nor is it the most powerful army - the United Legion's armies are far more professional and well armed - it's an impressive feat in its own right, and as the world moves more towards professional armies, the advantages of the central Nezrin Empire stand to improve further. In general, it's hard to not find humans all over the world, from Nezrin to Sorthal and Sirtan, humanity has found its way to all corners of the known world, and their adventurous spirit has been pushing them westwards as well, collaborating with the Ventari Elves to mount expeditions of Aelnar. The future looks bright for the humans, and for all their short lifespans do to inhibit them, they have consistently made shockwaves across their regions in short orders of time.Learn more about the Empire of Anbennar
The Vulpinari of Bhailu
The Vulpinari are a fox-folk race hailing from Greater Bhailu whose greatest historical precedent was the formation of the Bhailu Empire. That empire fell long ago, and while it still remains as a more regional power, the vulpinari's knack for blending magic with technology have seen them explode in value to the myriad of states across Bhailu. Nowhere is this more evident than the famed League of Feiten. Reeling from wars to contain its aggression in the past few decades, the Feiten Assembly have pivoted to... other means to secure its future and poise itself for further expansion. One of the first of these was Feiten's transition to monarchy through peaceful revolution - the indecision of the Assembly led to their inability to capitalize on opportunities. Initially, this was a constitutional monarchy, but as time has gone on, the Queen of Feiten has assumed total authority over the country, keeping the Assembly around as her yes-men in essence - something that has been met with little resistance, as her rule has proven very popular. Beyond this, Feiten's goals have been industrialization, and in many ways Feiten has become the first nation to really enter its industrial-arcane revolution. It's taken many precautions on this front, including the development of potent magic and technological innovations such as Airships and the very first prototype Spelljammers - in collaboration with the United Legions, but also the first factories and electrical power grid - powered by technologies the Feiten Assembly are very tight-lipped about the nature of. These have combined to allow Feiten to keep up with the United Legions in the north, albeit with some difficulty - it's hard to overstate the ingenuity and skill possessed by the Legions. Feiten's airship flotilla has already earned it both fame and ire as it has been making itself known, being sighted roaming far afield from its home in the Feiten region, and has rather notoriously been sighted fighting Imperial Dragons in the regions of Votdrakona and Votura, seemingly taking them alive as captives. It's believed that Feiten has uncovered some means to control their own broods of dragons, and are capturing wild imperial dragons for this aim, with a seeming emphasis on imperial cloud dragons. This has fuelled many questions about the nature of these ships, as nobody has ever seen them resupply except for when they return to Feiten itself for new assignments from the Assembly and the Queen, but little remains in doubt that Feiten is setting its plans in motion to avenge its defeat all those years ago, and has far outstripped those rivals technologically, so when it decides the time is right... there is likely to be a reckoning.Learn more about the League of Feiten
The Elven Exiles
The myriad Elf races hailed from the continent of Aelnar in their prime, but following the fall of the Raqise Confederacy they were forced to migrate east in search of safe harbour, the Primeval Mists preventing the return of any party to Aelnar after they left - with any elves that remained in Aelnar becoming Shardtouched and lost to society. Many elven realms and subraces were created as the Elven refugee fleet split into groups of two or three elven vessels for the largest chance of their race as a whole surviving; perhaps the most interesting of these are the Moon Elves of the Ventari Isle, as these are the only elves who remember this ancient heritage and the continent of Aelnar, and they're the most significant backer of expeditions to pierce the Primeval Mists and return to Aelnar. Beyond the Ventari Elves however, elves can nowadays be found in most corners of the old world, their myriad refugee ships making landfall over huge spans of land, but their genetics have diverged enough that every elf community across the world has diverged racially from their baseline, the closest of which to that baseline would be the Moon Elves. This is why elves have so many subraces. Of these subraces, the most famous, by far, are the Moon Elves, Sun Elves, High Elves, Dark Elves, Wood Elves, and Sea Elves. Many of these elven races are quite true to the name, with - for example - the moon elves having silvery hair, an ability to commune with the moons and draw forth power from them, and generally being viewed as the most 'true' form of elf to the original Elves. Sun Elves, by contrast, are known to have landed in the Salahad Desert and make up a large noble class in the Kisupet Empire nowadays. They wield extensive fire-based magics and are famous for their blonde or orange hair and fiery eyes and are generally more athletic than the moon and high elves. High and Dark Elves are - in many ways - two sides of the same coin, both having originated from the elven refugee ships that landed in Sirtan. The main distinction is that dark elves made their way into Subterra and were significantly changed by its power - they have darker skin tones due to the lack of exposure to the sun and the environment of the underground world, a talent in magic that is just as proficient as the high elves, but focused more on Blood Magic, Psionic Magic and Terramancy, and they're generally taller and more warrior-like than the high elves - while the high elves stayed on the surface and developed general magical aptitude and excellence over time, with most bloodline magic schools appearing in their race. Wood Elves are famous for having been warped by the fairy forests of Celene when they settled there, and generally stand as the middle-ground between the Feyfolk and elves, being more adapted to forest life and in touch with fey trickery and glamours. The Sea Elves by contrast landed in the corrupted region of the Fujitaka Isles. The corruption of the isles manifests in violent, ever-present thunderstorms of supernatural power, but was never any more dangerous than that. Still, it was enough to force the would-be sea elves to flee underwater, as it was not safe to leave the isles - the storm destroyed their ships. Over time, they developed into sea elves, adapted to lives underwater, where they encountered the Asraiad and mixed with them. Indeed, today, many people group sea elves with the Asraiad as opposed to the other elves, which is where their description is denoted.Learn more about the Elves
The Fique and the United Legions
The Fique are one of the most important races of the modern age. A beastkin race of equines - including pegasi, unicorns and alicorns as well - they've had a martial tradition for as long as most races can remember. In their earliest days, they were able to repel the Bhailu Empire from their homelands in Fiuna, where the myriad Fique tribes warred for dominance, yet banded together in the face of the Bhailu's advance. Deals were eventually reached that saw Fiuna incorporated into the empire as an autonomous region, allowing the Fique to continue their warring lifestyle. This cohesion would go on to be very important, as the great demonic war saw the Fique relish the opportunity to fight the Demon forces and experiment with their technologies, known as Fiun - artifice, in the Fique tongue - in live combat situations. The tenacity and ferocity of the Fique and their subraces were present for all to see, and they played a large part in aiding the Bhailu Empire with holding the demon forces at their defensive lines in Xinzhao. The end of the demonic war saw the inevitable collapse of the Bhailu Empire, battered, overextended and its unity shattered by the demons. In its place rose many warring nations, but in the far north, Fique sentiments had progressed away from warring tribes, and towards a unified warrior force; the Three Legions of the Fique - the Iron Legion, Arcane Legion, and Blood Legion, representing Fique engineering, magic and martial might, respectively - were born, unified under the High Imperator of the Legions. The Legions were nominally independent, but functionally were a single nation known officially as the United Legions, ruled by the High Imperator, while each Legion was led by its individual Imperator. Under the United Legions, the Fique expanded to cover the entire north of Greater Bhailu - from Fiuna to the Bhailu Badlands - as well as the Huisu Steppes, and quickly established themselves as the foremost engineering realm in the east, and in the entire world following the fall of the Dwarf holds. While many realms are stagnant or struggling to survive, the Fique and the United Legions are thriving, developing all sorts of powerful, modern technologies and pushing the arcane with the natural skills of the unicorn fique to aid them. Many wonder, even, if they're progressing too far, and if they'll provoke a calamitous end like the Raqise and Imperium did before them, but only time will tell.Learn more about the United Legions
Further Reading
This article provides a full breakdown of how magic works across Elaienna, including all of the types of magic, their capabilities, and the types of spellcaster. More information on the main magical resources can be found in the Aether and Crysium Shard articles.
This article provides a full rundown of the cosmology of the Lantyr solar system that houses the worlds featured in the setting predominantly. Lantyr is a massive system filled with myriad worlds, and while Elaienna itself is the crown jewel of the system, many other planets hold interesting tales too.