Pliscian Civilization
The Pliscian Civilization, or the Pliscian Empire, was a world-spanning civilization in ancient history. Believed to have come from this same Iterum but from a different world, the Pliscians were a long-lived flightless avian species, generally with long golden feathers, and with neck plumages of varying size and color.
Exact dates are unknown, but it is believed that the Pliscians arrived on Essaria sometime before 10,000 BE. Species who were native to Essaria, such as humans, gnomes, and halflings, were colonized by the world-traveling Pliscians. Though the native races maintained a semblance of rights and self-governance, they were mostly used as living tools by the Pliscians. Over time, new races such as the dwarves were brought to Essaria from other worlds.
It is believed that the reason magic exists on Essaria is due to the Pliscians. A web of interlocking energy, sourced from both the world itself and from neighboring Iterums, was woven into the fabric of Essaria itself into what the Pliscians called the "The Legacy." Modern arcanologists debate whether the Pliscians actually created the mechanism of magic on Essaria or if they just harnassed and focused an already-existing field, but it is agreed that contemporary magic is built from the remnants of the Legacy.
An uncommon but signature feature of the Pliscians were their magical Workings. More than just spells or enchantments, these magical devices warp the fabric of reality in our Iterum, allowing for almost any possibility. Many have been lost to time - either deactivating completely or becoming dangerously unstable - but a small number of Workings are still in use today. For instance, The Foundry in modern-day Bronzehall seems to operate without any issue.
It is believed that the Pliscians experienced a mishap of some kind around 2,500 BE, which led to many of them abandoning Essaria entirely, returning to the stars or migrating to other Iterums. The few that remained stayed in power until a far more catastrophic magical disaster struck around 1500 BE. In southwest Allethra, a Pliscian city was annihilated in a burst of magical energy, killing all other Pliscians on the planet. The fallout from this destruction caused the Pliscian Winter, a globe-spanning storm lasting decades. The loss of their masters combined with almost an unlivable living environment sent prehistoric humans back to a proverbial Stone Age for centuries.
Today, all that remains of the Pliscian civilization are the remnants of the Legacy, a few Workings, and hundreds of scattered ruins. Treasure and magical artifacts lie in these dangerous ruins, which are commonly looted by adventuring parties and sold to collectors and researchers. Little of the Pliscian language has been translated, although its alphabet bears a striking similarity to that of Hila.
Pre-history - 1500 BE
Type
Geopolitical, Empire
Demonym
Pliscian