Thylea

[Timeline of Thylean History] [~2,000 DA] [Height of the Gygan empire] [24 DA] [Arrival of the Dragonlords] [18 DA] [Founding of the first settler kingdoms] [14 DA] [The First War begins] [12 DA] [Sydon kills the last dragon] [10 DA] [The Five Gods appear] [1 DA] [Mytros ascends to the heavens] [0 CE] [The Oath of Peace is sworn] [1 CE] [Founding of the Kingdom of Mytros] [28 CE] [Disappearance of the Ultros] [35 CE] [Construction of the Necropolis] [125 CE] [The Aresian campaigns begin] [330 CE] [Pythor becomes king of Estoria] [370 CE] [The Kraken destroys one of the Colossi] [400 CE] [The last great Aresian campaign ends] [468 CE] [Acastus becomes King of Mytros] [500 CE] [The Oracle's Prophecy (Now)]   Arrival of Mortals   In the centuries before the founding of Mytros, mortals had no dominion over the untamed lands of Thylea. When elves, dwarves, and humans washed up on Thylea’s shores, their weapons failed them, and their magic ceased to work. They were forsaken by their gods, forced to live as beggars among the fey races.   Curious about these strange refugees, the nymphs and satyrs offered them hospitality, and many small settlements were founded. The centaurs, however, offered them no quarter, and the cyclopes were known to devour men whole. Life in Thylea was short and brutal for the so-called ‘trespassers’ from foreign lands.   During this era, the Twin Titans wielded great powers, unlike anything seen since the dawn of time. Sydon was venerated as the Lord of Storms. He could conjure apocalyptic storms with his right hand and cataclysmic earthquakes with his left hand. His sister-wife Lutheria held dominion over the land of dreams, and her voice was said to give life to the dead.   Fearing eradication, the desperate mortal settlers built shrines to Sydon and held feasts in Lutheria’s honor. Thousands of sacrifices were dedicated to the Lord of Storms, and libations of wine were poured to the Lady of Dreams at every meal. The twins were at first unswayed but, over time, they warmed to the persistent worship of the hapless settlers.   In exchange for this devotion, the Titans offered the mortals oaths of protection, which shielded them from the worst ravages of the centaurs and cyclopes. The settlements survived, but they were always at the mercy of the Twins. So it remained for many hundreds of years.   Arrival of the Dragonlords   One fateful day, a flight of powerful bronze dragons arrived on Thylea’s shores, each bearing a great champion from the Old World. These were the legendary warriors known as the Dragonlords, and they heralded an upheaval that would forever change the history of the Forgotten Land.   Within just a few years of their arrival, many small cities were founded, and a half-dozen small kingdoms sprang up along the roads of the western reaches. The Dragonlords founded powerful dynasties, and the humble mortals who had once lived in terror of the Titans now abandoned their temples and stood tall.   The Dragonlords were symbols of hope for a beleaguered people. Whenever any mortal settlement was razed to the ground by roving centaurs and cyclopes, the Dragonlords would repay the attackers in kind. Through harsh winters, blistering summers, and relentless assaults by the native races, the Dragonlords fought tirelessly, and the people of Thylea persevered.   Everywhere the dragons were greeted with shouts of adulation. When spotted flying overhead, they would be hailed as saviors, and great songs and feasts would be held in their honor. They were radiant to behold, bronze scales gleaming like fire. To be visited by one of the dragons was to be blessed; and nowhere was more blessed than the City of Mytros.   But the great powers that ruled Thylea grew jealous. Sydon and Lutheria, the Twin Titans, immortal children of the mother goddess, amassed great armies to eradicate the city. The Dragonlords responded by gathering all the mortals in Thylea into a united assault on the native races, and so began the First War.   The First War   The histories of the First War are vague, having been passed down through the centuries in the form of decaying scrolls and tapestries. What is known for certain is that the native races were driven into exile. The centaurs retreated into the steppes, while the satyrs fled into the forests. The Gygans, an ancient civilization of cyclopes, were annihilated, leaving behind the crumbling ruins of their fallen cities.   The cost of victory was great: by the time the war ended, the last of the dragons had been killed defending the city they loved most. Although the Dragonlords are remembered as the great heroes of this age, their noble dragons came to be equally venerated as guardian spirits. The blood of their sacrifice is woven into the stones of Mytros, and to this day the city is said to glow radiant bronze at sunset.   Perhaps most miraculous of all, however, was the appearance of the Five Gods. These immortal figures descended from heaven when the tide had turned against the Dragonlords. Some have claimed that they were manifestations of Thylea’s own desire to protect her immigrant children. They took the form of mortal men and women, but their eyes were alight with the fire of divinity.   Don’t Spoil the Twist!   The people of Thylea do not know the true nature of the Five Gods. Only the gods know it, and they are forbidden to talk about it by the Oath of Peace. The story finale includes a major twist where the Five Gods return to their true forms. Don’t spoil this epic moment for your players!   Each of these new gods manifested some portion of the power that had once belonged to the Titans. Pythor, the Lord of Battle, took command of the centurions of Mytros and, after many gruesome battles, the armies of the native races were broken. When the final spear had been thrust into the heart of the Gygan King, the Five Gods fell into a torpor, apparently to recover their strength. The city, it seemed, was safe.   But Sydon and Lutheria swore vengeance. The mountains shook, the seas boiled with rage, and spine-chilling nightmares descended upon the mortal armies. Such was the anger of the Titans that their retaliation threatened to sunder the very foundations of Thylea.   In the end, Mytros, the goddess of dawn, sacrificed herself and ascended once more to the heavens in order to rescue her beloved city from destruction.   The Oath of Peace   Having lost their mounts, the Dragonlords commissioned a fleet of warships and took to the seas. The greatest of these ships was called the Ultros, captained by one Estor Arkelander. He is said to have sailed into the very depths of the underworld where Lutheria sleeps upon her diamond throne. The other Dragonlords are said to have ascended Phraxys, the Tower of Sydon, where the Lord of Storms watches all.   Many songs are sung of the trials and troubles of the Dragonlords, but few can say what actually transpired during their final journey into the perils of the Forgotten Sea. The priests of Mytros watched for signs of the impending apocalypse. On the night of the winter solstice, when Thylea’s doom seemed near, the boiling seas suddenly calmed and the nightmares ended.   Some days later, a black ship sailed into the harbor of Mytros, carrying the bodies of many of the Dragonlords. The ship was captained by Damon, a powerful wizard who had served the Dragonlords during the First War. He was mortally wounded, but he uttered not a single word. He delivered three precious items to the Temple of the Five, and then vanished in his ship, along with the bodies and arms of his fallen masters.   One of the items that Damon carried was a scroll of parchment, upon which was written the Oath of Peace. This Oath was cause for great celebration. Sydon and Lutheria had sworn not to take vengeance upon the mortals of Thylea for a period of 500 years, provided that daily sacrifices to the Titans should resume, and that their temples should be maintained and honored.   The Present Day   The Oath of Peace has prevailed for 500 years and, throughout this age, the mortals of Thylea have flourished. The City of Mytros grew into a great metropolis, and it has been protected by the twin Colossi, beacons of civilization on the shores of a dark frontier. More settlers came from beyond the Forgotten Sea, and the ranks of humans, dwarves, and elves grew. The remaining Dragonlords became kings and established dynasties to rule over the new cities that were founded across the land. As the worship of the Five spread, so also did their power over the land and oceans grow, until every village boasted shrines to Volkan and Pythor, and the dominion of Sydon and Lutheria was nearly forgotten.   The Five Gods loved their people and made sure to walk amongst them whenever they could.   While five centuries may seem like an eternity, the time now grows near where this period of peace must finally come to an end.   The Oracle’s Prophecy   With the imminent end of the Oath of Peace, the Oracle has prophesied the Doom of Thylea: the death of the gods, the destruction of the sacred tree, and the total annihilation of all mortal races. Players in this campaign will take on the role of a group of heroes who have been summoned to the Temple of the Oracle in an attempt to avert this catastrophe.