Post by JMDavis ((Silver)) on Jan 7, 2010 0:01:26 GMT -5
The ancient lands of men are dying, they have been forced to give ground before the encroaching armies of General Malair, the militant ruler of the Eastern Kingdom. The great spires of Ruan'tarfur have fallen, sending the magi of the magical city into disarray, flinging them to the four corners of the world. The final nails are being hammered into the coffin of the former empires.
"We shall go, as we are destined too, into that endless night. But we shall go with the sounds of battle in our hearts and the blood of our enemies on our bodies!"
-King Arketh of Marinburg
Last bastions:
Tireth'aran - loosely translated from elfish as the Iron Kingdom. Also known as Mar-kar-Yur, which is dwarfish for the Kingdom of Iron. Ruled by King Arketh, one of the last few Mystics of men who retains much of his power.
The city itself is given it's name because of the iron shod walls and spires of the walls surrounding the city, as well as that of the fortress inside. The great walls and fortress-castle stand as a last defiant aspect of men, having broken the teeth of Malair time and time again.
Ruins of Tarian'thul - the ruins of the former kingdom of the hunters, the ruins now house the remaining warriors who decided to guard their former home to the last. Invading bands of elves, dwarfs and Sidians (Darklings). Many have been dissuaded by the corpses, both fresh or aged, that are riddled with holes left by arrows.
The ruins have been shifted, either by nature or by the workings of the remaining humans, making them a labyrinthine web work of stone, allowing the Tarians to find their own ambush spots, and to lay deadly traps either crafted or gifted by nature. Many bands of interlopers have been slain by spike pits or huge Grenval Bears that have made the ruins their home, and recognize the humans as a more fearsome predator than they.
The Dales - though these lands had never been inhabited by the humans, or anything other than wild beasts, the retreating armies and people have found refuge in these wild hill lands. Here, though, where soldiers are outnumbered by the common people flight is treated over fight.
Soldiers sent off from the main host have failed to find their human quarry, instead only the bodies of their scouts being left behind for them. But Malair desires above all that every last human be found and eradicated.
Humans:
Originally the first gifted by the creators of the world with intelligence alongside the dwarfs and elves. During this time when the humans were prosperous they came into many conflicts with the same elves they now fight, forcing them to develop faster than their enemies and begin a tenuous relationship with the expansionist dwarfs.
Learning how to build forges and create weapons was the gift imparted by the dwarfs, allowing the humans to forge weapons and armor of iron. The more xenophobic elves, on the other hand, continued to use weapons of wood, stone and bone and armor made of thickened hides. The elf warriors stood no chance.
As the armies of men marched and crushed their enemies, an uneasy truce was forged between the two races. For millennia, the lands of men grew and prospered under the truce, and great cities and kingdoms blossomed. Soon, men began to cover the land, people from each part of the continent differing as widely as men from elves or dwarfs. But their unity, through their diversity, is what made them strong.
In time, four kingdoms of men stood out as the pinnacles of their society. Marinburg, home to the walls of iron and stone (Tireth'aran). Traforth, home to the wild men who could put fear into the great beasts of the wilds (Tarian'thul). Sarandale, the kingdom of the spires where the mystics and magisters of men were trained and born (Ruan'tarfur). Finally, there was the coastal town of Shard's Gambit, a town full of rough mercenaries and toughened sailors, of villainous pirates and wheedling gamblers (Tara Tamez).
The humans began to establish themselves as the major power in the area, and their arrogance lead them to believing that nothing would break them. And so they began teaching their skills to the elves, in hopes of strengthening the unity of the two peoples.
Oddly enough, the elves found it trying to learn the gentler magics of the humans, many were unable to call upon the spirits of nature to grant them the druidic magics of the humans. But the arts of destruction came almost naturally to the elves. First time practitioners of necromancy were able to perform the most rigorous of spells by their second day.
This development worried many of the human magi, but they continued to teach the elves, those with a passion becoming druids after a few decades more of training.
Soon, the elves began to flourish, setting up their own kingdoms near the coastal areas of the continent, though found themselves rebuffed by the seafaring kingdom of Shard's Gambit.
"We shall go, as we are destined too, into that endless night. But we shall go with the sounds of battle in our hearts and the blood of our enemies on our bodies!"
-King Arketh of Marinburg
Last bastions:
Tireth'aran - loosely translated from elfish as the Iron Kingdom. Also known as Mar-kar-Yur, which is dwarfish for the Kingdom of Iron. Ruled by King Arketh, one of the last few Mystics of men who retains much of his power.
The city itself is given it's name because of the iron shod walls and spires of the walls surrounding the city, as well as that of the fortress inside. The great walls and fortress-castle stand as a last defiant aspect of men, having broken the teeth of Malair time and time again.
Ruins of Tarian'thul - the ruins of the former kingdom of the hunters, the ruins now house the remaining warriors who decided to guard their former home to the last. Invading bands of elves, dwarfs and Sidians (Darklings). Many have been dissuaded by the corpses, both fresh or aged, that are riddled with holes left by arrows.
The ruins have been shifted, either by nature or by the workings of the remaining humans, making them a labyrinthine web work of stone, allowing the Tarians to find their own ambush spots, and to lay deadly traps either crafted or gifted by nature. Many bands of interlopers have been slain by spike pits or huge Grenval Bears that have made the ruins their home, and recognize the humans as a more fearsome predator than they.
The Dales - though these lands had never been inhabited by the humans, or anything other than wild beasts, the retreating armies and people have found refuge in these wild hill lands. Here, though, where soldiers are outnumbered by the common people flight is treated over fight.
Soldiers sent off from the main host have failed to find their human quarry, instead only the bodies of their scouts being left behind for them. But Malair desires above all that every last human be found and eradicated.
Humans:
Originally the first gifted by the creators of the world with intelligence alongside the dwarfs and elves. During this time when the humans were prosperous they came into many conflicts with the same elves they now fight, forcing them to develop faster than their enemies and begin a tenuous relationship with the expansionist dwarfs.
Learning how to build forges and create weapons was the gift imparted by the dwarfs, allowing the humans to forge weapons and armor of iron. The more xenophobic elves, on the other hand, continued to use weapons of wood, stone and bone and armor made of thickened hides. The elf warriors stood no chance.
As the armies of men marched and crushed their enemies, an uneasy truce was forged between the two races. For millennia, the lands of men grew and prospered under the truce, and great cities and kingdoms blossomed. Soon, men began to cover the land, people from each part of the continent differing as widely as men from elves or dwarfs. But their unity, through their diversity, is what made them strong.
In time, four kingdoms of men stood out as the pinnacles of their society. Marinburg, home to the walls of iron and stone (Tireth'aran). Traforth, home to the wild men who could put fear into the great beasts of the wilds (Tarian'thul). Sarandale, the kingdom of the spires where the mystics and magisters of men were trained and born (Ruan'tarfur). Finally, there was the coastal town of Shard's Gambit, a town full of rough mercenaries and toughened sailors, of villainous pirates and wheedling gamblers (Tara Tamez).
The humans began to establish themselves as the major power in the area, and their arrogance lead them to believing that nothing would break them. And so they began teaching their skills to the elves, in hopes of strengthening the unity of the two peoples.
Oddly enough, the elves found it trying to learn the gentler magics of the humans, many were unable to call upon the spirits of nature to grant them the druidic magics of the humans. But the arts of destruction came almost naturally to the elves. First time practitioners of necromancy were able to perform the most rigorous of spells by their second day.
This development worried many of the human magi, but they continued to teach the elves, those with a passion becoming druids after a few decades more of training.
Soon, the elves began to flourish, setting up their own kingdoms near the coastal areas of the continent, though found themselves rebuffed by the seafaring kingdom of Shard's Gambit.
