Fantasy Afflictions of Atavaria (Lore)

[Ayama]

Afflictions of Atavaria

BASIC LORE

So this thread is where all the lore and background info for the RP can be found.

We will be laying out some basics about the history and geography of the land, and the various races that inhabit it, so everyone has a base to work off of when they're putting together their character sheets.

However, RPs are always more fun and interesting for all if the players get involved in the worldbuilding, so we encourage everyone to suggest little extra lore tidbits as they build their characters and their backgrounds- cities, landmarks, incidents, organizations, notables and NPCs, etc.

We'll incorporate these into the Lore page, so the world gets fleshed out and has life breathed into it at the character-creation stage, and throughout the RP. Please don't hesitate to message us with any lore ideas!

 

[Ayama]

Afflictions of Atavaria

HISTORY

Atavaria​

In ancient times, Atavaria was a wild and savage land. The various races that inhabited it were fiercely territorial and, on the rare occasions that they crossed paths, violence would inevitably ensue.

Eventually, as each people advanced and their civilization evolved, tenuous alliances began to form- alliances meant more often to defend than attack. The orcs attempted to take the plains once or twice, with the expected results, and the mer and theriandres didn't seem able to decide if they wanted to fight each other or be on the same side.

After decades of small to mid-scale skirmishes, however, each people retreated to their own borders, content to stay there and be left alone. This was when men emigrated to the continent.

They arrived in boats, having sailed from the homeland they had to flee on the other side of the ocean. They established themselves on the coast at first, content to remain in a basic colonial village, and traded with the natives here and there.

After a couple generations, however, as their population grew, they felt the need for expansion and a more permanent home. They moved towards the center of the continent, which had always been considered an unofficial neutral zone of sorts, and started to build.

The other races which, up 'til then, had considered them little more than an interesting curio, became restless at the intrusion, and tensions began to mount. As the humans built a castle and started to expand their territory, they started to experience small skirmishes at their borders with the orcs and the theriandres.

Tensions escalated, and one day they found themselves facing an army of theriandres and mer, which they were able to fight off with their superior defences and military training, but from then on and for years to come, the continent was at war.

For months, the humans withstood assault, with occasional help from the elves. The theriandres and the mer hired mercenary djinn to fill out their ranks, and the orcs, ever-chaotic, wove in and out of this trying to make any gains they could.

After nearly fifty years of war, however, with no side gaining any considerable advantage, the different people of Atavaria started to lose their desire for violence and blood. Realizing they would simply need to accept their presence, the theriandres reached out to the humans with an olive branch.

It took many years of often strained negotiations, but finally it was done, a treaty was signed, peace was declared, and the war finally ended.

All of Atavaria's peoples have experienced great prosperity ever since.

Aldor​

Aldor is the youngest kingdom in Atavaria. Since it is the most central, it has historically experienced both the most trade but also the most combat, since everyone seemed to hate the humans for being outsiders and immigrants, as it were.

Its people are resilient for such (some might say) weak creatures, having survived repeated assaults, sickness, famine and cold, the crossing of the Great Ocean, and whatever atrocities they endured in their original homeland that caused them to make that desperate trek in the first place, so they are definitely not to be underestimated.

Le'Ven​

Le'Ven is one of the most ancient kingdoms in Atavaria, though noticeably sequestered. As a species, elves mostly tend to keep to themselves, though they do have a certain curiosity about their neighbors- humans in particular, with whom they get along best.

They managed to stay out of the conflicts in the Great War, for the most part, though occasionally lending assistance to Aldor with scout squads and small battalions of archers. As a whole, though, the nation of Le'Ven is more dedicated to the study of nature than the art of war, and content to be left alone.

Najud​

Not much is known about Najud, as its people are notoriously insular and, with it being so harsh and hard to get to, it's shrouded in mystery.

What people do know is that the Djinn are ancient, much like the elves and, like them, they witness more than fight. They observe many varied and specific rituals but, unlike with Le'Ven, their society doesn't appear to be so rigidly codified and stratified.

Muliah​

Muliah is the second youngest kingdom in Atavaria, having evolved a specific civilization and social structure later than most of the others. It's also one of the most diverse, as there are as many kinds of theriandres as there are animals.

As a result of this, it's been a land constantly in flux, with different dynasties in charge at different times, and nearly as much unrest and as many instances of civil war as Dur'Fen. The ever-changing nature of the kingdom also means that it has (by a large margin) more holidays than any of the others.

Dur'Fen​

The history of Dur'Fen is a chaotic one, to say the least. For as long as anyone can remember (and beyond), the orcs have been at war. With each other, mostly, but occasionally with the theriandres or the elves as well.

It seems that war is the only way they know how to live, with brief respites where things are calm before they get right back to it. The end of the Great War brought about the longest peace Dur'Fen had ever known but, sadly and predictably, that ended almost the second that Diatarenn took over Aldor.

Ig-Kilar​

The island nation of Ig-Kilar has always been in a somewhat uncertain state. Due to the fact that it's an island, it tends to have an 'affairs of the mainland are no concern of ours' mentality, but at the same time they've often gotten upset when the mainlanders decide to do something and don't include them in the discussions.

They've also often been at war with Muliah, as it seems both sides somehow take offense to the mere existence of the other, and various conflicts between the two nations have been started over seemingly nothing. When the humans arrived, however, they somehow banded together over having found people they seemed to hate more than each other.

 

[Ayama]

Afflictions of Atavaria

GEOGRAPHY

Atavaria​

Atavaria is a large continent, separated from any other known or visible landmass by a vast ocean (The Great Ocean). It has an overall temperate climate, with wet Falls, cold Winters, and lovely Summers and Springs.

From lakes to rivers to waterfalls, streams, and endless hidden coves, water is everywhere. The waterways that criss-cross the continent are vital for travel and trade, being faster and generally more secure than the roads.

Vegetation in a mixture of deciduous and evergreen is abundant in all the valleys and plains, fading into mountains up north, desert down south, and rocky beaches at the shores.

Aldor​

Aldor stretches from the start of the eastern plains to the edges of the western woods. North and south, it is bordered by mountains. It extends to the coast where the humans first settled on Atavaria, following the course of the Rushing River due southwest.

The land is flat to hilly, and they have arguably the best weather in the continent. Many roads stretch outwards from their capital to the other kingdoms- some great and paved and wide, some little more than a dirt track winding through the grass.

Le'Ven​

The kingdom of Le'Ven is almost entirely made up of dense forest, where old growth mixes with the new and the cycle of growth and decay is ever-active.

As a result, the average temperature is colder than that of all of their neighbors except for Dur'Fen, and the average humidity is higher than that of all of their neighbors except for Ig-Kilar.

The shadows and humidity promote the growth of some rather amazing mushroom species, some as big as a house, which the elves treasure and protect.

Najud​

The kingdom of Najud is isolated and hard to get to- only a few small and relatively unknown passes allow crossing over the desolate, craggy mountains that encircle it, and after that you have to traverse endless miles of unforgiving desert before reaching anything resembling civilization.

Though it is a land of sand and rock, it nonetheless has a certain arid beauty to it and, should you be lucky enough to witness one, the djinn's colorful and complex rituals are as mesmerizing and intricate as they are incomprehensible.

Muliah​

By and large, the kingdom of Muliah is flat, and covered with plains of tall grass as far as the eye can see, interspersed with the occasional tree or stubby hill. It gets an enormous amount of rainfall, and can often be seen covered in a blanket of fog.

Most of the kingdom lies in the valley, but to the East is the Thera Plateau, which overlooks the rest of the land and is where the royal family and their retinue reside.

Dur'Fen​

The kingdom of Dur'Fen makes up the northernmost part of Atavaria, beginning with the Great Mountains and ending in a high, frozen plateau all but inaccessible to anyone but the orcs. As one would expect, much like Najud to the south being barren and hot, Dur'Fen is hostile and cold; it is a harsh but starkly beautiful land.

The orcs live both on and inside of the Great Mountain, where endless networks of interconnected caves and caverns form a thriving but chaotic society. The cavern walls are decorated with centuries of orcish art, and occasionally the walls will thrum with the guttural but harmonic music these fearsome warriors can make.

Ig-Kilar​

Ig-Kilar is self-containing and self-sustained, though they engage in a healthy sea-trade with the other nations for non-essential goods. The island contains the only volcano in all of Atavaria, though it is semi-dormant and hasn't erupted violently in decades. Due to the volcano, it also experiences regular tremors though, as most of the large structures are underwater, they tend not to be too disruptive.

Though it doesn't get quite as much rainfall as Muliah, it does experience just as much (if not more) fog, making the features of the island often vague and impossible to distinguish at a distance, which is why tales of leviathans, monsters, and other myths have always surrounded it.

 

[Ayama]

Afflictions of Atavaria

RACES

Demons​

The demons are the original race of Atavaria, predating all the others by several centuries. The continent used to belong to them but, as the other races came to prominence, they were forced to retreat into the shadows and into the deep.

Demons are creatures of darkness and death. They enjoy fire and cold equally, and are rarely seen during the day. There is a seemingly infinite variety to them in terms of size and appearance, but all possess a modicum of dark magic they use in any number of ways.

For as long as anyone can remember and as far as anyone knows, there has never been an instance of a demon that wasn't hostile to other creatures- sometimes even their own, but humans in particular.

Humans​

Humans are the only race on the continent not native to Atavaria. Unlike many of the others, their strength comes mainly from how organized and (surprisingly) unified they are. They are also the only species not to possess an innate magic, which makes them both physically and magically limited.

This is their greatest weakness, but it is also their greatest strength in that, while their base physical and magical power might be low, they make up for it with their adaptability and versatility. So they can learn any spell they want to, but it will never be as effective as it would be coming from a species with a natural affinity for that particular type of magic.

Elves​

The elves are quite close to humans in terms of physical appearance, absent the pointy ears, but of course their lifespans are much longer and their average strength and tolerance much higher. They age at the same rate as humans for approximately the first thirty years of their life, after which their growth slows considerably.

Their magical affinity with the natural world gives them an innate sense of nature, almost as if they can speak to and understand it. They are also gifted with agility, grace, and scouting ability to rival that of the theriandres (absent their combative nature, as elves are usually slow and difficult to anger).

Djinn​

Djinn are immortal, which makes describing their aging process a challenge for anyone, as some can live for millennia and act like children, while others can be far younger and act like profound, enlightened sages.

As a race, they tend to be deemed tricksters, though this is never due to any sort of malice, but rather a childlike curiosity. Childlike or not, however, their magic is the most impressive and (at times) unpredictable in all of Atavaria, and it is a well-known fact that one should never provoke a djinn, as you never know what might happen to you if you do.

Theriandres​

The easiest way to describe a theriander is as a human with animal traits (ears, tails, wings...); there are as many different kinds of theriandres as there are animals, so they are a vastly diverse race in terms of appearance, ideology, lifespan, etc.

Each group has its own customs, but the one thing that seems to unite them is a certain boisterous spirit, that can translate into a lot of holidays and parties, but also a lot of violence and internal conflict.

Orcs​

The orcs are most similar to theriandres and humans in disposition and appearance, possessing a similar (although slightly shorter lifespan). Their skin is far tougher than humans', however, and their bones and muscles are stronger.

Some orcs have pointed ears, while others have them rounded, but the greatest point of pride in their appearance tends to be their scars and tribal markings, and the size of their tusks. They naturally possess minor healing magic, and have excellent nocturnal vision.

Mer​

Mer people are undisputably the most beautiful of all species in Atavaria. Their hair is long and luxuriant, their skin has a radiant sheen, and their eyes are captivating enough to hypnotize. Mer people's beauty is equaled only by their vanity, and they tend to focus overly much on outward appearances.

They have a discreet pair of gills behind their ears (usually hidden by their hair) which allows them to breathe underwater, and their hands and feet are delicately webbed. Mer people's natural magic is an affinity for enchantment and illusions, which they usually achieve with their shimmering eyes and melodious voice.

 

[Ayama]

Afflictions of Atavaria

PEOPLE

Atavaria​

[Under construction]

Aldor​

[Under construction]

Le'Ven​

[Under construction]

Najud​

[Under construction]

Muliah​

[Under construction]

Dur'Fen​

[Under construction]

Ig-Kilar​

[Under construction]