Archie
Not even my final form
Hey all, I wanted to start a classic Medieval Fantasy RP. Here's the backdrop, let me know if you're interested and if you have any suggestions or want to participate in the worldbuilding:
A century ago, most of the continent of Terris was united under a single government that had brought an end to the continent's incessant wars. Today, unity and peace are a distant memory.
In 800 BA (Before Alithius), the city of Caria was losing a war against its neighbors. Its Senate, in an act of desperation, travelled to the Nether - the parallel dimension to this one from which magic came - to steal the Arcaneum, the founding text of sorcery, from the Nether's mythical ruler. Using their newfound magical power, the Senate vanquished the armies of their neighbors, then conquered the entire continent except for the human supremacist domain of Adar.
Under the Empire, commerce and magical research thrived, and creatures of all races could live freely. Banditry was almost nonexistent, and one could safely travel from one end of Terris to the other with a single passport.
However, the Senate not share. This group of 100 magically gifted families closely guarded the knowledge of the Arcaneum, and used it to accumulate vast fortunes in land and slaves, leaving little for everyone else. Further, the theft of the Arcaneum from the Nether angered that realm's ruler, the Kraken, who sent legions of abominations and demons to the surface. For a while, the Senate's powerful armies and magic held that threat at bay, but internal divisions within the Senate led to civil wars that devastated the land.
Against the backdrop of civil war and inequality, the prophet Alithius preached that the Senate had angered the Creator of All Life when it stole the Arcaneum, and that the Creator's punishment would not end until magic was regulated according to his rules. Alithius became a rallying point for the poor and the oppressed. Eventually, opportunistic politicians and generals converted to his faith as well, making Alithianism the state religion and suppressing all others.
All children of magical ability were locked in Mages' Spires, closely watched by Exalted Knights taking orders from the Sanctum - Alithianism's guiding order. Over time, the Sanctum drew arbitrary distinctions between "light" and "dark" magic, reversing centuries of progress in magical research.
The realm's problems only worsened. Mages became weaker by design, and were rarely let out of the spires. Caria's armies soon were no better than those of the barbarians that invaded from the sea, and in fact had become worse than those of the fire-breathing humans of Adar. The Senate had succeeded in holding back the Shah of Adar for centuries. In the last 100 years of the Imperium's existence, Adar won four wars, each ending in the extermination of all non-humans across entire provinces, on the reasoning that humans were a perfect race descended from the extinct dragons.
The realm soon fell into unending civil wars, with local warlords and barbarains declaring their own Kingdoms. Eighty years ago, the Orcish warlord Gathranak seized control of Caria itself, declaring the Imperium officially over. The Sanctum at best didn't care, and at worst benefited from this. The end of central authority meant the Sanctum was now the most powerful organization in Terris, and their revenue didn't depend on taxes, it depended on tithes. As long as all the secessionist "Kings" were Alithian, the money would keep flowing.
Things went from bad to worse. The Kings waged wars that devastated what economy Terris had left. Their strife posed an opportunity for the Shahs of Adar to conquer and "purify" increasingly large stretches of land. Abominations sent from the Nether have been terrorizing the entire countryside, and even moving on cities.
This year, Lord Harmon of the small city of Neveston, significant only because of its Spire, decided this all had to come to an end. He ordered his men to slaughter the Exalted Knights guarding the spire, and let the mages out to fight the abominations that were encroaching on his land.
Knowing the Exalted Army would come for him sooner rather than later, Lord Harmon knew he had to go on the attack. Cobbling together a rag-tag force of the mages who were willing (many, terrified of the Exalted Knights, refused the call), his knights, townspeople, and rural folk, he sent them on an impossible mission: travel to Caria, and seize the Arcaneum from the Alithian Sanctum. Using the knowledge inside it, the people of Terris had a fighting chance against the Kraken, the Exalted Army, the warlords, and Adar. Of course, that meant all of those forces would try to oppose them.
The Sanctum was not stupid. The Archrector, with mages in his own employ, cursed Lord Harmon, and he died two days ago. Now, the leadership of the impossible expedition is in the hands of his inexperienced young heir.
We are all members of this expedition, drawn from all walks of life. There's an army marching on us, or maybe several. We can try to defend Neveston, or give up and hide in the countryside as we achieve our mission some other way. Whatever happens, we need to achieve our mission, as it's this continent's last hope.
In 800 BA (Before Alithius), the city of Caria was losing a war against its neighbors. Its Senate, in an act of desperation, travelled to the Nether - the parallel dimension to this one from which magic came - to steal the Arcaneum, the founding text of sorcery, from the Nether's mythical ruler. Using their newfound magical power, the Senate vanquished the armies of their neighbors, then conquered the entire continent except for the human supremacist domain of Adar.
Under the Empire, commerce and magical research thrived, and creatures of all races could live freely. Banditry was almost nonexistent, and one could safely travel from one end of Terris to the other with a single passport.
However, the Senate not share. This group of 100 magically gifted families closely guarded the knowledge of the Arcaneum, and used it to accumulate vast fortunes in land and slaves, leaving little for everyone else. Further, the theft of the Arcaneum from the Nether angered that realm's ruler, the Kraken, who sent legions of abominations and demons to the surface. For a while, the Senate's powerful armies and magic held that threat at bay, but internal divisions within the Senate led to civil wars that devastated the land.
Against the backdrop of civil war and inequality, the prophet Alithius preached that the Senate had angered the Creator of All Life when it stole the Arcaneum, and that the Creator's punishment would not end until magic was regulated according to his rules. Alithius became a rallying point for the poor and the oppressed. Eventually, opportunistic politicians and generals converted to his faith as well, making Alithianism the state religion and suppressing all others.
The realm's problems only worsened. Mages became weaker by design, and were rarely let out of the spires. Caria's armies soon were no better than those of the barbarians that invaded from the sea, and in fact had become worse than those of the fire-breathing humans of Adar. The Senate had succeeded in holding back the Shah of Adar for centuries. In the last 100 years of the Imperium's existence, Adar won four wars, each ending in the extermination of all non-humans across entire provinces, on the reasoning that humans were a perfect race descended from the extinct dragons.
Things went from bad to worse. The Kings waged wars that devastated what economy Terris had left. Their strife posed an opportunity for the Shahs of Adar to conquer and "purify" increasingly large stretches of land. Abominations sent from the Nether have been terrorizing the entire countryside, and even moving on cities.
This year, Lord Harmon of the small city of Neveston, significant only because of its Spire, decided this all had to come to an end. He ordered his men to slaughter the Exalted Knights guarding the spire, and let the mages out to fight the abominations that were encroaching on his land.
Knowing the Exalted Army would come for him sooner rather than later, Lord Harmon knew he had to go on the attack. Cobbling together a rag-tag force of the mages who were willing (many, terrified of the Exalted Knights, refused the call), his knights, townspeople, and rural folk, he sent them on an impossible mission: travel to Caria, and seize the Arcaneum from the Alithian Sanctum. Using the knowledge inside it, the people of Terris had a fighting chance against the Kraken, the Exalted Army, the warlords, and Adar. Of course, that meant all of those forces would try to oppose them.
The Sanctum was not stupid. The Archrector, with mages in his own employ, cursed Lord Harmon, and he died two days ago. Now, the leadership of the impossible expedition is in the hands of his inexperienced young heir.
We are all members of this expedition, drawn from all walks of life. There's an army marching on us, or maybe several. We can try to defend Neveston, or give up and hide in the countryside as we achieve our mission some other way. Whatever happens, we need to achieve our mission, as it's this continent's last hope.
moderately sized beholder that craves knowledge it is.
