Fantasy Wyrmfell: The Great Revolt

[Archie]

I wrote this up last night, wanted to create an extensive and unique fantasy world (that vaguely is an allegory for the fall of Rome) to set a couple RPs in. It's long, so the tabs are in descending order of importance (and ascending order of longness). Hoping to get an adventure style RP booted up in this for the first one!

Summary: Vampires were created to destroy the Dragons, who burned to embers the civilizations of the various races of Elves, but the Vampires would prove even harsher masters. For three centuries, the Ostian Empire has dominated Wyrmfell, imposing a strict racial hierarchy based on which races pose the greatest and least threat to the Emperor. However, civil wars and wars with foreign powers have led to a proliferation in the vampire population, far beyond the blood supply. Faced with a Blood Famine, civil wars have resumed, and some desperate vampires have even fed on the human and Dark Elf "middle class" of the Empire, triggering a widespread revolt. At the same time, the Empire is faced with a war with its Eastern neighbor, and and invasions by refugees escaping the Orcish hordes by crossing the Ostian border.

Will Ostia overcome this crisis as it has so many others? Or will this be the nail in the coffin for an empire slowly in decline?

• History
• Magic
• Races
• Political Factions
• Religion

• Early Wyrmfell
  
  
  
  
  
  Mythology holds that the Nix (Wood Elves), the most magical but physically small elves, were the first residents of Wyrmfell, coming out of the Great Forest. From them evolved the Alvhana (High Elves) of the plains and Draseni (Dark Elves) of the Near East. The Wood Elves mastered Druidic magics, but insisted on cooperation between races and the balance of nature. The Dark Elves, however, created their own cities and civilization in the fertile Eastern river valleys, and mastered Blood Magic, which they used to wage war on one another, and the other Elven races. The High Elven tribes banded together under a loose confederacy, innovating Arcane Magics to resist the Dark Elves. This left the Elven world divided, and vulnerable to the threat from above.
  
  
  
  
  
  Wyrmfell literally means "Dragon fall". It is said the Dragons were from another planet, another celestial sphere. They arrived on comets and meteors, smashing into our world. First, they enslaved the Drasenes, then the Alvhana, before burning down the Great Forest of the Wood Elves. The Dragons warred with eachother, with each warlord wanting to be Shahanshah, or King of Kings, among them, ruling all of "Drakanshahr", or "Dragon Country". Through interbreeding between Dragons and Elven slaves, a new race was created - the Humans. The Humans, seen by the Dragons as their children, occupied the middle management of the Dragon Kingdoms. The Dragons were even prouder than the Dark Elves, and soon fell victim to internal division. It was at this point that Ibatalesh, the greatest of the Dark Elven Blood Magicians, created a disease that would change the world - Sanguis Mortuus, or "dead blood", known today as vampirism. The virus killed the body, stopped its blood and melanin production, making it unable to survive without feeding on blood, and vulnerable to the sun. However, it magnified the senses, made the brain and magic more powerful, and created a race to challenge the Dragons.
  
  The Vampiric Conquest
  
  Out of the ancient Dark Elf city of Kordanush, Ibatalesh - now immortal - led his forces to attack the Dragons of the East while they slept atop their mountains. Vampires operated at night, when Dragons slept and could not see them from the skies. Ibatalesh converted members of all races, except the Wood Elves, to his creed. Historians suspect he viewed the extraordinary magica sensitivity of the Wood Elves as a threat that, if combined with vampirism, would create a vampire powerful enough to challenge him. Over time, the Dragon Kingdoms of the continent fell, and Ibatalesh founded his capital in Ostia, a massive island overlooking the Central Sea. However, as the Dragons fell, other races arose. From the regrowing Great Forest, the Wood Elves once again sought to build Utopia. The Alvhana created tribes to the North, waging their own war against the Dragon King. The Dark Elvish blood mage Kathanos had founded Athago, a trade city on the Southern shore of the Central Sea, which rivalled Ostia's power. Ibatalesh was a great conqueror, but hsi court was filled with schemers. He was stabbed to death by men he thought were his friends on the floor of the Vampiric Senate in Ostia, before being able to conquer Athago. His son Vingarmo took over, but fought ten years of bloody civil war against Ibatalesh's assassins to regain control of Ostia.
  
  
  
  
  
  During the early Ostian period, a hierarchy developed of races. Vingarmo fought bloody wars against the Alvhana and Wood Elves, and subjugated their races to enslavement, burning the Great Forest. The Humans, traditional middlemen of the Dragon Kings, retained their administrative position in the new empire, and the most powerful of them received the gift of Vampirism. Meanwhile, the Dark Elves were treated inconsistently. The tribes of the Near East, which supported the Vampire dynasty from the start, had a high rate of vampire conversion. After Vingarmo conquered Athago, however, he enslaved the Athaginian Dark Elves, and banned them from receiving the gift.
  
  The Fall of the Dragons
  
  After the conquests of Ibatalesh and Vingarmo, Drakanshahr was confined to a mountainous plateau to the East, where the numerous peaks gave them a military advantage. They could hide in the abundance of peaks, using the day to burn Vampiric camps and cities. Desperate to protect themselves, the Dragons taught their human children the magical Draconic language, which allowed them to summon fire spells. This led to victories, and the Draconic conquest of the Near East, in which the Dark Elves, blamed for starting the Vampiric conquest, were subjected to enslavement and mass murder. However, Human dragon-speakers soon outnumbered the Dragons themselves. Under Khosrau I, the humans rebelled - burning the Dragons to death with their own magical language, and declaring Khosrau the first Human Shahanshah. Drakanshahr was renamed "Adar", or "birthplace". It is rumored on the eastern continent of Yan-Shi that Dragons still exist, though these rumors are unconfirmed.
  
  
  
  
  
  The Unending War
  
  Just as Vampiric dominance of Wyrmfell seemed unchallenged, the Adarian threat emerged. Mustering disciplined legions of humans, with the "Fire Priests" capable of speaking Draconic at their core, the Adarians were masters of the day, while the Vampires were masters of the night. By day, Humans marched and burned Ostian cities. By night, the Vampires struck human camps, at one point killing Shah Khosrau I. His successor, Hormizd, came up with a revolutionary strategy - during the night, Fire Priests would cast a ring of fire around each Adarian camp, thwarting the Ostian strategy. At one point, Ostia itself was under siege. In desperation, Ostian Emperor Tullian II ordered the mass conscription of Humans and Dark Elves into his army, and started generously giving out the gift to any warrior who killed an Adarian in battle. His measures rescued the empire, but set in motion an unending cycle of decline.
  
  Decline of Ostia
  
  The original Vampire Emperors were careful to limit the gift, for they knew giving it to too many would tax the blood supply. After the peace of Corganum, which recognized Adarian Control of the Near East while Ostia controlled most of Wyrmfell, the much-expanded Ostian army was left idle, with many more Vampires. All vampires were nobles in Ostia, but since Tullian had failed to conquer Adar, there were no new lands to give them. This led to a period of civil war called the Crisis of the Second Century. Since no stable family ruled Ostia, the throne was open to any vampire. Any vampire could give the gift, so each usurper converted a huge amount of human and Dark Elven supporters - some desperate ones even converted High Elves. This strained the blood supply of the empire with each successive civil war, ruining the economy.
  
  
  
  
  
  The Great Famine of Ostia
  
  Eventually, vampires were over 10% of the Ostian population, a tenfold increase from the time of Vingarmo. This made it impossible for vampires to survive unless they fed on 30% of the population. Emperor Vindictus III introduced a sinister policy. Since Wood Elves and City Elves - Elves, who, through interbreeding with Humans, increased their breeding speed - bred quickly and were mostly enslaved, he ordered huge corrals of them to be built where they would be fed like cattle, and used for a stable blood supply. Vindictus' solution, however, only put a lid on the problem. A Second War with Adar required him to convert more to Vampirism. Meanwhile, his farming solution had increased the City Elf and Wood Elf population to over 50% of the Empire, while 10% of the remainder were vampire, and only 30% were Human and Dark Elven. Making matters worse for stability, most of the Dark Elves were enslaved descendants of the Athaginians.
  
  The Rise of Mor Kalon
  
  The Vindictian system of raising Vampire livestock outraged the moral sentiments of slaves and, more importantly from a political standpoint, Humans and Dark Elves. City Elves were half Elven and half Human, and their use as cattle outraged some Humans, who functioned as the Empire's middle class. The feeding on other Elves also troubled Dark Elves, and rumors swirled that soon the Vampires, due to short food supply, would feed on Dark Elven slaves as well. An Eastern Dark Elvish priest named Mor Kalon created a philosophy in which he claimed the Vampire Gods were false, and that there was only one True God, who loved the meek and the poor. He called the Vampires offspring of demons. The provincial government executed Mor Kalon, but his death did not stop the spread of Kalonism, which infected the ranks of non-vampires.
  
  
  
  
  
  The Second Great Famine and Barbarian Invasion
  
  Vindictus II's solution to the famine was temporary, since it allowed Vampire Emperors to once again favor the short term, raising more Vampires to fight Adar, while ignoring the long term. Eventually, Vampires once again hit 10% of the population. So began the Second Great Famine. Civil wars broke out over cattle farms and the blood supply. Famine and warfare killed off 50% of the Vampires in a few short years.
  
  Worse yet, a threat was rising to the Northeast. Another breed of Elves had evolved in the Uraghi mountains. Called Urags, or Orcs, these green and grey-skinned muscular monstrosities made excellent horsemen and warriors. They invaded the High Elven barbarian tribes of Northwest Wyrmfell, and forced a mass migration of refugees West. The barbarian Elves had mostly been converted to Kaonism, conflicting with Vampiric religion. Vampire Emperors were in the awkward place of being forced to give land to barbarian High Elves while most High Elves were enslaved.
  
  
  
  
  
  Yet worst of all, during the famine, vampires, desperate to feed themselves, started feeding on Humans and Dark Elves. This triggered the worst crisis of all. Due to barbarian invasion and civil war, the blood crisis kept getting worse, as conflict destroyed the highly complex Blood Farms, and most slaves either escaped or starved to death from a disruption in the food supply - feeding Elves from birth to young adulthood required enormous grain supplies.
  
  The Great Revolt
  
  Three years into feeding practices on Humans, massive rebellions by Humans and Dark Elves, who were the majority of the footsoldiers in the army, started a new war with Vampires. These soldiers utilized Kalonist healing magic to gain a parity with Vampiric Blood Magic that they lacked before the blessings of the One True God spread among them. Today, Ostia is once again fractured. To the West, the Great Revolt is tearing the provinces asunder. To the North, Elven Barbarians and mercenaries are becoming increasingly restless. To the East, the Adarians have waged a new war, deeming Mor Kalon a ripoff of the two-God religion of the Adarians, and forcing both worshippers of the Vampire Pantheon and Kalonists to convert.
  
  
• There are four kinds of magic in this world.
  
  Druidic Magic - The First magic, gaining its power from spirits of the forest. Capable of mustering nature, animals, healing, controlling and conjouring beasts, etc. Exclusive to Wood Elves, most of whom can gain this ability if trained, and members of other races with significant Wood Elf blood. It uses the nerve endings of Wood Elves to communicate with the life force of nature and of the planet, who the Wood Elves worship as the god Gaia. It is the strongest form of magic, the least dangerous to cast, and is symbiotic with the planet, improving the life force of the caster. Vampires are enormously paranoid of Druidic magic, which is passed down through oral tradition. Anyone caught casting it is subject to immediate blood harvesting, which has led to Wood Elves practicing it indoors and in hiding places to preserve their tradition.
  
  
  
  
  
  Dragonspeak (Drasi) - Mastered by the Fire Priests of Adar. There are two forms of the Adarian language, both of which are derived from Draconic (Drasi). The first, High Adarian is a clone of Drasi, spoken by Fire Priests, which requires years of practice. Humans, unlike Dragons, do not have protective scales in their throats to resist fire, so speaking Drasi without practice can result in one burning his throat and dying, or losing his voice - an unfortunate fate half Fire Priest acolytes go through. The second form, "Low Adarian", or Adari, is derived from Draconic but avoids the same wording to prevent the summoning of fire. Ostian mages theorize that the Dragons came from a firey world, or even a star, and their language summons its power on Wyrmfell. In theory, anyone can become a Drasi speaker, but only the Adarian priesthood has knowledge of how to train (relatively) safely, so the only way to learn it is from an Adarian priest. Drasi is the most dangerous form of magic to learn, and the least versatile, but in terms of combat and brute force, it is the strongest.
  
  
  
  
  
  Arcane Magic - Created by the High Elves to resist the Dark Elves' blood magic. Involves focusing the powers of the mind to bend the elements and cast magic in the physical world, using the mind to bridge the gap between the physical universe and Aetherius, the World of Mana (magical power). Was created by Aetheran, a high elf after which Aetherius is named. The most versatile of all magic, though it is not as powerful as Drudic magic. Arcane magic is in practice among the Barbarian elves, and a few enslaved High Elf families still practice it. Vampiric efforts to suppress Arcane magic among Elves have been more successful than with Druidic Magic, as High Elven culture has proven less resilient and tight knit than Wood Elf culture. Until Kalonism, Arcane magic was the most common illegal magic among non-Vampires, since it is safe to learn compared to Drasi, and does not require expensive sacrifices like Blood Magic.
  
  
  
  
  
  Blood Magic - Created by Dark Elves, blood magic requires sacrifice of a sentient being. It allows for fleshbending, shadowbending, daemonic summoning, blood-boiling other beings, shooting tentacles of darkness, and other versatile combat magics. It boils blood from dead bodies to create huge amounts of energy to fuel spells. This is what makes Vampires so powerful. Since they are technically dead, they can use their own blood, as long as they are able to feed on another being after. This also is the reason behind the huge Vampire consumption of blood, which increases even more during wartime. Blood magic is widely known among Vampires, and some Dark Elves are allowed to practice it. A few Vampires have fused Arcane and Blood Magic, using Blood Magic to fuel Arcane spells, creating enormous power. In theory, Blood Magic can also be used to fuel Druidic magic. If a Wood Elf is turned Vampire and can draw on his own blood reserves, this would thereby create theoretically the most powerful mage of all time, which is the basis for the laws outlawing turning Wood Elves into Vampires. Some Humans turned Vampires with part Wood Elf blood, however, have practiced both Druidic and Vampire magic, and proved the potency of the combination.
  
  
  
  
  
  Kalonian Chants - The newest form of magic, and the most common form of illegal magic today, Kalonian chants draw on the power of the One True God, which Vampire scholars believe is actually drawing on the power of a lesser star compared to the one Drasi is based. The Kalonian language sounds more like Elven than Drasi, so others think the chants just reach into Aetherius. It is easy to learn, and mostly focused on nourishing and healing. In combat, it can summon huge flashes of light, some of which can inflict burns. This is especially deadly to Vampires, who, for this reason and politics, have been strongly opposed to Kalonism.
  
  
  
  
  
  
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  Wood Elves, also called Nix, or the First Ones, are held by legend to be Wyrmfell's first race. They are slight in stature and physique, but are rumored to have a direct connection with nature and the Earth, the basis of Druidic powers. Live experiments performed by Vampire "scholars" have proven that Wood Elves do not have abnormal nerve endings, just more of them, which helps to explain why Humans with half-Wood Elf blood are able to cast Druidic magic. Wood Elves have large amounts of nerves, which makes them extremely sensitive magically, emotionally, and physiocally. Half-Wood Elves also exhibit these personality and magical characteristics. All religious traditions recognize that Wood Elves were the First Ones, but, since the Vampiric Conquest, both Drasiban (the Adarian religion, carried over from the Dragons) and the Vampiric Pantheon have invented reasons as to why Wood Elves deserve harsh treatment. This paranoia and hatred towards Wood Elves, in reality, is rooted in fear of Druidic magic both by the Dragons, and Vampires who came after them. Both sought to exterminate the magical race entirely. Nearly all Wood Elves in Vampire lands today are in hiding in the forests or enslaved. Vampires regularly "cull" any Wood Elves seen practicing Druidic magic, and whip local Humans, Dark Elves, and even High Elf slaves into "witch hunts" to find those practicing "vile Druidic magic".
  
  
  
  
  
  Despite oppression, Wood Elves have preserved their culture through oral tradition and hideouts in the forests. Wood Elves live communally, and the main value of their communities is harmony. They are welcoming of other races and teach non-judgment. Those who are unusually physically strong among the Wood Elves are chosen to be Keepers, who, in traditional Wood Elf society, used a combination of combat skills and magic to defend villages. The Keeper was given more privileges and appointed to mediate disputes, but was expected to put himself or herself at risk to defend the village if it was attacked. Today, Keepers are still elected in secret in the slave plantations and are prevalent in the forest hideaway communities. Wood Elf society is tolerant of most behaviors that do not harm another, and same sex relationships are common. This has led Vampire Emperors to react by promoting homophobia.
  
  
  
  
  
  In recent years, Kalonism has divided the Wood Elf community. Of all the victims of Ostian oppression, Wood Elfs have preserved their tradition most, but some of the young still turn to the liberationist philosophy of Mor Kalon.
  
  High Elves, also called Alvahna. High Elves evolved in the coastal plains, where large amounts of air made them taller than other Wood Elves and grew their brains. However, lack of contact with poisonous insects decreased the need for physical sensitivity and nerve endings on the skin - this reduced their connection with the planet. High Elves in ancient times were known as a wise and logical race. Their greatest hero was Chieftan Aetherius who discovered Arcane magic and defended their race against the Dark Elves. Unlike Wood Elves, who traditionally democratically elected a Keeper, High Elves were ruled by a Gerontocracy. High elves bred slowly, but never aged, so the Old were not weaker than the young, but wiser. Elders ruled over the Elven Domains, who used diplomacy to keep themselves together. After the Vampiric and Dragon conquests, High Elves were pushed to the North of Wyrmfell, where they still maintain rump states. However, their civilization has fallen far since ancient times. The villages to the Northeast were not the center of Elven civilization, and they have no great cities with their arching architecture and wooden-stone buildings. Elves within Ostia are generally enslaved, though many have been made refugees by the Orcish Hordes, and were hired as mercenaries in exchange for land by the Emperors, who continue to fight a series of wars. Some High Elves still become vampires if they perform good state service, and an increasing amount of "barbarian" Elves settled in Ostian lands and working as mercenaries demand this privilege.
  
  
  
  
  
  High Elves today are generally converts to Kalon, due to the lack of their own religion. Their society is mostly influenced by Kalonist beliefs, which are liberationist, but homophobic and sexist.
  
  Dark Elves, also called Drasenes. Evolving from Wood Elves in the deserts of Drasenos, the Dark Elves were resourceful raiders and traders who formed the first urban civilizations in the fertile valleys of the Near East. Their civilization was a collection of warring states, who developed Blood Magic to make war on eachother - spreading disease and pestilence, and summoning demons and shadows to fight. Every time one Dark Elf warlord came to rule the entire fertile valley, he would turn to the Great Forest of Wyrmfell and the Plains to enslave High Elves and Wood Elves, so he can have more blood magic sacrifices. Dark Elves, due to the harsh climate of the desert, lost the nerve sensitivity of the Wood Elves, and as a result lost all connection with the Earth and Druidic magic. Their culture is one that respects cunning, ability to politic, and guile - as a way of surviving in the desert. As they moved into the lush fertile valley and conquered it from the High Elves, these characteristics of their culture survived, but they also had a taste for luxury and hierarchy.
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  Dark Elves value hierarchy immensely. Status is the central drive of their society. Their society was destroyed during the Dragonfall - their large cities, mostly mud and wood, were vulnerable to flames and made easy targets. As much as 70% of the Dark Elf population died during the attack, higher than any other race. They had a long history of conflict with the Dragons as a result. The first vampires were Dark Elves. After Drakanshahr started training human fire priests, the Dragons once again overran the near east, and enslaved or exterminated Dark Elves. Under Adar, the Dark Elves of the Near East occupy a slave and laborer position in the Adarian Caste System.
  
  Dark Elves originated the present Vampiric Pantheon, though the name of the Gods has changed. Worshipping Ba'kan, the God who supposedly gave the Elves blood magic, the Dark Elves created other Gods, who were just ascended blood mages, who grew so powerful that their spirits are believed to have become demons. The difference between the Dark Elf and Vampire Pantheon, however, is that Ibatalesh, the first Vampire, is not a God in the Dark Elf Pantheon.
  
  Dark Elves occupy twoo positions in Ostian society. The Dark Elves in those parts of the East still under Ostian Control are free, while the Southern Dark Elves, who founded Athago, as traditional enemies of Ostia, are enslaved. However, the Dark Elves of the East are insistent that slaves of their race are not used as Vampire cattle. The highest possible chance of manumission (freedom) as a slave is if you are a Dark Elf, due to manumission quotas on Dark Elf slaves set by influential Easterners. Ever since conflicts between the Wood Elves and Dark Elves in the First Era, the Dark Elves have developed a large amount of sexism and Homophobia. Their "civilized", patriarchal, hierarchical society contrasted the egalitarian society of the Wood Elves, with relatively equal gender relations and tolerance of behavior.
  
  
  
  
  
  
  City Elves - Wood Elves and High Elves who interbred with eachother and Humans, the city Elves are mostly enslaved but some are freedmen working in the underclass of the cities. Those born to a human and an Elf parent take on the slave or freed status of the father in Ostian society. However, even freed City Elves are looked down upon by Ostian society, and have little chance of advancement. City Elves, in spite of their name, are often seen working in the countryside as peasants or slaves.
  
  
  
  
  
  Vampires - Vampires were first created by Dark Elf Blood Magicians seeking to break free from the enslavement of their people by the Dragons. Using their own "dead" blood to fuel blood magic and superior physical and mental abilities, they were successful in ambushing Dragons at night and establishing their own empire. Vampire Culture is a blend of that of Humans, Dark Elves, and High Elves, as all three can be turned. Dark Elf attitudes and religion, however, are dominant societally, as the early Ostians largely fought the same enemies as the Dark Elves - the Wood Elves, High Elf Chieftans, and Dragons. Vampiric society is highly stratified and political. Plotting is virtually expected of youth. All Vampires in Ostia are noble, but due to population increases, not all Vampires have land, and there are "poor nobles" in the Empire who are a serious problem for stability. Most Vampires today are Human and Dark Elven, though some are High Elves. Vampires are not capable of reproducing sexually, so they build "Covens" by adopting those "gifted" with Vampirism. Because of this, their society is highly dependent on family connections, and the Patriarch or Matriarch of any Vampire family rules over the rest.
  
  Vampire culture has a large number of double standards. While publicly, Vampires whip up hatred of Wood Elf practices of homosexuality, Vampire nobles secretly have no qualms with the practice among their own kind. While they encourage sexism in other races, vampire hierarchies are determined more by the power of the vampire and his or her family instead of gender, so many female vampires are powerful nobles. Finally, in spite of their own brutality and "farming" of Elven slaves, Vampires condemn baby sacrifice, a practice of the Dark Elf blood magicians, which continues underground, and derive moral superiority from this belief. Vampirism is seen as a mark of nobility, and most turned vampires are expected to embrace their new race and abandon their old. To be adopted by a vampire house, they have to disown their own parents, unless they are powerful Human or Dark Elven merchants, at which point "dual familialism" is possible, and spend almost all their time with their new "siblings".
  
  Dragons - A now extinct race, except, by rumor, in the mysterious Eastern continent. Some sightings in the Eastern Adarian mountains are still sighted - Adarian fire priests are still honored for mysterious 'dragon kills' which they claim. Dragons emerged after a meteor shower hit Wyrmfell, and changed the history of the continent entirely. Their internal conflicts, the creation of vampires, and their training of the Human Fire Priests in Drasi ultimately ended their presence in Wyrmfell.
  
  Humans - The product of interbreeding between Elves and Dragons, Humans were seen as the "children of the Dragons" and were bureaucrats and the middle class in Drakanshahr. Due to higher literacy and experience running estates, as merchants, and as tax collectors, they are still the middlemen in the subsequent Ostian Empire, and, along with Dark Elves, are the largest source of vampire conversions. Humans in both Ostia and the remnant of Drakanshahr after Ostian invasion, due to their dependence on employment by a non-Human ruling class for their survival, usually took on the culture of their masters. In the West, Humans generally follow the fashions and culture of Vampires, while, in the East, Adar brags about preserving "authentic" Human culture, derived from Dragons. Due to the vast cultural gap, the culturally "vampirized" Humans of Ostia feel almost nothing in common with the Humans of Adar.
  
• Ostian Empire - The largest empire the world ever knew, the Ostian Empire spawned from the conquests of the first Vampires, who slaid the Dragon lords of most of Wyrmfell and established their capital at Ostia. The next major conflict after the Dragon Wars were the Athaginian Wars, in which the Dark Elf trading empire of Athago fought against the Ostians, and lost in three devastating wars. Mol Kubis, a Dark Elven warlord, nearly conquered Ostia during the Second Athaginian War, but ultimately was defeated by the Ostian general Mulius Tarantus. During the conquests of the former Dragon realms in the West, the outnumbered Vampires decided to absorb the Human middle class of the Dragon empires, using them as middlemen, businessmen, and footsoldiers, alongside Dark Elves.
  
  
  
  
  
  Ostia, during the First Century of the Second Age, or the "Ostian Age", conquered the High Elf domains and the Great Forest, which were rebuilding after the collapse of the Dragon Kingdoms in most of Wyrmfell. The High Elves fell surprisingly quickly to a night attack during the Battle of Ilendyl, but the Wood Elves put up staunch resistance. By using bats and other nocturnal creatures, the Wood Elves were able to detect Vampire movements at night. Further, their extremely heightened senses allowed Wood Elves to see, hear, and especially feel better than most other races. By laying in the grass, they could even feel the vibration of vampire battalions marching at night. Wood Elves could use nature, the trees, beasts, the wind, and the weather to attack Vampire armies.
  
  
  
  
  
  Most importantly, Vampire overconfidence was their undoing. They mocked the Wood Elves' physical weakness and sensitivity, seeing them as a race incapable of warfare. However, in one on one encounters, Wood Elf keepers used magic and speed to easily outclass Vampire knights. Eventually, Emperor Decius I was frustrated by the campaign, and changed strategies. He ordered Dark Elf and Human auxiliaries to burn the Great Forest to the ground, creating an unprecedented environmental disaster. Nevertheless, stripped of their biggest ally - the Earth itself and its creatures - the Wood Elves were eventually subdued. Their race was enslaved, and Vampires, paranoid about Druidic magic, outlawed any turning of Wood Elves - which would create an impossible magical combination - sought to turn other races against their former foes, and hunted down all memory of Druidic magic.
  
  Ostia faced a number of crises which it survived, but the aftershocks led to a decline lasting centuries. The brief resurgence of Drakanshahr on the Eastern Plateau led to the loss of the Near East, the homeland of the ancient Dark Elves. The revolution of Khosrau I against the Dragons created Adar, an even more powerful enemy to the East. Ostia survived the First Adarian War through enlisting huge numbers of Dark Elves and Humans, and turning huge numbers of vampires, but, after the peace, this led to an idle army itching for power and pay. Naturally, this caused civil wars, in which competing Vampire generals turned even more vampires, leading to the First Famine. Corralling huge numbers of Wood Elves and City Elves into blood farms temporarily solved the problem, but proliferated the slave population compared to the free one. The Mol Kalon religion created a threat to Vampire stability, and Ostian attempts to suppress it only turned Kalonists into martyrs and spread the religion further. Eventually, it was legalized, giving Humans and Dark elves a weapon especially effective against Vampires. Finally, the Second Famine may have proven the Empires undoing, as it coincided with Orcish invasions that led High Elven barbarians to flee across the border. The food crisis led to civil wars that disrupted the complex "blood farm" operations and worsened the situation, and over half the vampires alive 30 years ago are dead now. Rogue vampires began feeding on Humans and Dark Elves, triggering the Great Revolt.
  
  
  
  
  
  Ostian Humans and free Dark Elves generally copy the culture of vampires. Dark Elves are more patriarchal, while gender relations among Ostian Humans and Vampires are more equal. Both Ostian Human and Dark Elf society condemns homosexuality, while it is more tolerated among the Vampire nobility, as long as it is not made public.
  
  Guarded Domains of Adar, also called the Adarian Empire - Adar was created out of the remnants of Drakanshahr on the Eastern Plateau. Manzadak, a religious leader among Dragons, proposed training the "Human children" in Drasi, the magical Draconic language that summoned solar energies from Dragons' home system. Despite a paternalistic relationship with humans, Dragons sacrificed a great many of their children, who did not have scales lining their throats, and often burned their necks off speaking Drasi. Of the first cohort of Fire Priest acolytes, around 80% died or were rendered permanently mute. It would take decades for Humans to reach a 50% "failure" rate for acolytes. Initially, the Fire Priests were a boost to the Dragon war effort against Ostia, and led to the conquest of the Near East. However, under Khosrau I, Humans, tired of Dragon domination and the irresponsible Dragon system of government, rebelled. All the Dragons in the East were wiped out by their own magic.
  
  
  
  
  
  Drakanshahr, "Dragon Land", was renamed "Adar", birthplace. Due to the big number of mountains, Adarian fire priests believed that Dragons initially bred with Elves and created Humans in their plateau. Khosrau I was named "Shahanshah" (King of Kings), and "Son of the Dragon", and started the "Vyrakhdoum" (Dragonslayer) dynasty that lasts to this day. Adar is ruled by a harsh caste system. At the top are the fire priests, who command the highest social respect though Warriors hold most of the power. This is because it takes years of study to become a Fire Priest, and 50% are permanently muted or killed by fires in their throats. Most nobles hail from the warrior caste, who master hand to hand combat and bodybuilding to be armored warriors. Due to their exercise routine and hardening during a long, 10-year training period from youth, the best Adarian warriors can generally take on vampires in a purely physical fight, though older vampires have strong blood magics that can overcome them. Most Adarians are commoners, merchants, and artisans. Most Dark Elves in the Empire, as well as some conquered Humans, are agricultural workers. It is illegal in Adar to make a Human a slave, but the Empire conquers or imports large numbers of High Elf, Orcish, and Dark Elf slaves - and some Wood Elves, but since Wood Elves are mainly in West Wyrmfell and Adar is in the East, they are less common. The lowest caste of the empire is occupied by anyone that engages in a profession that "perverts fire", like blacksmiths and actors, plus criminals, prostitutes, etc. Occupation in Adar is largely hereditary, and this "untouchable" class are viewed as religiously impure due to corrupting fire, and are "untouchable".
  
  
  
  
  
  The Fire Temple of the Drasiban religion upholds the government of Adar and supports it. In return, the Kings and nobles violently suppress all competing religion. Nearly all subjects of Adar are Drasiban, at least officially. The "burntthroats", those who become mute but do not die in training to speak Drasi, are educated by the Fire Temple in reading and writing, and form a scholar and bureaucrat class in the Empire. They are highly respected for their sacrifice, even if they did not "make it" to become a full blown Fire Priest. Becoming a Fire Priest is one of the only ways to secure upward momentum in Adar, as anyone except a slave or untouchable can do it. The other way is to demonstrate courage in battle to be promoted to the warrior caste. This route, also, is shut off to slaves and untouchables.
  
  
  
  
  
  Adar is a highly xenophobic, racist, religious state. Drasiban religion literally believes that all other Gods are the same evil god, and only lighting the world with fire can cleanse all souls of evil. Adarians place a large value on masculinity, bravery, courage, and directness. However, women are respected and given freedom to divorce and own property, and are prominent in the commercial sector. It is not uncommon to see "warrior" caste Adarian men on the battlefield, and women running vast business empires to fund their husbands' careers. Humans are seen as "Sons of the Dragon" who eventually outgrew their fathers and replaced them, and are seen as a master race. Nowhere is the "Just World Hypothesis" stronger than in Adar - anyone's misery is seen as his own fault, and Adarian religion has a strong "master morality" that despises all forms of weakness, cunning, and plotting. The culture's toxic masculinity leads its leaders to behave very aggressively. It is basically mandatory for any new Adarian Shahanshah to "prove his courage" by immediately declaring war on Ostia. The pattern is strong enough that Ostian legions are always placed on high alert whenever rumor of the Adarian Shah becoming sick break out. Most Adarian Shahs who fail to "prove their courage" are deposed by their nobles.
  
  Church of Mol Kalon - The Church of Mol Kalon, a Dark Elf "prophet" in the parts of the Near East still under Ostian control, is essentially a ripoff of Drasiban, believing in a good and evil God. The Evil God, however, is Ba'tak explicitly - patron deity of the Dark Elves, and has far less power than the "Lord of Darkness" in Drasiban. The Church became powerful after the Crisis of the Second Century and the First Famine, as Humans and Dark Elves grew disgusted by the "blood farm" policy. The Church is highly popular among High Elves, especially barbarians, almost all of whom follow. Ostian attempts to suppress it were unsuccessful. The Church is run by a Curator, who is elected by 12 Prefects. Its headquarters is officially in Ostia, but really is in Bledendyl, a city run by barbarian Elves.
  
  
  
  
  
  Federated Tribes - Barbarian elves who invaded Ostia to escape the Orcs were given lands by powerless Ostian Emperors, faced with other problems. They are still ruled by Chieftans, generally the oldest Elf in a (physically) ageless race. They work as mercenaries, both for the Empire and for wealthy rebels.
  
  Rebel Warlords - The rebellion is not concentrated. Rich Human and Dark Elf civil servants, military officers, and governors raised their own armies and started massacres of local Vampires. Most are aiming to replace or reform Ostia, not destroy it. Most Humans and free Dark Elves are assimilated into the hybrid culture of Ostia, and see themselves as Ostians, but want the nobility to include Humans and Dark Elves instead of them just being middle men, and they want to reign in the Vampires, who they see as a threat due to the blood famine.
  
  Most rebel warlords are as racist and conservative as the Vampires, however. They hire barbarian Elves out of convenience, but do not like them. Further, most refuse to integrate with Wood Elves and employ Druids. The few that do are usually minor and draw from the mercantile class, not the military and landlord classes, as they have the least prejudices. Where it has been implemented, this policy is militarily effective.
  
  Forgotten Villages - The Great Forest may have been mostly destroyed, but parts survived, parts grew back, and Wood Elves fled to other forests as well. Inside these, slaves escape, making them havens for those wishing to escape authority. Most are still watched over by Keepers as in the old days of the Wood Elves. Villages are usually bi or tri racial, with the majority living there being Wood Elves, but with a large number of city Elves, High Elves, and, to a lesser extent, Dark Elves living there as well - all escaped slaves.
  
  Talbalak Horde - The main Orcish Horde. Its warlord unified most of the tribes and rules as Khagan, creating a giant refugee crisis with his conquests. According to Ostian intelligence, he soon plans to turn into Ostia proper to seek loot.
  
  
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  Dark Elf Pantheon - Most Dark Elves believe in it outside Adar. Many Adarian Elves believe it in secret. Believes that powerful blood mages of past ascended to become Daemons, and their spirits are in "The Heaven", which may be Aetherium. The most powerful deity is Ba'atak, the most powerful Blood Mage until Ibalatesh. Sentient sacrifice is required for proper worship. Baby sacrifice is outlawed by Ostia, but is still in illegal practice. Government-controlled, high priest appointed. The Dark Elf Pantheon has a concept of Aetherium similar but far less specific, less scientific, and more inaccurate than that of the ancient High Elves. They, however, only believe Daemons, the lasting spirits of powerful Blood Mages, to be Gods, while ancient High Elves discovered that there are many other ascended spirits of all races in Aetherium.
  
  Vampiric Pantheon - Nearly universal among vampires, and popular among Human Ostians. The same as the Dark Elf Pantheon, except without requirement to sacrifice, and believing Ibalatesh is a Daemon and the highest of them. Government-controlled, high priest appointed.
  
  Drasiban Fire Temple - The state religion of Adar. Believes there is a good God, the Fire Lord, or Korshahr, and an evil God, the Lord of Darkness, Ahrishahr. The mythical Dragon homeworld is the realm of the Fire Lord, while, before the meteor storm, Wyrmfell was the realm of Ahrishahr, who represents both Gaia of the Wood Elves and Ba'atak of the Dark Elves, plus every other "heretical" deity. The Drasiban, with much evidence considering Dragon biology and their extraordinary resistance to heat, plus the ability of the Drasi language to summon high temperature waves (fire), believe the Dragon Homeworld to be very close to the Sun. The Dragons were agents of Korshahr, who arrived on Earth to purify it. They gave birth to Humans, who were "half good and half bad", and needed to win the good vs. evil struggle through "good deeds", bravery, and spreading the fire cult. They believe all Elves deserve their oppression because of their worship of false gods and creation by Ahrishahr.
  
  Gaianism - The religion of the Wood Elves, that survives through oral tradition. Most Wood Elves still adhere to it, albeit in secret, though some convert to Kalonism. Believes in the wholeness and balance of the Earth, acceptance of diversity (the parts working in harmony to create a whole), and the power of Gaia, the Goddess of the Earth. Most Wood Elves and those with their blood can become Druids, with enough sensitivity to harness the powers of Earth, the weather, healing, and of nature. The modern Druids that live in the forests or in hiding believe that believers of other faiths should be integrated, and all races can find harmony - a theory proving true at least in the multi-racial (multi-Elven) forest hideouts, though there is no telling what will happen with Vampires and Humans. Gaianism is not simply more tolerant out of kindness, but necessity - only trained Wood Elves and half-breeds are actually in touch with the Earth, so Druidic worship is impossible for most.
  
  Some forests, due to centuries of guerilla war and oppression, have seen more radical Keepers propagate a revolutionary branch of Gaianism called Jylenism, named after Keeper Jylen of Sagunus Forest. Jylenists do believe that other religions are misguided, and that all children of the Earth should return to Gaia, even if they cannot "speak" to her. They view Gaianism as the "cult of life" and prefer to call the planet Gaia, not "Wyrmfell". They see the Pantheon as the "Cult of Death", the Vampiric Pantheon as the extreme "cult of death", the Aetherian worship as the "cult of the mystic plane", Drasiban as the "cult of Celestis" (their word for the alien Dragon homeworld), and Kalonism as the "cult of Nimresh" (a star believed to be the source of Kalonist light). All other religions in their view see everything in the world to be evil, and Jylenists believe Wood Elves and those with their blood should isolate themselves in forests as interbreeding with other species could destroy connection with Gaia altogether.
  
  Aetherianism - While not exactly a religion, the ancient High Elves at the peak of their civilization conducted immense research into the spiritual plane called Aetherius. After the Dragonfall at the end of the First Era, research stalled and Aetherianism, which requires highly trained Elven scholars, has gone into decline. A brief renaissance under Ilyndrathyl II, Supreme Chieftan, was cut short when he was defeated in battle by Vingarmo I of Ostia. Aetherianism believes that an energy plane called Aetherius exists independent of Wyrmfell, and the creation of the physical universe was simply due to a glitch in Aetherius, and that eventually, the world will fold back into Aetherius and the two planes will be unified. It seeks to uncover the mysteries of Aetherius. An intellectual, elite philosophy, Aetherianism fell into decline after the Ostian conquest, which forced the Elves into the backwater of Northeastern Wyrmfell, where they lost their once mighty cities and great civilization.
  
  Kalonism - Kalonism has the most followers by pure numbers of any major religion, but little state support. It believes in a One True God, fighting Ba'atak - a marketing change to Drasiban possibly in order to appease elves. Ibatalesh is seen as a servant of Ba'atak, and inferior to him. Kalonism was oppressed by both Adar (which viewed it as a Drasiban heresy) and Ostia (which saw it as a direct assault on the social order) from the start. Mol Kalon is credited for inventing Kalonic chants, but the real credit for their creation probably goes to the Apostle Damien, a Human who spread the religion underground after Mol Kalon's execution. Kalonism believes all races are children of God and are equal, and in a virtuous, ordered society. Certain verses forbid homosexuality, while others impose regulations on women that are not present in any other religion. However, the religion invites both genders to worship side by side. It has become most popular among Elves, rapidly displacing the remnants of Aetherianism, which is now a pet religion followed only by a couple elitist Chieftans who fancy themselves scholars.
  

Hoping to run more than 1 RP in this setting. The first RP I'm thinking should have an adventure setting, meaning the Kings and rulers will be off limits for now, though nobles won't. Later RPs might be more political though there will definitely be a political element to this one.

Please let me know if you guys would be interested and what you think! I'd like the world to be collaborative and would love some suggestions!

 

[Felis]

I find this setting pretty interesting and I love how you put so much thought and detail into it. (I also feel a tiny bit overwhelmed by the amount of information, but I expect I'll remember stuff better eventually if I re-read the tabs when I'm less tired, haha.)

I'm not sure if I just missed it or if you haven't stated it yet, but what would be the plot of this RP, specifically? As in, what faction/etc. would our characters be in and what goal are they are trying to achieve over the course of this RP? From the title, I'd assume we'd most likely start with one of the rebel warlords or in Ostia?

 

[Lovelylie]

I love the detail and would be very interested! But I’m new to this and I’m not sure how it all works, do you pm me?

 

[Wandering Owl]

I'm interested, though as said before it would be nice to know what kind of plots there'd be, which races are playable, etc

 

[Yatasal]

Oh hey look it's Quinn

 

[NilNul]

This seems like a wonderfully vast setting to play in. I would love to know further if you have any more specific plots or locations in mind for the general story to unravel, or would each of us just pick a side in this enormous setting and start from there.

 

[FireMaiden]

Hey if this is still going, I'd like to join

 

[CrimsonEclipse]

This seems very wonderful and I love the details in this. Would it still be possible to join?

 

[Ishtarran]

I find this idea quite interesting.