World A Heroes Rivalry: Lore, Religion, Houses

[Andraus]

Detainn- The City of Chains​

Across the nations of Dystrexion, thousands praise and idolize the Empire for creating an era of peace, prosperity, and enlightenment. Its survivors wish to return to that golden era and its successors try to emulate its glory. Yet amidst this harkening for the old days, there are those who have abandoned the Empire completely, and adapted to living in this new era. Slyterra is a land of harshness and cruelty that breaks the weak, emboldens the strong, and destroys the stupid. Yet it's history hides some of the darkest secrets of the old empire, and none was more hidden, than a city underneath the marshes. It was a place where the Empire sent those who did not fit in with its utopian vision. A place where the grudges of the old world, and the old ways, held ultimate sway. Now free of its former masters, it is the capitol of a newly established dominion in the most hostile of lands.

Where the other nations of the world stand on the edge of ruin, the City of Detainn has continued ever onward.

Detainn was a prison city built to house those that the Empire could not convert to its righteous cause and philosophy- Cutthroat Murderers, Condemned Criminals, and Barbaric tribesman were among the most numerous, but as the Empire fell into depravity, it began to include political adversaries, rebels, and agitators. These captives, along with a slave workforce, were pitted to toil endlessly underground, the only passage to the surface being guarded by an imperial fortress. The prisoners thus adapted to their new lives, grueling physical labor being traded for food, water, and medicine. Many had tried to escape by climbing up the chasm in the ceiling that provided them meager sunlight, or break through the fortress leading out the underground. None were successful.

Detainn grew out of the need for a place to house their multitude of workers, who mined the ore from the earth, cultivated the meager crops, fungus, and giant lizards for livestock, drew water from an underground reservoir. In exchange for their labors, the prisoners were provided with meager luxuries and amenities they could not produce, with a rare few being granted the privilege of returning to the surface. Plagued by feral beasts that roamed the underground, its residents grew creative, developing improvised weaponry, taming giant lizards, or developing special chemicals to combat these forces, yet none were able to escape their imprisonment, leading to a deep resentment and hatred for the Empire that banished them.

Due to its secluded nature, it was spared the devastation that enveloped the rest of the world, and when an escape attempt was once more tried, they found the great bastion lightly manned, their forces diverted elsewhere en mass. The Warden and his accompanying guard were massacred by vengeful prisoners and all prepared for an attempt by the empire to reclaim their lost holdings. As months turned into years, many began to wonder why the Empire had not retaliated against their fight for independence, and some went towards the surface looking for answers. What they found was a land devastated by war, their hated foe long gone, and the land rife with the pickings of a fallen nation.

With that, the collection of prisoners, both guilty and innocent, opted to isolate themselves from the rest of Dystrexion, looting what they could find from the surrounding settlements and cities, before pushing to establish themselves as the capitol of their wild homeland. Its leader is known as the 'Lord/Lady of Chains', holder of the keys to the Iron Bastion, and self-proclaimed ruler of Slyterra. It is with a great irony, that while many across the decades have attempted to make such a claim, in these descendants of outcasts and exiles were the only people who have put their words to action. While the Lord of Chains rules, he is accompanied by his own royal court, bandit nobles who have seized from the dead the trappings of civilization.

The Lord of Chain's will is conveyed by the Keymaster, the Military Forces commanded by the Excubitor, while its ruler of magical affairs is the Magistros. While these are familiar of standard ruling courts, these positions of authority are granted by the Cavern Council. These were the most wealthy slaveowners, the most successful bandits, the most skilled rebel leaders, and the most powerful dark mages. It is well known at the lowest level that the Cavern Council is highly corrupt, where alliances are made and broken, and allies one day could be the ones plotting your downfall the next. They also perpetuate the slave market, bringing those unable to find work or pay debts into bondage, and providing cheap labor for Slyterra and elsewhere.

Its military forces consist of mercenaries, corsairs, and thralls, willing to fight for their overlords. They typically wage irregularly warfare against foreign invaders, using the natural terrors of Slyterra to maintain dominion. Their Triremes typically roam the murkey swamps in silence, waiting to pounce, while their mages enact rituals using sacrificial blood to terrorize and assail any would-be warlord aiming to seize Slyterra as their prize, and their mercenaries utilize improvised weapons to match or even surpass the other kingdoms purpose-built wargear. They have also retained much of the Empire's technology and infrastructure, leading to many willingly placing themselves in bondage for luxury, comfort, or protection in service to their new masters. Yet most would be worked to death before they could enjoy the vast splendors of this wild land.

Those seeking to rise in position will utilize any means to achieve or keep their grips of authority. Murder, Blackmail, even torture under the Corpse Flower, which Detainn exports as a cheap source of income to Athios's House of Mathlus.

While the morality of those who originally were cast into Detainn was dubious, whatever conscience they had died at the hands of the Empire's cruelty, and what has emerged from this underground world is a people who had become strong through hardship and utterly immune to the cost of human life and suffering. In this land, might made right, and those at the top ruled those below without any restriction or oversight. Political Intrigue, backstabbing, torture, and treachery have become the rule of law in this den of depravity, yet where as Magion, Athios, Nethia, or even Bowerstone have attempted to restore their ancient glories, Detainn and the rest of Slyterra have shed what bounded them and made capitol from the chaos.

Even the Demons that had survived their masters plans of conquests hesitate to enter the land, as Demons had tended to disappear, only for their corpses to reappear floating down the river, their bodies stripped of blood, organs, or bone. It is the greatest fear of many that Detainn will succeed where others have failed- uniting the terrifying land of Slyterra, forging Detainn, Blightfall, the Viscera Marshes, and elsewhere into a kingdom of unmatched cruelty, where the only way to survive the terrors of the Long Night is to become something far worse.

 

[Andraus]

The Knight-Enchanters- The Empire's Will Made Manifest

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In the year 459 AF, the Imperial Age is over.

Across Dystrexion, Ancient Evils awaken in the forgotten Crypts of the land, The Elven Races cower to protect what remains of their Divine Might in the World Tree, the Dwarves face destruction and annihilation as they race against extinction, The Realms of Man face each other in brutal civil war, as beings of horrifying and unspeakable power assail themselves against what few bastions of defiance remain. Everywhere in which the memories of the Old Empire fades, a great darkness gathers, awaiting a time when the last defenses are broken and the great Massacre of Mortalkind can begin. Few remember a time, slowly forgotten with each passing day, when the Empire worked to reunite the Humanity and all mortalkind into a bright future.

The briefest of moments when the terrors of the Old World could've been cast aside and a Golden Age brought forth from the echoes of the past. Reason and Compassion might've triumphed over superstition and tyranny, but the triumphs of the Empire and the War of Reunion are gone, never to return. Yet the might of the Mortal Races has not yet broken- Mighty armies march guided by the principles and values of their gods and the lost Empire. For every step on land still held by the mortal races, their foes face the massed tribunes of Athios, the Eldritch Magitek Weaponry of Magion, The silent and deadly Cultists of Shadows, and the Ever-Vigilant Watchers. Yet on some battlefields, those critical to the continued survival of the Mortal Races, their enemies face nothing less than the Empire's will made manifest.

They are power-clad Avengers, heralding from the half-remembered days before the War of Reunion. They are the finest warriors molded like clay in the furnace of war. Their will is iron-forged and bodies shaped of steel. Clad in weapons and armor so intricate that their design is lost to all, save the Seers of the Ash Forest. They are the last bulwark of the Empire, they are the defenders of the Mortal Races- To those that have given witness to them, they are the Knight Enchanters.

The Knight-Enchanters are all that remain of the personal guard of the Imperial Family. Gone are the days when their heraldry once symbolized the might and promise of the Empire, now they work tirelessly to keep their founders great work from falling completely to ruin. In the annals of history, they were meant to be the golden spear tip of the Emperor and the Imperial Family, serving as the Generals and War Masters guiding the soldiers of Bowerstone. The Process of creating a Knight-Enchanter is done through a secret amalgamation of nightmarish training and grueling bio-alchemy. The candidates selected were drawn from the nobility of Nethia and Bowerstone, that were both strong in mind and body.

Yet being selected was merely the first test. All had to be of a young age, so that their bodies could withstand the physical alterations and grow into them, and all had to be capable of magic. Of the Original one hundred candidates selected for Jocelynn to proceed with such an experiment, only 47 survived. These 47 however proved Emperor Cale's faith in his wife was well rewarded- they were entirely resistant to physical torture or mental manipulation. Poisons such as the Corpse Flower did not affect them and Torture such as Flaying could not break them. Their bodies were far more resilient, able to withstand injuries and wounds that would kill a lesser human, all the while being capable of utilizing the most powerful weapons and armor crafted by the Arcane Blacksmiths of Aegumana.

These included armors that could repel spells aimed at them, and weapons that could rend entire siege engines to mere splinters and scrap metal, the creation of which has been lost. Only those within the Seers still remember their creation, making the continued existence of both intrinsically linked, though for reasons not widely revealed to the public.

Their numbers eventually swell, until they reached a thousand strong, serving as the personal war host protecting Aegumana and the seat of power in Nethia, and were the first among their number to include those of other races than mankind. Elves, Dwarves, and eve Orcs were given the privilege of joining this selective brotherhood. Along with the martial training and augmentation through alchemy, each were given extensive education and lectures, as it was stated by Jocelynn that only those that understood fully their mission could achieve its success, and be fully devoted to the cause of the Empire. When the Demon Lord Noxian made his appearance known, and rent the land of Lothrond asunder, the contingent stationed in Lothrond were among the last slain.

During the conflict that would be known as the Cataclysm, the Knight-Enchanters were at the forefront of the defense effort, bringing might to bear upon the Demonic Invaders and the traitors that followed them. Yet it was not within the Defense of the Inner Kingdoms, or even the Siege of Nethia, that the Knight-Enchanters faced their greatest loss. That would come in the veiled and unknown events of the Defense of Aegumana, where Knight-Enchanters along with the Cult of Shadows and the Imperial Army fought to prevent the secrets of the Silver Tablets and their usage from falling into the hands of the demons. Yet victory cost the defenders of Aegumana nearly seven hundred dead, and by the time Nethia fell, the Knight-Enchanters were a shadow of their former strength.

Though they gave all they could to protect the Imperial Family, in the end, it was not enough- Xanthion Cale laid dead, and though the Mortal Races emerged victorious, they were robbed of so much of their former strength that most had to hide within their secret enclaves, to retain their former strength. Through the years of rebuilding, the Knight-Enchanters managed to rebuild their former strength, and as Athios began to expand, they aided in the age that could see the rebirth of the Empire. Yet, in a repeat of the Defense of Aegumana, the Knight-Enchanters were forced to pay with their lives during the Second Catacylsm to protect the Outer Wall of Athios.

As Mages were persecuted, the Knight-Enchanters were forced to leave the Great Wall, yet the outlying territories reported that the Arcane Warriors continued to defend their outermost settlements against roving demon attacks, not yet willing to abandon Athios.

Their last major deployment was during the Magion-Athios war, seemingly striking at random against both nations and protecting civilian enclaves, acting to ensure innocent lives were not lost in the senseless conflict. This has caused many to view the order with untrusting eyes, demanding the utter loyal or subjugation of the Order. Both were rejected, and the Knight-Enchanters have been seen following the orders of robe-clad individuals, not dissimilar to the ancient Seers of the Old Empire, yet both nations attempt to bury this information in order to discredit the Knight Enchanters.

Now, with their strength rebuilt, the forces guiding them aim to be the golden spear-tip to strike down the forces that cast their Empire in ruin centuries before.

The Knight-Enchanters have seen the Empire and its subjects from its earliest beginnings to the present day. Their records detail the forgotten events of the War of Reunion. They recall Empire as it was- not as a half forgotten ruin lost to time, but as a vision of unity that could guide the mortal races from the shadows of dying gods. To Nations long since lost in superstition and war, they alone remember its original purpose. To a land ripped apart by fear and the terrors of the Infernal Realm, they alone remember when the freedom to leave its influence forever had been within their grasp. To a dying world cut off from its makers, they remember when the vision of unity and a peaceful future had been so close.

No matter the circumstances that may be, their purpose has not changed since the creation of the first 47- They were created for the Mortal Races darkest hour.

An Hour that has finally arrived.

 

[Andraus]

Quaestus, The Islands of Commerce

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From its citizens to the soldiers that guard the imperial palace, there is a shared belief among many that Athios has lost its way. Bowerstone claims it has lost honor, Magion claims it has betrayed its own values and people, and Slyterra believes it wants to do nothing but conquer to feed its armies. Many have long become disillusioned with the Seven Cities and their slide into corruption and ruin. Yet through the actions of a single soul, whose life has been bound forcibly to the dying nation, the spark of something new has begun to ignite. A spark that does not speak of doom and catastrophe, but of renewal and hope. This can be seen nowhere greater than in the Nation of Quaestus, The Isles of Commerce.

Athios had long since left the exile or elimination of those born with magical blood to the House of Mathlus, who deal with the 'undesirables' quietly and away from public eye. Yet, in their ranks is a woman who saw what Athios had become, who had seen the actions that had severed her ties with another who she considered her equal in all things, who'd lost her own family to its clutches, and who had caused untold years of suffering and fear for something people could not help, but be born with it. She had witnessed all of this until at last, pulling at her chains, she decided to resist in the only way she could- though her reports stated the targets were eliminated, in truth many were granted escape. These individuals were given small sums, told to flee to the west, and put as much distance between them and Athios as they could. In their place bandit bodies were laid in and burned, thus creating plausible deniability, until dozens of families had left.

Though they started as a few, this second exodus of mages and their families allowed them to flee beyond the boundaries of Athios. Some settled in Magion, others found their homes in Bowerstone or Slyterra. Some settled into isolated communities, content to be forgotten by the rest of the world. Yet, a congregation of those who truly believed in the promise of what Athios represented found themselves aboard the vast trade ships bearing the mark of the former House of Commerce. Though some feared enslavement, they were met instead by the Flags of the Cornwell Family, who utilized the promise of a new life to encourage those that, like the House of Commerce, believed in the free market and trading spirit of Athios. From their mighty trade fleets the exiled House and its new retainers found themselves on an Island Archipelago. A former Imperial Colony only barely developed by the time of the Calamity, but now stood as an economic cornerstone from which they could rebuild.

Named for the ancient Umbre of Commerce and Trade, it was called Quaestus, and soon became the bustling heart of shipping lanes across the western half of Dystrexion.

The capitol of this land is the city of New Prosperity, built on the largest Island in the chain, of which 14 other Islands exist. With the financial backing of every family that had been spared death and destruction, as well as the wealth pouring it from those given a second chance at life, Industries and settlements were built across the chain in droves, approaching closer to that of the trading lanes of Nethia in its distant past. Drawing upon the knowledge and education afforded by the academies and trade schools of Athios, but with the magical gifts and training of Magion, Quaestus has begun to tap into a wide variety of markets. Gathering silk from lilies and spider webs, mining of precious gems, fishing, tropical farming, sugar, spices, coffee, and rice production, as well as the production of luxury goods highly valued in every nation, from jewelry, to soaps, and fine clothing. In a dramatic irony of their shared history, Quaestus is the closest representation of Imperial Living, a reminder of what happens when people combine the value of trade and the power of magic.

As the youngest power in all of Dystrexion, its armed forces and naval power are comparatively small, yet it is rapidly expanding as more wealth and power flood into the nation. Adopting military doctrine from Athios with aid provided by mages, it is the closest thing to an Imperial Legion in the modern day, small when compared to the purpose built tribunes of Athios or the Mage Armies of Magion, but highly disciplined and granted a variety of battlefield roles and purposes in the ultimate expression of combined arms.

It's growth as a trading power has begun to attract attention- Magion wants to invite the kingdom to join its growing confederacy, and Athios wants to capitalize on its trade, yet Quaestus has declared itself uninvolved in the conflict, offering both trade and wealth in equal measure so long as its neutrality is respected and observed. With both sides engaging in acts of aggression, this agreement has been withheld, and Quaestus has begun operating as a neutral grounds for discussion between the two great powers, meanwhile the resources have begun flooding in once more to Athios, revitalizing the nation with an influx of trade goods the likes of which it has not seen in decades. Though none know its true origins, as many speculate it is yet another power created by refugees and exiles, there is one location in New Prosperity that shares the truth.

In the broad avenues between the Markets, Residential quarters, and Just in front of the Manor of the Cornwell Family, there exists a statue- a mighty woman, clad in midnight, whose daggers seem to weave shadows. This figure, not given a name, but known to all who had come to reside in the land, is their greatest champion. She is proof that all that is good in Athios is not yet dead, so long as one exists to fight for it, and she has done more than just saved a few families- she has inspired the birth of a nation.

A Nation that has not forgotten what had happened and what was done....and should Xanthippe Thornbrook ever arrive on its pearlescent shores looking for aid, is eagerly awaiting the call to action.