Hey guys, the essay is finished and now - the lore!
I've condensed most of it into bullet points (and am still in that process). So you guys get a taste of what is already established, I present to you:
Agradan
Capital City: Voqorro
Sovereign: Afqaru Bhokar, King of Agradan
GEOGRAPHY- The Agrad Plateau
- some parts forested, borders dry and arid - prone to drought
- two major rivers - the Koss and the Mahag - run through it
- landlocked between Nathal’vrak and Zhevarra
- Nathal’vrak and Agradan divided by the Dragonwall Mountains
- Zhevarra begins at the Golden Sea, a league from the edge of the plateau
- The Dragonwall Mountains
- since the War of the Well, the Agrad have moved into mountains
- primary source of resources
POLITICS- Chieftains
- each village, town or city is ruled by a chieftain
- a chieftain’s security is never guaranteed
- dominance and strength are considered ideal attributes of a leader
- anyone is able to replace a chieftain by killing him/her
- occasionally, even Afqaru is challenged
- Relationships
- absolute disdain for the vrakis, kill any that venture into the Dragonwall
- their corpses are impaled and left at the borders of Nathal’vrak
- relatively isolated, xenophobic and territorial
- do not trade, do not let anyone pass through the Dragonwall
- not that anyone does - no human is allowed in Nathal’vrak
- a steady trade/military pact with Zhevarra against the expansionism of Paerius
RELIGION- Ghaaravas
- First King of the Agrad, He Who Walks In Fire, Bane of Kings
- born, raised and governed from Abar Qaithus
- a celebrated champion and warrior, figure of strength, war and fire
- praised as a great king, but also as a maegi
- one of the first to drink from At’aine, a warden of The Conclave
- the oldest and eldest member, left his crown for Conclave
- Worship
- Ghaaravas is praised in temples in cities, or clay shrines in the villages
- the dead are left to the wilds at shrines across the plateau
HISTORY“During the War of the Well, the human tribes of the Agrad Plateau became the victims of a vision crossfire. To assail Nathal’vrak, the forces of Merthys needed to penetrate the Dragonwall, a task made easier through the natural passes along the Agrad Plateau.
Disenfranchised by constant fighting and the invasion of their homeland, the Agradi joined the war on their own terms, fighting against the empire and the vrakis. The clans fought individually, protecting their own territories and marking them with the headless corpses of their enemies. To respond to the retaliation of the indigenous clans, Merthys made an example of one particular clan known as the Se’khara, horribly mutilating their bodies and sending their corpses on wide rafts down both the Koss and Mahag for all of the clans to see while the empire prepared to assail Abar Qaithus, the clans’ most holiest site.
The last of the Se’khara, a warrior named Afqaru Bhokar, made it his mission to unite the plateau against the vrakis and the empire. Advertising the fall of the ancient city of Abar Qaithus, Afqaru rallied the clans at their holy city where they made their final stand. Three days of withstanding a relentless siege passed before the Calamity occurred and Merthys fell.
Following the war, Afqaru challenged each and every chieftain of the Agrad. One by one, they fell, and Afqaru declared himself king. Thus, Agradan was born.”
The Conclave of AthainonThe Conclave of Athainon were among the first to witness the dawn of magic in the world. Originally five, the Conclave grew to a dozen members, each identifying with one ‘power’ of magic. They had one role: to protect the Well of the World at all costs. The outside world, and the activities of the other maegi, was not their concern. Their chief duty was to At’aine.
The wardens were each present at the dawn of magic. They were the first to hear the flow of At’aine; though not all of them originally joined. The first maegi, Aruun’Dal, was also the first warden. When more came to Tuin Athainon, he formed The Conclave. Beyond that, the lore and history of the wardens is largely unknown. However, it is established that they were immortal, and that of the twelve there were nine humans, two vrakis and one of the sidherin. It is also known that:
- Aruun’Dal the First was the leader of The Conclave and first to drink of the well
- Aruun'Dal called the Council of Seven Kings and spoke on behalf of The Conclave
- The sidherin warden, created the fabled Sallahin’dorei
- Also maintained the Power of Preservation
- One of the wardens knew of all time and the fates of all peoples (Power of Sight)
- Also the first of the wardens to abandon mortality
- Power of Rebirth: necromancy was the domain of one warden
- Ghaaravas maintained the Power of Destruction
- Names of members, their roles and histories lost and forgotten, include:
- Veithosa Taal
- Bal’Nora the Cold, believed to maintain the Power of Control
- Kazz ik gara’Baltaag - not his name, vrakis warden, translates to ‘He of the Black Hill’
Why is so little known of The Conclave? Maegi are roughly 10,000 years old, and so the wardens would have been around 9,000-years-old when they departed the world. They remained on Tuin Athainon, as At'aine was their primary concern, and naturally their history has been lost over the years. The mystery surrounding them is intentional.
Of course, this is all subject to discussion and there are things that need to be fleshed out (through the roleplay, of course). This is just a bit of a teaser of what to expect. :)
