Overview

The Dark Elves of the Paganlands were once the highest Kingdom of Elves. For a time, the other races in the world were
mere children to them. But then, the Beastmen attacked in overwhelming numbers, forcing the Elven King Elric to destroy
the Soul of Nature, which gave life to the magical forests of Lombilar. Without the Soul of Nature, the Elves, Treants,
and other forests spirits all went mad, defending the remnants of their dark kingdom.

Geography

The Forests of Lombilar were once grand and majestic. Now, with their souls shattered, the once-proud forest spirits vie
for power. The Paganland forests are dark and always misty, with an eerie cold and silence. Some parts of the Paganland
have been so twisted, they terraformed into mires and swamps. The wildlife too was effected. Even gentle creatures such
as deer became territorial and aggressive, and several Blights roam the land. Near the Western Border, four Circle
Cities stand as bastions against the hordes of Beastmen, though roads connect each one to the Circle of Aeius, the
Warden. The middle area is where the city Paganea is located, a grand yet grave city home to the Great Pagan Orgoth.
Not all of the Warped Groves are controlled by the Dark Elves. Old Lombilar itself has yet to be rediscovered, though
the lack of constant Dark Elf rule is a blessing to the uncontested forests, which are little more than aggravated
wealds.

History

Long ago, the Elven Kingdom of Lombilar was one of the highest of any to exist before, and even outshines some that came
after it. As the empire expanded, so did lush and pristine forests. All was well, and the Elven Population had reached
the Millions. All of this prosperity was thanks to the Soul of Nature, an artifact that radiated with life and vibrant
energy, attracting thousands of spirits to inhabit the many trees of many forests. Unfortunately, the Kingdom of
Lombilar was suddenly attacked by dozens of neighboring Beastman tribes. It was a long and gruesome war, which the Elves
steadily lost. The people of Lombilar sought safety over honor, and fled from their capital. The prestigious Lombilar
Phoenix Knights fought hard and with honor against the Beastmen, but without the support of their people, hope begun to
melt. The King, Eldric, saw the one way to defeat their enemies was to shatter their supply line. He sent a good few
legions to disrupt the invaders link to their home kingdom, yet they still survived off of the bounty of nature
surrounding them. In order to defeat that, Eldric made a grave decision. He ordered the last of his loyal knights to
follow their evacuating people to the more secluded cities, while he himself became a powerful Avatar of Nature to hold
off the invaders.
Once the last of his knights left the city, Eldric channeled his magic into an extravagant bolt of power, which he
used to shatter the Soul of Nature. With the soul destroyed, the surrounding groves invading soldiers supplied
themselves with suddenly withered and died. Within days the Beastmen invaders were starved by the massess. As penance
for his crimes, Eldric ventured away, and was never seen again.
With the lack of the Soul of Nature, the spirits of the forests began to become deprived. The madness deep within
their calm minds took root, completely whiping away the memory of their previous selves, and became the Pagans. The
Elves of Lombilar were maddened too, as their once beautiful forests were now cold and barren. For his betrayal, Eldric
was branded a Traitor, and the once mighty Lombilar empire was divided into dozens of Circles, each devoted to one of
the eight Great Pagans.
The Dark Elves are harshly territorial, as the invasion of the Beastmen could have been prevented if they were to be
more wary. They begin to lash at their neighboring kingdoms as well as participate in exterminating wild Beastmen
tribes, to spread their suffering with the rest of Salvus.

Government

The overall Paganist Legion is divided into hundreds of Circles, though each of the smaller ones answer to each of the
seven Circles devoted to the Great Pagans. For the first few years, each of the eight Circles were independent of each
other, but to defend and spread their territory, they have united. Each of the eight Circles leaders form a council. If
one of the Greater Circles has a desire, then it must be agreed or allowed by the rest of the circles. If a Lesser
Circle would like to carry out a motion, then they must be allowed by their Greater Circle.

The Great Pagan Circles are as follows

Sporebeard, Father of the Blights
Treants were once a proud, wise, perhaps even jovial race that enjoyed the presence of the smaller-ones. When the Soul
of Nature was crushed, they were driven mad, lashing out at any who dare near without reverence. Whenever a creature is
diseased by fungus, it is said that Sporebeard himself curses them.

Aeius, the Warden
When Beastmen Tribes crushed Lombilar hundreds of years ago, the Elven God of Vigilance was crushed by his failure.
Swearing to never falter in his watch, Aeius now watches his woods with Paranoia. Any who dare enter the Old Woods of
Lombilar are almost always immediately attacked by loose tribes of Werebears, regardless of their race. It is said that
the various wards across the Paganlands were planted by Aeius himself, to keep close watch of any other trespassers.

Revus, who Torments
Hundreds of Phoenix Knights are constantly plagued by visions of their failure, and the Elves and Forest Spirits they
failed to protect. Poking at the mind of Warriors, and warbeasts, driving them into grief-driven rage until nothing of
their opponents remain.

Slah'na, Queen of Pleasures
The only avoidance of despair is pleasure. Drugs, Sex, and Merrymaking, anything to avoid the true pain of failure.
Slah'na, once the goddess of beauty, became a figure of perversion and corruption of purity. several "Priestesses" of
this cult offer themselves to Pagans, to birth monstrous abominations who stomp, rampage, and kill.

Meron, King of Trauma
Once the Elven God of protection, now Meron constantly provides the aura of dread throughout the Paganlands, constantly
reminding the people of what they have done. He is revered by Warlocks of Despair, who channel Pagan Magic to extremify
the weight of failure on invaders who lost battles against the Dark Elves.

The Hidden Princess
She is the only Old Elven God of Lombilar not twisted by the Soul of Lombilar. In the days of Old Lombilar, she rarely
showed her face, and was revered by rogues and assassins alike. Now, she is even more timid, wiping her name from the
slates of Dark Elf History.

Loth'gar, Scion of Rage
While Aeius may occasionally control Ravens and Werebears, their true master is Loth'gar, the Old Bear King, who
perished defending the Elven city of Rothac. Now, warped by madness, he unchained his primal rage and let his kin spread
their seed far and wide, infesting the entire Paganlands with Werebear tribes.

Race Description

Dark Elves appear different from their Elven Cousins. Instead of radiant, beautiful skin, Dark Elven skin is dark grey
and their bodies are cold. They are not as tall as other elves, but are more sly and observant. Their eyes are as red as
the blood of a dying man, and in their mouths, sharp fangs glow a clean pearl white. What estranges them most, is their short lifespans. While most elves may live thousands of years, and compared to humans their own lifespans are impressible, they still only live an average of 200-250 years.

Another race under the Paganist Legion's banner are Werebears. in Old Lombilar, the Furbolg tribe left their beastmen
roots, taking more calm and serenity. When the Soul of Lombilar shattered, they too became warped. Now, having grown
into several tribes, most are independent. Some, however, fight for the Paganist Legion, either as slaves or
mercenaries.
Blights also fight in the Paganist Legion. Treants that have become depraved and selfish. Abandoned by their great-
father Tanglebrute, these Treants battle each other for survival, or exchange their services for sustenance from the
Dark Elves. Some go willingly. Others, become enslaved or die off.

Culture

Dark Elves revere their forests, however corrupted they may be. They do it partially out of awe, and partially fear, as the Great Pagans can easily turn the tides of fortune, dooming them to pestilence and starvation. Their cities are not heavily industrialized, allowing trees to grow roots around the walls and between houses.
Spiritualism is practiced in practically every household. As the Paganlands are possessed by dark spirits, Blights, and the great pagans, many learn at young ages to commune with such geists.
Witches and Warlocks are valued over soldiers. They have the power to command lesser pagans and bring fortune, as well as raise Blights to defend their cities.

Economy/Industry

The Paganlands officially forbid trade with the outside kingdoms. However, some treasure hunters that venture into the old bastions of Lombilarian cities risk life and sanity for trinkets and gems, which they sell to other nations illegaly. However, the punishment for such crimes is extremely low, so long as treasure hunters pay some tax to the Circles under the table.
Most lumberjacks aren't harvesters, they're hunters. Most trees in the Warped Groves are too brittle, and make poor lumber. To get the good material, they must hunt down wild Blights, taking massive axes meant to pierce metal armor.
Gold is mined from deep haunted mines, filled with Pagans and Goatmen Tribes.
While trade with other kingdoms is forbidden under normal circumstances, the Paganist Circles graciously accept trading with slavers, to offer slaves as sacrifice to the Pagans, or experimentation.

Magic

Magic unique to the Paganlands comes in the form of Lore of the Pagans. A warped version of divine magic, where in an
extremely powerful being grants power to a follower, Pagan Magic is granted to devout Warlocks and Witches, or given to
Witch Knights and Dark Phoenix Knights to assist with combat. The more Pagan Magic a Witch is given, the more powerful
she becomes. However, there is no limit on how much Pagan Magic a Witch can be infused with, other than her willpower.
As Pagan Magic builds up in her stomach(the actual place Pagan Magic become stored), the more warped her mind becomes.
As her madness begins to overwhelm her willpower, her form will begin to change too. She will grow tentacles, massive
horns, or other deformities. If her willpower becomes completely shattered, then she shall become an Abomination, an
incoherent mass of flesh that will attack any surrounding her. Currently, the carrier of the most Pagan Magic other than
an actual Pagan is Arrak. His amount of magic dwarfs any before him, and his mind is still ripe. He may be a bit cruel,
but as are all Dark Elves, no?
A cleaner alternative to Pagan Magic is Shadow Magic. Thieves and Assassins of the Dark Elves warp the very light
around them to create dark shadows of which to meld themselves. Shadow Magic performs very badly in combat, and may only
be used for espionage and assassination.

Military

The Paganist Circles each supply a yearly supply of soldiers to the overall Paganist Legion, the united army of all circles. The amount of soldiers needed to be provided vary, depending on size and quality of soldiers.
Common footsoldiers, popularily named Lunatics or Psycho's, are usually insane. Either by constant supplies of combat drugs or regular infusions of Pagan Magic, most soldiers would charge alone against an entire army, howling with crazed laughter.
More common soldiers are more sensible, though some may be driven as mad as Lunatics on despair alone. Several Werebear tribes are conscripted. Despite their less than human treatment, these Beastmen can make or break a battle.
Warlocks that refuse to act as priests are made into battle casters, warping the battlefield by summoning lesser Pagans and Blights to the battlefield.
Usually entire armies are led by high ranking warlocks. If an army is led directly by Arrak, however they are not needed. By using Mirror image, Arrak can create multiple duplicates that can give orders to a handful of units.
+Great Magical Capabilities
+Durable Soldiers
+Loyalty
-Poor Control of Soldiers
-Poor Fortifications
-Poor Charge Attacks