Sins of Ash
In the beginning the gods wove the world into existence upon the loom of fates, upon this world they created the mortal races. Each race was given a single wish, a single desire that the gods would weave into their souls as fate to be their legacy and defining aspect. Many races made their wishes, the Erudin wished for knowledge, the Kruun wished for strength and so on. Finally it was the humans turn to make their wish. They looked upon the other races and saw that a fate was more than just a desire, it was how the gods controlled them. They danced as the gods willed, little more than puppets to their fate. Thus humanity wished to be free from fate, to have control of their own destiny. It is unknown if the Gods or humans knew what would happen but to weave a fate that frees one from fate is a contradiction, and the mechanism the Gods used to control the fates was destroyed.
In a moment of desperation the gods attempted to wash the world clean with their divine fire, to burn away the infection, but it was too late. A full third of creation burned before the gods were completely cut off by the wish of humanity. The world remained but now the threads of time wove themselves chaotically, with no divine direction. The very idea of fate reversed for the mortal races, no longer was it something they were destined to achieve, it was something they had to seek out lest their souls unravel.
But the worst was yet to come, millions died in the divine fire, but those slain by the wrath of the gods couldn’t move on to the next world. Instead they returned as creatures known as the Ashen, twisted abominations that only vaguely resembled their own charred corpses. They set out to finish what the Gods had started, what sense of self they might have had driven away by unending pain and anger. Even if they should fall their souls return to the place where they first died in holy fire to begin again.
Between these unholy monsters and the gods seeming to ignore their devoted it was assumed they had abandoned the world. Or perhaps they were killed, if a god could be killed. It wasn’t till two centuries later that the Prophet walked out of the Mists of Worlds End bearing word of their survival and the first glimmer of hope returned. Those few who still survived had been driven to the most remote stretches of the world to escape the endless Ashen threat and word of the gods return spread slowly. Hope wasn’t enough to save the world, something more was needed.
That’s when the Guardian appeared, out of nowhere he seemed to materialize with a fortress guarding the largest pass through the mountains between the Ashlands and a region of the world that escaped judgement. At his back the Guardian founded an order of Guardians who’s sole purpose was to guard the world from the Ashen threat. Thus the mortal races began recovering, hopeful for the first time in centuries that a solution to the Ashen might be found.
-----
Sins of Ash is a dark fantasy setting based on a world of my writing, it is a highly complex and detailed world that was first created for a DnD campaign I ran nearly a decade ago. Almost nothing of that original world remains but this is the result of my writing and world building.
If you are interested in reading the book in this setting I’m in the process of writing, the first chapter is here, new chapters are posted weekly.
That aside this RP will be its own thing, though I might steal elements of what happens for my book’s canon. That said, there are several key themes to this world:
- Magic is strong: Magic comes from the soul, the greater the emotion and willpower behind a spell the greater the effect. Even regular people can use magic in moments of desperation, a woman trying to lift a tree off her child will unconsciously channel mana from here soul into her body to push it beyond its limits.
- Magic is weak: Whenever you use mana you are burning your own lifeforce. Like giving blood losing a little no problem, it can even make your soul grow stronger over time, but the consequences for running out are lethal. While your aura regenerates over time, when low your emotions themselves become weaker resulting in a state of general apathy. Using more magic past that can result in fracturing of one’s sense of self, psychosis and death. While a mage can throw lighting, for all but the very strongest doing so is extremely draining.
- Power comes at a price: The very act of using magic consumes your soul, and everyone uses magic even if they don’t realize it. The strongest magic comes in moments of desperation, but those same moments are the ones in which we are willing to die. A father throwing himself between his son and a monster, the mother running with her baby from a fire. If you are willing to give your life to accomplish a task your soul will respond and burn your life up in pursuit of that goal. Often times this means those who are willing to die for another in a moment of desperation do, trading their very souls for a moment of strength.
- The Future is uncertain: The Ashen cannot be stopped. They are an endless legion of superhuman monsters. The Lord Guardian and his order have bought the world breathing room, but there is no ultimate solution.
- Fate is a curse: The fated races, which is every race except humanity, must pursue their fate or suffer the withering as their soul comes undone. An Erudin must seek new knowledge or perish. This means the fated are effectively immortal so long as they follow their fate, their soul gaining a small amount of strength as they accomplish their fate. They can persist for a time without their fate, but the longer they go without following it the weaker they become.
-----
If anyone is interested please do let me know, more information on the races, gods and world will be provided if this goes to a full RP. For now, I’d just like to know if anything above strikes people. Moreover, if it does what kind of RP would you like? Political intrigue? Struggle to survive?