Post by Draco on Jul 5, 2011 21:28:18 GMT -5
No one knows how the races got here in the beginning of the First Age. It is said that the Goddess Nagasti blew into the silver trees of Illden and created the elves, with their love of art, culture and nature. The God Haggen blew into the mountain caves and the small dwarves were created, braver than dragons despite their small size. Humans were created when Narisi, the goddess of love and marriage, blew onto the plains of Narsil, and the Fey were created by the cold and distant God of death, Rai.
The first part of the First Age was spent by the races, fighting over who was better and fighting to survive in their chosen homes. The age ended when the Fey vanished after assassinating a dwarven King and failing at doing the same to an elven Prince. The other three races had managed to pull themselves on their feet and each flourished: the humans of Narsil had the perfect climate to farm a variety of goods, the dwarves found precious gems and metals, which they horded, and the elves became a center of culture and art. Though all the races crafted weapons, ones that would one day be ancient and powerful.
During the Second Age, each race branched off from their homes to discover new things. They found dragons, which they considered signs of the gods, unicorns, strange tiger like animals and other, more exotic things. The dwarves in their mines, however, dug and dug, and finally one found evil.
It was like the opening of Pandora's Box in Greek mythology. The dwarves let out giant spiders that had a thirst for flesh and corruption, changing some of the dwarves into mockeries of themselves, which were named ghouls. The races decided that the corruption needed to be taken care of; the elves, humans and dwarves pushed these creatures out of the mountains and into the lands to the north, which were then named the Blightlands.
The weapons of the First and Second Ages were hidden in ruins and tombs at the end of this age, each race thinking that no one would dare mess with them and that they deserved a rest for the good they have done.
The Third Age began with a council of the dwarven king, the elven king and queen, and the human rulers. They decided to name the land Ellar, the Ancient Elvish word for "The Gods' Land" and that a new version of dwarvish would be used as a common language between all the races. The races began to trade and interact for the first time since the War of the Blighted Creatures, and it was then that the Mixlings broke away from society and crossed the mountains, into the unknown east.
It was in the Third Age that guilds and bands of warriors were beginning to show, and for adventuring to become popular. Many went out, but few returned, and only a few weapons of importance were added to the shrines of the Second and First Ages. The Age ended after four thousand years, making it the longest Age.
Present Day
It is the Fourth Age now, and it was projected to be peaceful. No whispers from the Blightlands had been heard in thousands of years, and no ounce of danger other than bandits and rabid animals.
Adventurers began to be braver, going into the ancient tombs to reclaim the ancient weapons and using them for good, like they did ages and ages ago.
However, the peace changed when a young elf woman, named Sealros, found a ghoul camp four hundred years after the beginning of the Age. In a race against time she and her companions raced to the northern lands and saw what was happening: the creatures of the corruption were planning to overrun Ellar. With the Thorn Warriors, a brave group of elite warriors of all races, led by the elf Aculli, King of Thorns, Sealros and her companions stood their ground and forced the creatures back into their corrupted lands, with the loss of two: Jayel, Aculli's sister, and a Fey woman named Ilenro, who was rumored to have a Soul Dragon. Leaving the Thorn Warriors to push back any other attacks, Sealros rode south with Aculli and a Mixling thief named Bavol to warn everyone, and they did. An army was raised and went north, making a defensive line around the Blightlands and keeping the creatures in. This line is still there, and most think it will always be there.
It is rumored that Sealros left for the Mixling land with Bavol, and while her companions and brother won't say, most believe the elf woman and the Mixling man are lovers.
Though the Age goes on, no one wanting to end it until it is known whether the evil in the Blightlands can be stopped. Life in the south goes on as normal, however, except for the lack of guards and soldiers, seeing as most are in the north. The business for adventuring and the guilds has grown due to many events, though most aren't terribly famous.
It is currently the 401st year of the Fourth Age.
Map
A general map of Ellar. Most of the land is forest, with the exception of the Blightlands to the north (that olive part). No one knows exactly what the Blightlands look like, but from the defensive barrier, there's only rock and smoke.
Most rivers and lakes aren't large enough for a map to show, or of enough importance to be on a map. Ellar is full of small bodies of water, and it isn't uncommon to stumble upon many in the forests.
The dwarves have two cities, Telr and Rozal. Telr (the yellow area) is mostly on the surface and outside of the mountain, with a little bit inside, which is where the upper classes live. Rozal (the orange area), which is mostly underground and in the mountain, has a tunnel to connect the city to the surface. The two dwarf cities are connected by a mine, which is in full operation.
The Plains of Narsil (the dark green) house the human town of Niella, the largest out of all human settlements. It's a bustling little trade city, and many merchants live there. The Plains of Narsil also house several other human towns, including Wylen, Rohm, Belna and Glan.
The elves have a port town, Linya (the orange brown color by the dark and lighter blues), which has direct access up the river Nimla, to the Silver Woods (the light gray), and is the best way to trade with the elves that live there. The roads to Illden are often filled with bandits, waiting for shipments of goods to go in and out of the elf land. Many merchants are willing to pay more to use the elven port to get goods to the elves safely.
The Mixlings crossed the mountains by the Silver Woods into what is now their land (which is purple). No one knows what is on the other side except for Mixlings.
There are three islands (the darkest shade of blue) around the coast of Ellar. No one has explored those islands, as no one really has the desire to. It is assumed that the Fey live on one of these islands.
Telr: Telr mostly outside of the mountain, with stone homes that look almost like blocks. Most are only one story but a few have a second story, but these are usually only the larger homes. The homes usually have very basic, blocky layouts, all the rooms being squares or rectangles.
The streets of Telr are winding and long due to a growth. The market is in the middle of the town and all roads eventually go to the market. The streets are lit with a strange, glowing rock they found in the mines.
The upper class live in the mountain, which is lit by large glowing rocks, some being pillars. These homes are larger and have more rooms, and a lot are carved right into the mountain. There is one opening in the roof, where snow and light shine down onto the homes below.
While the upper class lives well, Telr is known for poverty and is possibly the poorest town in Ellar. Gangs and thieves are plenty in this small town, as well as women with questionable morals.
Rozal: The dwarf city under the ground. It is set up in much the same way as Telr. The level or organization is better, seeing as being inside the earth does not give much room for expansion. Most homes are carved into the rock and grow with size as one gets to the center of town. The center of town has a market, and a street that passes the homes of the upper class and eventually ends at the Palace. Another road from the market goes to the tunnel to the surface, while another goes to the mines. Rozal is also lit by the crystals, since lanterns are not an option.
Niella: The bustling human city. Many buildings in this town have a second and even third flood, and many of these buildings are apartment like, meaning several people and families live in them. It is a trade town, so the market is always busy, and there are districts for people making cloth, dyes, and other things. Farms are located outside the city, and that is where most people purchase livestock, food and horses. Lumber shipments from the forest also some into Niella often.
Most homes are made of wood and straw, as are most buildings. The only building that is mostly stone is also the local gathering place: the tavern. If it ever had a name, no one remembers it. It's almost always busy and has an open room or two.
The human palace is located on the outskirts of town, surrounded by other upper class homes.
Other human towns: The other human towns have a very similar layout. They're mostly all homes, most of these homes with farms, and there is a large building in the center of the town. This counts as the town hall. The town's leader live here, and the building is also used as a market for the townsfolk and traveling merchants. Not a lot of the upper class have homes in the smaller human towns, but if one does live there, they usually live a on the outskirts, so they see less of the lower classes.
Linya: The port city of the elves. The homes are durable and all look well taken care of; most of these homes are large and diverse in room size, shape, and decorations. The main activities are centered around the port, and most jobs have to do with shipbuilding or sailing up and down the river Nimla.
Illden: The name of the town inside the Silver Wood. It's by the end of the river Nimla and has a small port for transporting goods down the river to Linya. The Silver Wood is known for their silver trees, which give off a faint light at night; their horses also have this property, as do some of the elves that live there.
A lot of the city is on the ground, as it costs a lot of money for one to build a home in the trees. However, most homes are wrapped around the base of a tree so they don't have to squeeze homes between them.
Ladders serve as doors to the homes in the trees, with the exception of the palace. A walkway had been carved into a tree to the palace, a winding one that loops around the giant tree several times before coming to the palace's door.
Plots
While we could have made the plot revolve around the Blightlands and the evil in it, we have decided to include the whole world, with lots of settings to role-play in.
This means that all plots, big or small, are made by members. All ongoing plots will go here, with a link to the thread in which the plot will be role-played. If the plot needs to move into another area of the world, alert an admin and we will update the plot information to include the old thread (for people to catch up if they need to) and the new thread.
The dwarf Corrin is daring to do something that few have done before: brave the Blightlands in search of that lies in the weeping land. While it appears he has the funds to try to brave the land and a mysterious map that no one but he knows the origins of, he does not seem to have much of a plan other than that.
(More information will be posted as events unfold.)
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