Places and Races

[Charlie Brown]

CONTENTS
1. Tyranon
2. Ashenmore
under construction

Brief General History:

A thousand years ago both continents were united as one empire under Magnus the Great. Holy Emperor of the Empire of Great Kree. Civil war, cultural clashes and disease tore the empire to piece some 500 years after Magnus's death. A plague spread through the empire killing hundreds of thousands everywhere. Riots were breaking out in cities across the motherland (Great Kree) and their legions were pulled back from all frontiers - especially Elendrael - leaving empty forts, castles and holdfasts scattered across the land.

So wide spread was the devastation that many fields were left untended, land that had been claimed by the highlords fell into disrepair as entire noble families and villages were wiped out en masse. Knowledge of history, technology, craftsmanship, metalworking and central leadership broke down and the people of Elendrael separated into small tribes based around the leadership of charismatic warlords, gone were the days of preening self-celebratory senate and Imperial court. Over time these warlords conquered more lands, began inhabiting the castles left abandoned by their dead owners. Slowly the land repopulated and villages and fields began to fill once more.

New lands, new nations with new identities based loosely on the conquering culture of Kree began to form. They changed and developed until they were some mix of the old and new. Kings were crowned and the lands formed:

[Charlie Brown]

Tyranon

After the Great Plague and the rebuilding of kingdoms Tyranon, eventually became a crusader state ruled over by a theocracy with the Arch Prelate residing over all, as much a ruler as any king, the direct conduit from man kind to the gods. He speaks with their voice. Tyranon enjoys projecting the idea of religious perfection and duty. In reality they are a brutal state that exterminated rivaling religions to obliteration. The common folk are discouraged to speak ill of the religion, the gods, or the Arch Prelate under penalty of death for heresy.

Tyranon is surrounded by mountains save for one small pass that leads into Kaldera and a stretch of contested territory between Tyranon and its northerly neighbour, Ashenmore. Tyranon and Ashenmore have warred over a stretch of land rife with valuable mienral deposits and rich, fertile land. In the last 300 hundred years, control of the region (known as Sevilla) has exchanged hands as many as 27 times.

The common people live in fear of their government, army and neighbours. All citizens of Tyranon are expected to be the paragon of virtue and faith. Their army consists of zealot crusaders who fight and kill (and die) in the name of their gods and religion. These soldiers are trained from the age of eight until adulthood when they are given a knighthood in the Order of the Thorn, the militant arm of the religion.

The religion itself has no name or title, as that would accept the possibility of other religions being right or appropriate. Their first and foremost goal is the spread of their religion by any means necessary. However, as kingdoms like Kaldera are already religiously aligned with Tyranon the full brunt of their armed faith is turned on Ashenmore. They are often found praying to the "one god" which is really just another term for god as the light, the sun, is the literal projection of the god's visage to man kind. The light is his gift to us.

Often referred to as The All Father, The One Father and The Bright.

[Charlie Brown]

Public knowledge/ Outside Knowledge:

Ashenmore is the wealthiest of all the countries in Elendrael. Besides being renowned in their abilities to work and manipulate metal, the main economical focus is in trade and commerce.

There are four trading companies with their main hubs in the capital city. They ship goods across the world and complete with each other for the best jobs. It’s not uncommon for fighting among crews to happen when there are a great number of ships in dock though the city guard makes the effort to keep more guards in the area. Three of the four trading companies are run by the noble houses, the fourth run by an Attavarian.

The country is considered the wealthiest of all those that share the continent.

Even with the importation of different cultures to the main city of Ashenhall, through the trade business, the main religion is and always has been the worship of dragons. Though dragons were killed hundreds of years before by the ancestors of groups that formed the countries of Tyranon and Kaldera the dragon has remained revered in the eyes of the [Ash]Morians. Temples in the city are covered in gold and gems representing the different colors of dragons and people still pray to them for luck in all ventures of life. It is not uncommon, even in peasants homes to have small statues of dragons made out of simple wood, all the way up to those made of gold and gems in the homes of the rich. Dragons are used in architecture of the cities buildings and its often painted on the sails of ships for good luck.

The king or queen of the country is not always determined by birth. In their laws of succession is states any monarch has the right by law to choose an heir of their choice. Because of this the ruling family has changed hands time and time again through the history of the country. The current Queen is the third in her family though her current unmarried state has produced rumors that she’ll name an heir outside of her family line.

Because of Ashenmore’s worship of dragons the country has been in a near constant state of war with neighboring kingdom to the south, Tyranon, whose people are often referred to as the Crusaders, believe that dragons were demons and that their gods gave them the power to defeat them hundreds of years before. Both sides of the fight are passionate in winning against the other and have in years pasted refused help from other countries to mediate the conflict. The Ashenmore army is made up mostly of hired mercenary corps from Kree and Attavar.

The Unknown Knowledge:

The country of Ashenmore was founded by dragons and dragonkin (humans of dragon descent) which is why the worship of them as continued through the centuries. During the Dragon Wars when dragons were beginning to lose against the Crusaders of Tyranon, the elders, wisest and strongest of the dragons gathered together, they saw the potential of humanity but they also saw the potential destructiveness of it. During this time in history, magic was free flowing in the world in part because of dragons, if the dragons were to be wiped out completely magic would fade from the land altogether. Dragons believed the use of magic could shape the future and placed great importance in not losing that aspect of nature.

While the dragons gathered they decided to make sure that dragons didn’t disappear completely by infusing their life force into gems. The gems were then given to the gathered dragonkin who sacrificed themselves so that the dragon elders lived on through the gems with a human body. As a result of this, the few remaining dragons no longer have a draconic form and are confined to the human host bodies via their soul infused gems.

Dragons were not notably good or evil by color.

The following are the current dragons in circulation:

Black – Talnyr The Black Heart (male, CB)
Blue - Male (CB)
Green – Tanaxis (Asilith Miriel, female, Lizity)
Red – Kurax (Onna Devox, female, Lizity)
White -
Brass
Bronze
Copper
Gold
Silver - Sial (Desini Klei, female, Lizity)

The dragons currently living as humans in present day are the heads of the noble houses. There are those dragons that have choose to remain in their gems and ‘sleep’ for a few decades to a few hundred years before taking another human host again. Those dragons are housed in the Queen’s vaults and are still open to play for anyone wanting to use it in a backstory for a character.


The offspring of a dragon ( Today's dragon's mate in their human form) and a human are called a dragonkin. They always looked human but would have brilliant eyes after the color of their dragon parent. Currently in Ashenmore because of the dragons living in human bodies their offspring are still considered dragonkin though they lack the strength and magical prowess of the original dragonkin that helped the dragon elders but they some are capable of wielding dragon magic in very small amounts.

The closest offspring of the dragons today often become Dragon Knights, the elite fighting group that guard the Queen, the royal family occasionally her councilors. They also become generals and leaders between the mercenary corps that fight with the country's armies.