russdm
2013-09-14, 02:21 AM
So, I am creating a fantasy world for my stories and was trying to fluff out more details that I haven't yet decided. My first story/trilogy in the world is making slow progress, but I wanted to get some critiques about the world, like does it work? or Is it something that is interesting enough with enough interesting places for telling stories.
That said, lets get started.
Kurathas: The Land Where Dragons Rule
I like the name quite a bit and want to use it. I may end up changing other names of places, but I think the world name will stick.
Timeline
So this is a timeline I came up with for the world as part of my ongoing story brainstorming.
The Age Of Titans (this history is what is known by the gods/goddesses, dragons, and everyone else in the world as what has happened in recorded history)
In the beginning of the world, it was a massive sea roiling elemental chaos. Slowly, order came into that chaos as those who would be known as the Titan Lords came into being. The Titan Lords were formed out of elemental chaos and did not possess bodies of flesh and blood. Among the first Titan Lords was Saresh and his two sons, Azmodan and Azruihn. The Titan Lords used their divine powers to create servants, Titans and Giants from the same elemental chaos that they were formed from.
The golden age of the Titans began to end when Azruihn created the first dragons and mortal servants. Azruihn forged the dragons from molten gold, silver, copper, steel, and mercury. They were charged with helping Azruihn in making his creations, the Mortals. The Mortals were made of flesh and blood and comprised of the orcs, humans, and halflings (a name this race adopted later). The Mortals pleased the Titan Lords, who quickly discovered that the Mortals could wield powers similar to the Lords themselves.
New races were forged from the Mortals, with Azruihn creating the dwarves and goblinoid races. Other Lords created the Elves, pairing together orcs and men in an attempt to get the best of both races. Ogres were made from the pairings of Men and Giants. Numerous other creatures of flesh and blood were made, and Azruihn began shaping the chaos to provide a home for his creations. Darkness crept into his elder brother Azmodan's heart, who sought to rule this new creations as a god.
Azmodan tricked Saresh into believing that Azruihn wished surplant the Titan Lords with the mortal races. Saresh, who had never really understand his youngest son, listened to Azmodan's lies and agreed with them. He ordered Azruihn to hand over control of the mortal races to him. His son refused, unwilling to make the mortals into what he perceived as slaves.
Azruihn's choice enraged his father and emboldened his brother. Azmodan went among the other Lords and convinced them that the mortals posed a dire threat to their rule. Many believed because of the secrecy in which Azruihn kept his creations.
Thus began the War of Titans, in which the Lords battled one another for power of Azruihn's creations. The War decimated the ranks of the Lords and Saresh was killed, but not before denouncing Azmodan's lies. Of the numerous Titan Lords only 5 remained: Azmodan, Azruihn, and 3 others who hid in the newly forged world.
Azmodan fled with those who supported him, proclaiming himself 'Daimon', meaning 'Exile' in the language of the Titan Lords. He became the lord of Daimons/Exiles, but that slowly changed to Demons. Azmodan swore to take back the world and remake it into the one ruled by the dead Lords. So ended the Age of Titans.
The Age of Wonders
After the losses sustained by his metallic dragons and aware of Azmodan's oath, Azruihn created new dragons to safeguard his new world; the Chromatics. With the help of the Titan would become the goddess frequently referred to as the Dragonmother, Azruihn created the races of Red, Blue, Green, Black, and White among the dragons from flesh and blood. Given the same powers as the metallics, which made the chromatics second only in power to the gods, Azruihn charged his new creations with protecting and guarding the world.
Alas, it would not remain to be, for Azmodan sent forth demonic servants to convince others to help him. These servants tempted mortals who then summoned them into the world. From this came the Titan-Demon war, and Azruihn was forced to fix things anew in the world. He did so by creating the race of Kobolds from Chromatic Dragons and Halflings, and having them aid him in repairing the damages done.
Once that was done, Azruihn appointed others as Gods along himself to watch over the world and influence it. So came the Dragon Gods as they are called: Necros, the Dragonmother, Mana, Mars, Crom, Vronywn, and Killis the defiler. Killis was originally intended to serve in the place reserve for the god of evil, but Azmodan assailed him and struck him down before he could take his place.
The mortal races received the new gods and served them. In time, the various forged powerful empires and kingdoms. But, the Elves, having be made from men became more and more eager to rule the world and turn it into a true elven paradise where only they would dwell.
So the elves conquered the other races and drove the halflings into flight, sacking their great empire. Having secured the lands, the elves ruled the known world with an iron fist. Believing themselves to the embodiment of all that was good and proper, the elves viewed the other races as solely evil and they refused to hear any words from even their own goddess, Corellon.
Thus ended the Age of Wonders and ushered in the Age of Darkness as called by the other races while it was called the Golden Age by the elves. For nearly 50 human generations the other races slaved under the elves until rebellions sprung up among the slaves. Following a great hero, the slaves overthrew their elven taskmasters. But the elves were immensely angry with this, and sought for a way to reclaim the lands that they believed belonged to them.
The elves discovered books of arcane that showed how to summon otherworldly aid, and so the elves set about employing these means for assistance against the other races in their new war of conquest. But the elves miscalculated, instead summoning some of Azmodan's servants who paved the way for their master to enter the world once more.
Azmodan's first act in the world was to repay the elves for their loyal service by driving them away from his portals from which he summoned his armies. So occurred the Demon-Dragon War in which those Metallic dragons who had survived the Titan-Demon War were killed. The chromatics took heavy losses, but they were sustained by the orcs who came to their service while the elves ran off. Soon, the other races were drawn into the war while the elves escaped by fleeing off into the woods.
When the War ended with Azmodan and his legions being cast out of the world once more, the land that housed the races of the world was laid waste. So the dragons brought the races to a new land called Venilor for the Halfling who discovered it when the halflings had fled near genocidial slaughter of their people by the elves. From that day, the elves were forever estranged from the other races and towards the halflings there was nothing but bitter conflict. As the new races settled into their new land, called Ossen, by the elves who absolutely refused to pay any homage to any non-elf, the Age of Darkness ended and the Age of Heroes began.
The Age of Heroes
The Age of Heroes saw the races filling the land of Venilor and establishing cities and towns. In some places, though, the Halfling held ownership, but this meant nothing to the elves who preceded to try to drive the halflings out of their lands. Numerous devastating wars were fought between Halfling and elf, leading to the elves to settle themselves far away from the other races who they had come to despise.
In the time of heroes great battles were fought and many adventurers quested. In this age was Kiera, who became forever known for killing a dragon, the only one to have successfully done so before and since, being rechristened the Dragonslayer. But darkness spread through the icy cold mountains far to the north, and that darkness began spreading ever southward.
Mighty kingdoms and empires dotted the lands in those days, the strongest among them the Empire of Antioch. Antioch fielded the largest army and controlled the largest swath of land, controlling many smaller nations that were nearby. But swiftly the news came that Antioch lay in ruins and the time was near for the elves' revenge.
The first steps of the War of the Dragons had begun and it went on to shatter the northlands. After 100 years, the unconquered lands had all fallen and only the armies of dread Felstar existed. The other races were forced to flee when the Elves destroyed the orcish horde which had been successfully holding back the onslaught of Felstar's armies. Fleeing south, the races settled south of the Dragon Shield mountains and erected a great wall in the gap of the mountains to protect themselves from the armies of Felstar, whom had destroyed the north.
The War of the Dragons ushered in the current age, the Age of Dragons. The current year is 1200 AD, nearly 1200 years after the War began. Those dragons who survived the war, now rule the surviving peoples as kings and emperors.
The Dragon Lords
So, here is the list of the dragons who rule and their lands. I will go into detail about one of the areas because it directly features in my story, while the others are just mentioned.
The lands of the dragons are divided among the dragon realms and the Dragon Empire. The dragon realms comprise 9 realms ruled by a dragon King/Queen/Emperor, while the Dragon Emperor Cabal rules the Dragon Empire.
The Shalaro desert separates the provinces of the Dragon Empire from the dragon realms to the south. The Dragon Empire is the most north of the dragonlands, so named for the dragons that control them.
Foremost among the Dragon Realms and the one most south is Justicar, that land ruled Craggich the black dragon, whose frequently known title is "The Blackscale".
East of Justicar is Tunivlz, a land of towering rock spires and silty swamps. Tunivlz is ruled by the green dragon Austerix, a wily female who has acquired the service of many tribes of lizardfolk. Southeast of her realm for many leagues lies the elven land of Triesta, the only places that elves will dwell in the world now.
Slight northwest of Justicar is the dragon Realm of Yridrith, ruled by the blue dragon Huraxiz. Yridrith lies along the Venilor sea and most of its population live in fishing villages. From a series of coral spires, Huraxiz oversees his people.
Next to Yridrith on the east is Eshflven, which lies among the peaks of the Talon mountains. Eshflven is ruled by the white dragon Urgishar, who carefully watches her eastern neighboring fellow white dragon, Korstirax, whose realm of Azansnatch comprise mainly salt flats and silt seas. Korstirax eyes his neighbor's mountain peaks and valleys with strongly covetous eye, seeking to add them to his own lands.
North by Northeast of Yridrith lies Gorkoreth, a vast realm of forested hills. The red dragon Aribulath rules her realm as the Forest Queen, leading the tribes of forest dwelling humans that call it home.
North west of Azansnatch is Perinix, a rugged land of mountains with plains in between. This realm is ruled by the blue dragon Nerixierz, who is among the most eldest of the dragons and the most prone to fall asleep at their meetings which frequently descend into shouting matches.
North of Gorkoreth lies the northernmost dragon realm before the Shalaro desert, the realm of Reskerterix ruled by the green dragon Curixous. Reskerterix follows along the Shalaro until it meets up with the dragon realm of Shurjikix, ruled by the black dragon Nerisorax.
Shurjikix connects with Perinix in the west, sharing a border. It shares another border with Deristerix, ruled by the mysterious and reclusive mage king Aeribertherix, a human male that is believed to be in his early seventies.
North across the Shalaro desert from Gorkoreth lies the Dragon Empire of Cabal, a red dragon. Cabal controls the second largest dragon land and has a massive military at his disposal. This makes prefect sense, as his Empire lies as a buffer realm between the southern dragon lands and the armies of Felstar.
The Dragon Empire comprises the following provinces:
Accadia) Lying west of Argonia and east of Cimmeria, the province of Accadia is one of the northern provinces. Its northerly border is the Dragon Shield mountains. Its capital is Accad and its people converse in Accadian when not speaking in the common tongue of Draconic. Accadia is ruled by Khans that serve Cabal and its people are well known for their horsemanship. They are sometimes referred to as mongels by some in other provinces.
Argonia) Lying east of Accadia, north of Moria, and west of Draquin, Argonia has its capital at Argon. Its people speak Argoni and have learned to live its cold lands. Nearly all of Argonia is tundra with a few warmer areas causing most Argonians to have to learn to survive in the cold environment.
Archeron) Archeron lies southwest of Styx, southeast of Nagakano, and northwest of Dragoria, the Imperial Province where Cabal has his capital. Archeron is ruled from Archon and its chief language is Archron. With the Shalaro desert making its southeasterly border, the province is divided between land turning to sand dunes and the fertile riverlands by the Styx river. Its lands contains the largest numbers of temple to the gods anywhere in the dragon lands.
Cimmeria) Cimmeria is west of Accadia with Isitor to its southwest. The capital is Cimmer with the Dragon Shield mountains in the north to the northwest and northeast. The Isit River divides Cimmeria from with lake Isit separating it from the province of Markadia which is southeast of Isitor. The Cimmerians are well known for their berserker rage and for being barbarians living in small villages with no appointed rulers. The primary language spoken here is Cimmeran, a variant of dwarf taught to the barbarians by the dwarves of the Dragon Shield mountains.
Draquin) This province is east from Argonia, is west of Kandas which is northwest of Styx, and north of Sothian. Draquin is south of the Dragon Watch Province. Its capital is Draj and its well known for its weaponsmiths and warriors. The inhabitants of Draquin speak Drajan.
The Dragon Watch Province) Dragon Watch lies north of Draquin and cover the Dragon Wall, built in the gap of the Dragon Shield mountains. It is very cold here and the people here comprise members of every different province. There is no main language as everyone learn a little bit of everything. The capital is Drago, a castle which is the largest of the various castles and outposts within the province. The province is the home of the Dragon Watch who man the wall to prevent the armies of Felstar from passing into the Dragon Empire. The Wall is 150 miles long and connects right up to the mountains.
Isitor) Isitor lies southwest from Cimmeria and lies along the Venilor ocean. As a result most of its people are sailors and pirates. Isitor engages in a large amount of trade with the Dragon Isles, which lie nearly 17 days travel from the ports of Isitor. Isitor is northwest of Markadia which connects in its northeast with Accadia. The vast forests of Isitor are used for lumber and its language is Isitan.
Ithaca) Ithaca is southeast of Moria and west of Sothian. Ithaca comprises a large number of city-states with Ithac being the capital. The Ithacan sea comprises the bottom half of the province, stretching all the way deep into the Shalaro desert. Given that it lies on the sea, much of Ithaca's population are fisher people or sailors or sometimes pirates. The Ithacan Sea contains many scattered islands for pirates to settle onto and the sea always has good fishing all year round. The primary language spoken here is Ithac. Ithaca is well known for its law libraries and famous for its diplomats.
Kandas) Kandas lies northwest of Styx and is east of Draquin. Its southwest border is shared with Nagakano. The capital is Kand and its people speak kandan. The natives frequently dress in style and live in a culture that is referred to as Persian. Kandas is famous for wine and its lawyers that study here then travel elsewhere.
Kul Tiras) Sharing the Ithacan sea with Ithaca and having Soth along its northeastern border, Kul Tiras is renowned for its sailors and marines. Its entire culture is based around the ocean due to the province containing only mountains and lakes with almost no land. The inhabitants speak Kultic with the capital being Tiras.
Markadia) Markadia lies southeast of Isitor, and is also along the Venilor ocean, and is also southwest of Accadia. Markadia is northwest of Tulkas. The capital is Markad with the primary tongue being Markan. The province is well known for its fine racing horses and the skill in which building are constructed here.
Mezzogar) Mezzogar lies southeast of Tulkas with Ocenia to the east. In the northeast of Mezzogar where its border with Ocenia lies, the mountain chain of the Moria mountains start going up northeasterly through Moria, dividing it from Ocenia and Ithaca. The capital of Mezzogar is Mezzo with the chief language being mezzon. Mezzogar is widely known as a haven for bandits for the wide amount hidden valleys and caves that dot the landscape like grass.
Nagakano) Nagakano lies southwest of Kandas and east of Sothian. The province lies along the Styx river, sharing it with Kandas, Styx, Sothian, Archeron, and Dragoria. The primary language is Nagak, with the capital located at Naga. Nagakano is most known for its vast libraries filled with historical documents and scholars studying all kinds of history. The people follow a caste based society that features samurai as a warrior class. Usually the Nagakano function as the Empire's best archers, a skill that they more than excel at.
Neveria) Neveria lies southwest of Dragoria and connects to the Shalaro desert like Dragoria, Mezzogar and Archeron. The capital is Never with the people speaking Neveran. The layout of the land comprises of rolling hills and valleys, meaning that most people live hilltop villages. The best map makers live here.
Ocenia) Ocenia lies to the east of Mezzogar and connects with Ithaca in its northeast. Ocenia shares the Ithacan sea with Ithaca and several rivers divide parts of the provinces. The capital is Ocen with people speaking Ocena. The province contains predomintally fisher folk since there numerous river lands. Where the river lands end, the forested area used for logging lies. The province of Mezzogar cuts Ocenia off from the Shalaro desert, connecting with the Ithacan Sea far to the south.
Moria) Moria means 'stone' in dwarf and rightly so, nearly all of its inhabitants are dwarves. The capital is Mora and the language spoken here is Moran, a variation of dwarven. This province lies along the Moria mountain chain and contains nearly all of the Empire's mining operations. There are huge numbers of dwarven ruins within the province. The province connects with Tulkas in the southwest near the middle line of the Moria mountain chain.
Sothian) Sothian lies south of Draquin, east of Ithaca, and northwest of Dragoria. Sothian has its capital at Soth and people speak the Sothan language within the province. Where Kul Tiras has its culture based around the sea, Sothian has its culture based around the horse. The bulk of the Empire's cavalry forces comes from Sothian. The rolling plains of Sothian allow for the breeding of endurance steeds.
Styx) Styx lies east of Kandas and northeast of Archeron. Styx is most known for the fact that it house most of the arcane users in the Empire. Mage clans dominant Styx with a central capital at Styx, named after the province. The clans speak Stygian and have devoted their entire culture to producing magic users.
Tulkas) Tulkas lies between Markadia and Mezzogar along the Moria mountain chain. Tulkas was created to divide the other two provinces, which were frequently at war. As a result much of Tulkas is ravaged from countless battles. Tulkas has its capital at Tulk, a run-down castle that has its fair share of war. The language spoken here is Tulkan. Tulkas is well known for its wine as well as its performers in the arts of theatre and music.
Dragoria, The Imperial Province) Dragoria is the Imperial Province from where Cabal rules his mighty Empire. Cabal has his capital built around the volcano in which he lives. Members of the province speak Draconic, the language of the Empire.
Races of Kurathas:
Orcs (A few handful still exist)
Humans
Dwarves
Halflings
Kobolds
Elves
Goblinoids
Ogres
Wyvern
Lizardfolk
Dragons
Griffons
Various Animal Races
A few monster races (No races with a major planar origin exist, such as mindflyers or abeloths or beholders)
Gods of Kurathas:
Necros, The god of Life and Death, only his clerics/priests can use Resurrection/True Resurrection. His holy symbol is a black crow.
The Dragonmother, The mother of dragons and of women. Her holy symbol is a hawk.
Mana, originally known as Ilyuve the Scholar among the Titans, the goddess of Magic. Her holy symbol is a blue jay.
Mars, The god of war and peace. His holy symbol is a falcon.
Crom, The god of the dwarves and metalworkers, miners, and the brave. His holy symbol is mountain thrush while among the dwarves it is a hammer.
Vronywn, the goddess of nature and the elements. Her holy symbol is a sparrow.
Corellon, the goddess of the Elves; she has been unable to call many new priests to her service. Her holy symbol is robin.
Azmodan, despite not being a god, Azmodan can be worshipped as one and has numerous demonic cults serving him in the world. Azmodan killed Killis, the former god of evil and took his place. Rumors among the Deities suggest that Azruihn is trying to find a replacement for Killis.
Kronos, god of time, represented by a barn owl.
Magic in Kurathas
Divine magic is granted by the gods, whose servants can do everything but employ resurrection/true resurrection. These two spells are only available to priests of Necros.
Arcane magic is used by mages (referring to all arcane magic users, bards don't count) and is provided by Mana, goddess of magic. Mana has made the rules around magic as follows that all mages use to wield their magic:
1) Mages must part of the world spanning Mages Guild, which is actually comprised of the various guilds in the world. In the Dragon Empire, it is the Imperial Order of Mages. There must be a Mages Tower in every village built anywhere in the world. The only exceptions are the Halfling villages.
2) Magic cannot be used to mentally dominate someone or something. This is a complete violation against the laws of the gods themselves. Magic such as Charm Person/Monster, Suggestion still exist.
3) Only some kinds of undead can be created by mages. These include: Skeletons, Skeletal Minions, Death Knights, Dark Walkers (Nightstalkers), and Arch Lichs (Mages that bind themselves to undeath to protect something, becoming a Lich solely for power is forbidden). Mummies are only made by the priests of Necros. Zombies, ghouls, ghasts, wights, and all the incorporals are forbidden for mages to make. Other than Zombies, the other kinds of undead are the results of curses made by either the gods or by Necros. Zombies are the creation of Fell Magics, a dark form of necromancy.
4) Mages cast essentially from hitpoints/life force. A mage dies if he employs magic is that far to powerfuller than what he can currently use. Mages employ their own life force to cast spells. Fell Mages learn how to employ the life force of others.
5) Fell Mages are to be hunted down and destroyed. Fell Mages wield power as following: Control/creation of undead by enslaving a soul into a shell that produces zombies, ghouls, ghasts, and incorporals. These undead creations violate the gods' law on free will; control over necromantic powers such draining life away and such things. These mages began to create an aura of unnatural cold as they grow in power
6) Magic is intended primiliarly for defense, not offense. There are large amounts of defensive spells.
Dragon magic is wielded by dragons, demonic magic is wielded by demons. Magic is the raw forces of creations originally wielded by the titans/titanlords.
Metals in Kurathas
Adamantine is extremely rare and practically non-existent. How it is obtained is unknown and only orcs ever learned how to use it. Items made from this metal are worth ten times as their weight in gold.
Mithrail is an imitation of both dwarves and elves to duplicate Adamantine as it has been made by orcs. Elves are very prone to making mithrail items.
Steel is the usual metal employed in the world. It is used by Elves and dwarves. It is also used by humans and the other races in some degrees.
Race Relations
Elves don't get along with any of the other races and have a long standing blood feud with halflings. Elves like to believe that they are feared by the other "evil" races, but this happens to be not true.
Halflings are feared by all races other than elves due to the fact halflings are known not to leave any survivors. The sign of Halflings are revealed by the presence of several strings of animal skulls that bang together in the wind. Numerous caravans/travelers have been gone missing anymore these animal skull windchimes are seen. What happened to the caravans/travelers is not known, but none of have ever been seen again.
The other races live in an uneasy truce, with dwarves not liking humans and humans not being fond of dwarves. Goblinoids are disliked by most other races, along with ogre. Only Kobolds are well liked by everyone.
Kobolds are unique in Kurathas for being a major race. Kobolds run the Dragon Bank, a world spanning monetary system that provides money all over the world. The Dragon Bank is used by the various races other than elves to house money and that money can be drawn out anywhere there is a bank. Kobolds have claimed a monopoly on banking, and have figured out the secrets of gunpowder. While the dwarves have attempted to learn the secret of gunpowder, they have failed every time.
Dragons are the top beings in the world besides the gods, and the dragons rarely worry about the opinions of the other races. Frankly, the dragons don't care.
Major Factions of Kurathas
Crows: A guild dedicated to Necros, the Crows is an assassin's guild. Its members spread the gift of death to others who have blessed by the death god.
Dragons: This faction includes the dragon lands and all surviving dragons.
The Mages' Guild: This world spanning faction includes all of the various guilds that follow the laws given by Mana, the Goddess of Magic.
Adventurers' Guild: This faction exists to provide charters so adventurers can go about their business. Adventurers are required to be part of the guild to do anything otherwise they are treated as criminals.
Thieves' Guild: Those inclined towards crime can find places where this guild operates. The Guild exists as more of a myth than a real group. It is real, but nearly nothing is known about how it works.
Demons: Azmodan and his servants, who are interested in reclaiming the world.
Gods: The gods are interested in keeping the world from being reclaimed by the demons.
I will post up map, as well as add more in order to answer questions people may have.
Hope to hear some good critiques.
That said, lets get started.
Kurathas: The Land Where Dragons Rule
I like the name quite a bit and want to use it. I may end up changing other names of places, but I think the world name will stick.
Timeline
So this is a timeline I came up with for the world as part of my ongoing story brainstorming.
The Age Of Titans (this history is what is known by the gods/goddesses, dragons, and everyone else in the world as what has happened in recorded history)
In the beginning of the world, it was a massive sea roiling elemental chaos. Slowly, order came into that chaos as those who would be known as the Titan Lords came into being. The Titan Lords were formed out of elemental chaos and did not possess bodies of flesh and blood. Among the first Titan Lords was Saresh and his two sons, Azmodan and Azruihn. The Titan Lords used their divine powers to create servants, Titans and Giants from the same elemental chaos that they were formed from.
The golden age of the Titans began to end when Azruihn created the first dragons and mortal servants. Azruihn forged the dragons from molten gold, silver, copper, steel, and mercury. They were charged with helping Azruihn in making his creations, the Mortals. The Mortals were made of flesh and blood and comprised of the orcs, humans, and halflings (a name this race adopted later). The Mortals pleased the Titan Lords, who quickly discovered that the Mortals could wield powers similar to the Lords themselves.
New races were forged from the Mortals, with Azruihn creating the dwarves and goblinoid races. Other Lords created the Elves, pairing together orcs and men in an attempt to get the best of both races. Ogres were made from the pairings of Men and Giants. Numerous other creatures of flesh and blood were made, and Azruihn began shaping the chaos to provide a home for his creations. Darkness crept into his elder brother Azmodan's heart, who sought to rule this new creations as a god.
Azmodan tricked Saresh into believing that Azruihn wished surplant the Titan Lords with the mortal races. Saresh, who had never really understand his youngest son, listened to Azmodan's lies and agreed with them. He ordered Azruihn to hand over control of the mortal races to him. His son refused, unwilling to make the mortals into what he perceived as slaves.
Azruihn's choice enraged his father and emboldened his brother. Azmodan went among the other Lords and convinced them that the mortals posed a dire threat to their rule. Many believed because of the secrecy in which Azruihn kept his creations.
Thus began the War of Titans, in which the Lords battled one another for power of Azruihn's creations. The War decimated the ranks of the Lords and Saresh was killed, but not before denouncing Azmodan's lies. Of the numerous Titan Lords only 5 remained: Azmodan, Azruihn, and 3 others who hid in the newly forged world.
Azmodan fled with those who supported him, proclaiming himself 'Daimon', meaning 'Exile' in the language of the Titan Lords. He became the lord of Daimons/Exiles, but that slowly changed to Demons. Azmodan swore to take back the world and remake it into the one ruled by the dead Lords. So ended the Age of Titans.
The Age of Wonders
After the losses sustained by his metallic dragons and aware of Azmodan's oath, Azruihn created new dragons to safeguard his new world; the Chromatics. With the help of the Titan would become the goddess frequently referred to as the Dragonmother, Azruihn created the races of Red, Blue, Green, Black, and White among the dragons from flesh and blood. Given the same powers as the metallics, which made the chromatics second only in power to the gods, Azruihn charged his new creations with protecting and guarding the world.
Alas, it would not remain to be, for Azmodan sent forth demonic servants to convince others to help him. These servants tempted mortals who then summoned them into the world. From this came the Titan-Demon war, and Azruihn was forced to fix things anew in the world. He did so by creating the race of Kobolds from Chromatic Dragons and Halflings, and having them aid him in repairing the damages done.
Once that was done, Azruihn appointed others as Gods along himself to watch over the world and influence it. So came the Dragon Gods as they are called: Necros, the Dragonmother, Mana, Mars, Crom, Vronywn, and Killis the defiler. Killis was originally intended to serve in the place reserve for the god of evil, but Azmodan assailed him and struck him down before he could take his place.
The mortal races received the new gods and served them. In time, the various forged powerful empires and kingdoms. But, the Elves, having be made from men became more and more eager to rule the world and turn it into a true elven paradise where only they would dwell.
So the elves conquered the other races and drove the halflings into flight, sacking their great empire. Having secured the lands, the elves ruled the known world with an iron fist. Believing themselves to the embodiment of all that was good and proper, the elves viewed the other races as solely evil and they refused to hear any words from even their own goddess, Corellon.
Thus ended the Age of Wonders and ushered in the Age of Darkness as called by the other races while it was called the Golden Age by the elves. For nearly 50 human generations the other races slaved under the elves until rebellions sprung up among the slaves. Following a great hero, the slaves overthrew their elven taskmasters. But the elves were immensely angry with this, and sought for a way to reclaim the lands that they believed belonged to them.
The elves discovered books of arcane that showed how to summon otherworldly aid, and so the elves set about employing these means for assistance against the other races in their new war of conquest. But the elves miscalculated, instead summoning some of Azmodan's servants who paved the way for their master to enter the world once more.
Azmodan's first act in the world was to repay the elves for their loyal service by driving them away from his portals from which he summoned his armies. So occurred the Demon-Dragon War in which those Metallic dragons who had survived the Titan-Demon War were killed. The chromatics took heavy losses, but they were sustained by the orcs who came to their service while the elves ran off. Soon, the other races were drawn into the war while the elves escaped by fleeing off into the woods.
When the War ended with Azmodan and his legions being cast out of the world once more, the land that housed the races of the world was laid waste. So the dragons brought the races to a new land called Venilor for the Halfling who discovered it when the halflings had fled near genocidial slaughter of their people by the elves. From that day, the elves were forever estranged from the other races and towards the halflings there was nothing but bitter conflict. As the new races settled into their new land, called Ossen, by the elves who absolutely refused to pay any homage to any non-elf, the Age of Darkness ended and the Age of Heroes began.
The Age of Heroes
The Age of Heroes saw the races filling the land of Venilor and establishing cities and towns. In some places, though, the Halfling held ownership, but this meant nothing to the elves who preceded to try to drive the halflings out of their lands. Numerous devastating wars were fought between Halfling and elf, leading to the elves to settle themselves far away from the other races who they had come to despise.
In the time of heroes great battles were fought and many adventurers quested. In this age was Kiera, who became forever known for killing a dragon, the only one to have successfully done so before and since, being rechristened the Dragonslayer. But darkness spread through the icy cold mountains far to the north, and that darkness began spreading ever southward.
Mighty kingdoms and empires dotted the lands in those days, the strongest among them the Empire of Antioch. Antioch fielded the largest army and controlled the largest swath of land, controlling many smaller nations that were nearby. But swiftly the news came that Antioch lay in ruins and the time was near for the elves' revenge.
The first steps of the War of the Dragons had begun and it went on to shatter the northlands. After 100 years, the unconquered lands had all fallen and only the armies of dread Felstar existed. The other races were forced to flee when the Elves destroyed the orcish horde which had been successfully holding back the onslaught of Felstar's armies. Fleeing south, the races settled south of the Dragon Shield mountains and erected a great wall in the gap of the mountains to protect themselves from the armies of Felstar, whom had destroyed the north.
The War of the Dragons ushered in the current age, the Age of Dragons. The current year is 1200 AD, nearly 1200 years after the War began. Those dragons who survived the war, now rule the surviving peoples as kings and emperors.
The Dragon Lords
So, here is the list of the dragons who rule and their lands. I will go into detail about one of the areas because it directly features in my story, while the others are just mentioned.
The lands of the dragons are divided among the dragon realms and the Dragon Empire. The dragon realms comprise 9 realms ruled by a dragon King/Queen/Emperor, while the Dragon Emperor Cabal rules the Dragon Empire.
The Shalaro desert separates the provinces of the Dragon Empire from the dragon realms to the south. The Dragon Empire is the most north of the dragonlands, so named for the dragons that control them.
Foremost among the Dragon Realms and the one most south is Justicar, that land ruled Craggich the black dragon, whose frequently known title is "The Blackscale".
East of Justicar is Tunivlz, a land of towering rock spires and silty swamps. Tunivlz is ruled by the green dragon Austerix, a wily female who has acquired the service of many tribes of lizardfolk. Southeast of her realm for many leagues lies the elven land of Triesta, the only places that elves will dwell in the world now.
Slight northwest of Justicar is the dragon Realm of Yridrith, ruled by the blue dragon Huraxiz. Yridrith lies along the Venilor sea and most of its population live in fishing villages. From a series of coral spires, Huraxiz oversees his people.
Next to Yridrith on the east is Eshflven, which lies among the peaks of the Talon mountains. Eshflven is ruled by the white dragon Urgishar, who carefully watches her eastern neighboring fellow white dragon, Korstirax, whose realm of Azansnatch comprise mainly salt flats and silt seas. Korstirax eyes his neighbor's mountain peaks and valleys with strongly covetous eye, seeking to add them to his own lands.
North by Northeast of Yridrith lies Gorkoreth, a vast realm of forested hills. The red dragon Aribulath rules her realm as the Forest Queen, leading the tribes of forest dwelling humans that call it home.
North west of Azansnatch is Perinix, a rugged land of mountains with plains in between. This realm is ruled by the blue dragon Nerixierz, who is among the most eldest of the dragons and the most prone to fall asleep at their meetings which frequently descend into shouting matches.
North of Gorkoreth lies the northernmost dragon realm before the Shalaro desert, the realm of Reskerterix ruled by the green dragon Curixous. Reskerterix follows along the Shalaro until it meets up with the dragon realm of Shurjikix, ruled by the black dragon Nerisorax.
Shurjikix connects with Perinix in the west, sharing a border. It shares another border with Deristerix, ruled by the mysterious and reclusive mage king Aeribertherix, a human male that is believed to be in his early seventies.
North across the Shalaro desert from Gorkoreth lies the Dragon Empire of Cabal, a red dragon. Cabal controls the second largest dragon land and has a massive military at his disposal. This makes prefect sense, as his Empire lies as a buffer realm between the southern dragon lands and the armies of Felstar.
The Dragon Empire comprises the following provinces:
Accadia) Lying west of Argonia and east of Cimmeria, the province of Accadia is one of the northern provinces. Its northerly border is the Dragon Shield mountains. Its capital is Accad and its people converse in Accadian when not speaking in the common tongue of Draconic. Accadia is ruled by Khans that serve Cabal and its people are well known for their horsemanship. They are sometimes referred to as mongels by some in other provinces.
Argonia) Lying east of Accadia, north of Moria, and west of Draquin, Argonia has its capital at Argon. Its people speak Argoni and have learned to live its cold lands. Nearly all of Argonia is tundra with a few warmer areas causing most Argonians to have to learn to survive in the cold environment.
Archeron) Archeron lies southwest of Styx, southeast of Nagakano, and northwest of Dragoria, the Imperial Province where Cabal has his capital. Archeron is ruled from Archon and its chief language is Archron. With the Shalaro desert making its southeasterly border, the province is divided between land turning to sand dunes and the fertile riverlands by the Styx river. Its lands contains the largest numbers of temple to the gods anywhere in the dragon lands.
Cimmeria) Cimmeria is west of Accadia with Isitor to its southwest. The capital is Cimmer with the Dragon Shield mountains in the north to the northwest and northeast. The Isit River divides Cimmeria from with lake Isit separating it from the province of Markadia which is southeast of Isitor. The Cimmerians are well known for their berserker rage and for being barbarians living in small villages with no appointed rulers. The primary language spoken here is Cimmeran, a variant of dwarf taught to the barbarians by the dwarves of the Dragon Shield mountains.
Draquin) This province is east from Argonia, is west of Kandas which is northwest of Styx, and north of Sothian. Draquin is south of the Dragon Watch Province. Its capital is Draj and its well known for its weaponsmiths and warriors. The inhabitants of Draquin speak Drajan.
The Dragon Watch Province) Dragon Watch lies north of Draquin and cover the Dragon Wall, built in the gap of the Dragon Shield mountains. It is very cold here and the people here comprise members of every different province. There is no main language as everyone learn a little bit of everything. The capital is Drago, a castle which is the largest of the various castles and outposts within the province. The province is the home of the Dragon Watch who man the wall to prevent the armies of Felstar from passing into the Dragon Empire. The Wall is 150 miles long and connects right up to the mountains.
Isitor) Isitor lies southwest from Cimmeria and lies along the Venilor ocean. As a result most of its people are sailors and pirates. Isitor engages in a large amount of trade with the Dragon Isles, which lie nearly 17 days travel from the ports of Isitor. Isitor is northwest of Markadia which connects in its northeast with Accadia. The vast forests of Isitor are used for lumber and its language is Isitan.
Ithaca) Ithaca is southeast of Moria and west of Sothian. Ithaca comprises a large number of city-states with Ithac being the capital. The Ithacan sea comprises the bottom half of the province, stretching all the way deep into the Shalaro desert. Given that it lies on the sea, much of Ithaca's population are fisher people or sailors or sometimes pirates. The Ithacan Sea contains many scattered islands for pirates to settle onto and the sea always has good fishing all year round. The primary language spoken here is Ithac. Ithaca is well known for its law libraries and famous for its diplomats.
Kandas) Kandas lies northwest of Styx and is east of Draquin. Its southwest border is shared with Nagakano. The capital is Kand and its people speak kandan. The natives frequently dress in style and live in a culture that is referred to as Persian. Kandas is famous for wine and its lawyers that study here then travel elsewhere.
Kul Tiras) Sharing the Ithacan sea with Ithaca and having Soth along its northeastern border, Kul Tiras is renowned for its sailors and marines. Its entire culture is based around the ocean due to the province containing only mountains and lakes with almost no land. The inhabitants speak Kultic with the capital being Tiras.
Markadia) Markadia lies southeast of Isitor, and is also along the Venilor ocean, and is also southwest of Accadia. Markadia is northwest of Tulkas. The capital is Markad with the primary tongue being Markan. The province is well known for its fine racing horses and the skill in which building are constructed here.
Mezzogar) Mezzogar lies southeast of Tulkas with Ocenia to the east. In the northeast of Mezzogar where its border with Ocenia lies, the mountain chain of the Moria mountains start going up northeasterly through Moria, dividing it from Ocenia and Ithaca. The capital of Mezzogar is Mezzo with the chief language being mezzon. Mezzogar is widely known as a haven for bandits for the wide amount hidden valleys and caves that dot the landscape like grass.
Nagakano) Nagakano lies southwest of Kandas and east of Sothian. The province lies along the Styx river, sharing it with Kandas, Styx, Sothian, Archeron, and Dragoria. The primary language is Nagak, with the capital located at Naga. Nagakano is most known for its vast libraries filled with historical documents and scholars studying all kinds of history. The people follow a caste based society that features samurai as a warrior class. Usually the Nagakano function as the Empire's best archers, a skill that they more than excel at.
Neveria) Neveria lies southwest of Dragoria and connects to the Shalaro desert like Dragoria, Mezzogar and Archeron. The capital is Never with the people speaking Neveran. The layout of the land comprises of rolling hills and valleys, meaning that most people live hilltop villages. The best map makers live here.
Ocenia) Ocenia lies to the east of Mezzogar and connects with Ithaca in its northeast. Ocenia shares the Ithacan sea with Ithaca and several rivers divide parts of the provinces. The capital is Ocen with people speaking Ocena. The province contains predomintally fisher folk since there numerous river lands. Where the river lands end, the forested area used for logging lies. The province of Mezzogar cuts Ocenia off from the Shalaro desert, connecting with the Ithacan Sea far to the south.
Moria) Moria means 'stone' in dwarf and rightly so, nearly all of its inhabitants are dwarves. The capital is Mora and the language spoken here is Moran, a variation of dwarven. This province lies along the Moria mountain chain and contains nearly all of the Empire's mining operations. There are huge numbers of dwarven ruins within the province. The province connects with Tulkas in the southwest near the middle line of the Moria mountain chain.
Sothian) Sothian lies south of Draquin, east of Ithaca, and northwest of Dragoria. Sothian has its capital at Soth and people speak the Sothan language within the province. Where Kul Tiras has its culture based around the sea, Sothian has its culture based around the horse. The bulk of the Empire's cavalry forces comes from Sothian. The rolling plains of Sothian allow for the breeding of endurance steeds.
Styx) Styx lies east of Kandas and northeast of Archeron. Styx is most known for the fact that it house most of the arcane users in the Empire. Mage clans dominant Styx with a central capital at Styx, named after the province. The clans speak Stygian and have devoted their entire culture to producing magic users.
Tulkas) Tulkas lies between Markadia and Mezzogar along the Moria mountain chain. Tulkas was created to divide the other two provinces, which were frequently at war. As a result much of Tulkas is ravaged from countless battles. Tulkas has its capital at Tulk, a run-down castle that has its fair share of war. The language spoken here is Tulkan. Tulkas is well known for its wine as well as its performers in the arts of theatre and music.
Dragoria, The Imperial Province) Dragoria is the Imperial Province from where Cabal rules his mighty Empire. Cabal has his capital built around the volcano in which he lives. Members of the province speak Draconic, the language of the Empire.
Races of Kurathas:
Orcs (A few handful still exist)
Humans
Dwarves
Halflings
Kobolds
Elves
Goblinoids
Ogres
Wyvern
Lizardfolk
Dragons
Griffons
Various Animal Races
A few monster races (No races with a major planar origin exist, such as mindflyers or abeloths or beholders)
Gods of Kurathas:
Necros, The god of Life and Death, only his clerics/priests can use Resurrection/True Resurrection. His holy symbol is a black crow.
The Dragonmother, The mother of dragons and of women. Her holy symbol is a hawk.
Mana, originally known as Ilyuve the Scholar among the Titans, the goddess of Magic. Her holy symbol is a blue jay.
Mars, The god of war and peace. His holy symbol is a falcon.
Crom, The god of the dwarves and metalworkers, miners, and the brave. His holy symbol is mountain thrush while among the dwarves it is a hammer.
Vronywn, the goddess of nature and the elements. Her holy symbol is a sparrow.
Corellon, the goddess of the Elves; she has been unable to call many new priests to her service. Her holy symbol is robin.
Azmodan, despite not being a god, Azmodan can be worshipped as one and has numerous demonic cults serving him in the world. Azmodan killed Killis, the former god of evil and took his place. Rumors among the Deities suggest that Azruihn is trying to find a replacement for Killis.
Kronos, god of time, represented by a barn owl.
Magic in Kurathas
Divine magic is granted by the gods, whose servants can do everything but employ resurrection/true resurrection. These two spells are only available to priests of Necros.
Arcane magic is used by mages (referring to all arcane magic users, bards don't count) and is provided by Mana, goddess of magic. Mana has made the rules around magic as follows that all mages use to wield their magic:
1) Mages must part of the world spanning Mages Guild, which is actually comprised of the various guilds in the world. In the Dragon Empire, it is the Imperial Order of Mages. There must be a Mages Tower in every village built anywhere in the world. The only exceptions are the Halfling villages.
2) Magic cannot be used to mentally dominate someone or something. This is a complete violation against the laws of the gods themselves. Magic such as Charm Person/Monster, Suggestion still exist.
3) Only some kinds of undead can be created by mages. These include: Skeletons, Skeletal Minions, Death Knights, Dark Walkers (Nightstalkers), and Arch Lichs (Mages that bind themselves to undeath to protect something, becoming a Lich solely for power is forbidden). Mummies are only made by the priests of Necros. Zombies, ghouls, ghasts, wights, and all the incorporals are forbidden for mages to make. Other than Zombies, the other kinds of undead are the results of curses made by either the gods or by Necros. Zombies are the creation of Fell Magics, a dark form of necromancy.
4) Mages cast essentially from hitpoints/life force. A mage dies if he employs magic is that far to powerfuller than what he can currently use. Mages employ their own life force to cast spells. Fell Mages learn how to employ the life force of others.
5) Fell Mages are to be hunted down and destroyed. Fell Mages wield power as following: Control/creation of undead by enslaving a soul into a shell that produces zombies, ghouls, ghasts, and incorporals. These undead creations violate the gods' law on free will; control over necromantic powers such draining life away and such things. These mages began to create an aura of unnatural cold as they grow in power
6) Magic is intended primiliarly for defense, not offense. There are large amounts of defensive spells.
Dragon magic is wielded by dragons, demonic magic is wielded by demons. Magic is the raw forces of creations originally wielded by the titans/titanlords.
Metals in Kurathas
Adamantine is extremely rare and practically non-existent. How it is obtained is unknown and only orcs ever learned how to use it. Items made from this metal are worth ten times as their weight in gold.
Mithrail is an imitation of both dwarves and elves to duplicate Adamantine as it has been made by orcs. Elves are very prone to making mithrail items.
Steel is the usual metal employed in the world. It is used by Elves and dwarves. It is also used by humans and the other races in some degrees.
Race Relations
Elves don't get along with any of the other races and have a long standing blood feud with halflings. Elves like to believe that they are feared by the other "evil" races, but this happens to be not true.
Halflings are feared by all races other than elves due to the fact halflings are known not to leave any survivors. The sign of Halflings are revealed by the presence of several strings of animal skulls that bang together in the wind. Numerous caravans/travelers have been gone missing anymore these animal skull windchimes are seen. What happened to the caravans/travelers is not known, but none of have ever been seen again.
The other races live in an uneasy truce, with dwarves not liking humans and humans not being fond of dwarves. Goblinoids are disliked by most other races, along with ogre. Only Kobolds are well liked by everyone.
Kobolds are unique in Kurathas for being a major race. Kobolds run the Dragon Bank, a world spanning monetary system that provides money all over the world. The Dragon Bank is used by the various races other than elves to house money and that money can be drawn out anywhere there is a bank. Kobolds have claimed a monopoly on banking, and have figured out the secrets of gunpowder. While the dwarves have attempted to learn the secret of gunpowder, they have failed every time.
Dragons are the top beings in the world besides the gods, and the dragons rarely worry about the opinions of the other races. Frankly, the dragons don't care.
Major Factions of Kurathas
Crows: A guild dedicated to Necros, the Crows is an assassin's guild. Its members spread the gift of death to others who have blessed by the death god.
Dragons: This faction includes the dragon lands and all surviving dragons.
The Mages' Guild: This world spanning faction includes all of the various guilds that follow the laws given by Mana, the Goddess of Magic.
Adventurers' Guild: This faction exists to provide charters so adventurers can go about their business. Adventurers are required to be part of the guild to do anything otherwise they are treated as criminals.
Thieves' Guild: Those inclined towards crime can find places where this guild operates. The Guild exists as more of a myth than a real group. It is real, but nearly nothing is known about how it works.
Demons: Azmodan and his servants, who are interested in reclaiming the world.
Gods: The gods are interested in keeping the world from being reclaimed by the demons.
I will post up map, as well as add more in order to answer questions people may have.
Hope to hear some good critiques.