Gwyn chan 'r Gwyll
2007-09-03, 08:56 PM
A new campaign setting, this one based on the idea of bloodlines, and magical pillars that control magic.
The Beginning: Rise and Fall of Degorson
Along time ago, practically at the beginning of time, there was no magic available to mortals, only to the gods. And the guarded their advantage jealously. But there was one man who dared oppose them, though his Surname has been lost to history, his prename was Degorson. He snuck up to heaven, and stole the magic from the gods, and the god were fearful, for they did not fight amongst themselves, and had no knowledge of how to combat magic, even with magic. So instead, they cowered. In time Degorson ruled over the entire land, and had many sons. However, Degorson wasn’t finished. He went to the center of the land, and built a great magical obelisk out of marble, and he capped the top with electrum, and he poured magic into the entire thing, and fit a large Diamond into the top, held in place by several electrum prongs. However, once the diamond had been fitted, there was a great magical explosion, and many died, including Degorson and not a few of his sons. Great rifts opened, many many miles wide, of openness, and space, and sheer void, an ocean of nothingness. And these rifts formed a great perimeter ring, an even 1000 miles from the base of Degorson’s Stone, as it was named, and smaller cracks, these ones like great channels, split the rest of the land into 10. Miraculously, the obelisk, and its platform were untouched.
The Sons of Degorson, and the Naming of Magic
Out of the 10 remaining sons of Degorson, 8 could use magic. After the explosion, they all decided to change their surnames. Almost all. 1 rejected the others, harbouring feelings of hate against his brothers, who could use magic, while he couldn’t.
Then, each went their different ways, and split up. The Eldest surviving son, whose new surname was Evoca specialized in grand displays of magic, and often spectacular damage. The magical school of Evocation is named after him, as the other schools of magic are named for the other 7 sons who could use magic.
One son, Conjuga, specialized in creation and calling, hence conjugation.
One son, Enchanta, specialized in mind-affecting spells, hence Enchantment.
One son, Illusa, specialized in tricks and deceiving spells, hence Illusion.
One son, Transmuta, specialized in changing things physical body, hence Transmutation.
One son, Abjura, specialized in defensive spells, hence Abjuration.
One son, Divina, specialized in magic used to learn, and seek, and find out, hence Divination.
The last magic using son, Necroma, specialized in the dead, hence Necromancy.
Many other words spring from these names. Trans came to mean change, or cross, for example.
Both of the sons not born to magic, the 2 youngest surviving sons, eventually gained magic, though in near opposite ways. The one who kept his father’s surname, the youngest, eventually got too frustrated, and contacted a vile fiend never before seen in the relatively short history of the land; Warl. Warl, in return for a portion of the youngests soul, gave him vile magics, and incantations, twisted representations of the greater spells the others were casting. Many of the youngests ancestors still have Warls curse, and these are known as Warlocks, or Warls servants.
The second youngest son, Palada foresaw many coming to fight each other for Degorson’s Stone, and began an order of knights to defend the Stone. Soon, he realized that, as a product of his devotion, he had gained limited magic! His order, the Paladins, soon expanded to protect all.
The Great and Lesser Pillars, and Rise of the Druids.
Each of the sons, excluding Palada, in time, seperately drifted to a different continent, and, in time, each built their own Pillar, in the same style as the first, but not as big, or using the same materials. Each son's line continued, and fluxuated with time, and each mantained a special connection with the original son's speciality.
Much later, another order of magic, the druidic circle, arose, to stop a gap in the order of things, and make a last order of Magic, and built the last of the great Pillars on the last continent. This was supposed to heal the rift, but it failed, and Magic continued to be unstable. However, by this time, the many nations of the world were at war, and the Druids, who, though themselves numbering only a couple hundred, owned much land, were forced to join in. All the races strived for control of the Obelisks, for all magic within 100 miles of the appropriate Pillar was greatly Enhanced. During these troubled times, the area around the pillars were devastated, nothing was left. The control of the pillars eventually stabilized, as did the borders of Nations. The Druids, benefitting as they were of great corps of druids as they expanded, were considerably better off. Nations not controlling the Great Pillars, decided to make their own Lesser Pillar. However, for each pillar constructed, the power of magic was weakened. The druids had a new mission. They must use they're newfound strength to destroy all but the Great Pillars, once again in an attempt to stabilize magic, for the druids were the self-proclaimed guardians of magic. However, before they could, great threats from within emerged, and destroyed the druid state, and the druids were scattered, and most of the Druidic Grand Circle killed. No longer would a great druidic country emerge, though the druids mantained a strong presence near the Druidic Pillar.
That's as far in the history i've gotten so far, i'll do much more later. Three great chapters of history, a relatively young world, young enough that the original bloodlines still exist.
The Beginning: Rise and Fall of Degorson
Along time ago, practically at the beginning of time, there was no magic available to mortals, only to the gods. And the guarded their advantage jealously. But there was one man who dared oppose them, though his Surname has been lost to history, his prename was Degorson. He snuck up to heaven, and stole the magic from the gods, and the god were fearful, for they did not fight amongst themselves, and had no knowledge of how to combat magic, even with magic. So instead, they cowered. In time Degorson ruled over the entire land, and had many sons. However, Degorson wasn’t finished. He went to the center of the land, and built a great magical obelisk out of marble, and he capped the top with electrum, and he poured magic into the entire thing, and fit a large Diamond into the top, held in place by several electrum prongs. However, once the diamond had been fitted, there was a great magical explosion, and many died, including Degorson and not a few of his sons. Great rifts opened, many many miles wide, of openness, and space, and sheer void, an ocean of nothingness. And these rifts formed a great perimeter ring, an even 1000 miles from the base of Degorson’s Stone, as it was named, and smaller cracks, these ones like great channels, split the rest of the land into 10. Miraculously, the obelisk, and its platform were untouched.
The Sons of Degorson, and the Naming of Magic
Out of the 10 remaining sons of Degorson, 8 could use magic. After the explosion, they all decided to change their surnames. Almost all. 1 rejected the others, harbouring feelings of hate against his brothers, who could use magic, while he couldn’t.
Then, each went their different ways, and split up. The Eldest surviving son, whose new surname was Evoca specialized in grand displays of magic, and often spectacular damage. The magical school of Evocation is named after him, as the other schools of magic are named for the other 7 sons who could use magic.
One son, Conjuga, specialized in creation and calling, hence conjugation.
One son, Enchanta, specialized in mind-affecting spells, hence Enchantment.
One son, Illusa, specialized in tricks and deceiving spells, hence Illusion.
One son, Transmuta, specialized in changing things physical body, hence Transmutation.
One son, Abjura, specialized in defensive spells, hence Abjuration.
One son, Divina, specialized in magic used to learn, and seek, and find out, hence Divination.
The last magic using son, Necroma, specialized in the dead, hence Necromancy.
Many other words spring from these names. Trans came to mean change, or cross, for example.
Both of the sons not born to magic, the 2 youngest surviving sons, eventually gained magic, though in near opposite ways. The one who kept his father’s surname, the youngest, eventually got too frustrated, and contacted a vile fiend never before seen in the relatively short history of the land; Warl. Warl, in return for a portion of the youngests soul, gave him vile magics, and incantations, twisted representations of the greater spells the others were casting. Many of the youngests ancestors still have Warls curse, and these are known as Warlocks, or Warls servants.
The second youngest son, Palada foresaw many coming to fight each other for Degorson’s Stone, and began an order of knights to defend the Stone. Soon, he realized that, as a product of his devotion, he had gained limited magic! His order, the Paladins, soon expanded to protect all.
The Great and Lesser Pillars, and Rise of the Druids.
Each of the sons, excluding Palada, in time, seperately drifted to a different continent, and, in time, each built their own Pillar, in the same style as the first, but not as big, or using the same materials. Each son's line continued, and fluxuated with time, and each mantained a special connection with the original son's speciality.
Much later, another order of magic, the druidic circle, arose, to stop a gap in the order of things, and make a last order of Magic, and built the last of the great Pillars on the last continent. This was supposed to heal the rift, but it failed, and Magic continued to be unstable. However, by this time, the many nations of the world were at war, and the Druids, who, though themselves numbering only a couple hundred, owned much land, were forced to join in. All the races strived for control of the Obelisks, for all magic within 100 miles of the appropriate Pillar was greatly Enhanced. During these troubled times, the area around the pillars were devastated, nothing was left. The control of the pillars eventually stabilized, as did the borders of Nations. The Druids, benefitting as they were of great corps of druids as they expanded, were considerably better off. Nations not controlling the Great Pillars, decided to make their own Lesser Pillar. However, for each pillar constructed, the power of magic was weakened. The druids had a new mission. They must use they're newfound strength to destroy all but the Great Pillars, once again in an attempt to stabilize magic, for the druids were the self-proclaimed guardians of magic. However, before they could, great threats from within emerged, and destroyed the druid state, and the druids were scattered, and most of the Druidic Grand Circle killed. No longer would a great druidic country emerge, though the druids mantained a strong presence near the Druidic Pillar.
That's as far in the history i've gotten so far, i'll do much more later. Three great chapters of history, a relatively young world, young enough that the original bloodlines still exist.