[MS] Non-Linear Worldbuilding: The Succession Wars

[Chas Kramer]

TIMELINE
START
King Arunidas LXXVII. dies under mysterious circumstances

The Tiefling Archmage and King, Arunidas LXXVII., is found dead in his bed drained of all his blood

The sole survivor of an expedition into the Morthal Ruins reveals the existence of an ancient Blood Curse before succumbing to it himself.

Suspicions rise when the Guild of Necromancy - the guild of the king's firstborn son, Astaroth the Silent - decides to spend all resources that would be needed to invoke the spirit of the dead king to question him about the circumstances of his death to find out more about the blood curse instead.

King Arunidas LXXVII's lesser son (Zardos the White) and his daughter (Kallista) start independently claiming the throne from his firstborn (Astaroth the Silent). Political tension rises.

The goblin baroness Nasha forges a secret alliance with the Guild of Three Leaves

Zardos the White consolidates his power over the many tribes of Hroudhorn, uniting them in fear and reverence, thus considerably empowering his army

Kallista consolidates, through blood bonds and political action, her supposedly good relations with the rich city-state of Istion, the marine republic; the Bank is happy to fund her campaigns

The secret alliance of guilds and lesser nobles begins stealth actions against the three children of the late king, undermining their positions.

The secret alliance now revealed, the remaining guilds split and join into factions.

The Guild War rages

While Astaroth is on the battlefield, the Guild of Anti-Magic, the Guild of Artifice and the King's Arcane Guard take over the Iridescent Tower and declare a Council will rule the Kingdom until the rightful heir has been determined

Zardos the White mobilizes his troops to occupy the Iridescent Tower

While the Siege of the Iridescent Tower is coming to an end in favor of Zardos' forces, the goblin faction of Baroness Nasha and the Guild of three leaves sabotages the attacking forces from the underground with alchemic devices. As Zardos and most of his troops die, Nasha gains her place in the Council

The enormous losses during the Guild War result in the collapse of the 13 Arcane Guilds

With no one remaining to maintain them, the Great Seals weaken

As the Great Seals weaken, the Blood Curse begins to spread through the land

>> The Condottiers of the Crownhill order are sacrificing everything to limit the spread of the curse, healing the sick, blessing the doomed ones, limiting the spread of panic and the riots.

Working with the spirit of Isolar, the Living Island, the former vampire master of the Guild of Necromancy sacrifices himself in a blood ritual to stop the last seal from breaking.

The post-collapse Great Reform of magic studies happens; the study of the 5 Spheres spreads, co-existing and in attrition with older studies of the guilds era

Iliana Sunshield is elected for life as Queen over the remaining provinces

The Human Condottiere Iliana Sunshield, is crowned in the new capital of Ildova as Queen, becoming the first ruler of the Kingdom without any magical ability

END

DESCRIPTIONS

The study of the 5 Spheres is the reformed way of interpreting magic. Magic is seen in terms of what "costs" a caster withstands, in every "sphere" his being reflects (The Movement of Matter, The Spirit of Nature, The Human Matrix, The Veiled Realm, The Beyond), rather than what it manipulates. Many old scholars (and especially the conservative ones, insisting on magic as an elite knowledge) frown at this reform.

The Guild of Necromancy - or officially the Guild of the Inner Light - was one of the original 13 Arcane Guilds, but in contrast to Necromancers in other parts of the world, the guild focused not only on death and undeath but also the healing and preservation of the spirit and the living body.

The Free Republic of Istion - also named the "free cities", the "Radiant" one, or simply Istion -is a mainly coastal territory ruled by an independent, oligarchic, state-city. Seafaring, marine commerce and trading and military / economic hegemony over several colonies / tributaries has made the Republic incredibly wealthy, and thus able to preserve independence. The city Bank wisely administers this wealth to generate more, borrowing and retrieving huge sums to (openly or secretly) sponsor this or that political power.

The Relation between the Guilds and the Nobility of the Inner Provinces at the time of Guild Wars was very complex. In general most Arcane Casters were members of one of the guilds but not all guild members were Arcane Casters. While not all or even a majority of nobles could cast magic, the noble families had to keep up the appearance of being part of an arcane bloodline - which were the basis of their claim to rule - so many became members of the guilds even though they lacked talent.

[Wasp]

TIMELINE
START
King Arunidas LXXVII. dies under mysterious circumstances

The Tiefling Archmage and King, Arunidas LXXVII., is found dead in his bed drained of all his blood

The sole survivor of an expedition into the Morthal Ruins reveals the existence of an ancient Blood Curse before succumbing to it himself.

Suspicions rise when the Guild of Necromancy - the guild of the king's firstborn son, Astaroth the Silent - decides to spend all resources that would be needed to invoke the spirit of the dead king to question him about the circumstances of his death to find out more about the blood curse instead.

King Arunidas LXXVII's lesser son (Zardos the White) and his daughter (Kallista) start independently claiming the throne from his firstborn (Astaroth the Silent). Political tension rises.

The goblin baroness Nasha forges a secret alliance with the Guild of Three Leaves

Zardos the White consolidates his power over the many tribes of Hroudhorn, uniting them in fear and reverence, thus considerably empowering his army

Kallista consolidates, through blood bonds and political action, her supposedly good relations with the rich city-state of Istion, the marine republic; the Bank is happy to fund her campaigns

The secret alliance of guilds and lesser nobles begins stealth actions against the three children of the late king, undermining their positions.

The secret alliance now revealed, the remaining guilds split and join into factions.

The Guild War rages

While Astaroth is on the battlefield, the Guild of Anti-Magic, the Guild of Artifice and the King's Arcane Guard take over the Iridescent Tower and declare a Council will rule the Kingdom until the rightful heir has been determined

Zardos the White mobilizes his troops to occupy the Iridescent Tower

While the Siege of the Iridescent Tower is coming to an end in favor of Zardos' forces, the goblin faction of Baroness Nasha and the Guild of three leaves sabotages the attacking forces from the underground with alchemic devices. As Zardos and most of his troops die, Nasha gains her place in the Council

>> After the death of Zardos the White and many of their leaders, the Hroudhorn tribes close the Gates to the Mountains and declare their independence

The enormous losses during the Guild War result in the collapse of the 13 Arcane Guilds

With no one remaining to maintain them, the Great Seals weaken

As the Great Seals weaken, the Blood Curse begins to spread through the land

The Condottiers of the Crownhill order are sacrificing everything to limit the spread of the curse, healing the sick, blessing the doomed ones, limiting the spread of panic and the riots.

Working with the spirit of Isolar, the Living Island, the former vampire master of the Guild of Necromancy sacrifices himself in a blood ritual to stop the last seal from breaking.

The post-collapse Great Reform of magic studies happens; the study of the 5 Spheres spreads, co-existing and in attrition with older studies of the guilds era

Iliana Sunshield is elected for life as Queen over the remaining provinces

The Human Condottiere Iliana Sunshield, is crowned in the new capital of Ildova as Queen, becoming the first ruler of the Kingdom without any magical ability

END

DESCRIPTIONS

The study of the 5 Spheres is the reformed way of interpreting magic. Magic is seen in terms of what "costs" a caster withstands, in every "sphere" his being reflects (The Movement of Matter, The Spirit of Nature, The Human Matrix, The Veiled Realm, The Beyond), rather than what it manipulates. Many old scholars (and especially the conservative ones, insisting on magic as an elite knowledge) frown at this reform.

The Guild of Necromancy - or officially the Guild of the Inner Light - was one of the original 13 Arcane Guilds, but in contrast to Necromancers in other parts of the world, the guild focused not only on death and undeath but also the healing and preservation of the spirit and the living body.

The Free Republic of Istion - also named the "free cities", the "Radiant" one, or simply Istion -is a mainly coastal territory ruled by an independent, oligarchic, state-city. Seafaring, marine commerce and trading and military / economic hegemony over several colonies / tributaries has made the Republic incredibly wealthy, and thus able to preserve independence. The city Bank wisely administers this wealth to generate more, borrowing and retrieving huge sums to (openly or secretly) sponsor this or that political power.

The Relation between the Guilds and the Nobility of the Inner Provinces at the time of Guild Wars was very complex. In general most Arcane Casters were members of one of the guilds but not all guild members were Arcane Casters. While not all or even a majority of nobles could cast magic, the noble families had to keep up the appearance of being part of an arcane bloodline - which were the basis of their claim to rule - so many became members of the guilds even though they lacked talent.

[Kinro]

TIMELINE
START
King Arunidas LXXVII. dies under mysterious circumstances

The Tiefling Archmage and King, Arunidas LXXVII., is found dead in his bed drained of all his blood

The sole survivor of an expedition into the Morthal Ruins reveals the existence of an ancient Blood Curse before succumbing to it himself.

Suspicions rise when the Guild of Necromancy - the guild of the king's firstborn son, Astaroth the Silent - decides to spend all resources that would be needed to invoke the spirit of the dead king to question him about the circumstances of his death to find out more about the blood curse instead.

King Arunidas LXXVII's lesser son (Zardos the White) and his daughter (Kallista) start independently claiming the throne from his firstborn (Astaroth the Silent). Political tension rises.

The goblin baroness Nasha forges a secret alliance with the Guild of Three Leaves

Zardos the White consolidates his power over the many tribes of Hroudhorn, uniting them in fear and reverence, thus considerably empowering his army

Kallista consolidates, through blood bonds and political action, her supposedly good relations with the rich city-state of Istion, the marine republic; the Bank is happy to fund her campaigns

The secret alliance of guilds and lesser nobles begins stealth actions against the three children of the late king, undermining their positions.

The secret alliance now revealed, the remaining guilds split and join into factions.

The Guild War rages

While Astaroth is on the battlefield, the Guild of Anti-Magic, the Guild of Artifice and the King's Arcane Guard take over the Iridescent Tower and declare a Council will rule the Kingdom until the rightful heir has been determined

Zardos the White mobilizes his troops to occupy the Iridescent Tower

While the Siege of the Iridescent Tower is coming to an end in favor of Zardos' forces, the goblin faction of Baroness Nasha and the Guild of three leaves sabotages the attacking forces from the underground with alchemic devices. As Zardos and most of his troops die, Nasha gains her place in the Council

After the death of Zardos the White and many of their leaders, the Hroudhorn tribes close the Gates to the Mountains and declare their independence

The enormous losses during the Guild War result in the collapse of the 13 Arcane Guilds

With no one remaining to maintain them, the Great Seals weaken

As the Great Seals weaken, the Blood Curse begins to spread through the land

The Condottiers of the Crownhill order are sacrificing everything to limit the spread of the curse, healing the sick, blessing the doomed ones, limiting the spread of panic and the riots.

Working with the spirit of Isolar, the Living Island, the former vampire master of the Guild of Necromancy sacrifices himself in a blood ritual to stop the last seal from breaking.

The post-collapse Great Reform of magic studies happens; the study of the 5 Spheres spreads, co-existing and in attrition with older studies of the guilds era

>> Efforts are undertaken to research ways to rebuild or recreate the Great Seals. With so much knowledge lost, progress is slow.

Iliana Sunshield is elected for life as Queen over the remaining provinces

The Human Condottiere Iliana Sunshield, is crowned in the new capital of Ildova as Queen, becoming the first ruler of the Kingdom without any magical ability

END

DESCRIPTIONS

The study of the 5 Spheres is the reformed way of interpreting magic. Magic is seen in terms of what "costs" a caster withstands, in every "sphere" his being reflects (The Movement of Matter, The Spirit of Nature, The Human Matrix, The Veiled Realm, The Beyond), rather than what it manipulates. Many old scholars (and especially the conservative ones, insisting on magic as an elite knowledge) frown at this reform.

The Guild of Necromancy - or officially the Guild of the Inner Light - was one of the original 13 Arcane Guilds, but in contrast to Necromancers in other parts of the world, the guild focused not only on death and undeath but also the healing and preservation of the spirit and the living body.

The Free Republic of Istion - also named the "free cities", the "Radiant" one, or simply Istion -is a mainly coastal territory ruled by an independent, oligarchic, state-city. Seafaring, marine commerce and trading and military / economic hegemony over several colonies / tributaries has made the Republic incredibly wealthy, and thus able to preserve independence. The city Bank wisely administers this wealth to generate more, borrowing and retrieving huge sums to (openly or secretly) sponsor this or that political power.

The Relation between the Guilds and the Nobility of the Inner Provinces at the time of Guild Wars was very complex. In general most Arcane Casters were members of one of the guilds but not all guild members were Arcane Casters. While not all or even a majority of nobles could cast magic, the noble families had to keep up the appearance of being part of an arcane bloodline - which were the basis of their claim to rule - so many became members of the guilds even though they lacked talent.

[Wasp]

And new round!

[Chas Kramer]

TIMELINE
START
King Arunidas LXXVII. dies under mysterious circumstances

The Tiefling Archmage and King, Arunidas LXXVII., is found dead in his bed drained of all his blood

The sole survivor of an expedition into the Morthal Ruins reveals the existence of an ancient Blood Curse before succumbing to it himself.

Suspicions rise when the Guild of Necromancy - the guild of the king's firstborn son, Astaroth the Silent - decides to spend all resources that would be needed to invoke the spirit of the dead king to question him about the circumstances of his death to find out more about the blood curse instead.

King Arunidas LXXVII's lesser son (Zardos the White) and his daughter (Kallista) start independently claiming the throne from his firstborn (Astaroth the Silent). Political tension rises.

The goblin baroness Nasha forges a secret alliance with the Guild of Three Leaves

Zardos the White consolidates his power over the many tribes of Hroudhorn, uniting them in fear and reverence, thus considerably empowering his army

Kallista consolidates, through blood bonds and political action, her supposedly good relations with the rich city-state of Istion, the marine republic; the Bank is happy to fund her campaigns

The secret alliance of guilds and lesser nobles begins stealth actions against the three children of the late king, undermining their positions.

The secret alliance now revealed, the remaining guilds split and join into factions.

The Guild War rages

While Astaroth is on the battlefield, the Guild of Anti-Magic, the Guild of Artifice and the King's Arcane Guard take over the Iridescent Tower and declare a Council will rule the Kingdom until the rightful heir has been determined

Zardos the White mobilizes his troops to occupy the Iridescent Tower

While the Siege of the Iridescent Tower is coming to an end in favor of Zardos' forces, the goblin faction of Baroness Nasha and the Guild of three leaves sabotages the attacking forces from the underground with alchemic devices. As Zardos and most of his troops die, Nasha gains her place in the Council

After the death of Zardos the White and many of their leaders, the Hroudhorn tribes close the Gates to the Mountains and declare their independence

The enormous losses during the Guild War result in the collapse of the 13 Arcane Guilds

With no one remaining to maintain them, the Great Seals weaken

As the Great Seals weaken, the Blood Curse begins to spread through the land

The Condottiers of the Crownhill order are sacrificing everything to limit the spread of the curse, healing the sick, blessing the doomed ones, limiting the spread of panic and the riots.

>>The knowledge spreads that, while the Crownhill Condottiers die by the dozens, low rank condottier Iliana Sunshield seems to be unaffected by the curse; some see this as a miracle, many look at it with suspicion.

Working with the spirit of Isolar, the Living Island, the former vampire master of the Guild of Necromancy sacrifices himself in a blood ritual to stop the last seal from breaking.

The post-collapse Great Reform of magic studies happens; the study of the 5 Spheres spreads, co-existing and in attrition with older studies of the guilds era

Efforts are undertaken to research ways to rebuild or recreate the Great Seals. With so much knowledge lost, progress is slow.

Iliana Sunshield is elected for life as Queen over the remaining provinces

The Human Condottiere Iliana Sunshield, is crowned in the new capital of Ildova as Queen, becoming the first ruler of the Kingdom without any magical ability

END

DESCRIPTIONS

The study of the 5 Spheres is the reformed way of interpreting magic. Magic is seen in terms of what "costs" a caster withstands, in every "sphere" his being reflects (The Movement of Matter, The Spirit of Nature, The Human Matrix, The Veiled Realm, The Beyond), rather than what it manipulates. Many old scholars (and especially the conservative ones, insisting on magic as an elite knowledge) frown at this reform.

The Guild of Necromancy - or officially the Guild of the Inner Light - was one of the original 13 Arcane Guilds, but in contrast to Necromancers in other parts of the world, the guild focused not only on death and undeath but also the healing and preservation of the spirit and the living body.

The Free Republic of Istion - also named the "free cities", the "Radiant" one, or simply Istion -is a mainly coastal territory ruled by an independent, oligarchic, state-city. Seafaring, marine commerce and trading and military / economic hegemony over several colonies / tributaries has made the Republic incredibly wealthy, and thus able to preserve independence. The city Bank wisely administers this wealth to generate more, borrowing and retrieving huge sums to (openly or secretly) sponsor this or that political power.

The Relation between the Guilds and the Nobility of the Inner Provinces at the time of Guild Wars was very complex. In general most Arcane Casters were members of one of the guilds but not all guild members were Arcane Casters. While not all or even a majority of nobles could cast magic, the noble families had to keep up the appearance of being part of an arcane bloodline - which were the basis of their claim to rule - so many became members of the guilds even though they lacked talent.

[Wasp]

TIMELINE
START
King Arunidas LXXVII. dies under mysterious circumstances

The Tiefling Archmage and King, Arunidas LXXVII., is found dead in his bed drained of all his blood

The sole survivor of an expedition into the Morthal Ruins reveals the existence of an ancient Blood Curse before succumbing to it himself.

Suspicions rise when the Guild of Necromancy - the guild of the king's firstborn son, Astaroth the Silent - decides to spend all resources that would be needed to invoke the spirit of the dead king to question him about the circumstances of his death to find out more about the blood curse instead.

King Arunidas LXXVII's lesser son (Zardos the White) and his daughter (Kallista) start independently claiming the throne from his firstborn (Astaroth the Silent). Political tension rises.

The goblin baroness Nasha forges a secret alliance with the Guild of Three Leaves

Zardos the White consolidates his power over the many tribes of Hroudhorn, uniting them in fear and reverence, thus considerably empowering his army

Kallista consolidates, through blood bonds and political action, her supposedly good relations with the rich city-state of Istion, the marine republic; the Bank is happy to fund her campaigns

The secret alliance of guilds and lesser nobles begins stealth actions against the three children of the late king, undermining their positions.

The secret alliance now revealed, the remaining guilds split and join into factions.

The Guild War rages

While Astaroth is on the battlefield, the Guild of Anti-Magic, the Guild of Artifice and the King's Arcane Guard take over the Iridescent Tower and declare a Council will rule the Kingdom until the rightful heir has been determined

Zardos the White mobilizes his troops to occupy the Iridescent Tower

While the Siege of the Iridescent Tower is coming to an end in favor of Zardos' forces, the goblin faction of Baroness Nasha and the Guild of three leaves sabotages the attacking forces from the underground with alchemic devices. As Zardos and most of his troops die, Nasha gains her place in the Council

After the death of Zardos the White and many of their leaders, the Hroudhorn tribes close the Gates to the Mountains and declare their independence

The enormous losses during the Guild War result in the collapse of the 13 Arcane Guilds

With no one remaining to maintain them, the Great Seals weaken

As the Great Seals weaken, the Blood Curse begins to spread through the land

The Condottiers of the Crownhill order are sacrificing everything to limit the spread of the curse, healing the sick, blessing the doomed ones, limiting the spread of panic and the riots.

The knowledge spreads that, while the Crownhill Condottiers die by the dozens, low rank condottier Iliana Sunshield seems to be unaffected by the curse; some see this as a miracle, many look at it with suspicion.

Working with the spirit of Isolar, the Living Island, the former vampire master of the Guild of Necromancy sacrifices himself in a blood ritual to stop the last seal from breaking.

The post-collapse Great Reform of magic studies happens; the study of the 5 Spheres spreads, co-existing and in attrition with older studies of the guilds era

Efforts are undertaken to research ways to rebuild or recreate the Great Seals. With so much knowledge lost, progress is slow.

>>As it becomes clear that the vampiric magic that keeps the last seal from breaking will end sooner rather than later, Iliana Sunshield sets out to explore the ancient V'ran ruins nobody else can step into without succumbing to the curse to find a solution.

Iliana Sunshield is elected for life as Queen over the remaining provinces

The Human Condottiere Iliana Sunshield, is crowned in the new capital of Ildova as Queen, becoming the first ruler of the Kingdom without any magical ability

END

DESCRIPTIONS

The study of the 5 Spheres is the reformed way of interpreting magic. Magic is seen in terms of what "costs" a caster withstands, in every "sphere" his being reflects (The Movement of Matter, The Spirit of Nature, The Human Matrix, The Veiled Realm, The Beyond), rather than what it manipulates. Many old scholars (and especially the conservative ones, insisting on magic as an elite knowledge) frown at this reform.

The Guild of Necromancy - or officially the Guild of the Inner Light - was one of the original 13 Arcane Guilds, but in contrast to Necromancers in other parts of the world, the guild focused not only on death and undeath but also the healing and preservation of the spirit and the living body.

The Free Republic of Istion - also named the "free cities", the "Radiant" one, or simply Istion -is a mainly coastal territory ruled by an independent, oligarchic, state-city. Seafaring, marine commerce and trading and military / economic hegemony over several colonies / tributaries has made the Republic incredibly wealthy, and thus able to preserve independence. The city Bank wisely administers this wealth to generate more, borrowing and retrieving huge sums to (openly or secretly) sponsor this or that political power.

The Relation between the Guilds and the Nobility of the Inner Provinces at the time of Guild Wars was very complex. In general most Arcane Casters were members of one of the guilds but not all guild members were Arcane Casters. While not all or even a majority of nobles could cast magic, the noble families had to keep up the appearance of being part of an arcane bloodline - which were the basis of their claim to rule - so many became members of the guilds even though they lacked talent.

[Kinro]

TIMELINE
START
King Arunidas LXXVII. dies under mysterious circumstances

The Tiefling Archmage and King, Arunidas LXXVII., is found dead in his bed drained of all his blood

The sole survivor of an expedition into the Morthal Ruins reveals the existence of an ancient Blood Curse before succumbing to it himself.

Suspicions rise when the Guild of Necromancy - the guild of the king's firstborn son, Astaroth the Silent - decides to spend all resources that would be needed to invoke the spirit of the dead king to question him about the circumstances of his death to find out more about the blood curse instead.

King Arunidas LXXVII's lesser son (Zardos the White) and his daughter (Kallista) start independently claiming the throne from his firstborn (Astaroth the Silent). Political tension rises.

The goblin baroness Nasha forges a secret alliance with the Guild of Three Leaves

Zardos the White consolidates his power over the many tribes of Hroudhorn, uniting them in fear and reverence, thus considerably empowering his army

Kallista consolidates, through blood bonds and political action, her supposedly good relations with the rich city-state of Istion, the marine republic; the Bank is happy to fund her campaigns

The secret alliance of guilds and lesser nobles begins stealth actions against the three children of the late king, undermining their positions.

The secret alliance now revealed, the remaining guilds split and join into factions.

The Guild War rages

While Astaroth is on the battlefield, the Guild of Anti-Magic, the Guild of Artifice and the King's Arcane Guard take over the Iridescent Tower and declare a Council will rule the Kingdom until the rightful heir has been determined

Zardos the White mobilizes his troops to occupy the Iridescent Tower

While the Siege of the Iridescent Tower is coming to an end in favor of Zardos' forces, the goblin faction of Baroness Nasha and the Guild of three leaves sabotages the attacking forces from the underground with alchemic devices. As Zardos and most of his troops die, Nasha gains her place in the Council

After the death of Zardos the White and many of their leaders, the Hroudhorn tribes close the Gates to the Mountains and declare their independence

The enormous losses during the Guild War result in the collapse of the 13 Arcane Guilds

With no one remaining to maintain them, the Great Seals weaken

As the Great Seals weaken, the Blood Curse begins to spread through the land

The Condottiers of the Crownhill order are sacrificing everything to limit the spread of the curse, healing the sick, blessing the doomed ones, limiting the spread of panic and the riots.

The knowledge spreads that, while the Crownhill Condottiers die by the dozens, low rank condottier Iliana Sunshield seems to be unaffected by the curse; some see this as a miracle, many look at it with suspicion.

Working with the spirit of Isolar, the Living Island, the former vampire master of the Guild of Necromancy sacrifices himself in a blood ritual to stop the last seal from breaking.

The post-collapse Great Reform of magic studies happens; the study of the 5 Spheres spreads, co-existing and in attrition with older studies of the guilds era

Efforts are undertaken to research ways to rebuild or recreate the Great Seals. With so much knowledge lost, progress is slow.

As it becomes clear that the vampiric magic that keeps the last seal from breaking will end sooner rather than later, Iliana Sunshield sets out to explore the ancient V'ran ruins nobody else can step into without succumbing to the curse to find a solution.

>> The Blood War

Iliana Sunshield is elected for life as Queen over the remaining provinces

The Human Condottiere Iliana Sunshield, is crowned in the new capital of Ildova as Queen, becoming the first ruler of the Kingdom without any magical ability

END

DESCRIPTIONS

The study of the 5 Spheres is the reformed way of interpreting magic. Magic is seen in terms of what "costs" a caster withstands, in every "sphere" his being reflects (The Movement of Matter, The Spirit of Nature, The Human Matrix, The Veiled Realm, The Beyond), rather than what it manipulates. Many old scholars (and especially the conservative ones, insisting on magic as an elite knowledge) frown at this reform.

The Guild of Necromancy - or officially the Guild of the Inner Light - was one of the original 13 Arcane Guilds, but in contrast to Necromancers in other parts of the world, the guild focused not only on death and undeath but also the healing and preservation of the spirit and the living body.

The Free Republic of Istion - also named the "free cities", the "Radiant" one, or simply Istion -is a mainly coastal territory ruled by an independent, oligarchic, state-city. Seafaring, marine commerce and trading and military / economic hegemony over several colonies / tributaries has made the Republic incredibly wealthy, and thus able to preserve independence. The city Bank wisely administers this wealth to generate more, borrowing and retrieving huge sums to (openly or secretly) sponsor this or that political power.

The Relation between the Guilds and the Nobility of the Inner Provinces at the time of Guild Wars was very complex. In general most Arcane Casters were members of one of the guilds but not all guild members were Arcane Casters. While not all or even a majority of nobles could cast magic, the noble families had to keep up the appearance of being part of an arcane bloodline - which were the basis of their claim to rule - so many became members of the guilds even though they lacked talent.

[Wasp]

New Round!!!

[Wasp]

TIMELINE
START
King Arunidas LXXVII. dies under mysterious circumstances

The Tiefling Archmage and King, Arunidas LXXVII., is found dead in his bed drained of all his blood

The sole survivor of an expedition into the Morthal Ruins reveals the existence of an ancient Blood Curse before succumbing to it himself.

Suspicions rise when the Guild of Necromancy - the guild of the king's firstborn son, Astaroth the Silent - decides to spend all resources that would be needed to invoke the spirit of the dead king to question him about the circumstances of his death to find out more about the blood curse instead.

King Arunidas LXXVII's lesser son (Zardos the White) and his daughter (Kallista) start independently claiming the throne from his firstborn (Astaroth the Silent). Political tension rises.

The goblin baroness Nasha forges a secret alliance with the Guild of Three Leaves

Zardos the White consolidates his power over the many tribes of Hroudhorn, uniting them in fear and reverence, thus considerably empowering his army

Kallista consolidates, through blood bonds and political action, her supposedly good relations with the rich city-state of Istion, the marine republic; the Bank is happy to fund her campaigns

The secret alliance of guilds and lesser nobles begins stealth actions against the three children of the late king, undermining their positions.

>> An assasination attempt on Astaroth's life by an envoy of the noble House of Andal fails. As the assassin was using a poison that could only be prepared by use of the Seal that is under the Alchemist Guild's protection, Astaroth occupies the Alchemist's Guild's Tower and announces the Guild's dissolvement.

The secret alliance now revealed, the remaining guilds split and join into factions.

The Guild War rages

While Astaroth is on the battlefield, the Guild of Anti-Magic, the Guild of Artifice and the King's Arcane Guard take over the Iridescent Tower and declare a Council will rule the Kingdom until the rightful heir has been determined

Zardos the White mobilizes his troops to occupy the Iridescent Tower

While the Siege of the Iridescent Tower is coming to an end in favor of Zardos' forces, the goblin faction of Baroness Nasha and the Guild of three leaves sabotages the attacking forces from the underground with alchemic devices. As Zardos and most of his troops die, Nasha gains her place in the Council

After the death of Zardos the White and many of their leaders, the Hroudhorn tribes close the Gates to the Mountains and declare their independence

The enormous losses during the Guild War result in the collapse of the 13 Arcane Guilds

With no one remaining to maintain them, the Great Seals weaken

As the Great Seals weaken, the Blood Curse begins to spread through the land

The Condottiers of the Crownhill order are sacrificing everything to limit the spread of the curse, healing the sick, blessing the doomed ones, limiting the spread of panic and the riots.

The knowledge spreads that, while the Crownhill Condottiers die by the dozens, low rank condottier Iliana Sunshield seems to be unaffected by the curse; some see this as a miracle, many look at it with suspicion.

Working with the spirit of Isolar, the Living Island, the former vampire master of the Guild of Necromancy sacrifices himself in a blood ritual to stop the last seal from breaking.

The post-collapse Great Reform of magic studies happens; the study of the 5 Spheres spreads, co-existing and in attrition with older studies of the guilds era

Efforts are undertaken to research ways to rebuild or recreate the Great Seals. With so much knowledge lost, progress is slow.

As it becomes clear that the vampiric magic that keeps the last seal from breaking will end sooner rather than later, Iliana Sunshield sets out to explore the ancient V'ran ruins nobody else can step into without succumbing to the curse to find a solution.

The Blood War

Iliana Sunshield is elected for life as Queen over the remaining provinces

The Human Condottiere Iliana Sunshield, is crowned in the new capital of Ildova as Queen, becoming the first ruler of the Kingdom without any magical ability

END

DESCRIPTIONS

The study of the 5 Spheres is the reformed way of interpreting magic. Magic is seen in terms of what "costs" a caster withstands, in every "sphere" his being reflects (The Movement of Matter, The Spirit of Nature, The Human Matrix, The Veiled Realm, The Beyond), rather than what it manipulates. Many old scholars (and especially the conservative ones, insisting on magic as an elite knowledge) frown at this reform.

The Guild of Necromancy - or officially the Guild of the Inner Light - was one of the original 13 Arcane Guilds, but in contrast to Necromancers in other parts of the world, the guild focused not only on death and undeath but also the healing and preservation of the spirit and the living body.

The Free Republic of Istion - also named the "free cities", the "Radiant" one, or simply Istion -is a mainly coastal territory ruled by an independent, oligarchic, state-city. Seafaring, marine commerce and trading and military / economic hegemony over several colonies / tributaries has made the Republic incredibly wealthy, and thus able to preserve independence. The city Bank wisely administers this wealth to generate more, borrowing and retrieving huge sums to (openly or secretly) sponsor this or that political power.

The Relation between the Guilds and the Nobility of the Inner Provinces at the time of Guild Wars was very complex. In general most Arcane Casters were members of one of the guilds but not all guild members were Arcane Casters. While not all or even a majority of nobles could cast magic, the noble families had to keep up the appearance of being part of an arcane bloodline - which were the basis of their claim to rule - so many became members of the guilds even though they lacked talent.

[Chas Kramer]

TIMELINE
START
King Arunidas LXXVII. dies under mysterious circumstances

The Tiefling Archmage and King, Arunidas LXXVII., is found dead in his bed drained of all his blood

The sole survivor of an expedition into the Morthal Ruins reveals the existence of an ancient Blood Curse before succumbing to it himself.

Suspicions rise when the Guild of Necromancy - the guild of the king's firstborn son, Astaroth the Silent - decides to spend all resources that would be needed to invoke the spirit of the dead king to question him about the circumstances of his death to find out more about the blood curse instead.

King Arunidas LXXVII's lesser son (Zardos the White) and his daughter (Kallista) start independently claiming the throne from his firstborn (Astaroth the Silent). Political tension rises.

The goblin baroness Nasha forges a secret alliance with the Guild of Three Leaves

Zardos the White consolidates his power over the many tribes of Hroudhorn, uniting them in fear and reverence, thus considerably empowering his army

Kallista consolidates, through blood bonds and political action, her supposedly good relations with the rich city-state of Istion, the marine republic; the Bank is happy to fund her campaigns

The secret alliance of guilds and lesser nobles begins stealth actions against the three children of the late king, undermining their positions.

An assasination attempt on Astaroth's life by an envoy of the noble House of Andal fails. As the assassin was using a poison that could only be prepared by use of the Seal that is under the Alchemist Guild's protection, Astaroth occupies the Alchemist's Guild's Tower and announces the Guild's dissolvement.

The secret alliance now revealed, the remaining guilds split and join into factions.

The Guild War rages

While Astaroth is on the battlefield, the Guild of Anti-Magic, the Guild of Artifice and the King's Arcane Guard take over the Iridescent Tower and declare a Council will rule the Kingdom until the rightful heir has been determined

Zardos the White mobilizes his troops to occupy the Iridescent Tower

While the Siege of the Iridescent Tower is coming to an end in favor of Zardos' forces, the goblin faction of Baroness Nasha and the Guild of three leaves sabotages the attacking forces from the underground with alchemic devices. As Zardos and most of his troops die, Nasha gains her place in the Council

After the death of Zardos the White and many of their leaders, the Hroudhorn tribes close the Gates to the Mountains and declare their independence

The enormous losses during the Guild War result in the collapse of the 13 Arcane Guilds

With no one remaining to maintain them, the Great Seals weaken

As the Great Seals weaken, the Blood Curse begins to spread through the land

The Condottiers of the Crownhill order are sacrificing everything to limit the spread of the curse, healing the sick, blessing the doomed ones, limiting the spread of panic and the riots.

The knowledge spreads that, while the Crownhill Condottiers die by the dozens, low rank condottier Iliana Sunshield seems to be unaffected by the curse; some see this as a miracle, many look at it with suspicion.

Working with the spirit of Isolar, the Living Island, the former vampire master of the Guild of Necromancy sacrifices himself in a blood ritual to stop the last seal from breaking.

The post-collapse Great Reform of magic studies happens; the study of the 5 Spheres spreads, co-existing and in attrition with older studies of the guilds era

Efforts are undertaken to research ways to rebuild or recreate the Great Seals. With so much knowledge lost, progress is slow.

As it becomes clear that the vampiric magic that keeps the last seal from breaking will end sooner rather than later, Iliana Sunshield sets out to explore the ancient V'ran ruins nobody else can step into without succumbing to the curse to find a solution.

The Blood War

Iliana Sunshield is elected for life as Queen over the remaining provinces

The Human Condottiere Iliana Sunshield, is crowned in the new capital of Ildova as Queen, becoming the first ruler of the Kingdom without any magical ability

END

DESCRIPTIONS

The study of the 5 Spheres is the reformed way of interpreting magic. Magic is seen in terms of what "costs" a caster withstands, in every "sphere" his being reflects (The Movement of Matter, The Spirit of Nature, The Human Matrix, The Veiled Realm, The Beyond), rather than what it manipulates. Many old scholars (and especially the conservative ones, insisting on magic as an elite knowledge) frown at this reform.

The Guild of Necromancy - or officially the Guild of the Inner Light - was one of the original 13 Arcane Guilds, but in contrast to Necromancers in other parts of the world, the guild focused not only on death and undeath but also the healing and preservation of the spirit and the living body.

The Free Republic of Istion - also named the "free cities", the "Radiant" one, or simply Istion -is a mainly coastal territory ruled by an independent, oligarchic, state-city. Seafaring, marine commerce and trading and military / economic hegemony over several colonies / tributaries has made the Republic incredibly wealthy, and thus able to preserve independence. The city Bank wisely administers this wealth to generate more, borrowing and retrieving huge sums to (openly or secretly) sponsor this or that political power.

The Relation between the Guilds and the Nobility of the Inner Provinces at the time of Guild Wars was very complex. In general most Arcane Casters were members of one of the guilds but not all guild members were Arcane Casters. While not all or even a majority of nobles could cast magic, the noble families had to keep up the appearance of being part of an arcane bloodline - which were the basis of their claim to rule - so many became members of the guilds even though they lacked talent.

>>The Condottiers of Crownhill originated as a small military garrison to protect the strategically placed monastery of Mount Crownhill. Time passed and the monastic order fade away, but the warrior stayed, and found themselves without a master. They refused to be called "knights", because they saw the other knightly orders as little more then hounds in service a master, be it a noble house, guild, or rich men. They chose for themselves the name "Condottiers", and with it they adopted a moral code based on discipline, self-perfection and charity (reminiscent of the original way of the monks, somehow). They are either loved as holy protectors, or hated as holier-than-you hypocrites, with little shades in between.

[Wasp]

Kinro, are you till with us?

[Kinro]

TIMELINE
START
King Arunidas LXXVII. dies under mysterious circumstances

The Tiefling Archmage and King, Arunidas LXXVII., is found dead in his bed drained of all his blood

The sole survivor of an expedition into the Morthal Ruins reveals the existence of an ancient Blood Curse before succumbing to it himself.

Suspicions rise when the Guild of Necromancy - the guild of the king's firstborn son, Astaroth the Silent - decides to spend all resources that would be needed to invoke the spirit of the dead king to question him about the circumstances of his death to find out more about the blood curse instead.

King Arunidas LXXVII's lesser son (Zardos the White) and his daughter (Kallista) start independently claiming the throne from his firstborn (Astaroth the Silent). Political tension rises.

The goblin baroness Nasha forges a secret alliance with the Guild of Three Leaves

Zardos the White consolidates his power over the many tribes of Hroudhorn, uniting them in fear and reverence, thus considerably empowering his army

Kallista consolidates, through blood bonds and political action, her supposedly good relations with the rich city-state of Istion, the marine republic; the Bank is happy to fund her campaigns

The secret alliance of guilds and lesser nobles begins stealth actions against the three children of the late king, undermining their positions.

An assasination attempt on Astaroth's life by an envoy of the noble House of Andal fails. As the assassin was using a poison that could only be prepared by use of the Seal that is under the Alchemist Guild's protection, Astaroth occupies the Alchemist's Guild's Tower and announces the Guild's dissolvement.

The secret alliance now revealed, the remaining guilds split and join into factions.

The Guild War rages

While Astaroth is on the battlefield, the Guild of Anti-Magic, the Guild of Artifice and the King's Arcane Guard take over the Iridescent Tower and declare a Council will rule the Kingdom until the rightful heir has been determined

Zardos the White mobilizes his troops to occupy the Iridescent Tower

While the Siege of the Iridescent Tower is coming to an end in favor of Zardos' forces, the goblin faction of Baroness Nasha and the Guild of three leaves sabotages the attacking forces from the underground with alchemic devices. As Zardos and most of his troops die, Nasha gains her place in the Council

After the death of Zardos the White and many of their leaders, the Hroudhorn tribes close the Gates to the Mountains and declare their independence

The enormous losses during the Guild War result in the collapse of the 13 Arcane Guilds

With no one remaining to maintain them, the Great Seals weaken

As the Great Seals weaken, the Blood Curse begins to spread through the land

The Condottiers of the Crownhill order are sacrificing everything to limit the spread of the curse, healing the sick, blessing the doomed ones, limiting the spread of panic and the riots.

The knowledge spreads that, while the Crownhill Condottiers die by the dozens, low rank condottier Iliana Sunshield seems to be unaffected by the curse; some see this as a miracle, many look at it with suspicion.

Working with the spirit of Isolar, the Living Island, the former vampire master of the Guild of Necromancy sacrifices himself in a blood ritual to stop the last seal from breaking.

The post-collapse Great Reform of magic studies happens; the study of the 5 Spheres spreads, co-existing and in attrition with older studies of the guilds era

Efforts are undertaken to research ways to rebuild or recreate the Great Seals. With so much knowledge lost, progress is slow.

>>A rogue faction of mages, nobles and researcher search for ways to, rather than prevent the Blood Curse, submit to it, empowering them with its dark energies.

As it becomes clear that the vampiric magic that keeps the last seal from breaking will end sooner rather than later, Iliana Sunshield sets out to explore the ancient V'ran ruins nobody else can step into without succumbing to the curse to find a solution.

The Blood War

Iliana Sunshield is elected for life as Queen over the remaining provinces

The Human Condottiere Iliana Sunshield, is crowned in the new capital of Ildova as Queen, becoming the first ruler of the Kingdom without any magical ability

END

DESCRIPTIONS

The study of the 5 Spheres is the reformed way of interpreting magic. Magic is seen in terms of what "costs" a caster withstands, in every "sphere" his being reflects (The Movement of Matter, The Spirit of Nature, The Human Matrix, The Veiled Realm, The Beyond), rather than what it manipulates. Many old scholars (and especially the conservative ones, insisting on magic as an elite knowledge) frown at this reform.

The Guild of Necromancy - or officially the Guild of the Inner Light - was one of the original 13 Arcane Guilds, but in contrast to Necromancers in other parts of the world, the guild focused not only on death and undeath but also the healing and preservation of the spirit and the living body.

The Free Republic of Istion - also named the "free cities", the "Radiant" one, or simply Istion -is a mainly coastal territory ruled by an independent, oligarchic, state-city. Seafaring, marine commerce and trading and military / economic hegemony over several colonies / tributaries has made the Republic incredibly wealthy, and thus able to preserve independence. The city Bank wisely administers this wealth to generate more, borrowing and retrieving huge sums to (openly or secretly) sponsor this or that political power.

The Relation between the Guilds and the Nobility of the Inner Provinces at the time of Guild Wars was very complex. In general most Arcane Casters were members of one of the guilds but not all guild members were Arcane Casters. While not all or even a majority of nobles could cast magic, the noble families had to keep up the appearance of being part of an arcane bloodline - which were the basis of their claim to rule - so many became members of the guilds even though they lacked talent.

The Condottiers of Crownhill originated as a small military garrison to protect the strategically placed monastery of Mount Crownhill. Time passed and the monastic order fade away, but the warrior stayed, and found themselves without a master. They refused to be called "knights", because they saw the other knightly orders as little more then hounds in service a master, be it a noble house, guild, or rich men. They chose for themselves the name "Condottiers", and with it they adopted a moral code based on discipline, self-perfection and charity (reminiscent of the original way of the monks, somehow). They are either loved as holy protectors, or hated as holier-than-you hypocrites, with little shades in between.

[Wasp]

Thanks! And a new round!

[Chas Kramer]

TIMELINE
START
King Arunidas LXXVII. dies under mysterious circumstances

The Tiefling Archmage and King, Arunidas LXXVII., is found dead in his bed drained of all his blood

The sole survivor of an expedition into the Morthal Ruins reveals the existence of an ancient Blood Curse before succumbing to it himself.

Suspicions rise when the Guild of Necromancy - the guild of the king's firstborn son, Astaroth the Silent - decides to spend all resources that would be needed to invoke the spirit of the dead king to question him about the circumstances of his death to find out more about the blood curse instead.

King Arunidas LXXVII's lesser son (Zardos the White) and his daughter (Kallista) start independently claiming the throne from his firstborn (Astaroth the Silent). Political tension rises.

The goblin baroness Nasha forges a secret alliance with the Guild of Three Leaves

Zardos the White consolidates his power over the many tribes of Hroudhorn, uniting them in fear and reverence, thus considerably empowering his army

Kallista consolidates, through blood bonds and political action, her supposedly good relations with the rich city-state of Istion, the marine republic; the Bank is happy to fund her campaigns

The secret alliance of guilds and lesser nobles begins stealth actions against the three children of the late king, undermining their positions.

An assasination attempt on Astaroth's life by an envoy of the noble House of Andal fails. As the assassin was using a poison that could only be prepared by use of the Seal that is under the Alchemist Guild's protection, Astaroth occupies the Alchemist's Guild's Tower and announces the Guild's dissolvement.

The secret alliance now revealed, the remaining guilds split and join into factions.

The Guild War rages

While Astaroth is on the battlefield, the Guild of Anti-Magic, the Guild of Artifice and the King's Arcane Guard take over the Iridescent Tower and declare a Council will rule the Kingdom until the rightful heir has been determined

Zardos the White mobilizes his troops to occupy the Iridescent Tower

While the Siege of the Iridescent Tower is coming to an end in favor of Zardos' forces, the goblin faction of Baroness Nasha and the Guild of three leaves sabotages the attacking forces from the underground with alchemic devices. As Zardos and most of his troops die, Nasha gains her place in the Council

After the death of Zardos the White and many of their leaders, the Hroudhorn tribes close the Gates to the Mountains and declare their independence

The enormous losses during the Guild War result in the collapse of the 13 Arcane Guilds

With no one remaining to maintain them, the Great Seals weaken

As the Great Seals weaken, the Blood Curse begins to spread through the land

The Condottiers of the Crownhill order are sacrificing everything to limit the spread of the curse, healing the sick, blessing the doomed ones, limiting the spread of panic and the riots.

The knowledge spreads that, while the Crownhill Condottiers die by the dozens, low rank condottier Iliana Sunshield seems to be unaffected by the curse; some see this as a miracle, many look at it with suspicion.

Working with the spirit of Isolar, the Living Island, the former vampire master of the Guild of Necromancy sacrifices himself in a blood ritual to stop the last seal from breaking.

The post-collapse Great Reform of magic studies happens; the study of the 5 Spheres spreads, co-existing and in attrition with older studies of the guilds era

Efforts are undertaken to research ways to rebuild or recreate the Great Seals. With so much knowledge lost, progress is slow.

A rogue faction of mages, nobles and researcher search for ways to, rather than prevent the Blood Curse, submit to it, empowering them with its dark energies.

As it becomes clear that the vampiric magic that keeps the last seal from breaking will end sooner rather than later, Iliana Sunshield sets out to explore the ancient V'ran ruins nobody else can step into without succumbing to the curse to find a solution.

>>The cryptic, enchanted glyphs in the V'ran ruins do not disclose any remedy to the curse; however they DO tell the story of an ancient war of the V'ran civilization against the so called "Murg Thalai", and about the V'ran developing of "the Red touch of Ta'axos", a curse they lost control of, sealing their own doom

The Blood War

Iliana Sunshield is elected for life as Queen over the remaining provinces

The Human Condottiere Iliana Sunshield, is crowned in the new capital of Ildova as Queen, becoming the first ruler of the Kingdom without any magical ability

END

DESCRIPTIONS

The study of the 5 Spheres is the reformed way of interpreting magic. Magic is seen in terms of what "costs" a caster withstands, in every "sphere" his being reflects (The Movement of Matter, The Spirit of Nature, The Human Matrix, The Veiled Realm, The Beyond), rather than what it manipulates. Many old scholars (and especially the conservative ones, insisting on magic as an elite knowledge) frown at this reform.

The Guild of Necromancy - or officially the Guild of the Inner Light - was one of the original 13 Arcane Guilds, but in contrast to Necromancers in other parts of the world, the guild focused not only on death and undeath but also the healing and preservation of the spirit and the living body.

The Free Republic of Istion - also named the "free cities", the "Radiant" one, or simply Istion -is a mainly coastal territory ruled by an independent, oligarchic, state-city. Seafaring, marine commerce and trading and military / economic hegemony over several colonies / tributaries has made the Republic incredibly wealthy, and thus able to preserve independence. The city Bank wisely administers this wealth to generate more, borrowing and retrieving huge sums to (openly or secretly) sponsor this or that political power.

The Relation between the Guilds and the Nobility of the Inner Provinces at the time of Guild Wars was very complex. In general most Arcane Casters were members of one of the guilds but not all guild members were Arcane Casters. While not all or even a majority of nobles could cast magic, the noble families had to keep up the appearance of being part of an arcane bloodline - which were the basis of their claim to rule - so many became members of the guilds even though they lacked talent.

The Condottiers of Crownhill originated as a small military garrison to protect the strategically placed monastery of Mount Crownhill. Time passed and the monastic order fade away, but the warrior stayed, and found themselves without a master. They refused to be called "knights", because they saw the other knightly orders as little more then hounds in service a master, be it a noble house, guild, or rich men. They chose for themselves the name "Condottiers", and with it they adopted a moral code based on discipline, self-perfection and charity (reminiscent of the original way of the monks, somehow). They are either loved as holy protectors, or hated as holier-than-you hypocrites, with little shades in between.

[Wasp]

I realized the ruins were called Morthal ruins, so I changed all instances of V'ran to Morthal. Sorry.

TIMELINE
START
King Arunidas LXXVII. dies under mysterious circumstances

The Tiefling Archmage and King, Arunidas LXXVII., is found dead in his bed drained of all his blood

The sole survivor of an expedition into the Morthal Ruins reveals the existence of an ancient Blood Curse before succumbing to it himself.

Suspicions rise when the Guild of Necromancy - the guild of the king's firstborn son, Astaroth the Silent - decides to spend all resources that would be needed to invoke the spirit of the dead king to question him about the circumstances of his death to find out more about the blood curse instead.

King Arunidas LXXVII's lesser son (Zardos the White) and his daughter (Kallista) start independently claiming the throne from his firstborn (Astaroth the Silent). Political tension rises.

The goblin baroness Nasha forges a secret alliance with the Guild of Three Leaves

Zardos the White consolidates his power over the many tribes of Hroudhorn, uniting them in fear and reverence, thus considerably empowering his army

Kallista consolidates, through blood bonds and political action, her supposedly good relations with the rich city-state of Istion, the marine republic; the Bank is happy to fund her campaigns

The secret alliance of guilds and lesser nobles begins stealth actions against the three children of the late king, undermining their positions.

An assasination attempt on Astaroth's life by an envoy of the noble House of Andal fails. As the assassin was using a poison that could only be prepared by use of the Seal that is under the Alchemist Guild's protection, Astaroth occupies the Alchemist's Guild's Tower and announces the Guild's dissolvement.

The secret alliance now revealed, the remaining guilds split and join into factions.

The Guild War rages

While Astaroth is on the battlefield, the Guild of Anti-Magic, the Guild of Artifice and the King's Arcane Guard take over the Iridescent Tower and declare a Council will rule the Kingdom until the rightful heir has been determined

Zardos the White mobilizes his troops to occupy the Iridescent Tower

While the Siege of the Iridescent Tower is coming to an end in favor of Zardos' forces, the goblin faction of Baroness Nasha and the Guild of three leaves sabotages the attacking forces from the underground with alchemic devices. As Zardos and most of his troops die, Nasha gains her place in the Council

After the death of Zardos the White and many of their leaders, the Hroudhorn tribes close the Gates to the Mountains and declare their independence

The enormous losses during the Guild War result in the collapse of the 13 Arcane Guilds

With no one remaining to maintain them, the Great Seals weaken

As the Great Seals weaken, the Blood Curse begins to spread through the land

The Condottiers of the Crownhill order are sacrificing everything to limit the spread of the curse, healing the sick, blessing the doomed ones, limiting the spread of panic and the riots.

The knowledge spreads that, while the Crownhill Condottiers die by the dozens, low rank condottier Iliana Sunshield seems to be unaffected by the curse; some see this as a miracle, many look at it with suspicion.

Working with the spirit of Isolar, the Living Island, the former vampire master of the Guild of Necromancy sacrifices himself in a blood ritual to stop the last seal from breaking.

The post-collapse Great Reform of magic studies happens; the study of the 5 Spheres spreads, co-existing and in attrition with older studies of the guilds era

Efforts are undertaken to research ways to rebuild or recreate the Great Seals. With so much knowledge lost, progress is slow.

A rogue faction of mages, nobles and researcher search for ways to, rather than prevent the Blood Curse, submit to it, empowering them with its dark energies.

As it becomes clear that the vampiric magic that keeps the last seal from breaking will end sooner rather than later, Iliana Sunshield sets out to explore the ancient Morthal ruins nobody else can step into without succumbing to the curse to find a solution.

The cryptic, enchanted glyphs in the Morthal ruins do not disclose any remedy to the curse; however they DO tell the story of an ancient war of the Morthal civilization against the so called "Murg Thalai", and about the Morthal developing of "the Red touch of Ta'axos", a curse they lost control of, sealing their own doom

The Blood War

>> Several secret societies who see the Red Touch as a solution unite under the banner of the "Reborn Kingdom of Morthal".

Iliana Sunshield is elected for life as Queen over the remaining provinces

The Human Condottiere Iliana Sunshield, is crowned in the new capital of Ildova as Queen, becoming the first ruler of the Kingdom without any magical ability

END

DESCRIPTIONS

The study of the 5 Spheres is the reformed way of interpreting magic. Magic is seen in terms of what "costs" a caster withstands, in every "sphere" his being reflects (The Movement of Matter, The Spirit of Nature, The Human Matrix, The Veiled Realm, The Beyond), rather than what it manipulates. Many old scholars (and especially the conservative ones, insisting on magic as an elite knowledge) frown at this reform.

The Guild of Necromancy - or officially the Guild of the Inner Light - was one of the original 13 Arcane Guilds, but in contrast to Necromancers in other parts of the world, the guild focused not only on death and undeath but also the healing and preservation of the spirit and the living body.

The Free Republic of Istion - also named the "free cities", the "Radiant" one, or simply Istion -is a mainly coastal territory ruled by an independent, oligarchic, state-city. Seafaring, marine commerce and trading and military / economic hegemony over several colonies / tributaries has made the Republic incredibly wealthy, and thus able to preserve independence. The city Bank wisely administers this wealth to generate more, borrowing and retrieving huge sums to (openly or secretly) sponsor this or that political power.

The Relation between the Guilds and the Nobility of the Inner Provinces at the time of Guild Wars was very complex. In general most Arcane Casters were members of one of the guilds but not all guild members were Arcane Casters. While not all or even a majority of nobles could cast magic, the noble families had to keep up the appearance of being part of an arcane bloodline - which were the basis of their claim to rule - so many became members of the guilds even though they lacked talent.

The Condottiers of Crownhill originated as a small military garrison to protect the strategically placed monastery of Mount Crownhill. Time passed and the monastic order fade away, but the warrior stayed, and found themselves without a master. They refused to be called "knights", because they saw the other knightly orders as little more then hounds in service a master, be it a noble house, guild, or rich men. They chose for themselves the name "Condottiers", and with it they adopted a moral code based on discipline, self-perfection and charity (reminiscent of the original way of the monks, somehow). They are either loved as holy protectors, or hated as holier-than-you hypocrites, with little shades in between.

[Kinro]

TIMELINE
START
King Arunidas LXXVII. dies under mysterious circumstances

The Tiefling Archmage and King, Arunidas LXXVII., is found dead in his bed drained of all his blood

The sole survivor of an expedition into the Morthal Ruins reveals the existence of an ancient Blood Curse before succumbing to it himself.

Suspicions rise when the Guild of Necromancy - the guild of the king's firstborn son, Astaroth the Silent - decides to spend all resources that would be needed to invoke the spirit of the dead king to question him about the circumstances of his death to find out more about the blood curse instead.

King Arunidas LXXVII's lesser son (Zardos the White) and his daughter (Kallista) start independently claiming the throne from his firstborn (Astaroth the Silent). Political tension rises.

The goblin baroness Nasha forges a secret alliance with the Guild of Three Leaves

Zardos the White consolidates his power over the many tribes of Hroudhorn, uniting them in fear and reverence, thus considerably empowering his army

Kallista consolidates, through blood bonds and political action, her supposedly good relations with the rich city-state of Istion, the marine republic; the Bank is happy to fund her campaigns

The secret alliance of guilds and lesser nobles begins stealth actions against the three children of the late king, undermining their positions.

An assasination attempt on Astaroth's life by an envoy of the noble House of Andal fails. As the assassin was using a poison that could only be prepared by use of the Seal that is under the Alchemist Guild's protection, Astaroth occupies the Alchemist's Guild's Tower and announces the Guild's dissolvement.

The secret alliance now revealed, the remaining guilds split and join into factions.

The Guild War rages

While Astaroth is on the battlefield, the Guild of Anti-Magic, the Guild of Artifice and the King's Arcane Guard take over the Iridescent Tower and declare a Council will rule the Kingdom until the rightful heir has been determined

Zardos the White mobilizes his troops to occupy the Iridescent Tower

While the Siege of the Iridescent Tower is coming to an end in favor of Zardos' forces, the goblin faction of Baroness Nasha and the Guild of three leaves sabotages the attacking forces from the underground with alchemic devices. As Zardos and most of his troops die, Nasha gains her place in the Council

After the death of Zardos the White and many of their leaders, the Hroudhorn tribes close the Gates to the Mountains and declare their independence

The enormous losses during the Guild War result in the collapse of the 13 Arcane Guilds

With no one remaining to maintain them, the Great Seals weaken

As the Great Seals weaken, the Blood Curse begins to spread through the land

The Condottiers of the Crownhill order are sacrificing everything to limit the spread of the curse, healing the sick, blessing the doomed ones, limiting the spread of panic and the riots.

The knowledge spreads that, while the Crownhill Condottiers die by the dozens, low rank condottier Iliana Sunshield seems to be unaffected by the curse; some see this as a miracle, many look at it with suspicion.

Working with the spirit of Isolar, the Living Island, the former vampire master of the Guild of Necromancy sacrifices himself in a blood ritual to stop the last seal from breaking.

The post-collapse Great Reform of magic studies happens; the study of the 5 Spheres spreads, co-existing and in attrition with older studies of the guilds era

Efforts are undertaken to research ways to rebuild or recreate the Great Seals. With so much knowledge lost, progress is slow.

A rogue faction of mages, nobles and researcher search for ways to, rather than prevent the Blood Curse, submit to it, empowering them with its dark energies.

As it becomes clear that the vampiric magic that keeps the last seal from breaking will end sooner rather than later, Iliana Sunshield sets out to explore the ancient Morthal ruins nobody else can step into without succumbing to the curse to find a solution.

The cryptic, enchanted glyphs in the Morthal ruins do not disclose any remedy to the curse; however they DO tell the story of an ancient war of the Morthal civilization against the so called "Murg Thalai", and about the Morthal developing of "the Red touch of Ta'axos", a curse they lost control of, sealing their own doom

The Blood War

Several secret societies who see the Red Touch as a solution unite under the banner of the "Reborn Kingdom of Morthal".

>> The actions of the Reborn Kingdom of Morthal to deliberately spread the Blood Curse in order to inflate their numbers come to light.

Iliana Sunshield is elected for life as Queen over the remaining provinces

The Human Condottiere Iliana Sunshield, is crowned in the new capital of Ildova as Queen, becoming the first ruler of the Kingdom without any magical ability

END

DESCRIPTIONS

The study of the 5 Spheres is the reformed way of interpreting magic. Magic is seen in terms of what "costs" a caster withstands, in every "sphere" his being reflects (The Movement of Matter, The Spirit of Nature, The Human Matrix, The Veiled Realm, The Beyond), rather than what it manipulates. Many old scholars (and especially the conservative ones, insisting on magic as an elite knowledge) frown at this reform.

The Guild of Necromancy - or officially the Guild of the Inner Light - was one of the original 13 Arcane Guilds, but in contrast to Necromancers in other parts of the world, the guild focused not only on death and undeath but also the healing and preservation of the spirit and the living body.

The Free Republic of Istion - also named the "free cities", the "Radiant" one, or simply Istion -is a mainly coastal territory ruled by an independent, oligarchic, state-city. Seafaring, marine commerce and trading and military / economic hegemony over several colonies / tributaries has made the Republic incredibly wealthy, and thus able to preserve independence. The city Bank wisely administers this wealth to generate more, borrowing and retrieving huge sums to (openly or secretly) sponsor this or that political power.

The Relation between the Guilds and the Nobility of the Inner Provinces at the time of Guild Wars was very complex. In general most Arcane Casters were members of one of the guilds but not all guild members were Arcane Casters. While not all or even a majority of nobles could cast magic, the noble families had to keep up the appearance of being part of an arcane bloodline - which were the basis of their claim to rule - so many became members of the guilds even though they lacked talent.

The Condottiers of Crownhill originated as a small military garrison to protect the strategically placed monastery of Mount Crownhill. Time passed and the monastic order fade away, but the warrior stayed, and found themselves without a master. They refused to be called "knights", because they saw the other knightly orders as little more then hounds in service a master, be it a noble house, guild, or rich men. They chose for themselves the name "Condottiers", and with it they adopted a moral code based on discipline, self-perfection and charity (reminiscent of the original way of the monks, somehow). They are either loved as holy protectors, or hated as holier-than-you hypocrites, with little shades in between.

[Wasp]

New Round! I have rolled back the removal of V'ran!

TIMELINE
START
King Arunidas LXXVII. dies under mysterious circumstances

The Tiefling Archmage and King, Arunidas LXXVII., is found dead in his bed drained of all his blood

The sole survivor of an expedition into the Morthal Ruins reveals the existence of an ancient Blood Curse before succumbing to it himself.

Suspicions rise when the Guild of Necromancy - the guild of the king's firstborn son, Astaroth the Silent - decides to spend all resources that would be needed to invoke the spirit of the dead king to question him about the circumstances of his death to find out more about the blood curse instead.

King Arunidas LXXVII's lesser son (Zardos the White) and his daughter (Kallista) start independently claiming the throne from his firstborn (Astaroth the Silent). Political tension rises.

The goblin baroness Nasha forges a secret alliance with the Guild of Three Leaves

Zardos the White consolidates his power over the many tribes of Hroudhorn, uniting them in fear and reverence, thus considerably empowering his army

Kallista consolidates, through blood bonds and political action, her supposedly good relations with the rich city-state of Istion, the marine republic; the Bank is happy to fund her campaigns

The secret alliance of guilds and lesser nobles begins stealth actions against the three children of the late king, undermining their positions.

An assasination attempt on Astaroth's life by an envoy of the noble House of Andal fails. As the assassin was using a poison that could only be prepared by use of the Seal that is under the Alchemist Guild's protection, Astaroth occupies the Alchemist's Guild's Tower and announces the Guild's dissolvement.

The secret alliance now revealed, the remaining guilds split and join into factions.

The Guild War rages

While Astaroth is on the battlefield, the Guild of Anti-Magic, the Guild of Artifice and the King's Arcane Guard take over the Iridescent Tower and declare a Council will rule the Kingdom until the rightful heir has been determined

Zardos the White mobilizes his troops to occupy the Iridescent Tower

While the Siege of the Iridescent Tower is coming to an end in favor of Zardos' forces, the goblin faction of Baroness Nasha and the Guild of three leaves sabotages the attacking forces from the underground with alchemic devices. As Zardos and most of his troops die, Nasha gains her place in the Council

After the death of Zardos the White and many of their leaders, the Hroudhorn tribes close the Gates to the Mountains and declare their independence

The enormous losses during the Guild War result in the collapse of the 13 Arcane Guilds

With no one remaining to maintain them, the Great Seals weaken

As the Great Seals weaken, the Blood Curse begins to spread through the land

The Condottiers of the Crownhill order are sacrificing everything to limit the spread of the curse, healing the sick, blessing the doomed ones, limiting the spread of panic and the riots.

The knowledge spreads that, while the Crownhill Condottiers die by the dozens, low rank condottier Iliana Sunshield seems to be unaffected by the curse; some see this as a miracle, many look at it with suspicion.

Working with the spirit of Isolar, the Living Island, the former vampire master of the Guild of Necromancy sacrifices himself in a blood ritual to stop the last seal from breaking.

The post-collapse Great Reform of magic studies happens; the study of the 5 Spheres spreads, co-existing and in attrition with older studies of the guilds era

Efforts are undertaken to research ways to rebuild or recreate the Great Seals. With so much knowledge lost, progress is slow.

A rogue faction of mages, nobles and researcher search for ways to, rather than prevent the Blood Curse, submit to it, empowering them with its dark energies.

As it becomes clear that the vampiric magic that keeps the last seal from breaking will end sooner rather than later, Iliana Sunshield sets out to explore the ancient V'ran ruins nobody else can step into without succumbing to the curse to find a solution

The cryptic, enchanted glyphs in the V'ran ruins do not disclose any remedy to the curse; however they DO tell the story of an ancient war of the V'ran civilization against the so called "Murg Thalai", and about the V'ran developing of "the Red touch of Ta'axos", a curse they lost control of, sealing their own doom

The Blood War

Several secret societies who see the Red Touch as a solution unite under the banner of the "Reborn Kingdom of V'ran".

The actions of the Reborn Kingdom of V'ran to deliberately spread the Blood Curse in order to inflate their numbers come to light.

Isolar, the Living Island reappears in the present

Iliana Sunshield is elected for life as Queen over the remaining provinces

The Human Condottiere Iliana Sunshield, is crowned in the new capital of Ildova as Queen, becoming the first ruler of the Kingdom without any magical ability

END

DESCRIPTIONS

The study of the 5 Spheres is the reformed way of interpreting magic. Magic is seen in terms of what "costs" a caster withstands, in every "sphere" his being reflects (The Movement of Matter, The Spirit of Nature, The Human Matrix, The Veiled Realm, The Beyond), rather than what it manipulates. Many old scholars (and especially the conservative ones, insisting on magic as an elite knowledge) frown at this reform.

The Guild of Necromancy - or officially the Guild of the Inner Light - was one of the original 13 Arcane Guilds, but in contrast to Necromancers in other parts of the world, the guild focused not only on death and undeath but also the healing and preservation of the spirit and the living body.

The Free Republic of Istion - also named the "free cities", the "Radiant" one, or simply Istion -is a mainly coastal territory ruled by an independent, oligarchic, state-city. Seafaring, marine commerce and trading and military / economic hegemony over several colonies / tributaries has made the Republic incredibly wealthy, and thus able to preserve independence. The city Bank wisely administers this wealth to generate more, borrowing and retrieving huge sums to (openly or secretly) sponsor this or that political power.

The Relation between the Guilds and the Nobility of the Inner Provinces at the time of Guild Wars was very complex. In general most Arcane Casters were members of one of the guilds but not all guild members were Arcane Casters. While not all or even a majority of nobles could cast magic, the noble families had to keep up the appearance of being part of an arcane bloodline - which were the basis of their claim to rule - so many became members of the guilds even though they lacked talent.

The Condottiers of Crownhill originated as a small military garrison to protect the strategically placed monastery of Mount Crownhill. Time passed and the monastic order fade away, but the warrior stayed, and found themselves without a master. They refused to be called "knights", because they saw the other knightly orders as little more then hounds in service a master, be it a noble house, guild, or rich men. They chose for themselves the name "Condottiers", and with it they adopted a moral code based on discipline, self-perfection and charity (reminiscent of the original way of the monks, somehow). They are either loved as holy protectors, or hated as holier-than-you hypocrites, with little shades in between.

[Chas Kramer]

TIMELINE
START
King Arunidas LXXVII. dies under mysterious circumstances

The Tiefling Archmage and King, Arunidas LXXVII., is found dead in his bed drained of all his blood

The sole survivor of an expedition into the Morthal Ruins reveals the existence of an ancient Blood Curse before succumbing to it himself.

Suspicions rise when the Guild of Necromancy - the guild of the king's firstborn son, Astaroth the Silent - decides to spend all resources that would be needed to invoke the spirit of the dead king to question him about the circumstances of his death to find out more about the blood curse instead.

King Arunidas LXXVII's lesser son (Zardos the White) and his daughter (Kallista) start independently claiming the throne from his firstborn (Astaroth the Silent). Political tension rises.

The goblin baroness Nasha forges a secret alliance with the Guild of Three Leaves

Zardos the White consolidates his power over the many tribes of Hroudhorn, uniting them in fear and reverence, thus considerably empowering his army

Kallista consolidates, through blood bonds and political action, her supposedly good relations with the rich city-state of Istion, the marine republic; the Bank is happy to fund her campaigns

The secret alliance of guilds and lesser nobles begins stealth actions against the three children of the late king, undermining their positions.

An assasination attempt on Astaroth's life by an envoy of the noble House of Andal fails. As the assassin was using a poison that could only be prepared by use of the Seal that is under the Alchemist Guild's protection, Astaroth occupies the Alchemist's Guild's Tower and announces the Guild's dissolvement.

The secret alliance now revealed, the remaining guilds split and join into factions.

The Guild War rages

While Astaroth is on the battlefield, the Guild of Anti-Magic, the Guild of Artifice and the King's Arcane Guard take over the Iridescent Tower and declare a Council will rule the Kingdom until the rightful heir has been determined

Zardos the White mobilizes his troops to occupy the Iridescent Tower

While the Siege of the Iridescent Tower is coming to an end in favor of Zardos' forces, the goblin faction of Baroness Nasha and the Guild of three leaves sabotages the attacking forces from the underground with alchemic devices. As Zardos and most of his troops die, Nasha gains her place in the Council

After the death of Zardos the White and many of their leaders, the Hroudhorn tribes close the Gates to the Mountains and declare their independence

The enormous losses during the Guild War result in the collapse of the 13 Arcane Guilds

With no one remaining to maintain them, the Great Seals weaken

As the Great Seals weaken, the Blood Curse begins to spread through the land

The Condottiers of the Crownhill order are sacrificing everything to limit the spread of the curse, healing the sick, blessing the doomed ones, limiting the spread of panic and the riots.

The knowledge spreads that, while the Crownhill Condottiers die by the dozens, low rank condottier Iliana Sunshield seems to be unaffected by the curse; some see this as a miracle, many look at it with suspicion.

Working with the spirit of Isolar, the Living Island, the former vampire master of the Guild of Necromancy sacrifices himself in a blood ritual to stop the last seal from breaking.

The post-collapse Great Reform of magic studies happens; the study of the 5 Spheres spreads, co-existing and in attrition with older studies of the guilds era

Efforts are undertaken to research ways to rebuild or recreate the Great Seals. With so much knowledge lost, progress is slow.

A rogue faction of mages, nobles and researcher search for ways to, rather than prevent the Blood Curse, submit to it, empowering them with its dark energies.

As it becomes clear that the vampiric magic that keeps the last seal from breaking will end sooner rather than later, Iliana Sunshield sets out to explore the ancient V'ran ruins nobody else can step into without succumbing to the curse to find a solution

The cryptic, enchanted glyphs in the V'ran ruins do not disclose any remedy to the curse; however they DO tell the story of an ancient war of the V'ran civilization against the so called "Murg Thalai", and about the V'ran developing of "the Red touch of Ta'axos", a curse they lost control of, sealing their own doom

The Blood War

Several secret societies who see the Red Touch as a solution unite under the banner of the "Reborn Kingdom of V'ran".

The actions of the Reborn Kingdom of V'ran to deliberately spread the Blood Curse in order to inflate their numbers come to light.

>> The remainder of the old noble houses and guilds blame the current course of actions upon the students of the 5 spheres, feeding ideological conflict on top of the already existing tensions

Isolar, the Living Island reappears in the present

Iliana Sunshield is elected for life as Queen over the remaining provinces

The Human Condottiere Iliana Sunshield, is crowned in the new capital of Ildova as Queen, becoming the first ruler of the Kingdom without any magical ability

END

DESCRIPTIONS

The study of the 5 Spheres is the reformed way of interpreting magic. Magic is seen in terms of what "costs" a caster withstands, in every "sphere" his being reflects (The Movement of Matter, The Spirit of Nature, The Human Matrix, The Veiled Realm, The Beyond), rather than what it manipulates. Many old scholars (and especially the conservative ones, insisting on magic as an elite knowledge) frown at this reform.

The Guild of Necromancy - or officially the Guild of the Inner Light - was one of the original 13 Arcane Guilds, but in contrast to Necromancers in other parts of the world, the guild focused not only on death and undeath but also the healing and preservation of the spirit and the living body.

The Free Republic of Istion - also named the "free cities", the "Radiant" one, or simply Istion -is a mainly coastal territory ruled by an independent, oligarchic, state-city. Seafaring, marine commerce and trading and military / economic hegemony over several colonies / tributaries has made the Republic incredibly wealthy, and thus able to preserve independence. The city Bank wisely administers this wealth to generate more, borrowing and retrieving huge sums to (openly or secretly) sponsor this or that political power.

The Relation between the Guilds and the Nobility of the Inner Provinces at the time of Guild Wars was very complex. In general most Arcane Casters were members of one of the guilds but not all guild members were Arcane Casters. While not all or even a majority of nobles could cast magic, the noble families had to keep up the appearance of being part of an arcane bloodline - which were the basis of their claim to rule - so many became members of the guilds even though they lacked talent.

The Condottiers of Crownhill originated as a small military garrison to protect the strategically placed monastery of Mount Crownhill. Time passed and the monastic order fade away, but the warrior stayed, and found themselves without a master. They refused to be called "knights", because they saw the other knightly orders as little more then hounds in service a master, be it a noble house, guild, or rich men. They chose for themselves the name "Condottiers", and with it they adopted a moral code based on discipline, self-perfection and charity (reminiscent of the original way of the monks, somehow). They are either loved as holy protectors, or hated as holier-than-you hypocrites, with little shades in between.

[Kinro]

TIMELINE
START
King Arunidas LXXVII. dies under mysterious circumstances

The Tiefling Archmage and King, Arunidas LXXVII., is found dead in his bed drained of all his blood

The sole survivor of an expedition into the Morthal Ruins reveals the existence of an ancient Blood Curse before succumbing to it himself.

Suspicions rise when the Guild of Necromancy - the guild of the king's firstborn son, Astaroth the Silent - decides to spend all resources that would be needed to invoke the spirit of the dead king to question him about the circumstances of his death to find out more about the blood curse instead.

King Arunidas LXXVII's lesser son (Zardos the White) and his daughter (Kallista) start independently claiming the throne from his firstborn (Astaroth the Silent). Political tension rises.

The goblin baroness Nasha forges a secret alliance with the Guild of Three Leaves

Zardos the White consolidates his power over the many tribes of Hroudhorn, uniting them in fear and reverence, thus considerably empowering his army

Kallista consolidates, through blood bonds and political action, her supposedly good relations with the rich city-state of Istion, the marine republic; the Bank is happy to fund her campaigns

The secret alliance of guilds and lesser nobles begins stealth actions against the three children of the late king, undermining their positions.

An assasination attempt on Astaroth's life by an envoy of the noble House of Andal fails. As the assassin was using a poison that could only be prepared by use of the Seal that is under the Alchemist Guild's protection, Astaroth occupies the Alchemist's Guild's Tower and announces the Guild's dissolvement.

The secret alliance now revealed, the remaining guilds split and join into factions.

The Guild War rages

While Astaroth is on the battlefield, the Guild of Anti-Magic, the Guild of Artifice and the King's Arcane Guard take over the Iridescent Tower and declare a Council will rule the Kingdom until the rightful heir has been determined

Zardos the White mobilizes his troops to occupy the Iridescent Tower

While the Siege of the Iridescent Tower is coming to an end in favor of Zardos' forces, the goblin faction of Baroness Nasha and the Guild of three leaves sabotages the attacking forces from the underground with alchemic devices. As Zardos and most of his troops die, Nasha gains her place in the Council

After the death of Zardos the White and many of their leaders, the Hroudhorn tribes close the Gates to the Mountains and declare their independence

The enormous losses during the Guild War result in the collapse of the 13 Arcane Guilds

With no one remaining to maintain them, the Great Seals weaken

As the Great Seals weaken, the Blood Curse begins to spread through the land

The Condottiers of the Crownhill order are sacrificing everything to limit the spread of the curse, healing the sick, blessing the doomed ones, limiting the spread of panic and the riots.

The knowledge spreads that, while the Crownhill Condottiers die by the dozens, low rank condottier Iliana Sunshield seems to be unaffected by the curse; some see this as a miracle, many look at it with suspicion.

Working with the spirit of Isolar, the Living Island, the former vampire master of the Guild of Necromancy sacrifices himself in a blood ritual to stop the last seal from breaking.

The post-collapse Great Reform of magic studies happens; the study of the 5 Spheres spreads, co-existing and in attrition with older studies of the guilds era

Efforts are undertaken to research ways to rebuild or recreate the Great Seals. With so much knowledge lost, progress is slow.

A rogue faction of mages, nobles and researcher search for ways to, rather than prevent the Blood Curse, submit to it, empowering them with its dark energies.

As it becomes clear that the vampiric magic that keeps the last seal from breaking will end sooner rather than later, Iliana Sunshield sets out to explore the ancient V'ran ruins nobody else can step into without succumbing to the curse to find a solution

The cryptic, enchanted glyphs in the V'ran ruins do not disclose any remedy to the curse; however they DO tell the story of an ancient war of the V'ran civilization against the so called "Murg Thalai", and about the V'ran developing of "the Red touch of Ta'axos", a curse they lost control of, sealing their own doom

The Blood War

Several secret societies who see the Red Touch as a solution unite under the banner of the "Reborn Kingdom of V'ran".

The actions of the Reborn Kingdom of V'ran to deliberately spread the Blood Curse in order to inflate their numbers come to light.

The remainder of the old noble houses and guilds blame the current course of actions upon the students of the 5 spheres, feeding ideological conflict on top of the already existing tensions

>>Now revealed, the Reborn Kingdom of V'ran accelerate their recruitment. Despite the dangers and side-effects, many are lured by promises of power and relative safety from the Blood Curse, especially those not magically inclined.

Isolar, the Living Island reappears in the present

Iliana Sunshield is elected for life as Queen over the remaining provinces

The Human Condottiere Iliana Sunshield, is crowned in the new capital of Ildova as Queen, becoming the first ruler of the Kingdom without any magical ability

END

DESCRIPTIONS

The study of the 5 Spheres is the reformed way of interpreting magic. Magic is seen in terms of what "costs" a caster withstands, in every "sphere" his being reflects (The Movement of Matter, The Spirit of Nature, The Human Matrix, The Veiled Realm, The Beyond), rather than what it manipulates. Many old scholars (and especially the conservative ones, insisting on magic as an elite knowledge) frown at this reform.

The Guild of Necromancy - or officially the Guild of the Inner Light - was one of the original 13 Arcane Guilds, but in contrast to Necromancers in other parts of the world, the guild focused not only on death and undeath but also the healing and preservation of the spirit and the living body.

The Free Republic of Istion - also named the "free cities", the "Radiant" one, or simply Istion -is a mainly coastal territory ruled by an independent, oligarchic, state-city. Seafaring, marine commerce and trading and military / economic hegemony over several colonies / tributaries has made the Republic incredibly wealthy, and thus able to preserve independence. The city Bank wisely administers this wealth to generate more, borrowing and retrieving huge sums to (openly or secretly) sponsor this or that political power.

The Relation between the Guilds and the Nobility of the Inner Provinces at the time of Guild Wars was very complex. In general most Arcane Casters were members of one of the guilds but not all guild members were Arcane Casters. While not all or even a majority of nobles could cast magic, the noble families had to keep up the appearance of being part of an arcane bloodline - which were the basis of their claim to rule - so many became members of the guilds even though they lacked talent.

The Condottiers of Crownhill originated as a small military garrison to protect the strategically placed monastery of Mount Crownhill. Time passed and the monastic order fade away, but the warrior stayed, and found themselves without a master. They refused to be called "knights", because they saw the other knightly orders as little more then hounds in service a master, be it a noble house, guild, or rich men. They chose for themselves the name "Condottiers", and with it they adopted a moral code based on discipline, self-perfection and charity (reminiscent of the original way of the monks, somehow). They are either loved as holy protectors, or hated as holier-than-you hypocrites, with little shades in between.

[Chas Kramer]

TIMELINE
START
King Arunidas LXXVII. dies under mysterious circumstances

The Tiefling Archmage and King, Arunidas LXXVII., is found dead in his bed drained of all his blood

The sole survivor of an expedition into the Morthal Ruins reveals the existence of an ancient Blood Curse before succumbing to it himself.

Suspicions rise when the Guild of Necromancy - the guild of the king's firstborn son, Astaroth the Silent - decides to spend all resources that would be needed to invoke the spirit of the dead king to question him about the circumstances of his death to find out more about the blood curse instead.

King Arunidas LXXVII's lesser son (Zardos the White) and his daughter (Kallista) start independently claiming the throne from his firstborn (Astaroth the Silent). Political tension rises.

The goblin baroness Nasha forges a secret alliance with the Guild of Three Leaves

Zardos the White consolidates his power over the many tribes of Hroudhorn, uniting them in fear and reverence, thus considerably empowering his army

Kallista consolidates, through blood bonds and political action, her supposedly good relations with the rich city-state of Istion, the marine republic; the Bank is happy to fund her campaigns

The secret alliance of guilds and lesser nobles begins stealth actions against the three children of the late king, undermining their positions.

An assasination attempt on Astaroth's life by an envoy of the noble House of Andal fails. As the assassin was using a poison that could only be prepared by use of the Seal that is under the Alchemist Guild's protection, Astaroth occupies the Alchemist's Guild's Tower and announces the Guild's dissolvement.

The secret alliance now revealed, the remaining guilds split and join into factions.

The Guild War rages

While Astaroth is on the battlefield, the Guild of Anti-Magic, the Guild of Artifice and the King's Arcane Guard take over the Iridescent Tower and declare a Council will rule the Kingdom until the rightful heir has been determined

Zardos the White mobilizes his troops to occupy the Iridescent Tower

While the Siege of the Iridescent Tower is coming to an end in favor of Zardos' forces, the goblin faction of Baroness Nasha and the Guild of three leaves sabotages the attacking forces from the underground with alchemic devices. As Zardos and most of his troops die, Nasha gains her place in the Council

After the death of Zardos the White and many of their leaders, the Hroudhorn tribes close the Gates to the Mountains and declare their independence

>>The Gates to the Mountains now closed, the ancient trade-route that was bringing best quality wood to Istion in exchange for salt is compromised, Istion is now forced to smuggle the wood for its ships and is unhappy about the huge costs that this implies.

The enormous losses during the Guild War result in the collapse of the 13 Arcane Guilds

With no one remaining to maintain them, the Great Seals weaken

As the Great Seals weaken, the Blood Curse begins to spread through the land

The Condottiers of the Crownhill order are sacrificing everything to limit the spread of the curse, healing the sick, blessing the doomed ones, limiting the spread of panic and the riots.

The knowledge spreads that, while the Crownhill Condottiers die by the dozens, low rank condottier Iliana Sunshield seems to be unaffected by the curse; some see this as a miracle, many look at it with suspicion.

Working with the spirit of Isolar, the Living Island, the former vampire master of the Guild of Necromancy sacrifices himself in a blood ritual to stop the last seal from breaking.

The post-collapse Great Reform of magic studies happens; the study of the 5 Spheres spreads, co-existing and in attrition with older studies of the guilds era

Efforts are undertaken to research ways to rebuild or recreate the Great Seals. With so much knowledge lost, progress is slow.

A rogue faction of mages, nobles and researcher search for ways to, rather than prevent the Blood Curse, submit to it, empowering them with its dark energies.

As it becomes clear that the vampiric magic that keeps the last seal from breaking will end sooner rather than later, Iliana Sunshield sets out to explore the ancient V'ran ruins nobody else can step into without succumbing to the curse to find a solution

The cryptic, enchanted glyphs in the V'ran ruins do not disclose any remedy to the curse; however they DO tell the story of an ancient war of the V'ran civilization against the so called "Murg Thalai", and about the V'ran developing of "the Red touch of Ta'axos", a curse they lost control of, sealing their own doom

The Blood War

Several secret societies who see the Red Touch as a solution unite under the banner of the "Reborn Kingdom of V'ran".

The actions of the Reborn Kingdom of V'ran to deliberately spread the Blood Curse in order to inflate their numbers come to light.

The remainder of the old noble houses and guilds blame the current course of actions upon the students of the 5 spheres, feeding ideological conflict on top of the already existing tensions

Now revealed, the Reborn Kingdom of V'ran accelerate their recruitment. Despite the dangers and side-effects, many are lured by promises of power and relative safety from the Blood Curse, especially those not magically inclined.

Isolar, the Living Island reappears in the present

Iliana Sunshield is elected for life as Queen over the remaining provinces

The Human Condottiere Iliana Sunshield, is crowned in the new capital of Ildova as Queen, becoming the first ruler of the Kingdom without any magical ability

END

DESCRIPTIONS

The study of the 5 Spheres is the reformed way of interpreting magic. Magic is seen in terms of what "costs" a caster withstands, in every "sphere" his being reflects (The Movement of Matter, The Spirit of Nature, The Human Matrix, The Veiled Realm, The Beyond), rather than what it manipulates. Many old scholars (and especially the conservative ones, insisting on magic as an elite knowledge) frown at this reform.

The Guild of Necromancy - or officially the Guild of the Inner Light - was one of the original 13 Arcane Guilds, but in contrast to Necromancers in other parts of the world, the guild focused not only on death and undeath but also the healing and preservation of the spirit and the living body.

The Free Republic of Istion - also named the "free cities", the "Radiant" one, or simply Istion -is a mainly coastal territory ruled by an independent, oligarchic, state-city. Seafaring, marine commerce and trading and military / economic hegemony over several colonies / tributaries has made the Republic incredibly wealthy, and thus able to preserve independence. The city Bank wisely administers this wealth to generate more, borrowing and retrieving huge sums to (openly or secretly) sponsor this or that political power.

The Relation between the Guilds and the Nobility of the Inner Provinces at the time of Guild Wars was very complex. In general most Arcane Casters were members of one of the guilds but not all guild members were Arcane Casters. While not all or even a majority of nobles could cast magic, the noble families had to keep up the appearance of being part of an arcane bloodline - which were the basis of their claim to rule - so many became members of the guilds even though they lacked talent.

The Condottiers of Crownhill originated as a small military garrison to protect the strategically placed monastery of Mount Crownhill. Time passed and the monastic order fade away, but the warrior stayed, and found themselves without a master. They refused to be called "knights", because they saw the other knightly orders as little more then hounds in service a master, be it a noble house, guild, or rich men. They chose for themselves the name "Condottiers", and with it they adopted a moral code based on discipline, self-perfection and charity (reminiscent of the original way of the monks, somehow). They are either loved as holy protectors, or hated as holier-than-you hypocrites, with little shades in between.

[Wasp]

TIMELINE
START
King Arunidas LXXVII. dies under mysterious circumstances

The Tiefling Archmage and King, Arunidas LXXVII., is found dead in his bed drained of all his blood

The sole survivor of an expedition into the Morthal Ruins reveals the existence of an ancient Blood Curse before succumbing to it himself.

Suspicions rise when the Guild of Necromancy - the guild of the king's firstborn son, Astaroth the Silent - decides to spend all resources that would be needed to invoke the spirit of the dead king to question him about the circumstances of his death to find out more about the blood curse instead.

King Arunidas LXXVII's lesser son (Zardos the White) and his daughter (Kallista) start independently claiming the throne from his firstborn (Astaroth the Silent). Political tension rises.

The goblin baroness Nasha forges a secret alliance with the Guild of Three Leaves

Zardos the White consolidates his power over the many tribes of Hroudhorn, uniting them in fear and reverence, thus considerably empowering his army

Kallista consolidates, through blood bonds and political action, her supposedly good relations with the rich city-state of Istion, the marine republic; the Bank is happy to fund her campaigns

The secret alliance of guilds and lesser nobles begins stealth actions against the three children of the late king, undermining their positions.

An assasination attempt on Astaroth's life by an envoy of the noble House of Andal fails. As the assassin was using a poison that could only be prepared by use of the Seal that is under the Alchemist Guild's protection, Astaroth occupies the Alchemist's Guild's Tower and announces the Guild's dissolvement.

The secret alliance now revealed, the remaining guilds split and join into factions.

The Guild War rages

While Astaroth is on the battlefield, the Guild of Anti-Magic, the Guild of Artifice and the King's Arcane Guard take over the Iridescent Tower and declare a Council will rule the Kingdom until the rightful heir has been determined

Zardos the White mobilizes his troops to occupy the Iridescent Tower

While the Siege of the Iridescent Tower is coming to an end in favor of Zardos' forces, the goblin faction of Baroness Nasha and the Guild of three leaves sabotages the attacking forces from the underground with alchemic devices. As Zardos and most of his troops die, Nasha gains her place in the Council

After the death of Zardos the White and many of their leaders, the Hroudhorn tribes close the Gates to the Mountains and declare their independence

The Gates to the Mountains now closed, the ancient trade-route that was bringing best quality wood to Istion in exchange for salt is compromised, Istion is now forced to smuggle the wood for its ships and is unhappy about the huge costs that this implies.

The enormous losses during the Guild War result in the collapse of the 13 Arcane Guilds

With no one remaining to maintain them, the Great Seals weaken

As the Great Seals weaken, the Blood Curse begins to spread through the land

The Condottiers of the Crownhill order are sacrificing everything to limit the spread of the curse, healing the sick, blessing the doomed ones, limiting the spread of panic and the riots.

The knowledge spreads that, while the Crownhill Condottiers die by the dozens, low rank condottier Iliana Sunshield seems to be unaffected by the curse; some see this as a miracle, many look at it with suspicion.

Working with the spirit of Isolar, the Living Island, the former vampire master of the Guild of Necromancy sacrifices himself in a blood ritual to stop the last seal from breaking.

The post-collapse Great Reform of magic studies happens; the study of the 5 Spheres spreads, co-existing and in attrition with older studies of the guilds era

Efforts are undertaken to research ways to rebuild or recreate the Great Seals. With so much knowledge lost, progress is slow.

A rogue faction of mages, nobles and researcher search for ways to, rather than prevent the Blood Curse, submit to it, empowering them with its dark energies.

As it becomes clear that the vampiric magic that keeps the last seal from breaking will end sooner rather than later, Iliana Sunshield sets out to explore the ancient V'ran ruins nobody else can step into without succumbing to the curse to find a solution

The cryptic, enchanted glyphs in the V'ran ruins do not disclose any remedy to the curse; however they DO tell the story of an ancient war of the V'ran civilization against the so called "Murg Thalai", and about the V'ran developing of "the Red touch of Ta'axos", a curse they lost control of, sealing their own doom

The Blood War

Several secret societies who see the Red Touch as a solution unite under the banner of the "Reborn Kingdom of V'ran".

The actions of the Reborn Kingdom of V'ran to deliberately spread the Blood Curse in order to inflate their numbers come to light.

The remainder of the old noble houses and guilds blame the current course of actions upon the students of the 5 spheres, feeding ideological conflict on top of the already existing tensions

Now revealed, the Reborn Kingdom of V'ran accelerate their recruitment. Despite the dangers and side-effects, many are lured by promises of power and relative safety from the Blood Curse, especially those not magically inclined.

>>> Fights between the different factions in the streets of the capital escalate leading to a magical chain reaction causing the explosion of the Iridescent Tower and death of almost all magic users within the city's vicinity

Isolar, the Living Island reappears in the present

Iliana Sunshield is elected for life as Queen over the remaining provinces

The Human Condottiere Iliana Sunshield, is crowned in the new capital of Ildova as Queen, becoming the first ruler of the Kingdom without any magical ability

END

DESCRIPTIONS

The study of the 5 Spheres is the reformed way of interpreting magic. Magic is seen in terms of what "costs" a caster withstands, in every "sphere" his being reflects (The Movement of Matter, The Spirit of Nature, The Human Matrix, The Veiled Realm, The Beyond), rather than what it manipulates. Many old scholars (and especially the conservative ones, insisting on magic as an elite knowledge) frown at this reform.

The Guild of Necromancy - or officially the Guild of the Inner Light - was one of the original 13 Arcane Guilds, but in contrast to Necromancers in other parts of the world, the guild focused not only on death and undeath but also the healing and preservation of the spirit and the living body.

The Free Republic of Istion - also named the "free cities", the "Radiant" one, or simply Istion -is a mainly coastal territory ruled by an independent, oligarchic, state-city. Seafaring, marine commerce and trading and military / economic hegemony over several colonies / tributaries has made the Republic incredibly wealthy, and thus able to preserve independence. The city Bank wisely administers this wealth to generate more, borrowing and retrieving huge sums to (openly or secretly) sponsor this or that political power.

The Relation between the Guilds and the Nobility of the Inner Provinces at the time of Guild Wars was very complex. In general most Arcane Casters were members of one of the guilds but not all guild members were Arcane Casters. While not all or even a majority of nobles could cast magic, the noble families had to keep up the appearance of being part of an arcane bloodline - which were the basis of their claim to rule - so many became members of the guilds even though they lacked talent.

The Condottiers of Crownhill originated as a small military garrison to protect the strategically placed monastery of Mount Crownhill. Time passed and the monastic order fade away, but the warrior stayed, and found themselves without a master. They refused to be called "knights", because they saw the other knightly orders as little more then hounds in service a master, be it a noble house, guild, or rich men. They chose for themselves the name "Condottiers", and with it they adopted a moral code based on discipline, self-perfection and charity (reminiscent of the original way of the monks, somehow). They are either loved as holy protectors, or hated as holier-than-you hypocrites, with little shades in between.

[Kinro]

TIMELINE
START
King Arunidas LXXVII. dies under mysterious circumstances

The Tiefling Archmage and King, Arunidas LXXVII., is found dead in his bed drained of all his blood

The sole survivor of an expedition into the Morthal Ruins reveals the existence of an ancient Blood Curse before succumbing to it himself.

Suspicions rise when the Guild of Necromancy - the guild of the king's firstborn son, Astaroth the Silent - decides to spend all resources that would be needed to invoke the spirit of the dead king to question him about the circumstances of his death to find out more about the blood curse instead.

King Arunidas LXXVII's lesser son (Zardos the White) and his daughter (Kallista) start independently claiming the throne from his firstborn (Astaroth the Silent). Political tension rises.

The goblin baroness Nasha forges a secret alliance with the Guild of Three Leaves

Zardos the White consolidates his power over the many tribes of Hroudhorn, uniting them in fear and reverence, thus considerably empowering his army

Kallista consolidates, through blood bonds and political action, her supposedly good relations with the rich city-state of Istion, the marine republic; the Bank is happy to fund her campaigns

The secret alliance of guilds and lesser nobles begins stealth actions against the three children of the late king, undermining their positions.

An assasination attempt on Astaroth's life by an envoy of the noble House of Andal fails. As the assassin was using a poison that could only be prepared by use of the Seal that is under the Alchemist Guild's protection, Astaroth occupies the Alchemist's Guild's Tower and announces the Guild's dissolvement.

The secret alliance now revealed, the remaining guilds split and join into factions.

The Guild War rages

While Astaroth is on the battlefield, the Guild of Anti-Magic, the Guild of Artifice and the King's Arcane Guard take over the Iridescent Tower and declare a Council will rule the Kingdom until the rightful heir has been determined

Zardos the White mobilizes his troops to occupy the Iridescent Tower

While the Siege of the Iridescent Tower is coming to an end in favor of Zardos' forces, the goblin faction of Baroness Nasha and the Guild of three leaves sabotages the attacking forces from the underground with alchemic devices. As Zardos and most of his troops die, Nasha gains her place in the Council

After the death of Zardos the White and many of their leaders, the Hroudhorn tribes close the Gates to the Mountains and declare their independence

The Gates to the Mountains now closed, the ancient trade-route that was bringing best quality wood to Istion in exchange for salt is compromised, Istion is now forced to smuggle the wood for its ships and is unhappy about the huge costs that this implies.

The enormous losses during the Guild War result in the collapse of the 13 Arcane Guilds

With no one remaining to maintain them, the Great Seals weaken

As the Great Seals weaken, the Blood Curse begins to spread through the land

The Condottiers of the Crownhill order are sacrificing everything to limit the spread of the curse, healing the sick, blessing the doomed ones, limiting the spread of panic and the riots.

The knowledge spreads that, while the Crownhill Condottiers die by the dozens, low rank condottier Iliana Sunshield seems to be unaffected by the curse; some see this as a miracle, many look at it with suspicion.

Working with the spirit of Isolar, the Living Island, the former vampire master of the Guild of Necromancy sacrifices himself in a blood ritual to stop the last seal from breaking.

The post-collapse Great Reform of magic studies happens; the study of the 5 Spheres spreads, co-existing and in attrition with older studies of the guilds era

Efforts are undertaken to research ways to rebuild or recreate the Great Seals. With so much knowledge lost, progress is slow.

A rogue faction of mages, nobles and researcher search for ways to, rather than prevent the Blood Curse, submit to it, empowering them with its dark energies.

As it becomes clear that the vampiric magic that keeps the last seal from breaking will end sooner rather than later, Iliana Sunshield sets out to explore the ancient V'ran ruins nobody else can step into without succumbing to the curse to find a solution

The cryptic, enchanted glyphs in the V'ran ruins do not disclose any remedy to the curse; however they DO tell the story of an ancient war of the V'ran civilization against the so called "Murg Thalai", and about the V'ran developing of "the Red touch of Ta'axos", a curse they lost control of, sealing their own doom

The Blood War

Several secret societies who see the Red Touch as a solution unite under the banner of the "Reborn Kingdom of V'ran".

The actions of the Reborn Kingdom of V'ran to deliberately spread the Blood Curse in order to inflate their numbers come to light.

The remainder of the old noble houses and guilds blame the current course of actions upon the students of the 5 spheres, feeding ideological conflict on top of the already existing tensions

Now revealed, the Reborn Kingdom of V'ran accelerate their recruitment. Despite the dangers and side-effects, many are lured by promises of power and relative safety from the Blood Curse, especially those not magically inclined.

Fights between the different factions in the streets of the capital escalate leading to a magical chain reaction causing the explosion of the Iridescent Tower and death of almost all magic users within the city's vicinity

>>Already over-strained, the magical surge makes the final Great Seal collapse at last.

Isolar, the Living Island reappears in the present

Iliana Sunshield is elected for life as Queen over the remaining provinces

The Human Condottiere Iliana Sunshield, is crowned in the new capital of Ildova as Queen, becoming the first ruler of the Kingdom without any magical ability

END

DESCRIPTIONS

The study of the 5 Spheres is the reformed way of interpreting magic. Magic is seen in terms of what "costs" a caster withstands, in every "sphere" his being reflects (The Movement of Matter, The Spirit of Nature, The Human Matrix, The Veiled Realm, The Beyond), rather than what it manipulates. Many old scholars (and especially the conservative ones, insisting on magic as an elite knowledge) frown at this reform.

The Guild of Necromancy - or officially the Guild of the Inner Light - was one of the original 13 Arcane Guilds, but in contrast to Necromancers in other parts of the world, the guild focused not only on death and undeath but also the healing and preservation of the spirit and the living body.

The Free Republic of Istion - also named the "free cities", the "Radiant" one, or simply Istion -is a mainly coastal territory ruled by an independent, oligarchic, state-city. Seafaring, marine commerce and trading and military / economic hegemony over several colonies / tributaries has made the Republic incredibly wealthy, and thus able to preserve independence. The city Bank wisely administers this wealth to generate more, borrowing and retrieving huge sums to (openly or secretly) sponsor this or that political power.

The Relation between the Guilds and the Nobility of the Inner Provinces at the time of Guild Wars was very complex. In general most Arcane Casters were members of one of the guilds but not all guild members were Arcane Casters. While not all or even a majority of nobles could cast magic, the noble families had to keep up the appearance of being part of an arcane bloodline - which were the basis of their claim to rule - so many became members of the guilds even though they lacked talent.

The Condottiers of Crownhill originated as a small military garrison to protect the strategically placed monastery of Mount Crownhill. Time passed and the monastic order fade away, but the warrior stayed, and found themselves without a master. They refused to be called "knights", because they saw the other knightly orders as little more then hounds in service a master, be it a noble house, guild, or rich men. They chose for themselves the name "Condottiers", and with it they adopted a moral code based on discipline, self-perfection and charity (reminiscent of the original way of the monks, somehow). They are either loved as holy protectors, or hated as holier-than-you hypocrites, with little shades in between.

[Wasp]

TIMELINE
START
King Arunidas LXXVII. dies under mysterious circumstances

The Tiefling Archmage and King, Arunidas LXXVII., is found dead in his bed drained of all his blood

The sole survivor of an expedition into the Morthal Ruins reveals the existence of an ancient Blood Curse before succumbing to it himself.

Suspicions rise when the Guild of Necromancy - the guild of the king's firstborn son, Astaroth the Silent - decides to spend all resources that would be needed to invoke the spirit of the dead king to question him about the circumstances of his death to find out more about the blood curse instead.

King Arunidas LXXVII's lesser son (Zardos the White) and his daughter (Kallista) start independently claiming the throne from his firstborn (Astaroth the Silent). Political tension rises.

The goblin baroness Nasha forges a secret alliance with the Guild of Three Leaves

Zardos the White consolidates his power over the many tribes of Hroudhorn, uniting them in fear and reverence, thus considerably empowering his army

Kallista consolidates, through blood bonds and political action, her supposedly good relations with the rich city-state of Istion, the marine republic; the Bank is happy to fund her campaigns

The secret alliance of guilds and lesser nobles begins stealth actions against the three children of the late king, undermining their positions.

An assasination attempt on Astaroth's life by an envoy of the noble House of Andal fails. As the assassin was using a poison that could only be prepared by use of the Seal that is under the Alchemist Guild's protection, Astaroth occupies the Alchemist's Guild's Tower and announces the Guild's dissolvement.

The secret alliance now revealed, the remaining guilds split and join into factions.

The Guild War rages

While Astaroth is on the battlefield, the Guild of Anti-Magic, the Guild of Artifice and the King's Arcane Guard take over the Iridescent Tower and declare a Council will rule the Kingdom until the rightful heir has been determined

Zardos the White mobilizes his troops to occupy the Iridescent Tower

While the Siege of the Iridescent Tower is coming to an end in favor of Zardos' forces, the goblin faction of Baroness Nasha and the Guild of three leaves sabotages the attacking forces from the underground with alchemic devices. As Zardos and most of his troops die, Nasha gains her place in the Council

After the death of Zardos the White and many of their leaders, the Hroudhorn tribes close the Gates to the Mountains and declare their independence

The Gates to the Mountains now closed, the ancient trade-route that was bringing best quality wood to Istion in exchange for salt is compromised, Istion is now forced to smuggle the wood for its ships and is unhappy about the huge costs that this implies.

The enormous losses during the Guild War result in the collapse of the 13 Arcane Guilds

With no one remaining to maintain them, the Great Seals weaken

As the Great Seals weaken, the Blood Curse begins to spread through the land

The Condottiers of the Crownhill order are sacrificing everything to limit the spread of the curse, healing the sick, blessing the doomed ones, limiting the spread of panic and the riots.

The knowledge spreads that, while the Crownhill Condottiers die by the dozens, low rank condottier Iliana Sunshield seems to be unaffected by the curse; some see this as a miracle, many look at it with suspicion.

Working with the spirit of Isolar, the Living Island, the former vampire master of the Guild of Necromancy sacrifices himself in a blood ritual to stop the last seal from breaking.

The post-collapse Great Reform of magic studies happens; the study of the 5 Spheres spreads, co-existing and in attrition with older studies of the guilds era

>> In the vacuum after the collapse the 5 Spheres theory that had been brought to Istion from the South a generation earlier spreads rapidly into the Kingdom

Efforts are undertaken to research ways to rebuild or recreate the Great Seals. With so much knowledge lost, progress is slow.

A rogue faction of mages, nobles and researcher search for ways to, rather than prevent the Blood Curse, submit to it, empowering them with its dark energies.

As it becomes clear that the vampiric magic that keeps the last seal from breaking will end sooner rather than later, Iliana Sunshield sets out to explore the ancient V'ran ruins nobody else can step into without succumbing to the curse to find a solution

The cryptic, enchanted glyphs in the V'ran ruins do not disclose any remedy to the curse; however they DO tell the story of an ancient war of the V'ran civilization against the so called "Murg Thalai", and about the V'ran developing of "the Red touch of Ta'axos", a curse they lost control of, sealing their own doom

The Blood War

Several secret societies who see the Red Touch as a solution unite under the banner of the "Reborn Kingdom of V'ran".

The actions of the Reborn Kingdom of V'ran to deliberately spread the Blood Curse in order to inflate their numbers come to light.

The remainder of the old noble houses and guilds blame the current course of actions upon the students of the 5 spheres, feeding ideological conflict on top of the already existing tensions

Now revealed, the Reborn Kingdom of V'ran accelerate their recruitment. Despite the dangers and side-effects, many are lured by promises of power and relative safety from the Blood Curse, especially those not magically inclined.

Fights between the different factions in the streets of the capital escalate leading to a magical chain reaction causing the explosion of the Iridescent Tower and death of almost all magic users within the city's vicinity

Already over-strained, the magical surge makes the final Great Seal collapse at last.

Isolar, the Living Island reappears in the present

Iliana Sunshield is elected for life as Queen over the remaining provinces

The Human Condottiere Iliana Sunshield, is crowned in the new capital of Ildova as Queen, becoming the first ruler of the Kingdom without any magical ability

END

DESCRIPTIONS

The study of the 5 Spheres is the reformed way of interpreting magic. Magic is seen in terms of what "costs" a caster withstands, in every "sphere" his being reflects (The Movement of Matter, The Spirit of Nature, The Human Matrix, The Veiled Realm, The Beyond), rather than what it manipulates. Many old scholars (and especially the conservative ones, insisting on magic as an elite knowledge) frown at this reform.

The Guild of Necromancy - or officially the Guild of the Inner Light - was one of the original 13 Arcane Guilds, but in contrast to Necromancers in other parts of the world, the guild focused not only on death and undeath but also the healing and preservation of the spirit and the living body.

The Free Republic of Istion - also named the "free cities", the "Radiant" one, or simply Istion -is a mainly coastal territory ruled by an independent, oligarchic, state-city. Seafaring, marine commerce and trading and military / economic hegemony over several colonies / tributaries has made the Republic incredibly wealthy, and thus able to preserve independence. The city Bank wisely administers this wealth to generate more, borrowing and retrieving huge sums to (openly or secretly) sponsor this or that political power.

The Relation between the Guilds and the Nobility of the Inner Provinces at the time of Guild Wars was very complex. In general most Arcane Casters were members of one of the guilds but not all guild members were Arcane Casters. While not all or even a majority of nobles could cast magic, the noble families had to keep up the appearance of being part of an arcane bloodline - which were the basis of their claim to rule - so many became members of the guilds even though they lacked talent.

The Condottiers of Crownhill originated as a small military garrison to protect the strategically placed monastery of Mount Crownhill. Time passed and the monastic order fade away, but the warrior stayed, and found themselves without a master. They refused to be called "knights", because they saw the other knightly orders as little more then hounds in service a master, be it a noble house, guild, or rich men. They chose for themselves the name "Condottiers", and with it they adopted a moral code based on discipline, self-perfection and charity (reminiscent of the original way of the monks, somehow). They are either loved as holy protectors, or hated as holier-than-you hypocrites, with little shades in between.

[Chas Kramer]

TIMELINE
START
King Arunidas LXXVII. dies under mysterious circumstances

The Tiefling Archmage and King, Arunidas LXXVII., is found dead in his bed drained of all his blood

The sole survivor of an expedition into the Morthal Ruins reveals the existence of an ancient Blood Curse before succumbing to it himself.

Suspicions rise when the Guild of Necromancy - the guild of the king's firstborn son, Astaroth the Silent - decides to spend all resources that would be needed to invoke the spirit of the dead king to question him about the circumstances of his death to find out more about the blood curse instead.

King Arunidas LXXVII's lesser son (Zardos the White) and his daughter (Kallista) start independently claiming the throne from his firstborn (Astaroth the Silent). Political tension rises.

The goblin baroness Nasha forges a secret alliance with the Guild of Three Leaves

Zardos the White consolidates his power over the many tribes of Hroudhorn, uniting them in fear and reverence, thus considerably empowering his army

Kallista consolidates, through blood bonds and political action, her supposedly good relations with the rich city-state of Istion, the marine republic; the Bank is happy to fund her campaigns

The secret alliance of guilds and lesser nobles begins stealth actions against the three children of the late king, undermining their positions.

An assasination attempt on Astaroth's life by an envoy of the noble House of Andal fails. As the assassin was using a poison that could only be prepared by use of the Seal that is under the Alchemist Guild's protection, Astaroth occupies the Alchemist's Guild's Tower and announces the Guild's dissolvement.

The secret alliance now revealed, the remaining guilds split and join into factions.

The Guild War rages

While Astaroth is on the battlefield, the Guild of Anti-Magic, the Guild of Artifice and the King's Arcane Guard take over the Iridescent Tower and declare a Council will rule the Kingdom until the rightful heir has been determined

Zardos the White mobilizes his troops to occupy the Iridescent Tower

While the Siege of the Iridescent Tower is coming to an end in favor of Zardos' forces, the goblin faction of Baroness Nasha and the Guild of three leaves sabotages the attacking forces from the underground with alchemic devices. As Zardos and most of his troops die, Nasha gains her place in the Council

After the death of Zardos the White and many of their leaders, the Hroudhorn tribes close the Gates to the Mountains and declare their independence

The Gates to the Mountains now closed, the ancient trade-route that was bringing best quality wood to Istion in exchange for salt is compromised, Istion is now forced to smuggle the wood for its ships and is unhappy about the huge costs that this implies.

>> Her most wary brother out of the game, Kallista schemes and corrupts, to maneuver the political powers behind the Council in her favor. She seems not to worry about the gold that this requires,nor of her growing debt towards the Bank of Istion

The enormous losses during the Guild War result in the collapse of the 13 Arcane Guilds

With no one remaining to maintain them, the Great Seals weaken

As the Great Seals weaken, the Blood Curse begins to spread through the land

The Condottiers of the Crownhill order are sacrificing everything to limit the spread of the curse, healing the sick, blessing the doomed ones, limiting the spread of panic and the riots.

The knowledge spreads that, while the Crownhill Condottiers die by the dozens, low rank condottier Iliana Sunshield seems to be unaffected by the curse; some see this as a miracle, many look at it with suspicion.

Working with the spirit of Isolar, the Living Island, the former vampire master of the Guild of Necromancy sacrifices himself in a blood ritual to stop the last seal from breaking.

The post-collapse Great Reform of magic studies happens; the study of the 5 Spheres spreads, co-existing and in attrition with older studies of the guilds era

In the vacuum after the collapse the 5 Spheres theory that had been brought to Istion from the South a generation earlier spreads rapidly into the Kingdom

Efforts are undertaken to research ways to rebuild or recreate the Great Seals. With so much knowledge lost, progress is slow.

A rogue faction of mages, nobles and researcher search for ways to, rather than prevent the Blood Curse, submit to it, empowering them with its dark energies.

As it becomes clear that the vampiric magic that keeps the last seal from breaking will end sooner rather than later, Iliana Sunshield sets out to explore the ancient V'ran ruins nobody else can step into without succumbing to the curse to find a solution

The cryptic, enchanted glyphs in the V'ran ruins do not disclose any remedy to the curse; however they DO tell the story of an ancient war of the V'ran civilization against the so called "Murg Thalai", and about the V'ran developing of "the Red touch of Ta'axos", a curse they lost control of, sealing their own doom

The Blood War

Several secret societies who see the Red Touch as a solution unite under the banner of the "Reborn Kingdom of V'ran".

The actions of the Reborn Kingdom of V'ran to deliberately spread the Blood Curse in order to inflate their numbers come to light.

The remainder of the old noble houses and guilds blame the current course of actions upon the students of the 5 spheres, feeding ideological conflict on top of the already existing tensions

Now revealed, the Reborn Kingdom of V'ran accelerate their recruitment. Despite the dangers and side-effects, many are lured by promises of power and relative safety from the Blood Curse, especially those not magically inclined.

Fights between the different factions in the streets of the capital escalate leading to a magical chain reaction causing the explosion of the Iridescent Tower and death of almost all magic users within the city's vicinity

Already over-strained, the magical surge makes the final Great Seal collapse at last.

Isolar, the Living Island reappears in the present

Iliana Sunshield is elected for life as Queen over the remaining provinces

The Human Condottiere Iliana Sunshield, is crowned in the new capital of Ildova as Queen, becoming the first ruler of the Kingdom without any magical ability

END

DESCRIPTIONS

The study of the 5 Spheres is the reformed way of interpreting magic. Magic is seen in terms of what "costs" a caster withstands, in every "sphere" his being reflects (The Movement of Matter, The Spirit of Nature, The Human Matrix, The Veiled Realm, The Beyond), rather than what it manipulates. Many old scholars (and especially the conservative ones, insisting on magic as an elite knowledge) frown at this reform.

The Guild of Necromancy - or officially the Guild of the Inner Light - was one of the original 13 Arcane Guilds, but in contrast to Necromancers in other parts of the world, the guild focused not only on death and undeath but also the healing and preservation of the spirit and the living body.

The Free Republic of Istion - also named the "free cities", the "Radiant" one, or simply Istion -is a mainly coastal territory ruled by an independent, oligarchic, state-city. Seafaring, marine commerce and trading and military / economic hegemony over several colonies / tributaries has made the Republic incredibly wealthy, and thus able to preserve independence. The city Bank wisely administers this wealth to generate more, borrowing and retrieving huge sums to (openly or secretly) sponsor this or that political power.

The Relation between the Guilds and the Nobility of the Inner Provinces at the time of Guild Wars was very complex. In general most Arcane Casters were members of one of the guilds but not all guild members were Arcane Casters. While not all or even a majority of nobles could cast magic, the noble families had to keep up the appearance of being part of an arcane bloodline - which were the basis of their claim to rule - so many became members of the guilds even though they lacked talent.

The Condottiers of Crownhill originated as a small military garrison to protect the strategically placed monastery of Mount Crownhill. Time passed and the monastic order fade away, but the warrior stayed, and found themselves without a master. They refused to be called "knights", because they saw the other knightly orders as little more then hounds in service a master, be it a noble house, guild, or rich men. They chose for themselves the name "Condottiers", and with it they adopted a moral code based on discipline, self-perfection and charity (reminiscent of the original way of the monks, somehow). They are either loved as holy protectors, or hated as holier-than-you hypocrites, with little shades in between.

[Kinro]

TIMELINE
START
King Arunidas LXXVII. dies under mysterious circumstances

The Tiefling Archmage and King, Arunidas LXXVII., is found dead in his bed drained of all his blood

The sole survivor of an expedition into the Morthal Ruins reveals the existence of an ancient Blood Curse before succumbing to it himself.

Suspicions rise when the Guild of Necromancy - the guild of the king's firstborn son, Astaroth the Silent - decides to spend all resources that would be needed to invoke the spirit of the dead king to question him about the circumstances of his death to find out more about the blood curse instead.

King Arunidas LXXVII's lesser son (Zardos the White) and his daughter (Kallista) start independently claiming the throne from his firstborn (Astaroth the Silent). Political tension rises.

The goblin baroness Nasha forges a secret alliance with the Guild of Three Leaves

Zardos the White consolidates his power over the many tribes of Hroudhorn, uniting them in fear and reverence, thus considerably empowering his army

Kallista consolidates, through blood bonds and political action, her supposedly good relations with the rich city-state of Istion, the marine republic; the Bank is happy to fund her campaigns

The secret alliance of guilds and lesser nobles begins stealth actions against the three children of the late king, undermining their positions.

An assasination attempt on Astaroth's life by an envoy of the noble House of Andal fails. As the assassin was using a poison that could only be prepared by use of the Seal that is under the Alchemist Guild's protection, Astaroth occupies the Alchemist's Guild's Tower and announces the Guild's dissolvement.

The secret alliance now revealed, the remaining guilds split and join into factions.

The Guild War rages

While Astaroth is on the battlefield, the Guild of Anti-Magic, the Guild of Artifice and the King's Arcane Guard take over the Iridescent Tower and declare a Council will rule the Kingdom until the rightful heir has been determined

Zardos the White mobilizes his troops to occupy the Iridescent Tower

While the Siege of the Iridescent Tower is coming to an end in favor of Zardos' forces, the goblin faction of Baroness Nasha and the Guild of three leaves sabotages the attacking forces from the underground with alchemic devices. As Zardos and most of his troops die, Nasha gains her place in the Council

After the death of Zardos the White and many of their leaders, the Hroudhorn tribes close the Gates to the Mountains and declare their independence

The Gates to the Mountains now closed, the ancient trade-route that was bringing best quality wood to Istion in exchange for salt is compromised, Istion is now forced to smuggle the wood for its ships and is unhappy about the huge costs that this implies.

>> Her most wary brother out of the game, Kallista schemes and corrupts, to maneuver the political powers behind the Council in her favor. She seems not to worry about the gold that this requires,nor of her growing debt towards the Bank of Istion

The enormous losses during the Guild War result in the collapse of the 13 Arcane Guilds

With no one remaining to maintain them, the Great Seals weaken

As the Great Seals weaken, the Blood Curse begins to spread through the land

The Condottiers of the Crownhill order are sacrificing everything to limit the spread of the curse, healing the sick, blessing the doomed ones, limiting the spread of panic and the riots.

The knowledge spreads that, while the Crownhill Condottiers die by the dozens, low rank condottier Iliana Sunshield seems to be unaffected by the curse; some see this as a miracle, many look at it with suspicion.

Working with the spirit of Isolar, the Living Island, the former vampire master of the Guild of Necromancy sacrifices himself in a blood ritual to stop the last seal from breaking.

The post-collapse Great Reform of magic studies happens; the study of the 5 Spheres spreads, co-existing and in attrition with older studies of the guilds era

In the vacuum after the collapse the 5 Spheres theory that had been brought to Istion from the South a generation earlier spreads rapidly into the Kingdom

Efforts are undertaken to research ways to rebuild or recreate the Great Seals. With so much knowledge lost, progress is slow.

A rogue faction of mages, nobles and researcher search for ways to, rather than prevent the Blood Curse, submit to it, empowering them with its dark energies.

As it becomes clear that the vampiric magic that keeps the last seal from breaking will end sooner rather than later, Iliana Sunshield sets out to explore the ancient V'ran ruins nobody else can step into without succumbing to the curse to find a solution

The cryptic, enchanted glyphs in the V'ran ruins do not disclose any remedy to the curse; however they DO tell the story of an ancient war of the V'ran civilization against the so called "Murg Thalai", and about the V'ran developing of "the Red touch of Ta'axos", a curse they lost control of, sealing their own doom

The Blood War

Several secret societies who see the Red Touch as a solution unite under the banner of the "Reborn Kingdom of V'ran".

The actions of the Reborn Kingdom of V'ran to deliberately spread the Blood Curse in order to inflate their numbers come to light.

The remainder of the old noble houses and guilds blame the current course of actions upon the students of the 5 spheres, feeding ideological conflict on top of the already existing tensions

Now revealed, the Reborn Kingdom of V'ran accelerate their recruitment. Despite the dangers and side-effects, many are lured by promises of power and relative safety from the Blood Curse, especially those not magically inclined.

Fights between the different factions in the streets of the capital escalate leading to a magical chain reaction causing the explosion of the Iridescent Tower and death of almost all magic users within the city's vicinity

Already over-strained, the magical surge makes the final Great Seal collapse at last.

>>With the final seal gone, the Blood Curse surges again. In the ensuing chaos, the Reborn Kingdom of V'ran threatens the Concil's precarious hold on power.

Isolar, the Living Island reappears in the present

Iliana Sunshield is elected for life as Queen over the remaining provinces

The Human Condottiere Iliana Sunshield, is crowned in the new capital of Ildova as Queen, becoming the first ruler of the Kingdom without any magical ability

END

DESCRIPTIONS

The study of the 5 Spheres is the reformed way of interpreting magic. Magic is seen in terms of what "costs" a caster withstands, in every "sphere" his being reflects (The Movement of Matter, The Spirit of Nature, The Human Matrix, The Veiled Realm, The Beyond), rather than what it manipulates. Many old scholars (and especially the conservative ones, insisting on magic as an elite knowledge) frown at this reform.

The Guild of Necromancy - or officially the Guild of the Inner Light - was one of the original 13 Arcane Guilds, but in contrast to Necromancers in other parts of the world, the guild focused not only on death and undeath but also the healing and preservation of the spirit and the living body.

The Free Republic of Istion - also named the "free cities", the "Radiant" one, or simply Istion -is a mainly coastal territory ruled by an independent, oligarchic, state-city. Seafaring, marine commerce and trading and military / economic hegemony over several colonies / tributaries has made the Republic incredibly wealthy, and thus able to preserve independence. The city Bank wisely administers this wealth to generate more, borrowing and retrieving huge sums to (openly or secretly) sponsor this or that political power.

The Relation between the Guilds and the Nobility of the Inner Provinces at the time of Guild Wars was very complex. In general most Arcane Casters were members of one of the guilds but not all guild members were Arcane Casters. While not all or even a majority of nobles could cast magic, the noble families had to keep up the appearance of being part of an arcane bloodline - which were the basis of their claim to rule - so many became members of the guilds even though they lacked talent.

The Condottiers of Crownhill originated as a small military garrison to protect the strategically placed monastery of Mount Crownhill. Time passed and the monastic order fade away, but the warrior stayed, and found themselves without a master. They refused to be called "knights", because they saw the other knightly orders as little more then hounds in service a master, be it a noble house, guild, or rich men. They chose for themselves the name "Condottiers", and with it they adopted a moral code based on discipline, self-perfection and charity (reminiscent of the original way of the monks, somehow). They are either loved as holy protectors, or hated as holier-than-you hypocrites, with little shades in between.

[Wasp]

Thanks! :-) New Round!

[Chas Kramer]

TIMELINE
START
King Arunidas LXXVII. dies under mysterious circumstances

The Tiefling Archmage and King, Arunidas LXXVII., is found dead in his bed drained of all his blood

The sole survivor of an expedition into the Morthal Ruins reveals the existence of an ancient Blood Curse before succumbing to it himself.

Suspicions rise when the Guild of Necromancy - the guild of the king's firstborn son, Astaroth the Silent - decides to spend all resources that would be needed to invoke the spirit of the dead king to question him about the circumstances of his death to find out more about the blood curse instead.

King Arunidas LXXVII's lesser son (Zardos the White) and his daughter (Kallista) start independently claiming the throne from his firstborn (Astaroth the Silent). Political tension rises.

The goblin baroness Nasha forges a secret alliance with the Guild of Three Leaves

Zardos the White consolidates his power over the many tribes of Hroudhorn, uniting them in fear and reverence, thus considerably empowering his army

Kallista consolidates, through blood bonds and political action, her supposedly good relations with the rich city-state of Istion, the marine republic; the Bank is happy to fund her campaigns

The secret alliance of guilds and lesser nobles begins stealth actions against the three children of the late king, undermining their positions.

An assasination attempt on Astaroth's life by an envoy of the noble House of Andal fails. As the assassin was using a poison that could only be prepared by use of the Seal that is under the Alchemist Guild's protection, Astaroth occupies the Alchemist's Guild's Tower and announces the Guild's dissolvement.

The secret alliance now revealed, the remaining guilds split and join into factions.

The Guild War rages

While Astaroth is on the battlefield, the Guild of Anti-Magic, the Guild of Artifice and the King's Arcane Guard take over the Iridescent Tower and declare a Council will rule the Kingdom until the rightful heir has been determined

Zardos the White mobilizes his troops to occupy the Iridescent Tower

While the Siege of the Iridescent Tower is coming to an end in favor of Zardos' forces, the goblin faction of Baroness Nasha and the Guild of three leaves sabotages the attacking forces from the underground with alchemic devices. As Zardos and most of his troops die, Nasha gains her place in the Council

After the death of Zardos the White and many of their leaders, the Hroudhorn tribes close the Gates to the Mountains and declare their independence

The Gates to the Mountains now closed, the ancient trade-route that was bringing best quality wood to Istion in exchange for salt is compromised, Istion is now forced to smuggle the wood for its ships and is unhappy about the huge costs that this implies.

>> Her most wary brother out of the game, Kallista schemes and corrupts, to maneuver the political powers behind the Council in her favor. She seems not to worry about the gold that this requires,nor of her growing debt towards the Bank of Istion

The enormous losses during the Guild War result in the collapse of the 13 Arcane Guilds

With no one remaining to maintain them, the Great Seals weaken

As the Great Seals weaken, the Blood Curse begins to spread through the land

The Condottiers of the Crownhill order are sacrificing everything to limit the spread of the curse, healing the sick, blessing the doomed ones, limiting the spread of panic and the riots.

The knowledge spreads that, while the Crownhill Condottiers die by the dozens, low rank condottier Iliana Sunshield seems to be unaffected by the curse; some see this as a miracle, many look at it with suspicion.

Working with the spirit of Isolar, the Living Island, the former vampire master of the Guild of Necromancy sacrifices himself in a blood ritual to stop the last seal from breaking.

The post-collapse Great Reform of magic studies happens; the study of the 5 Spheres spreads, co-existing and in attrition with older studies of the guilds era

In the vacuum after the collapse the 5 Spheres theory that had been brought to Istion from the South a generation earlier spreads rapidly into the Kingdom

Efforts are undertaken to research ways to rebuild or recreate the Great Seals. With so much knowledge lost, progress is slow.

A rogue faction of mages, nobles and researcher search for ways to, rather than prevent the Blood Curse, submit to it, empowering them with its dark energies.

As it becomes clear that the vampiric magic that keeps the last seal from breaking will end sooner rather than later, Iliana Sunshield sets out to explore the ancient V'ran ruins nobody else can step into without succumbing to the curse to find a solution

The cryptic, enchanted glyphs in the V'ran ruins do not disclose any remedy to the curse; however they DO tell the story of an ancient war of the V'ran civilization against the so called "Murg Thalai", and about the V'ran developing of "the Red touch of Ta'axos", a curse they lost control of, sealing their own doom

The Blood War

Several secret societies who see the Red Touch as a solution unite under the banner of the "Reborn Kingdom of V'ran".

The actions of the Reborn Kingdom of V'ran to deliberately spread the Blood Curse in order to inflate their numbers come to light.

The remainder of the old noble houses and guilds blame the current course of actions upon the students of the 5 spheres, feeding ideological conflict on top of the already existing tensions

Now revealed, the Reborn Kingdom of V'ran accelerate their recruitment. Despite the dangers and side-effects, many are lured by promises of power and relative safety from the Blood Curse, especially those not magically inclined.

Fights between the different factions in the streets of the capital escalate leading to a magical chain reaction causing the explosion of the Iridescent Tower and death of almost all magic users within the city's vicinity

Already over-strained, the magical surge makes the final Great Seal collapse at last.

With the final seal gone, the Blood Curse surges again. In the ensuing chaos, the Reborn Kingdom of V'ran threatens the Concil's precarious hold on power.

Isolar, the Living Island reappears in the present

>>A small party of survivors and war deserters, led by Iliana Sunshield and Titianus from the former Guild of Lost Knowledge, barely find their way, strranded and barely living, to Isolar, in search for answers

Iliana Sunshield is elected for life as Queen over the remaining provinces

The Human Condottiere Iliana Sunshield, is crowned in the new capital of Ildova as Queen, becoming the first ruler of the Kingdom without any magical ability

END

DESCRIPTIONS

The study of the 5 Spheres is the reformed way of interpreting magic. Magic is seen in terms of what "costs" a caster withstands, in every "sphere" his being reflects (The Movement of Matter, The Spirit of Nature, The Human Matrix, The Veiled Realm, The Beyond), rather than what it manipulates. Many old scholars (and especially the conservative ones, insisting on magic as an elite knowledge) frown at this reform.

The Guild of Necromancy - or officially the Guild of the Inner Light - was one of the original 13 Arcane Guilds, but in contrast to Necromancers in other parts of the world, the guild focused not only on death and undeath but also the healing and preservation of the spirit and the living body.

The Free Republic of Istion - also named the "free cities", the "Radiant" one, or simply Istion -is a mainly coastal territory ruled by an independent, oligarchic, state-city. Seafaring, marine commerce and trading and military / economic hegemony over several colonies / tributaries has made the Republic incredibly wealthy, and thus able to preserve independence. The city Bank wisely administers this wealth to generate more, borrowing and retrieving huge sums to (openly or secretly) sponsor this or that political power.

The Relation between the Guilds and the Nobility of the Inner Provinces at the time of Guild Wars was very complex. In general most Arcane Casters were members of one of the guilds but not all guild members were Arcane Casters. While not all or even a majority of nobles could cast magic, the noble families had to keep up the appearance of being part of an arcane bloodline - which were the basis of their claim to rule - so many became members of the guilds even though they lacked talent.

The Condottiers of Crownhill originated as a small military garrison to protect the strategically placed monastery of Mount Crownhill. Time passed and the monastic order fade away, but the warrior stayed, and found themselves without a master. They refused to be called "knights", because they saw the other knightly orders as little more then hounds in service a master, be it a noble house, guild, or rich men. They chose for themselves the name "Condottiers", and with it they adopted a moral code based on discipline, self-perfection and charity (reminiscent of the original way of the monks, somehow). They are either loved as holy protectors, or hated as holier-than-you hypocrites, with little shades in between.

[Wasp]

TIMELINE
START
King Arunidas LXXVII. dies under mysterious circumstances

The Tiefling Archmage and King, Arunidas LXXVII., is found dead in his bed drained of all his blood

The sole survivor of an expedition into the Morthal Ruins reveals the existence of an ancient Blood Curse before succumbing to it himself.

Suspicions rise when the Guild of Necromancy - the guild of the king's firstborn son, Astaroth the Silent - decides to spend all resources that would be needed to invoke the spirit of the dead king to question him about the circumstances of his death to find out more about the blood curse instead.

King Arunidas LXXVII's lesser son (Zardos the White) and his daughter (Kallista) start independently claiming the throne from his firstborn (Astaroth the Silent). Political tension rises.

The goblin baroness Nasha forges a secret alliance with the Guild of Three Leaves

Zardos the White consolidates his power over the many tribes of Hroudhorn, uniting them in fear and reverence, thus considerably empowering his army

Kallista consolidates, through blood bonds and political action, her supposedly good relations with the rich city-state of Istion, the marine republic; the Bank is happy to fund her campaigns

The secret alliance of guilds and lesser nobles begins stealth actions against the three children of the late king, undermining their positions.

An assasination attempt on Astaroth's life by an envoy of the noble House of Andal fails. As the assassin was using a poison that could only be prepared by use of the Seal that is under the Alchemist Guild's protection, Astaroth occupies the Alchemist's Guild's Tower and announces the Guild's dissolvement.

The secret alliance now revealed, the remaining guilds split and join into factions.

The Guild War rages

While Astaroth is on the battlefield, the Guild of Anti-Magic, the Guild of Artifice and the King's Arcane Guard take over the Iridescent Tower and declare a Council will rule the Kingdom until the rightful heir has been determined

Zardos the White mobilizes his troops to occupy the Iridescent Tower

While the Siege of the Iridescent Tower is coming to an end in favor of Zardos' forces, the goblin faction of Baroness Nasha and the Guild of three leaves sabotages the attacking forces from the underground with alchemic devices. As Zardos and most of his troops die, Nasha gains her place in the Council

After the death of Zardos the White and many of their leaders, the Hroudhorn tribes close the Gates to the Mountains and declare their independence

The Gates to the Mountains now closed, the ancient trade-route that was bringing best quality wood to Istion in exchange for salt is compromised, Istion is now forced to smuggle the wood for its ships and is unhappy about the huge costs that this implies.

Her most wary brother out of the game, Kallista schemes and corrupts, to maneuver the political powers behind the Council in her favor. She seems not to worry about the gold that this requires, nor of her growing debt towards the Bank of Istion

The enormous losses during the Guild War result in the collapse of the 13 Arcane Guilds

With no one remaining to maintain them, the Great Seals weaken

As the Great Seals weaken, the Blood Curse begins to spread through the land

The Condottiers of the Crownhill order are sacrificing everything to limit the spread of the curse, healing the sick, blessing the doomed ones, limiting the spread of panic and the riots.

The knowledge spreads that, while the Crownhill Condottiers die by the dozens, low rank condottier Iliana Sunshield seems to be unaffected by the curse; some see this as a miracle, many look at it with suspicion.

Working with the spirit of Isolar, the Living Island, the former vampire master of the Guild of Necromancy sacrifices himself in a blood ritual to stop the last seal from breaking.

The post-collapse Great Reform of magic studies happens; the study of the 5 Spheres spreads, co-existing and in attrition with older studies of the guilds era

In the vacuum after the collapse the 5 Spheres theory that had been brought to Istion from the South a generation earlier spreads rapidly into the Kingdom

Efforts are undertaken to research ways to rebuild or recreate the Great Seals. With so much knowledge lost, progress is slow.

A rogue faction of mages, nobles and researcher search for ways to, rather than prevent the Blood Curse, submit to it, empowering them with its dark energies.

>>> The rogue mages attack a secret meeting of spellcasters at Isolar, the Living Island, where they had gathered to cure the Blood Curse. In the ensuing chaos Isolar vanishes but it is unclear who is responsible for its disappearance.

As it becomes clear that the vampiric magic that keeps the last seal from breaking will end sooner rather than later, Iliana Sunshield sets out to explore the ancient V'ran ruins nobody else can step into without succumbing to the curse to find a solution

The cryptic, enchanted glyphs in the V'ran ruins do not disclose any remedy to the curse; however they DO tell the story of an ancient war of the V'ran civilization against the so called "Murg Thalai", and about the V'ran developing of "the Red touch of Ta'axos", a curse they lost control of, sealing their own doom

The Blood War

Several secret societies who see the Red Touch as a solution unite under the banner of the "Reborn Kingdom of V'ran".

The actions of the Reborn Kingdom of V'ran to deliberately spread the Blood Curse in order to inflate their numbers come to light.

The remainder of the old noble houses and guilds blame the current course of actions upon the students of the 5 spheres, feeding ideological conflict on top of the already existing tensions

Now revealed, the Reborn Kingdom of V'ran accelerate their recruitment. Despite the dangers and side-effects, many are lured by promises of power and relative safety from the Blood Curse, especially those not magically inclined.

Fights between the different factions in the streets of the capital escalate leading to a magical chain reaction causing the explosion of the Iridescent Tower and death of almost all magic users within the city's vicinity

Already over-strained, the magical surge makes the final Great Seal collapse at last.

With the final seal gone, the Blood Curse surges again. In the ensuing chaos, the Reborn Kingdom of V'ran threatens the Concil's precarious hold on power.

Isolar, the Living Island reappears in the present

A small party of survivors and war deserters, led by Iliana Sunshield and Titianus from the former Guild of Lost Knowledge, barely find their way, strranded and barely living, to Isolar, in search for answers

Iliana Sunshield is elected for life as Queen over the remaining provinces

The Human Condottiere Iliana Sunshield, is crowned in the new capital of Ildova as Queen, becoming the first ruler of the Kingdom without any magical ability

END

DESCRIPTIONS

The study of the 5 Spheres is the reformed way of interpreting magic. Magic is seen in terms of what "costs" a caster withstands, in every "sphere" his being reflects (The Movement of Matter, The Spirit of Nature, The Human Matrix, The Veiled Realm, The Beyond), rather than what it manipulates. Many old scholars (and especially the conservative ones, insisting on magic as an elite knowledge) frown at this reform.

The Guild of Necromancy - or officially the Guild of the Inner Light - was one of the original 13 Arcane Guilds, but in contrast to Necromancers in other parts of the world, the guild focused not only on death and undeath but also the healing and preservation of the spirit and the living body.

The Free Republic of Istion - also named the "free cities", the "Radiant" one, or simply Istion -is a mainly coastal territory ruled by an independent, oligarchic, state-city. Seafaring, marine commerce and trading and military / economic hegemony over several colonies / tributaries has made the Republic incredibly wealthy, and thus able to preserve independence. The city Bank wisely administers this wealth to generate more, borrowing and retrieving huge sums to (openly or secretly) sponsor this or that political power.

The Relation between the Guilds and the Nobility of the Inner Provinces at the time of Guild Wars was very complex. In general most Arcane Casters were members of one of the guilds but not all guild members were Arcane Casters. While not all or even a majority of nobles could cast magic, the noble families had to keep up the appearance of being part of an arcane bloodline - which were the basis of their claim to rule - so many became members of the guilds even though they lacked talent.

The Condottiers of Crownhill originated as a small military garrison to protect the strategically placed monastery of Mount Crownhill. Time passed and the monastic order fade away, but the warrior stayed, and found themselves without a master. They refused to be called "knights", because they saw the other knightly orders as little more then hounds in service a master, be it a noble house, guild, or rich men. They chose for themselves the name "Condottiers", and with it they adopted a moral code based on discipline, self-perfection and charity (reminiscent of the original way of the monks, somehow). They are either loved as holy protectors, or hated as holier-than-you hypocrites, with little shades in between.

[/QUOTE]

[Kinro]

TIMELINE
START
King Arunidas LXXVII. dies under mysterious circumstances

The Tiefling Archmage and King, Arunidas LXXVII., is found dead in his bed drained of all his blood

The sole survivor of an expedition into the Morthal Ruins reveals the existence of an ancient Blood Curse before succumbing to it himself.

Suspicions rise when the Guild of Necromancy - the guild of the king's firstborn son, Astaroth the Silent - decides to spend all resources that would be needed to invoke the spirit of the dead king to question him about the circumstances of his death to find out more about the blood curse instead.

King Arunidas LXXVII's lesser son (Zardos the White) and his daughter (Kallista) start independently claiming the throne from his firstborn (Astaroth the Silent). Political tension rises.

The goblin baroness Nasha forges a secret alliance with the Guild of Three Leaves

Zardos the White consolidates his power over the many tribes of Hroudhorn, uniting them in fear and reverence, thus considerably empowering his army

Kallista consolidates, through blood bonds and political action, her supposedly good relations with the rich city-state of Istion, the marine republic; the Bank is happy to fund her campaigns

The secret alliance of guilds and lesser nobles begins stealth actions against the three children of the late king, undermining their positions.

An assasination attempt on Astaroth's life by an envoy of the noble House of Andal fails. As the assassin was using a poison that could only be prepared by use of the Seal that is under the Alchemist Guild's protection, Astaroth occupies the Alchemist's Guild's Tower and announces the Guild's dissolvement.

The secret alliance now revealed, the remaining guilds split and join into factions.

The Guild War rages

While Astaroth is on the battlefield, the Guild of Anti-Magic, the Guild of Artifice and the King's Arcane Guard take over the Iridescent Tower and declare a Council will rule the Kingdom until the rightful heir has been determined

Zardos the White mobilizes his troops to occupy the Iridescent Tower

While the Siege of the Iridescent Tower is coming to an end in favor of Zardos' forces, the goblin faction of Baroness Nasha and the Guild of three leaves sabotages the attacking forces from the underground with alchemic devices. As Zardos and most of his troops die, Nasha gains her place in the Council

After the death of Zardos the White and many of their leaders, the Hroudhorn tribes close the Gates to the Mountains and declare their independence

The Gates to the Mountains now closed, the ancient trade-route that was bringing best quality wood to Istion in exchange for salt is compromised, Istion is now forced to smuggle the wood for its ships and is unhappy about the huge costs that this implies.

Her most wary brother out of the game, Kallista schemes and corrupts, to maneuver the political powers behind the Council in her favor. She seems not to worry about the gold that this requires, nor of her growing debt towards the Bank of Istion

>>As her debt mounts with no end in sight, the Bank of Istion petitions the Council to force Kallista to repay it, one way or another.

The enormous losses during the Guild War result in the collapse of the 13 Arcane Guilds

With no one remaining to maintain them, the Great Seals weaken

As the Great Seals weaken, the Blood Curse begins to spread through the land

The Condottiers of the Crownhill order are sacrificing everything to limit the spread of the curse, healing the sick, blessing the doomed ones, limiting the spread of panic and the riots.

The knowledge spreads that, while the Crownhill Condottiers die by the dozens, low rank condottier Iliana Sunshield seems to be unaffected by the curse; some see this as a miracle, many look at it with suspicion.

Working with the spirit of Isolar, the Living Island, the former vampire master of the Guild of Necromancy sacrifices himself in a blood ritual to stop the last seal from breaking.

The post-collapse Great Reform of magic studies happens; the study of the 5 Spheres spreads, co-existing and in attrition with older studies of the guilds era

In the vacuum after the collapse the 5 Spheres theory that had been brought to Istion from the South a generation earlier spreads rapidly into the Kingdom

Efforts are undertaken to research ways to rebuild or recreate the Great Seals. With so much knowledge lost, progress is slow.

A rogue faction of mages, nobles and researcher search for ways to, rather than prevent the Blood Curse, submit to it, empowering them with its dark energies.

>>> The rogue mages attack a secret meeting of spellcasters at Isolar, the Living Island, where they had gathered to cure the Blood Curse. In the ensuing chaos Isolar vanishes but it is unclear who is responsible for its disappearance.

As it becomes clear that the vampiric magic that keeps the last seal from breaking will end sooner rather than later, Iliana Sunshield sets out to explore the ancient V'ran ruins nobody else can step into without succumbing to the curse to find a solution

The cryptic, enchanted glyphs in the V'ran ruins do not disclose any remedy to the curse; however they DO tell the story of an ancient war of the V'ran civilization against the so called "Murg Thalai", and about the V'ran developing of "the Red touch of Ta'axos", a curse they lost control of, sealing their own doom

The Blood War

Several secret societies who see the Red Touch as a solution unite under the banner of the "Reborn Kingdom of V'ran".

The actions of the Reborn Kingdom of V'ran to deliberately spread the Blood Curse in order to inflate their numbers come to light.

The remainder of the old noble houses and guilds blame the current course of actions upon the students of the 5 spheres, feeding ideological conflict on top of the already existing tensions

Now revealed, the Reborn Kingdom of V'ran accelerate their recruitment. Despite the dangers and side-effects, many are lured by promises of power and relative safety from the Blood Curse, especially those not magically inclined.

Fights between the different factions in the streets of the capital escalate leading to a magical chain reaction causing the explosion of the Iridescent Tower and death of almost all magic users within the city's vicinity

Already over-strained, the magical surge makes the final Great Seal collapse at last.

With the final seal gone, the Blood Curse surges again. In the ensuing chaos, the Reborn Kingdom of V'ran threatens the Concil's precarious hold on power.

Isolar, the Living Island reappears in the present

A small party of survivors and war deserters, led by Iliana Sunshield and Titianus from the former Guild of Lost Knowledge, barely find their way, strranded and barely living, to Isolar, in search for answers

Iliana Sunshield is elected for life as Queen over the remaining provinces

The Human Condottiere Iliana Sunshield, is crowned in the new capital of Ildova as Queen, becoming the first ruler of the Kingdom without any magical ability

END

DESCRIPTIONS

The study of the 5 Spheres is the reformed way of interpreting magic. Magic is seen in terms of what "costs" a caster withstands, in every "sphere" his being reflects (The Movement of Matter, The Spirit of Nature, The Human Matrix, The Veiled Realm, The Beyond), rather than what it manipulates. Many old scholars (and especially the conservative ones, insisting on magic as an elite knowledge) frown at this reform.

The Guild of Necromancy - or officially the Guild of the Inner Light - was one of the original 13 Arcane Guilds, but in contrast to Necromancers in other parts of the world, the guild focused not only on death and undeath but also the healing and preservation of the spirit and the living body.

The Free Republic of Istion - also named the "free cities", the "Radiant" one, or simply Istion -is a mainly coastal territory ruled by an independent, oligarchic, state-city. Seafaring, marine commerce and trading and military / economic hegemony over several colonies / tributaries has made the Republic incredibly wealthy, and thus able to preserve independence. The city Bank wisely administers this wealth to generate more, borrowing and retrieving huge sums to (openly or secretly) sponsor this or that political power.

The Relation between the Guilds and the Nobility of the Inner Provinces at the time of Guild Wars was very complex. In general most Arcane Casters were members of one of the guilds but not all guild members were Arcane Casters. While not all or even a majority of nobles could cast magic, the noble families had to keep up the appearance of being part of an arcane bloodline - which were the basis of their claim to rule - so many became members of the guilds even though they lacked talent.

The Condottiers of Crownhill originated as a small military garrison to protect the strategically placed monastery of Mount Crownhill. Time passed and the monastic order fade away, but the warrior stayed, and found themselves without a master. They refused to be called "knights", because they saw the other knightly orders as little more then hounds in service a master, be it a noble house, guild, or rich men. They chose for themselves the name "Condottiers", and with it they adopted a moral code based on discipline, self-perfection and charity (reminiscent of the original way of the monks, somehow). They are either loved as holy protectors, or hated as holier-than-you hypocrites, with little shades in between.

[Wasp]

TIMELINE
START
King Arunidas LXXVII. dies under mysterious circumstances

The Tiefling Archmage and King, Arunidas LXXVII., is found dead in his bed drained of all his blood

The sole survivor of an expedition into the Morthal Ruins reveals the existence of an ancient Blood Curse before succumbing to it himself.

Suspicions rise when the Guild of Necromancy - the guild of the king's firstborn son, Astaroth the Silent - decides to spend all resources that would be needed to invoke the spirit of the dead king to question him about the circumstances of his death to find out more about the blood curse instead.

King Arunidas LXXVII's lesser son (Zardos the White) and his daughter (Kallista) start independently claiming the throne from his firstborn (Astaroth the Silent). Political tension rises.

The goblin baroness Nasha forges a secret alliance with the Guild of Three Leaves

Zardos the White consolidates his power over the many tribes of Hroudhorn, uniting them in fear and reverence, thus considerably empowering his army

Kallista consolidates, through blood bonds and political action, her supposedly good relations with the rich city-state of Istion, the marine republic; the Bank is happy to fund her campaigns

The secret alliance of guilds and lesser nobles begins stealth actions against the three children of the late king, undermining their positions.

An assasination attempt on Astaroth's life by an envoy of the noble House of Andal fails. As the assassin was using a poison that could only be prepared by use of the Seal that is under the Alchemist Guild's protection, Astaroth occupies the Alchemist's Guild's Tower and announces the Guild's dissolvement.

The secret alliance now revealed, the remaining guilds split and join into factions.

The Guild War rages

While Astaroth is on the battlefield, the Guild of Anti-Magic, the Guild of Artifice and the King's Arcane Guard take over the Iridescent Tower and declare a Council will rule the Kingdom until the rightful heir has been determined

Zardos the White mobilizes his troops to occupy the Iridescent Tower

While the Siege of the Iridescent Tower is coming to an end in favor of Zardos' forces, the goblin faction of Baroness Nasha and the Guild of three leaves sabotages the attacking forces from the underground with alchemic devices. As Zardos and most of his troops die, Nasha gains her place in the Council

After the death of Zardos the White and many of their leaders, the Hroudhorn tribes close the Gates to the Mountains and declare their independence

The Gates to the Mountains now closed, the ancient trade-route that was bringing best quality wood to Istion in exchange for salt is compromised, Istion is now forced to smuggle the wood for its ships and is unhappy about the huge costs that this implies.

Her most wary brother out of the game, Kallista schemes and corrupts, to maneuver the political powers behind the Council in her favor. She seems not to worry about the gold that this requires, nor of her growing debt towards the Bank of Istion

As her debt mounts with no end in sight, the Bank of Istion petitions the Council to force Kallista to repay it, one way or another.

>> The council grants Istion the right to attack and seize Kallista's lands without them intervening as long as long as Istion doesn't dispute the conquered lands stay under the overall rule of the Kingdom and keeps paying tributes

The enormous losses during the Guild War result in the collapse of the 13 Arcane Guilds

With no one remaining to maintain them, the Great Seals weaken

As the Great Seals weaken, the Blood Curse begins to spread through the land

The Condottiers of the Crownhill order are sacrificing everything to limit the spread of the curse, healing the sick, blessing the doomed ones, limiting the spread of panic and the riots.

The knowledge spreads that, while the Crownhill Condottiers die by the dozens, low rank condottier Iliana Sunshield seems to be unaffected by the curse; some see this as a miracle, many look at it with suspicion.

Working with the spirit of Isolar, the Living Island, the former vampire master of the Guild of Necromancy sacrifices himself in a blood ritual to stop the last seal from breaking.

The post-collapse Great Reform of magic studies happens; the study of the 5 Spheres spreads, co-existing and in attrition with older studies of the guilds era

In the vacuum after the collapse the 5 Spheres theory that had been brought to Istion from the South a generation earlier spreads rapidly into the Kingdom

Efforts are undertaken to research ways to rebuild or recreate the Great Seals. With so much knowledge lost, progress is slow.

A rogue faction of mages, nobles and researcher search for ways to, rather than prevent the Blood Curse, submit to it, empowering them with its dark energies.

>>> The rogue mages attack a secret meeting of spellcasters at Isolar, the Living Island, where they had gathered to cure the Blood Curse. In the ensuing chaos Isolar vanishes but it is unclear who is responsible for its disappearance.

As it becomes clear that the vampiric magic that keeps the last seal from breaking will end sooner rather than later, Iliana Sunshield sets out to explore the ancient V'ran ruins nobody else can step into without succumbing to the curse to find a solution

The cryptic, enchanted glyphs in the V'ran ruins do not disclose any remedy to the curse; however they DO tell the story of an ancient war of the V'ran civilization against the so called "Murg Thalai", and about the V'ran developing of "the Red touch of Ta'axos", a curse they lost control of, sealing their own doom

The Blood War

Several secret societies who see the Red Touch as a solution unite under the banner of the "Reborn Kingdom of V'ran".

The actions of the Reborn Kingdom of V'ran to deliberately spread the Blood Curse in order to inflate their numbers come to light.

The remainder of the old noble houses and guilds blame the current course of actions upon the students of the 5 spheres, feeding ideological conflict on top of the already existing tensions

Now revealed, the Reborn Kingdom of V'ran accelerate their recruitment. Despite the dangers and side-effects, many are lured by promises of power and relative safety from the Blood Curse, especially those not magically inclined.

Fights between the different factions in the streets of the capital escalate leading to a magical chain reaction causing the explosion of the Iridescent Tower and death of almost all magic users within the city's vicinity

Already over-strained, the magical surge makes the final Great Seal collapse at last.

With the final seal gone, the Blood Curse surges again. In the ensuing chaos, the Reborn Kingdom of V'ran threatens the Concil's precarious hold on power.

Isolar, the Living Island reappears in the present

A small party of survivors and war deserters, led by Iliana Sunshield and Titianus from the former Guild of Lost Knowledge, barely find their way, strranded and barely living, to Isolar, in search for answers

Iliana Sunshield is elected for life as Queen over the remaining provinces

The Human Condottiere Iliana Sunshield, is crowned in the new capital of Ildova as Queen, becoming the first ruler of the Kingdom without any magical ability

END

DESCRIPTIONS

The study of the 5 Spheres is the reformed way of interpreting magic. Magic is seen in terms of what "costs" a caster withstands, in every "sphere" his being reflects (The Movement of Matter, The Spirit of Nature, The Human Matrix, The Veiled Realm, The Beyond), rather than what it manipulates. Many old scholars (and especially the conservative ones, insisting on magic as an elite knowledge) frown at this reform.

The Guild of Necromancy - or officially the Guild of the Inner Light - was one of the original 13 Arcane Guilds, but in contrast to Necromancers in other parts of the world, the guild focused not only on death and undeath but also the healing and preservation of the spirit and the living body.

The Free Republic of Istion - also named the "free cities", the "Radiant" one, or simply Istion -is a mainly coastal territory ruled by an independent, oligarchic, state-city. Seafaring, marine commerce and trading and military / economic hegemony over several colonies / tributaries has made the Republic incredibly wealthy, and thus able to preserve independence. The city Bank wisely administers this wealth to generate more, borrowing and retrieving huge sums to (openly or secretly) sponsor this or that political power.

The Relation between the Guilds and the Nobility of the Inner Provinces at the time of Guild Wars was very complex. In general most Arcane Casters were members of one of the guilds but not all guild members were Arcane Casters. While not all or even a majority of nobles could cast magic, the noble families had to keep up the appearance of being part of an arcane bloodline - which were the basis of their claim to rule - so many became members of the guilds even though they lacked talent.

The Condottiers of Crownhill originated as a small military garrison to protect the strategically placed monastery of Mount Crownhill. Time passed and the monastic order fade away, but the warrior stayed, and found themselves without a master. They refused to be called "knights", because they saw the other knightly orders as little more then hounds in service a master, be it a noble house, guild, or rich men. They chose for themselves the name "Condottiers", and with it they adopted a moral code based on discipline, self-perfection and charity (reminiscent of the original way of the monks, somehow). They are either loved as holy protectors, or hated as holier-than-you hypocrites, with little shades in between.