Only Ruins: a Setting

**Anti-Eagle** · 2016-11-19, 05:12 PM (ISO 8601)

Only Ruins

"It is now the 1934th year of the world by the Auroran Count, the 1174th year since the gods arose, and by my count the 847th year since the first of the cataclysms. It is by the blessings of the dead ones that I have lived to see this day and it is by the curses of the dead ones that I have suffered to see this day.

The grip of the Ascendant has finally began to loosen and the storms left in its wake have begun to weaken. Men have begun to walk the lands again, attempting to reclaim their former glories amongst the ruins as the insanities of the world rage around them. It is by my reckoning these ages of gods and cataclysms have finally given way to an age of man.

A beginning from an end, to finally control our destinies and walk away from the ruins. We can always hope can't we. Hope is all we really have left in the end."

Hello. This is my attempt at writing a setting for a game, admittedly built off of something that came before it. 'Only Ruins' is a world barely held together after an apocalypse, in which people are trying to begin again amongst the ruins of an age of wonder.

Should I find a lack of interest in the planned use of this setting, and even if I do, should time permit I plan to expand upon the below and properly codify the world but I feel the below is satisfactory enough for the purposes of building upon it as is.

Feel free to speak, discuss, and critique should you feel the need to.

Spoiler: Mythopoeia Thread Links

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Original Recruitment: https://v1.escapistmagazine.com/foru...-RP-Now-closed
Second Recruitment: https://v1.escapistmagazine.com/foru...iting#21144859
Game Thread: https://v1.escapistmagazine.com/foru...losed#20769330
Group: https://v1.escapistmagazine.com/grou...thopoeia-group

Spoiler: Only Ruins Thread Links

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Setting Thread: http://www.giantitp.com/forums/showthread.php?506647
Rules Thread: http://www.giantitp.com/forums/showthread.php?506645
Original Recruitment Thread: http://www.giantitp.com/forums/showthread.php?506837
Second Recruitment Thread: http://www.giantitp.com/forums/showthread.php?522244
Third Recruitment Thread: http://www.giantitp.com/forums/showthread.php?545504
Out-Of-Character Thread: http://www.giantitp.com/forums/showthread.php?508062
Game Thread: http://www.giantitp.com/forums/showthread.php?508138

Spoiler: Ascendancy 1900 Thread Links

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Spoiler: Ascendancy 2000

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Grand Index: https://www.myth-weavers.com/showthread.php?t=478805
Index: https://www.myth-weavers.com/showthread.php?t=478801

Spoiler: The Far West

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Grand Index: https://www.myth-weavers.com/showthread.php?t=478805
Index: https://www.myth-weavers.com/showthread.php?t=478802

**Anti-Eagle** · 2016-11-19, 05:18 PM (ISO 8601)

Spoiler: The Ages

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The First Age (The Age of Creation) - The First Age recorded by mortals, little of this age is remembered in more than myth. Many divinities walked the land and few cultures agree on what began or transpired during this age other than the creation of the world. The First Age ended with the disappearance of the creator divinities from the world for reasons no one knows or remembers.

The Second Age (The Age of Absence) - The Second Age is the period of time between the disappearance of the creators from the world and the reappearance of divinities. Though most details of the history of this age have been forgotten most remember the origins of their people and the struggles before the divinities returned.

The Third Age (The Age of Gods) - The Third Age began with the ascendance of Cyth'Raul, Gangari, Jashiki, Lysei, and Qartog into divinities. It is during this age that the civilizations of the second age rose and fell until only Aurora, the Grat Shee, the Raptor States, and the exiled peoples of the Aetherial Collective remained standing of their own wills. It is during this age that magic returned and the world was revolutionized by the sciences. This age is well remembered even if the details have been lost to the cataclysms.

Most civilizations held a technological level equivalent to the the industrial age, the Krakari and Aetherial Collective generally being more advanced in their sciences and works.

The Fourth Age (The Age of Cataclysms) - It's unclear what began this age exactly but the events surrounding the end of the Age of Gods is well known. Gangari returning to the world of mortals after a hundred year slumber he took to allow the world to think and allow time for the peoples of the land to grow. Judging Aurora corrupt upon awakening he allowed his cult, the Aetherial Collective to initiate a long planned attack under his Authority. Gangari beside his cult, his scions, and his many allies began a takeover of the known world. Under a combination of mortal and divine assault the vast empire of Aurora was fractured, sacked, and burned until a new and insane divinity arose from the ashes of the dead and began destroying everything in it's path and cursing the rest. This deity referred to as the Ascendant by those still alive who witnessed it is responsible for the state of the world as it is...

The Fourth Age was a time of struggle and desperation, most returning to simple and tribal or feudal ways, forgetting science and industry in exchange for survival. Superstition is rampant as a mechanism for coping with the change and surviving the almost esoteric nature of daily threats.

The Fifth Age (The Age of Man) - The Current Age, beginning with the rallying of tribes under new banners and the re-establishment of stable civilization. Settlements one could call safe from the horrors of the world are rare but have slowly begun to form.

Technologically the people of the fledgling footholds use a mash of bronze age, iron age, and early industrial era technologies. Superstition and ignorance are rampant in most lands and those capable of wielding magics are shunned out of fear of the corruptions it could bring.

**Anti-Eagle** · 2016-11-19, 05:31 PM (ISO 8601)

Spoiler: Divinities of the Past Ages

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Roe - Believed to be a divinity of the First Age, Roe is a figure remembered by those descended from Aurora as the father of their people and the one who brought them to this world. Few details of him remain and in the second and third age, misremembered as a man named Matthias he and his line were believed to be the incarnation of this god and he was venerated through him. Still worshiped amongst most of those who claim Auroran descent assuming him to still be amongst them in one form or another, several warlords claiming to be him.

Therax - Believed to be a divinity of the First Age, Therax is a figure remembered by the Luug as their creator. During the second age it is believed by the Luug that he appeared to them as a Luug known as the Pale One who sacrificed himself to cease their constant and petty warring and unite them under a single banner. Still worshiped by most Luug, they await his return hoping to grant them unity and dominion.

Cyth'Raul - A divinity of the Third Age, Cyth'Raul is remembered as the Pactbreaker for the acts which earned her infamy and later death. Remembered for her part in the banishing Jashiki, the cull of the Luug, the Auroran civil war, the second burning of Ajivha, and her execution by Gangari. Hated by many who still remember the pain she caused either culturally or personally, little more is remembered of her than her crimes and little if any of her cult remains by the Fifth Age.

Gangari - A divinity of the First, Third, and Fourth Ages, The old man known as Gangari is remembered as a god of wisdom and magic, and blood and fire. Bringing great progress and magic to the people's of the Third Age, Gangari became the patron of Ajivha and many learned folk amongst the lands, striving for peace and stability in a land constantly at war in his eyes. Through his wisdom when Ajivha fell, and he brought wrath upon it's murderers, he led those who remained faithful to him over the spreading Aurorans away to build and plot and flourish. Through his wisdom he led the exiled of the world to safety where they could fortify and arm. Through his wisdom he corralled the dead and gave them peace. Through his wisdom he caused the end of the world, bringing a great war and great tragedy to the lands that still echoes through the world.

In the past his followers could be found amongst all societies and all walks of life, particularly farmers, craftsmen, and scholars. In the Fifth Age most remember him and his works, revered and feared in equal measure. Honoured by those who still remember him fondly and given offerings by those who fear him returning. None know his fate for sure, most thinking him have disappeared around the fall of Ajivha and the beginning of the Fourth Age.

His works can be seen in nearly everything in the world, from the runes to the creatures to the dead wandering the lands.

Jashiki - A divinity of the Third Age, Jashiki was a creature of the sea, worshiped in equal measure by both the Aurorans and the Ray-das. After years of supporting pirates and raiders along the coast as well as rebels and tyrants, as it would be claimed by Lysei seeing him and his cult as undermining efforts to reform Auroran society. He was banished by the combined efforts of Gangari, Lysei, and Cyth'raul for his meddling. His cult would claim him to have been a wise and kind being if capricious, and Gangari after having a change of heart regarding his place and fate returned him to his followers and the world. During the awakening of the divinity known as the Ascendant, Jashiki was slain by it and his essence was scattered into the oceans.

In the Fifth Age, his cult still lingers amongst the Dead Republic and certain coastal tribes.

Lacae - An obscure divinity of the First and Third Ages. A being of peace, Lacae shortly after awakening in the world was said to despair over the warring between mortals and ascended to the heavens where she sleeps.

Lysei - A divinity of the Third Age, Lysei was a being of fire and retribution who after being horrified by the inequality and corruption of Aurora and its slave trade set to work reforming and controlling Aurora. Believed by and worshiped by some Aurorans to be an incarnation of Roe, his cult carved a swathe through their own people, burning rival cults out and taking control of its government, putting him and his cult in control of the people as he manipulated its monarchy with threats and punishments. Through the work of Gangari and before he was exiled, Jashiki, the Auroran people were able to seize control of their lives from Lysei and curb the more zealous aspects of his cult. He's believed to have faded, having become apathetic to the plight of Aurora as they turned from his bloody path and back to their own.

In the Fifth Age, his cult lingers amongst the Auroran tribes waiting for his return and enacting his rituals, hoping for his fire to grant them safety and retribution.

Qartog - A divinity of the Third Age, Qartog was a spirit of wind and death, visiting gifts upon the Krakari and her wrath upon their enemies. She's said to have fallen into madness and despair at being unable to turn away the vast tide of bandits raiding their countryside before fading away.

Little if any of her cult remains by the Fifth Age.

Drya - A divinity of the Third Age, Drya is remembered by some as a nature spirit inhabiting the lands known as Mereton. Said to have been driven to madness by the killing of her followers by a Meretonian cult, she visited a great fire upon them before disappearing. Few remember her.

Themeron - An obscure divinity of the Third Age, Themeron sought war out during the brief period he existed in the world and shortly after managing to create one between the Aurorans and the Ray-Das he was executed by Lysei.

Khalorean - A divinity of the Third Age, Khalorean was a being associated with insects and other strange scuttling things. Shortly after he arose he established a Drider cult in Mereton and began introducing many mostly forgotten strange and powerful creatures into the world, most of which were killed in gas attacks during the opening days of the great war. It's believed he faded from the world shortly before the war and the subsequent cataclysms.

Ashlif - A divinity of the Third and Fourth Ages and a scion of Gangari, Ashlif is the daughter of Gangari first incarnated into the world in the form of the University of Ajivha, a large tree-like building formed of a shining silver living metal. After awakening and taking a more relatable human form the being known as Ashlif was an enigmatic and rarely recognized creature that wandered the lands and mingled amongst it's peoples before being granted divinity by Gangari, eventually becoming a deity of spies and mages in certain circles. Her fate is unknown and what worship of her is conducted tends to be tied to Gangari.

Cawles Strix - A divinity of the Third and Fourth Ages, a scion of Gangari, his demiurge, and his high-priestess. Before being granted divinity by Gangari, Cawles was a scion of the Krakari Strix house and the prophet of the deity Qartog. After Qartog faded from the world Cawles made her way to Grand Ajivha, and the learned halls of it's university. She became a member of Gangari's cult and after decades of grooming became his High-priest. Eventually granted immortality and then divinity Cawles became a deity of knowledge amongst the peoples. Her fate is unknown, though sightings of her are abound and what worship of her remains tends to be tied to Gangari.

Katalia - A divinity of the Third and Fourth Ages, scion of Gangari, his enforcer, and his executioner. Before being granted divinity by Gangari, Katalia was Lysei's "Weaver of the Inferno," acting as his assassin and his soldier. After Lysei faded from the world Katalia was captured by the Auroran army and sentenced to death for her work. Taking pity on her Gangari rescued and reformed her before granting her divinity, to act as his servant. She became a deity of fire and retribution in the world shortly before the first of the cataclysms. Her fate is unknown and what worship she's afforded tends to be tied to Lysei or Gangari.

The Dead God - A divinity of the Third Age and a scion of Gangari. The being known as the dead god was a strange and skeletal creature said to be born of Gangari's will and charged with the care of the dead, to see the innocent find peace and the guilty find death. Granted power over death, it was he who brought the Revenants into the world to bring retribution upon their killers, directed them, and when time came granted them peace. Shortly after the rise of the Ascendant he was killed in battle with it, his essence becoming one with the land, his will lost, dooming the dead to wander the earth. He's still worshiped amongst the Dead Republic, a rather fatalistic religion, hoping for him to return so they can feel his call again and be released.

The Ascendant - A creature born of the great war, said to be born of the dead of the conflict and fueled by their rage. Wreaking havoc across the continent the Ascendant was the cause of the cataclysms, warping and cursing reality as it crossed the lands appearing as a great pillar of violet flames, warring with the gods and burning the cities of man. No one knows where it truly came from or where it went, but it's coming into being is a mark of the beginning of the Fourth Age.

Only the truly insane worship the Ascendant.

**Anti-Eagle** · 2016-11-19, 05:52 PM (ISO 8601)

Spoiler: Races of the Fifth Age

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Humans - I assume little needs to be said of Humanity. The two largest ethnicity of humans are Ajivhans and Aurorans. Ajivhans on average are a tall dark skinned people of complexions ranging between what one would associate with Greeks and what one would associate with the Turkish. Aurorans are a varied lot that all consider themselves the same people, encompassing all of non-Ajivhan humanity they can be found across the continent.

Ray Das - The Ray-das are short people, resembling Humans the most, who are often very jolly and happy but have been known to take great pleasure in stealing everything you own and watching you bleed whilst they do it. It is claimed by some that their people used to be able to turn into animals, and while it's impossible now, it's believed by some that they still retain traits for their animal. It's sometimes said by the halflings that you could figure out their animal just by the way they acted.

The majority of the Ray Das live along the coast or on islands, many of them raiders, bandits, and highwaymen of one variety or another with their kind's long affinity with the sea, natural greed, and predilection to violence.

Yish'Tai - The Yish'Tai are a pale-skinned, pan-eyed humanoid species that inhabit the densely shadowed Marshlands of the South West. The average height for males is 7 feet, for women it is 6'5. Their skin colour varies somewhat between white and translucent blue. With elongated ears and large, flat discs for eyes, they present a somewhat unnerving image. Their noses have all but sunken back into their face, and their lips are thick and scaly. Most Yish'Tai keep their black hair cut short for practical purposes; some women tie it back with marsh-weed, while their men often keep it in a wolf-tail.

Yish'Tai are tall and lean; and most lack the potential for large musculature, due to both their diet and lifestyle. While their reflexes are certainly quick, they heavily rely upon surprise and speed when hunting.

Most of the Yish'Tai died during the war and the cataclysms, others became what are now known as Corvans, and some are rumoured to still dwell within the ruin of the Ghost Marshes.

Corvans - Corvans in the past were a race born of the first burning of Ajivha, resurrected and bound to Gangari, Corvans appeared much as they were before aside from some changes. Their eyes changed, developing black pupils and a metallic bronze iris, and upon their backs the bronze living metal of Gangari grew into his spiral-star mark. They were strong, healthy, and keen of mind each. Each holding a natural tie to Gangari and an affinity for his magics. This blessing in it's time became a pact, and it's power was shared amongst those peoples who held Gangari in their hearts. This brotherhood eventually spread to all races and nations and it was this brotherhood that came to serve Gangari in his collective and during the war fought to bring his order.

It's unknown at what point this racial identity became associated with the modern Corvans, the descendants of the old Aetherial Collective and a somewhat different race. The Corvans of the fifth and latter days of the fourth age are a collection of several similar races which claim Corvan ancestry and seem to have descended from Humans and Yish alike despite such a thing being impossible. Some believe this to have been the work of Gangari and others the result of almost constant exposure to mild wild magics over the generations.

Modern Corvans on average are lithe, elven creatures bearing resemblance to both Humans and Yish. Details vary based upon their various hybrid natures and the course of their blood, but all of them have in common the marks of the old pact: Pitch black eyes and Gangari's star-spiral mark in bronze living metal upon their backs.

Krakari - Long, lean and lithe, the Krakaris are an avian race with feathers and all. Their feathers vary from one Krakar to the other much like hair or eye color in humans. But instead of humans, the Krakaris are covered in feathers. Their face carry large eyes used to spotting prey from afar and beaks from when they had to tear them apart. The Krakaris descend from birds of prey so their beaks are strong and hooked at the end. Their hearing is better than normal but not abnormally good.

Their necks turn from side to side like a regular human being but they have a natural hunch in their back whenever their attention isn't piqued. When they are detecting noise, searching, listening intently or trying to intimidate something they raise their necks and reveal their true height. When they spread their wings, their wingspan are almost double their height. An average male Krakar is usually between five and six feet tall with the females between four and five feet tall.

Their arms are deceptively long but are usually tucked at their sides with their small hands in the middle. Their arms are actually proportional to their bodies but muscle exists beneath their hands that hold the rest of their wing making it seem like they have their hands in the middle of their wings when at full length. Their hands are long, wiry digits with three fingers and a thumb with a perpetual cold feel to them despite the Krakaris being warm-blooded. They fold their arms and keep them at their sides making their wings tuck neatly next to their body. It acts as a natural cloak if need be and water usually slides right off their feathers.

The Krakaris have very strong legs that bend slightly backwards with talons at their feet. Their talons are sharp and deadly and help the Krakaris get a good grip of earth alongside helping them hang off of things. They have a very recognizable sound when they walk especially on flat stone or marble floors which is why rich merchants usually dread having Krakaris over in their lavish mansions. Their talons tear and grab instinctively and of recently the wealthy Krakaris dip their talons in bronze, silver or gold to show their wealth.

The Krakaris lay eggs and are fiercely protective of their young. They guard their eggs with their life and when the eggs are hatched, they care for them deeply. Often the parents of a newborn egg will guard their offspring until the baby emerges from the egg. The initial period where the baby emerges from the egg are when the parents see the characteristics of their child. A child may burst out of an egg showing their strength or even crack the egg at certain places to weaken the structure to signify its intelligence. But newborn that do not emerge at all are cast down.

The Krakari still live in their old forests, now scattered across the continent having returned to their old ways as they endure.

Luug - A hulking, grey, stone skinned, and hard-headed breed of beasts, the Luug are of the earth. Literally, the Luug are spawned from large pools of a primordial substance, practically beings of living stone. Apparently immune to the ravages of time, the Luug's rocky scabs grow over their body and eventually come to form a boulder upon the Luug's back. When the Luug has become this old, they start to catalog their own history on their own back, their life story engraved for all to see. Then, finally, when a Luug desires death, or has fallen in battle, they give themselves to the pool that spawned them. In giving themselves to the pool, they feed it, keeping it "alive" and able to spawn more Luug. New pools can be made with several Luug dying with each other and being in a place where their liquid remains can pool.

Their appearance is dependent on the Luug's surroundings during the first years of development, along with the location of the spawning pool. Once the Luug reaches adolescence, their skin is like that of the earth around them.

Born warriors, the Luug value strength, but they also see strength in places that others might not. In the runes the elders carve on their back, the Luug see wisdom, which hones strength in directing its fury. In the crawling of newborn Luug from the spawning pools, the Luug see perseverance, which keeps one strong in the darkest times. In honor, the Luug see the practical restrictions of strength, for the raging beast destroys its own home, as the Luug have seen firsthand.

In the Fifth Age the majority of the Luug stay deep in their mountains, entrenched and xenophobic they wait until their day comes again.

Driders - The spiderfolk known as the driders are an odd blend of man and arachnid introduced into the world by Lysei and his Genners. Larger than men and almost resembling them if one were drunk, driders have an upper half (mostly) resembling the upper half of a human (save the originating breed which had bodies covered entirely in chitin, eight eyes upon their heads, and mouths filled with needle-like fangs) and a lower half mostly resembling a spider. All Driders are born starving and all Driders are so born feral, taking years for the other Driders to whip civilization and thought into them.

Sexually dimorphic and functioning in biological castes, all Driders are bound to a brood queen which is the only female allowed to breed in their clan and in turn their clan. All Driders are recognizable as a descendant of their particular Queen resulting from the series of biological quirks burned into their genes by Lysei that makes each Queens offspring unique from the others in one way or another with each generation becoming further and further apart from one another. Queens have been known to grow to take up entire rooms.

Most were killed in the opening days of the war that led to the cataclysms. Across the continent a few are said to dwell in the forests and in the ruins, but most if not all are believed to be feral.

Dust Moths - A race of creatures created by Khalorean during the Third Age, Dust Moths were once a colourful breed of supposedly humanish creatures able to take the forms of large butterflies with wings said to be about eight feet wide. These 'Rainbow Butterflies' as their creator referred to them, preached unity and tolerance until their near extinction during the opening days of the great war when the Khaloric settlements were gassed and burned.

The few survivors fled underground, losing their colour and the ability to change form, they became an odd race resembling a blend of man and moth. Humanish creatures with pitch black eyes, moth-like antennae that appear almost like large elegant eyebrows, and dull coloured moth-like wings.

Grat - The Grat are an odd race of large predatory tree dwelling reptilian marsupial-like creatures. Tribal and Xenophobic, during the cataclysms of old the Grat retreated into the northern forests. Few have seen them since or atleast lived to tell of encounters with them.

Simulacra - A race of incredibly complex mechanical humanoids related to Zalya, Simulacra were created by the god Gangari to grant his followers a way to continue their service after death. Forged of living metals and odd crystals, Simulacra contain the bound souls of ancient dead, eternally bound to a pact made with their now absent lord to serve. Slowly decaying from a lack of maintenance most Simulacra live within ruins and what is known as the Dead Republic, finding only sadness in walking amongst mortals for too long a time. Amongst the dead and the immortal they find kinship as they watch the world and wait for things to change or for them to be released from their eternity.

Revenants - Revenants are the risen dead of the land, victims granted a chance by the gods to bring vengeance upon their murderers. Or atleast that's how it was in the past. The original Revenants were men and women brought back to the land of the living by the divinity now known as the dead god, their bodies fixed and their minds guided to wreak vengeance upon whoever the dead god decided was guilty for their death. Their bodies were made whole and resilient, their minds sharp, and they were granted strange powers to carry out their work. When their appointed tasks were completed they returned back to their graves, and they dropped dead so that their souls could return to their proper afterlives.

In the current times, after the death of the "Dead God" and the disappearance of Gangari and his other scions, the rise of Revenants continues but they come back in far greater numbers without a divinity directing the process and determining what is and isn't murder, without purpose or guidance instilled into them, and without a path to release.

All who can be said to have been killed in the Fifth Age rise as Revenants without guidance or purpose, to wander the lands for all eternity waiting to be released from their undeath. They return whole and unaging, never healing they're able to be injured and eventually killed but they always rise again upon the next full moon. The slow natural decay of their kind and death taking a toll on their bodies and minds.

It is said to be possible to kill them or grant them death and the ways are many if difficult or unappealing. A third age ritualized burning is said to have been the cleanest and most merciful way to prevent or end their rising, but those who knew the prayers were long ago lost to the cataclysms. Being struck by lightning, being consumed by an Aberration, or having ones ashes buried in a land afflicted with wild magics or for that matter being killed by magics wild or otherwise are known ways to stop them.

Some societies take this as a blessing, letting their dead rise for one reason or another. Others take it as a curse, ritually destroying their dead before and doing what they can to prevent them from rising in the first place. Most who rise eventually find their way to their own kind and the Dead Republic.

Vampires - Immortal creatures first introduced into the world by Jashiki. Those who become vampires develop elongated and pointed teeth, become repelled by Silver and burned by contact with it, become able to heal and regenerate their physical forms except what is inflicted by silver, become stronger, and become able to breathe underwater. Being bitten by a vampire transfers the blessing and transformation into one happens over the course of a week.

Vampires were mostly prevalent amongst the coast and island dwellers of Aurora, and particularly amongst the Ray-Das population. Due to their nature as immortals most vampires now live within the Dead Republic.

**Anti-Eagle** · 2016-11-19, 06:24 PM (ISO 8601)

Spoiler: The Civilizations of the Past

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Agerra - An ancient and mythical empire that claimed the blood of the creator gods in their veins, to have walked with them and to have witnessed their fall. As with many their power waned during the second age and their empire fell. Their descendants were killed by the Ray-das save a few which found their ways into Ajivha and those who came after them. A few who remember the Agerrans claim their blood within them.

The Aetherial Collective - Derisively referred to as the Sammah Gangari Tahna by some in the days before the Cataclysms, the Aetherial Collective was a communistic state formed of Ajivhans, Gangari worshipers, and various peoples who found themselves exiles from their own lands. Founded in the name of Ajivha and Gangari after the first burning of Grand Ajivha, they found themselves incapable of retaking their lands back under the heel of Aurora and seeing few places they could plan and build they made their home in the Ghost Marshes to escape the prying eyes they found watching them in their ancestral homeland. With the blessings of Gangari and his scions they attempted to carry on the Ajivhan traditions in the only ways they knew while carrying on the work they began before the first burning of their city. As the decades passed they discovered and mastered many wonders of the world, eventually culminating in the creation of the floating city of Gokvahar which became their capital. Having long plotted and finding their magics and sciences far surpassing any others they attempted to take advantage of the Second Auroran Civil War of the Third Age to retake the holy city of Grand Ajivha only to find their allies abandoning them and the Auroran hordes united and surrounding them. Forced into further isolationism, their spies worked their way into every facet of civilization and after the return of Gangari and his judging of Aurora to be corrupt and needing to be cleansed their armies drowned Aurora in weaponized gases before overwhelming and burning their way through those who fought beside the combined forces of the Krakari, the Luug, and the Grat. Their lands fell in the first of the Cataclysms and most of their ancient technologies and artifacts are thought lost to the warped silver of the marshes. They and those that came after them are still distrusted or hated by many for their part in the events that led to the cataclysms.

The Deep Tribes - The children of Therax, the strong and prideful Luug of the Deep Tribes have long lived in the deep tunnels and cavern systems of their ancient mountains. Tribal and xenophobic the Deep Tribes rarely left their homeland and so stagnated in their caves until the coming of the gods. Under the guidance of the gods Gangari and Cyth'raul they began finding their way in the world until the cult of Cyth'raul seized power and attempted to cull those who refused to worship their patron, and the Aurorans seeing their instability invaded and Cyth'raul breaking with the divine pact with Gangari rained fire upon Ajivha in retaliation. With the death of Cyth'raul, the Deep Tribes quickly folded and were swiftly annexed as part of Aurora and the Grat Shae.

The Grat Shae - A strange, tribal, and predatory people. The Grat Shae lived quietly within the whispering woods of the North until contact with settlers of the Aetherial Collective made them aware of the peoples of the lands. Stories of combat with Grat are few, as they hunt their enemy not only as soldiers but as hunters. Carnivores by nature they rarely took prisoners and their tendency was to feed upon the dead of both sides During the war they stood beside the Aetherial Collective and Gangari as a vast horde of mercenaries and during the cataclysms they retreated into their forest and sightings of them have been rare since, supposedly cursed.

Spoiler: The Holy Auroran Empire

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"The Holy Auroran Empire, later known as the Commonwealth of Aurora, was a multicultural theocratic empire that lasted approximately eight and a half centuries. Founded by the legendary Matthias, it's original citizens were human slaves escaped from the fleet of halfling warlord Turok. The new people came to dominate the archipelago in which they had settled and created a caste based society over the native human population, before suddenly undergoing a period of rapid expansion in their seventh century.

The Emperor of Aurora was the centre of the state, commonly believed to be a living incarnation of Father Matthias. Adherence to the Imperial Cult was compulsory, other religious practices being heterogeneous and often based on local custom. The rise of Aurora coincided with the coming to the throne of the Princely family of Verde, long having ruled that island as a duchy. Traditionally, any male-line descendants of Matthias were eligible to the throne, decided in an election of all those eligible. In practice, powerful nobles determined the results beforehand. Thirteen year old Kaius of Verde was elected with the support of his uncle Octavius, who in turn was created regent. He held this position for five years, heralding reforms including the first Parliament of Aurora, albeit filled mainly by nobles. After Kaius III reached his majority however, a power struggle between him and his uncle entailed, which led to his deposition and eventual murder by a servant of the god Lysei. Octavius replaced Kaius with his eight year old brother Maximus, assuming the younger boy would be easier to control. The child defied his uncle's expectations however and learning of his older brother's fate, conspired with his counsellors to overthrow Octavius. The plan succeeded and Octavius was slain by an angry mob.

The half-century reign of Maximus was a period of unparalleled prosperity for Aurora, as it expanded across much of the known world. Social reforms such as the abolition of slavery were implemented, and the Parliament of Aurora was reinstated with representatives from communities and clergy. This peace was only marred by a short dynastic dispute with Julius, the posthumous son of Kaius III, along with wars of conquest with the Ray-Das and Deep Tribes. Ajivha was settled at this time, while Mereton was annexed by treaty and royal marriage.

Along with the human kingdoms of Ajivha and Mereton, significant numbers of halflings, luug and driders lived within the Empire. While at times these races chafed with the human majority, they were generally accorded similar rights as ordinary humans and appointed a leader of their own species for their native provinces.

Tensions towards the end of Maximus' reign lead to further civil war and the formation of the short-lived People's Republic of Aurora. Early victories led to the fall of the capital Nova Verde and the suicide of the Emperor, the revolutionary state quickly collapsed however and the empire restored under the seven year old grandson of Maximus, Aurelius Daigoro. The child emperor's blessing by the god Jashiki and the protection of the immortal bodyguard Badger ensured the restored regime's success. The industrial revolution underwent full swing in his long reign, as Aurora's gains were consolidated.

At its height under the House of Verde, the Auroran Commonwealth covered more than a third of the known world and over half its population. After the death of Aurelius Daigoro at the age of seventy two however, the only surviving male members of Verde were young children and the empire fell into chaos as various princely families attempted to assert their long dormant claims to the throne. A decade followed in which five different emperors reigned, often at the same time in different parts of the empire. It was in this state that a reawakened Gangari found Aurora, and judging it to have become corrupt, he unleashed the war that brought the world to its knees and ended the Auroran Empire.

In these modern times, Aurora is still recalled as humanity's pinnacle and its religion practiced across much of the world. Claims to the Imperial throne are made by a number of petty kings and dukes, none are widely accepted or come close to the former glories of Aurora, however."

The Kingdom of Mereton - A small kingdom of humans that stood during the Second Age and early Third Age. A feudal state, the kingdom of Mereton prided itself upon the discipline and honour of both it's nobility and it's peasants. During the Third Age Mereton was peacefully annexed by Aurora and joined with it as a kingdom under Aurora's Emperor. During the fourth age their kind returned to their old ways and held their walls against the outside, becoming xenophobic over time due to the constant assaults against their holds.

Rok Lo Sha - A little remembered group of Yish tribes that once lived within a land known as the Ghost Marshes. Few remember them outside of stories passed down since the second age, of those who wandered into their lands and never returned. It was claimed after a series of plagues weakened them that they fell apart, before joining with those who became known as the Aetherial Collective, an offering of divine strength and order.

The Sammah Ajivha Tahna - The people of the first city, The Sons of Grand Ajivha were an ancient, industrious, and fortuitous people. In their desert they toiled in service to their city until the return of gods and the appearance of Gangari. Under him and his blessings their knowledge, their industry, and their wealth grew as did their ambition until their city for the first time in it's history burned. The common legend surrounding their downfall goes that the Ajivhans meddled in matters beyond mortals and payed the price in blood and fire and that the Aurorans stepped in to help them rebuild. The truth of the matter is that Aurora's greed knew no limits and that they turned upon their longest allies, turning the magic of their patron Lysei against the city and Ajivhas creations against it's populace. Few outside of those descended from Ajivha remember the truth of the affair and in many who do remember the hatred that resulted from the matter still burns in their hearts.

The Meritocracy of Saranda - A little remembered state that briefly existed during the Third Age, Saranda was a Meritocratic state consisting of Driders. Founded by Lysei and Gangari for the betterment of Driders and protection of the people's of the land it sat peacefully attempting to master the few sciences and magics that interested their queens, and trading with it's few neighbours. It did this until Auroran invasion early in the Third Age during which it was annexed and its people pressed into service. The Driders of Saranda and of Aurora for that matter were gassed alongside the rest of the creatures that became associated with Khalorean.

The Raptor States - A federated collection of Krakari houses and organizations, the Raptor States were an industrious and fragmented people that prided themselves on intelligence, guile, and charisma. The Raptor States seeking more and more resources to feed both their ever hungry populace and their greed turned to anything that showed them profit, science and industry, colonization of any land they could find, and to the few gods that showed their faces to them piety. Their people were only matched by the Aurorans in their desires and came into frequent conflict with all but them.

By the end of the Third Age their science and industrial might exceeded all and their military wore their accomplishments proudly as mechanized cavalry and artillery became the basis of their combat doctrines. During the great war they stood beside their long allies the Aetherial Collective and their shared patron deity and brought war to Aurora. During the Cataclysms they were forced to abandon the majority of their sciences in favour of their old natures, but have otherwise remained intact

The Ray Das - The piratical halflings known as the Ray Das are said to have made an attempt at settling the lands in a more organized than their people were used to. After raiding the Raptor States for months on end, the Krakari and their Auroran trade partners invaded and annexed the Ray Das settlements and were made to serve their empires. During the fourth age their people returned to the coasts and their old ways.

The Nations of the Fourth Age

The Ajivhan Khaganate - The Ajivhan Khaganate is a tribal collection primarily of the various surviving descendants of Ajivha and the Aetherial Collective, united under a Khagan. The Ajivhan Khaganate was founded by elements of the Aetherial Collective's silver legion that during the first of the Cataclysms retreated to the then unoccupied city of Onchesmos, the once fortress capital of the Drider nation of Saranda. Over the years as the Legionaries attempted to wait out the storm refugees and militias both from their own side and from their various neighbours were taken in and absorbed, and as the decades and centuries went on the nascent Khanagate grew from this fortress slowly as it attempted to settle and absorb neighbouring tribes.

A culture built upon both guile and the bond of one's word, Khaganate tents and horsemen can be seen across the South their reputation mixed and dependent upon the individual khans, most thought of as wandering merchants or raiding parties with little direction coming from the Khagan in the fortress city now known as New Ajivha. The Ajivhan Khaganate is primarily formed of Corvans, most of their progenitors being composed of the old variety and as time went on most of the Khaganate having slowly become the new variety. A few Krakari and Luug can be found amongst them.

The Dead Republic - The Dead Republic is a collection of various immortals and undead living upon the archipelago that once served as the capital of Aurora. After the Ascendant disappeared the few surviving revenants and vampires upon the smited archipelago banded together for survival and to attempt to rebuild their former glory. As time went on the population grew as other revenants, vampires, and eventually simulacra found their way to the isles and as the locals learned of the fate of the rest of the world this goal was slowly abandoned to become that of simply enduring in the world.

The most knowledgeable people in all regards, the republic is the last bastion of the old world as it was. Sciences and magics are maintained by practiced minds, attempting to hold onto what they remember of their gods and the world that rose and fell in their wake. The superstitions of the rest of the world never truly settled into them and stories abound within the republic of districts suddenly exploding in violet flames and taking dozens with them.

The republic is ruled by a council of seven, their names unknown outside of the republic, and they hold the republic together with an iron fist, knowing the dangers of immortality being thrust upon mortals first hand. Mild insanities are common place and for the safety of all, the psychotic are herded into makeshift fortress asylums to be let loose as a militia upon any who threaten the islands.

The Dead Republic is thought of by most as a cursed people in a cursed land, and though their riches and wisdom are known few other than dead and immortals try to deal with them.

**Anti-Eagle** · 2016-11-19, 06:30 PM (ISO 8601)

Spoiler: Map

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Spoiler: Cultures and Locations

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Blue - The Raptor States
Light Blue - The Ray-Das
Brown - The Grat Shae
Green - The Ajivhan Khaganate
Grey - The Deep Tribes
Purple - Aurorans
Red (Desert) - The Ajivhan Desert / The Ajivhan Wastes (Completely Overrun)
Red (Inner Desert) - Grand Ajivha (Completely Overrun)
Red (Marshlands) - The Ghost Marshes (Completely Overrun)
White - The Dead Republic
Yellow - The Kingdom of Mereton

**Anti-Eagle** · 2016-11-19, 06:43 PM (ISO 8601)

Spoiler: Notable Locations

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Agerra - A mythical land once held by humans of the first age, their civilization fell with the first gods of the land. It is said their descendants were wiped out by the Ray-Das save a few which found refuge within Ajivha and even later their within the Aetherial Collective and the Ajivhan Khanate, a few within them claiming their ancient blood.

No one knows exactly where this land is but it's said to be to the West of Grand Ajivha.

The Ajivhan Wastes - The ancient home of the Ajivhan people, the Ajivhan waste is a desert overrun with marauding bands of spirits and machines nearly devoid of life now as the sands and wild magics blow with the wind.

Balaenic Archipelago - An archipelago once controlled by Aurora consisting of the isles of Balaena, Emico, Ferrum, Ovum, Pectora, Polus, and Salma. Controlled primarily by Aurorans and Ray-das now.

Cytundeb - A small island formed off the coast by the pactbreaker during the early days of the third age. A few Luug are said to live upon it.

The Dead Isles - The Dead Isles are what were once the Auroran Archipelago, the center and glory of the Auroran Empire it is now a scarred and dead place populated only by the undead and immortals and their 'Dead Republic.' Hit first and hardest during the war and the subsequent cataclysms, it remains a cursed place where none but the cursed live.

It is formed of the isle of Maia, the largest of the isles and the capital of old Aurora remembered as Nova Verde, the isle of Pesh, the isle of Samosa, the isle of Tian, the isle of Toro, the isle of Verde, and the Kaigarde and Kashim isles.

Ekaki - A tall and ancient mountain which Ajivha was constructed around during the early days of the first or second age. Sacred and scarred the mountain sits in the center of the ruins of the grand and ancient city.

The Ghost Marshes - The once home of the Yish and the Aetherial Collective, the Ghost Marshes are a strange land covered in a jungle-like swamp marsh that once housed the most technologically and magically advanced civilization of the third age. Fully under the sway of the spores and plants of Gangari, the Marsh from a distance would appear to be the most hospitable place in the world. Mow unfortunately if one were to enter it they would find it is home to aberrations and other strange creatures as well as highly corruptive wild magics.

If one walked far enough in one would begin to find the ruins of the collective's cities relatively intact, massive and elegant structures formed of silvery living metals now having gone strange, rooting into the ground and sprouting branches and leaves, malfunctioning automated security systems firing off without cause. These cities, cursed as most believe, are filled with untouched magical treasures and artifacts, things that any sane person would go to war over to possess.

Gokvahar - The ancient capital of the Aetherial Collective, Gokvahar was a metropolis capable of flying through the sky. Forged by the hands of both man and god, Gokvahar was a wonder of magic and technology and the height of the Aetherial Collective's efforts.

During the cataclysms Gokvahar was irrevocably damaged and fell into the ocean to the south of the Ghost Marshes, sinking deep to the bottom where it now rests. Though it would hold vast amounts of priceless artifacts of magic and technology, few have tried to search for it's wealth. The danger of the sea is seen as too great a risk for most who would be capable.

Grand Ajivha - The first city according to the Ajivhan People, the center of the Sammah Ajivha Tahna as well as the beliefs of the Ajivhan people. In it's time it was heavily fortified, ordered in society and construction, and Grand. Once a bastion of civilization it was sacked and burned five times during the third age and the events that caused and resulted from the fifth burning marked the end of the third age and the fall of both man and god in the world.

The city now sits as a ruin and monument to the end of the world surrounding the mountain Ekaki, burning in endless fire as an eternal war is fought within between those trapped within the city by it's new strange nature. Surrounded by a wasteland patrolled by marauding hordes of decaying Zalya and maddened aberrations few have tried to plunder the riches of the city and none who have made it inside have returned, believed to have become one with the endless cycle of bloodshed within.

Highcrag - The tunneled chambers at the center of the mountains the Luug call home and the old Capital of the Luug peoples. It is considered sacred to the Luug by those who remember the old ways as it is where the Pale One sacrificed himself to ensure unity.

Isle of Avagarde - A mythical island formed by Lysei to protect lost and abused children, found by any who seek it. To children the island is a paradise where one never grows old and all seems beautiful and simple. To mortal adults and the particularly wicked the island is a nightmare, where one is tormented by visions of their fears until they die.

The spirit guardians of the place are said to occasionally take pity upon those seeking a loved one, occasionally releasing them and their child from the enchantments of the place and returning them to shore.

Isle of Lyseria - A small island once held by an order dedicated to Lysei, Lyseria was taken over during the latter days of the third age by Katalia and repurposed to her desires as a prison, something that was later destroyed by the cataclysms. Few if any now live upon it.

Isle of Xule - A small island off the coast once controlled by Aurora, and populated by diplomats of the various nations. Xule was a place supposedly of peace, run with the intent to standardize trade and find better methods of dealing with problems other than war. A small Auroran settlement remains upon it by the beginning of the Fifth Age.

The Jugaan Mountain - The Jugaan mountain is said in myth to have been a Luug known as Juugan, cursed by Gangari with immortality, tortured, and bound in a pit for her part in Cyth'raul's treachery, Jugaan was left to go mad and grow as she aged. Now the size of a mountain it's said by some they can still hear her screams of anguish and moans, begging to die on the winds. Which mountain she is exactly in the range she was bound is a matter of some debate however amongst the Luug.

Lot-Vos - The name of an ancient citadel constructed by the Ray-das during their brief attempt at forming a civilization during the third age. Lot-vos was sacked and burned by Aurora and repurposed as fortress to enforce their will upon the halflings. Little but rubble remains of it now, but it's said by some the halflings are trying again to rebuild it in some corner of the world.

The Northern Wastes - A frozen wasteland in the far north populated by few, aside from a few herds of Shrage.

Nova Verde - The once capital of the Auroran empire and now the center of the Dead Republic. What remains is rubble and ruin, but a fleck of it's opulence perhaps remains in the artifacts within.

Oileán Uisce - A circular island off the coast formed by Jashiki during the third age to act as his domain. Within the center is a village once held by his favoured, now a land cut off from the world by a malfunctioning enchantment upon it intended to keep those not blessed by him from entering.

Onchesmos (New Ajivha) - Built through the combined efforts of the Driders, as well as Gangari and Lysei, Onchesmos was the capital of the Drider nation of Saranda. Constructed of flawless and unnaturally tough obsidian, Onchesmos became a center of conflict three times in it's history before the cataclysms. Twice burned in battle by Aurora the Driders were conquered and pressed into service against it's allies in the Aetherial Collective before being gassed and driven out in the opening of the great war.

After the first of the cataclysms the nascent Ajivhan Khaganate was founded within it's walls and began to fortify it against the outside world in an attempt to weather the storm. After centuries as the Khaganate began to expand outwards it was renamed New Ajivha and became their capital.

Qartog's Manor - A stony and Gothic Mansion constructed by the divine hand of Qartog during the early days of the third age. The Manor is thin spot in the veil between the Aetherial Sea and the Material Plane, within which the spirits of the dead can appear.

During the cataclysms the thin spot was torn open and aberrations poured through into the lands surrounding it and further out as time went on. Though the hole remains still in the fifth age, few aberrations exist within the manor, most of it's occupants now being revenants looking for a way into the Aetherial Sea and shades acting as strangely as they always do.

Silver-root - The ancient university of Grand Ajivha, Silver-root was a massive tree-like structure formed of polished silver living metal which housed and acted as a university for Ajivha and a temple for Gangari worshipers. Housing the largest library and runeworks in the known world Silver-root became the center of learning for most of the world in it's time. Little is known of it's fate by the fifth age aside from it being trapped in the endless war burning Ajivha since the end beginning of the fourth age.

Silver-root was the first incarnation of the goddess know as Ashlif and it was through this building that she took human form and then divinity.

The Temple of Khalorean - The first temple of the divinity Khalorean, once dedicated to Drya it was taken over by his priesthood and creations until it resembled a nest or hive. It is considered a cursed place to the peoples of Mereton, strange creatures are said to come from the place and stories are abound of men being dragged off by one of them, never to be seen again.

The Whispering Forest - The forests of the Grat long ago took on an unnatural will during the third age. The plants have seemingly become intelligent, communicating with eachother, and through the strange and almost weaponized flora of the forests capable of fighting and killing those they decide threaten the forest. Aside from small pockets of wild magic little has changed in the whispering forest by the fifth age.

**Anti-Eagle** · 2016-11-19, 06:48 PM (ISO 8601)

Spoiler: The Afterlife

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Among the many fates one can have in the world there is what is called the Aetherial Sea, and it is the most common fate of mortal souls or atleast it was in the past. The Aetherial Sea is an afterlife that has taken the form of an endless ocean. The ocean itself is composed of mortal and otherwise souls, that for the most part have to the perception of mortals each taken upon the appearance of a drop of water.

The dead of this plane differ in their states of awareness, though to the majority their minds have taken upon a dream-like quality that has rendered them unaware of their state or at best half-aware and drunk upon what their minds show them.

Within the sea, many souls exist as parts of an afterlife as they see it, though due to the lack of a deity to impose order upon the chaos most afterlives within the sea currently exist as shared states of mind between souls rather than physicalities with the natural decay of abandoned realms.

Of the souls that are aware of their nature and retain their shapes, there are three recognizable varieties. The exceptional, those of exceptional will, grand purpose, or keen mind. The awakened, those who have been called back to life by a divinity before, those who had managed to stay upon the mortal plane after death before passing on, and those who have been affected by a divinity in certain ways. And the insane, those who have one way or another managed to stay aware after death but without any protection or capacity to cope either with their death or the afterlife in which they have found themselves.

Those who go insane within the sea have a tendency over time, to take upon its chaotic traits becoming aberrations, closer to what men know of spirits than men. Their forms warp taking on aspects of sea creatures for the most part, their minds becoming predatory with the thoughts that remain of their previous lives gibbering.

With the sheer number of dead, the number of these creatures is substantial and due to the way they hunt eachother to consume one another, rather massive creatures have come into being. The souls of the defeated aberrations merging with the victor, congealing essences of the creatures into something of greater power.

The appearance of the sea as it currently stands varies depending on the the observer and the general mood of the sea at the time, aside from the artifice of divinities of course.

Within the Aetherial sea exists a vast continent once under the sway of Gangari known as Arcadia. It was and still is the land his dead are drawn to, as are many of the souls who remain aware after death seeking it's refuge. Once a paradise of Gangari's design, almost entirely wilderness, the land known as Arcadia has begun to decay. Its land under threat of aberrations as the material world is, and its ground sinking and fracturing. The souls trapped and bound to this land continue to seek rest, others remembering the past and their duties attempt to form civilization, defending their kin and attempting to repel the maddened things crawling up from the shore.

**Anti-Eagle** · 2016-11-19, 07:11 PM (ISO 8601)

Spoiler: Notable Creatures of the Fifth Age

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Aberrations - Strange creatures originating from the Aetherial Sea, Aberrations are the congealed remains of maddened souls and soul-stuff that have found a foothold in reality since the beginning of the fourth age. Aberrations are the result of fluke souls staying aware of one's reality within the Aetherial Sea without divine protection, driven insane by both the nature of the sea and the chaos of existence outside of Arcadia the souls begin to change taking on qualities and appearances of sea creatures over time until they're entirely unrecognizable as what they once were. Within the sea Aberrations are predators, consuming eachother and merging their essences in the process becoming larger and more powerful leading to beings eventually coming together the size of skyscrapers.

Since the first cataclysm Aberrations have begun to spill into the world, first through areas heavily corrupted by wild magic and now through the ocean. Aberrations in the world have been seen to hunt along the coast in packs seeking mortals, some have been witnessed to be adapting to the ocean and becoming apex predators within it, and others have been seen on occasion amongst the hordes of Zalya in the Ajivhan wastes. Magics and certain metals such as silver, meteoric iron, and living metals repel them far more effectively than base physical force due to their nature as spirits.

Aurora Beetles - Creatures once created through Auroran magics and used heavily by their forces during the first burning of Ajivha, the Aurora beetles are a flying beetle-like insect that feed upon the magics of the world, weakening and corrupting the enchantments they touch in their hunger. Since the cataclysms they've gone wild across the continent and tend to inhabit those areas afflicted with "wild magic," nesting around and attempting to feed off of the ambient magics.

Blackleaf Trees - A kind of tree only known to grow upon "Land Rust." Their leaves distinguish them from others due to their pitch black colour and their highly medicinal qualities when boiled. Blackleaf trees are cultivated in the south for their seeming ability to suppress wild magic, slowing or stopping it's more chaotic qualities from manifesting and warping reality suddenly and without apparent cause.

Cave Maggots - Large writhing maggot-like creatures capable of boring through rock. Cave maggots naturally inhabit the mountains the Luug call home, and are both a threat to them and in the rare attempts at domestication a tool.

Dragons - Large winged quadrupedal lizards with thick steel-like scales and fiery breath. Long ago created by Auroran Genners for their military, Dragons are clever predatory beasts that live across the continent in small packs driving fear into the same peoples who once created them.

Galans - Large arachnids covered in what appears to be molten rock. It is said Galans were created by Khalorean to act as his servants in the world, and were once highly intelligent not that many dealt with them. Most of them were killed in the opening days of the war that led to the cataclysms, their kind gassed and their nests burned. Believed feral, Galans are creatures rarely seen or atleast spoken of outside of a few caverns in the northern mountains where they're known to prey upon the Luug.

Ghouls - Ghouls are crazed, cunning, and incredibly tough and strong creature resulting from the rare occurrence of the possession of a revenant by an aberration. Entering the body of a revenant while attempting to consume their souls, the aberration becomes bound to their form. Ghouls take on aberrational traits over time as they walk the lands, continuing their hunt, now far more intelligent and mentally stable than they were as just aether spirits. Capable of masquerading as mortals or revenants, ghouls have been known to hide amongst communities slowly picking off those within them.

Living Metal - An odd kind of "metal" granted to the world by the god Gangari, living metal is an incredibly strong and light metal that can repair itself and with the correct efforts be made to grow. Living metal in it's original form in the Third Age was used to form the massive silver tree of Grand Ajivha, the first incarnation of the goddess Ashlif, purposed as a university by Gangari for the peoples of Ajivha. Studied and utilized extensively by the Aetherial Collective, the metal is associated heavily with them outside of Ashlif.

Silver living metal is the "natural" form of the metal and grows "naturally" across the continent, it however is unworkable in the current times due to the disappearance of Ashlif and her influence over it, something that was required in it's use to keep it from "going wild" and forgetting it's intended shape. Bronze living metal was created by the Aetherial Collective by effectively killing it and removing it's need for a constant influence over it, creating a variant that they could work without magics, the bronze metal however takes far longer to repair itself and is incapable of being produced without the magics of the Third Age.

"Land Rust" - A strange plant that has grown over the deserts of the south, even into the wastes of Ajivha, and into the surrounding territories. "Land Rust" is an incredibly hardy lichen-like moss that is believed to be able to grow anywhere it can find sunlight, oxygen, and something analogous to soil. It serves as a source of nutrition for both plants and animals as through a quirk of it's nature that allows plants to grow in and draw nutrients from it as if it was soil as it itself draws upon the soil under it. It is similar to grass in how it grows, where it grows, and grass may in fact grow upon it. It gets it's name from it's rusty reddish brown colour.

Marsh Bees - A strange and hardy sort of bee combining traits of several kinds of bees including bumblebees, as well as certain traits of several other insects including the glowing abdomens of fireflies and the stingers of wasps. One of their quirks as created was that they adapt their forms over generations through a sort of directed selection that leads to them becoming better at surviving their environments.

They were created to defend mages by the god Gangari after the first burning of Ajivha. Incredibly docile to humans and other sentients they Marsh Bees become hyper aggressive towards creatures such as the Aurora Beetles that consume sources of magic, and appear to them as a more attractive source of magic thus protecting their initial targets. Their venom upon being injected into another creature also marks the creature as a target to creatures that feed upon magic.

These creatures are mostly responsible for the proliferation of the Spore of Andha across the continent.

Qartog's Basilisk - Friendly black winged lizards with white patterns upon their forms. Their wings are powerful if intended for gliding more than proper flight, their claws are sharp, and their paws have adhesive pads for climbing. Their saliva contains a mildly acidic and paralytic toxin that they can spit over a short distance and takes little effort to take effect with skin contact. Naturally intelligent and curious they are friendly towards sentients and easily domesticated.

Ravens of Gangari - Strange and incredibly intelligent birds with glowing blue eyes. Large in size with prominent beaks and a distinct call, they have a tendency for singing. Their feathers are odd, almost random patterns of blue and black and silver. They're difficult to trap and resent attempts at taking them as pets or domesticating them, but are otherwise friendly.

Redpetal Flowers - A strange flower known to grow amongst the "Land Rust." Redpetals are a strange flower identified not for their colour but by the red coloured pollen within them and the poppy-like opiate that can be harvested from them. Redpetals have a strange quality by which their pollen can pollinate any other plant, and in reverse Redpetals can be pollinated by any other plant. This oddity has led to odd hybrid plants dotting the landscape where they exist, and by the current times plants in areas with Redpetals have homogenized into new species unseen elsewhere.

Redpetals are primarily seen in the south and the west, particularly in the marshlands and the lands around Onchesmos.

Shades - Strange spirits known to come from Qartog's manor, black shadow like things they tend to congregate in graveyards and sites of grand tragedies. They're rarely known to possess others to speak through them, delivering cryptic warnings of tragedies and disasters before departing.

Shrage - A hardy and large kind of deer used as a riding mount by those of the south.

Terrors - 20 Feet tall crab-like creatures, weighing multiple tons. Terrors hunt along the coast and within the ocean. Little is known of them or their origins in these times however it's believed by most that have encountered them that they're Aberrations of some kind.

The Spore of Andha - An obscure kind of seed found on certain grasses in the south. The spore is an odd organism introduced into the world by Gangari intended to alter the Flora of the world by integrating with cells containing chloroplasts and becoming one with it as a symbiotic organelle, using the cell to spread into the rest of the organism by replicating through it. After a year of infection, slow subtle changes to the organism begin to manifest. Photosynthetic cells and cell structures such as leaves turn greener and darken to better absorb light, sap and sap like fluids redden as their iron content increases, and fruit as well as seeds, pollen and other similar things also redden. Fruit also develops a slight bio-luminescent as well as becoming sweeter in taste. These changes among others serve to increase the nutritional content of the plant as well as introduce minor medicinal qualities, and make the plants more attractive to consume.

The spore has contaminated over half of the continent by the fifth age, primarily the south and the west.

Zalya - Soulless and relentless automatons built by Ajivha for use as soldiers. Once controlled and intelligent the machines acted as Guardians of the Ajivhan people, the Zalya were damaged, corrupted, and turned against the Ajivhan people by the Aurorans before being put down through the efforts of Gangari. During the third burning of Ajivha they were resurrected by Gangari and acted as a guardians and enforcers of his will, until the fifth burning during which control was lost again and they turned back to their oldest impulses.

The cataclysms have rendered them insane marauders wandering the Ajivhan waste, working in groups and hordes hunting anything that they come across within it.

The Khaloric Breeds - A series of strange and to most horrifying creatures created by Khalorean. Few remember them and most were destroyed in a series of gas attacks by the Aetherial Collective during the opening acts of the great war. Some say they still dwell within Mereton, waiting for something, and sightings of strange creatures around his old temples continue.

The Khaloric breeds were composed of: Whiptails, large scorpion-like creatures. Blatid, large telepathic insects. Arachnomorphs, blind incredibly hostile arachnid-like creatures which bred by parasitically infecting other creatures to use them as wombs. "Adorabeetles," small strange beetles which sought others as masters, acting as pets in their larval stage and becoming vastly different creatures as they matured, becoming massive and both physically and psychically terrifying to anyone their master considered an enemy. Recombinants, strange insectoid creatures that infested and absorbed other creatures to both make them like themselves and to become 'better,' taking their essences and forcing them into a hivemind.

**Anti-Eagle** · 2016-11-19, 07:12 PM (ISO 8601)

Spoiler: Magics

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Alchemy - An art which when first taught by Qartog was limited to the creation of a single poison capable of killing anything mortal upon consumption. This poison was tasteless and colourless and easily manufactured if one knew how to produce it. The knowledge was adapted over time and the ability to take life was engineered to grant it in time. Alchemical knowledge is in these times a carefully guarded secret of the Dead Republic.

Genning - An ability granted by Lysei to create and shape life through fire and sacrifice by those blessed by him. It's practitioners faded from the world a long time ago, however it is believed that some may still exist within the Dead Republic.

Necromancy - A magical art held by those few blessed by Qartog. It's use revolved around manipulating the dead, death, life forces, and souls. Necromancers were able to communicate with the deceased, either by summoning their spirit as an apparition or raising them bodily, for the purpose of divination, imparting the means to foretell future events or discover hidden knowledge. Necromantic powers and knowledges faded from the world with the disappearance of Cawles Strix.

Rune Magic - A form of magic granted to the world by Gangari to alter and shape the world through glyphic inscriptions. It became the driving force of industry for half the continent and was mastered by Ajivha and later it's descendant known as the Aetherial Collective. The art died with the disappearance of Gangari and the fading of those who held his blessings in his time. Though the marks can no longer be created or repaired it's marks can still be seen across the lands and in the hands of the Khanate, though the conditions of the runes is questionable with the majority malfunctioning in one way or another in these times.

Water Benders - Those blessed by Jashiki to be able to shape and control water. It faded from the world a long time ago with the deaths of most of the blessed in the cataclysms, however it is believed that there are those amongst the Dead Republic still capable of using this power.

Wild Magic - A strange affliction that entered the world during the fourth age through the cataclysms, warping reality without explanation or reason. Wild Magic is an invasive, corrupting, and chaotic force that has infected the lands over the past several centuries as the spheres have aligned and the veil separating the aether has thinned. The natures of the world and the afterlife have bled into eachother, creating areas where the world has changed in strange and sometimes incomprehensible ways.

Some rare individuals find themselves able to control this chaos and turn it to their purposes, allowing it to infect their being, and sometimes even spreading it. Most of these people are shunned out of fear of their corruption, but in some rare tribes it's claimed by some that they're a blessing and cultivated for their power.

**Anti-Eagle** · 2016-11-19, 07:14 PM (ISO 8601)

Spoiler: Notable Artifacts

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Aetherial Gates - Portals into the Aetherial Sea hidden throughout the world. Created by Gangari during the Third Age to serve as entrances to his realm in the afterlife. Three gates are remembered by mortals of the Fifth Age. These gates exist within the Manor of Qartog, the ruins of Grand Ajivha, and the now sunken city of Gokvahar.

Amulets of Roe - Amulets forged by Auroran hand to shield men from the eyes of the gods. Once held by emperors and spies, the amulets have been long lost to the cataclysms as have the rituals to forge them.

Bows of Khalorean - Ancient bows said to be forged by Khalorean of his most loyal followers, where they sleep within them. The bows are believed to lay within the land of Mereton awaiting the touch of their creator to reawaken them and release them from their prisons.

Great Blade of the Judicator - A greatsword said to be forged by Lysei for the purpose of killing gods, believed to be able to slice mountains in two as the legend goes. What little is known of the fate of the blade in myths would lead one to believe that it was last wielded by Gangari in battle against the Ascendant.

The Decanter of the Flood - A large bronze flask which upon having it's stopper removed and receiving a command produces water, almost like a geyser. It's believed to still be somewhere within the Ajivhan wastes, worked into a decaying irrigation system somewhere.

The Orb of Fiery Reflection - An orb which upon being looked into gives one a vague vision of their own future, or that's how they myths went anyhow. It's believed the orb was destroyed during the fall of Aurora.

Pool of Life - A large reflecting pool said to lie deep within the sunken city of Gokvahar said to heal the sick, grant youth, and even resurrect the dead.

Yildirim - Ancient firearms manufactured by the Aetherial Collective, said to fire lightning and turn their victims to glass. Few have been seen since the war, most lost to the cataclysms and the rest an unsustainable weapon on the battlefield with the process of manufacturing their ammunition esoteric and almost impossible with the loss of most magics.

Sky Ships - Magical ships able to fly in the sky. First created by Gangari for Ajivha and his Aetherial Collective. Without anyone capable of creating or altering runes, they became impossible to repair or even steer, and it's said that fleets of them still drift high in the sky. Wrecks are occasionally seen drifting towards the ground from the sky, eventually crashing, or their runes finally failing and raining debris to the ground.

Spears of Lordship - Eleven spears forged by Gangari of a silvery living metal, light as air and unnaturally sharp, the spears have been historically held by leaders of nations given as gifts by Gangari. As one holds the spear, ones mind and soul leak into and imprint upon it, subtly and subconsciously guiding the bearers with the wisdom of the past as their minds add to it's wisdom. As of now, four are believed to have been destroyed, three have been lost amongst the ruins, two are held by members of the Dead Republic, one is believed to be held by an Auroran tribe, and the last by a Krakar of the Raptor States.

Sword of Truth - A blade said to be forged by Lysei as a gift to the emperor of Aurora. The blade bursts into flames in the presence of a liar. It's believed the blade is held by a member of the Dead Republic.

Zalya Armour - An ancient kind of armour manufactured by the Aetherial Collective for their soldiers. Thick plate armour without openings or seams in the design, Zalya armour was created with ancient magics and divine inspiration of Living Metal. Designed specifically for use by ritually altered Corvans, the armour if one were to find a suit of it would be useless in the Fifth Age outside of perhaps a few members of the Dead Republic.

Huma Armour - An ancient kind of armour manufactured by the Aetherial Collective for their warriors. A variant of Zalya armour, Huma armour bore finely crafted wings upon it's back which allowed it's wearer to fly.

Wraith Armour - An ancient kind of armour manufactured by the Aetherial Collective for their warriors. A variant of Zalya armour, Wraith armour had the additional functionality of rendering it's wearer invisible to the eye, with perhaps a shimmer, or a shine, or a haze becoming visible around the armour while the wearer is moving or being struck with something.

**Anti-Eagle** · 2016-11-19, 07:15 PM (ISO 8601)

Spoiler: Player Submitted Creations (2)

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Creatures

Brujah Vampires - Wild Magic contaminated vampires that have developed into their own unique strain. Stronger and faster than other vampires, they feel an intense lust for blood that can only be satisfied by feeding on other creatures. Unlike the original strain they don't turn others into their kind by biting them or in turn feeding upon them, but by draining another sentient of their blood.

Silver Corvans - Corvans infected with silver living metal from ancient experimentation by the Aetherial Collective. Silver Corvans have over the generations maintained the bond with the silver and some of its enhancements within their bodies rather than having rejected or lost it in reproduction as most have over the centuries, reverting to the bronze metal seen in most Corvans.

Phenomena

Vayri - Wild Magic infused storms or hurricanes primarily afflicting the South West, destroying or warping everything in their paths.

Spoiler: Player Submitted Text (3)

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The Disciples of Awn by Novabomb:
"The Disciples of Awn is a relatively new nation, founded in the fifth age by a feudal lord in the raptor states, and first known practitioner of Awnite magic. Most of this magic has been applied in the manner of improving or modifying how plants grow. It has a college founded to improve magical theory, and mandatory education for its populous. It is governed in a feudal manner, but no state religion is imposed. Due to the rapidity of development, consolidation of power and advancement of knowledge, its leader is viewed in a semi-messianic manner."

The Grand Duchy of Xule by JoJo:
"The Grand Duchy of Xule is a small nation comprising of three islands in the Channel Sea. The last remaining direct descendant of the ancient Auroran Empire, which dominated the known world seven centuries ago, the duchy is ruled by the young Grand Duke Cosimo IV. Cosimo's sister Valencia and her daughter Mariana are the only other two surviving legitimate dynasts of the House of Verde.

Xule itself is a thriving port city, with traders visiting from every corner of globe. The duchy is majority human, but has significant halfling and krakari minorities. The Grand Duchy of Xule is in a personal union with the Kingdom of Nova Aurora, which is situated to the northeast. Nova Aurora was founded by human slaves, who were freed from the clutches of the vampiric Brujah after a recent war between their state and an alliance of Xule, the Corpus Verde and the Khaloric Swarm. Nova Aurora is nominally independent, but in practice is heavily influenced by its richer and more populous neighbour, who by treaty represents the realm in foreign affairs."

The Khaloric Swarm by Viirin:
"The Khaloric Swarm is a theocratic nation composed mostly of humanoid insects and led by a divinely created psychic virus seen as the prophet empress Dorian Cook. The Swarm accepts all forms of life, including humans, vampires, elementals, and even monsters. This is mostly for the purposes of the virus's evolutionary desires and growth capacity.

Though highly religious, the primary god of the Swarm's pantheon is Khalorean (god of justice and spiders) who ensured the intelligent insects he created would not ever wage religious war or preach. Those who wish to know more will ask, those who wish to join can, and those who aren't interested won't be bothered.

The Swarm has made a solid foothold on almost all nations as advisors and diplomats, happily trading their excessive stockpiles to less developed nations as well as offering full use of their Library (with living books containing details of the Swarm's technological prowess for others to use at their own discretion), Arms Dealer Coliseum (gladiator-style entertainment with magical equipment given to winners), Clinic (complete with both medical and magical healing), and Candy Competition (where artisans balance flavor and presentation)."

The Yellow god by Anti-Eagle:
"A pervasive and corrosive force across the lands, word of the Yellow god has been spreading for the past nine years. Little is known of this being outside of its cult, but the dreams that came with its coming can be felt by most lands to one degree or another. Targetting the isolated, alone, or simply tired its worship has spread across the lands taking over New Avringae and nearly subverting the Rising Light to its work.

Its cult is secretive and subversive in every aspect it can manage, finding ways to work itself into any part of society it can get its talons in and spreading while the insectile things they work for and with fester in the wilderness and untouched ruins."

**Anti-Eagle** · 2016-11-21, 02:07 AM (ISO 8601)

Spoiler: Mythopoeia Thread Links

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Original Recruitment: https://v1.escapistmagazine.com/foru...-RP-Now-closed
Second Recruitment: https://v1.escapistmagazine.com/foru...iting#21144859
Game Thread: https://v1.escapistmagazine.com/foru...losed#20769330
Group: https://v1.escapistmagazine.com/grou...thopoeia-group

Spoiler: Only Ruins Thread Links

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Setting Thread: http://www.giantitp.com/forums/showthread.php?506647
Rules Thread: http://www.giantitp.com/forums/showthread.php?506645
Original Recruitment Thread: http://www.giantitp.com/forums/showthread.php?506837
Second Recruitment Thread: http://www.giantitp.com/forums/showthread.php?522244
Third Recruitment Thread: http://www.giantitp.com/forums/showthread.php?545504
Out-Of-Character Thread: http://www.giantitp.com/forums/showthread.php?508062
Game Thread: http://www.giantitp.com/forums/showthread.php?508138

Spoiler: Ascendancy 1900 Thread Links

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Spoiler: Ascendancy 2000

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Grand Index: https://www.myth-weavers.com/showthread.php?t=478805
Index: https://www.myth-weavers.com/showthread.php?t=478801

Spoiler: The Far West

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Grand Index: https://www.myth-weavers.com/showthread.php?t=478805
Index: https://www.myth-weavers.com/showthread.php?t=478802

**Thinker** · 2016-11-21, 12:10 PM (ISO 8601)

Look at the Points of Light approach to modeling your world. There should be vast stretches of wilderness in between places of importance and civilization. Also, Yora has a lot of posts in the World Building and Roleplaying Games forums that would be very useful to you. His setting, while not exactly the same, considers a lot of similar topics.

**Anti-Eagle** · 2016-11-21, 09:16 PM (ISO 8601)

Points of light was what I had in mind when I was looking at things. It's a harsh and unforgiving world where most are at threat from monsters of one variety or another. Most are tribal nomads barely scraping by in the world, with the occasional settlement forming for a generation or so at most before it's torn down.

A few settlements that could be called permanent exist but they're not the norm and even rarer things that could be called civilizations are around- are around because they have some minor understanding of the world or a blessing of the old world still upon them.

I had read Yora's Old World setting some time ago and found it interesting, I may go back and read over it again and see if there's anything I can learn from it for mine.

Thread: Only Ruins: a Setting

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Only Ruins: a developing Gameworld Setting

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The Ages of the World

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Deities and Divinities

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Geography

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Locations

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The Afterlife

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Life

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Magics

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Artifacts

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Re: Only Ruins: a Work-In-Progress setting

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Re: Only Ruins: a Work-In-Progress setting

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