the stewards (![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png)
thestewards) wrote2018-12-09 05:30 pm
thestewards) wrote2018-12-09 05:30 pm
setting
THE CATACLYSM
Some five thousand years ago, a dark power swept across Terreille. Where it passed over the land, the Blood died by the thousands. The survivors among the Blood were few but the landen population remained largely untouched. A handful of scholars postulated that the Cataclysm was the price demanded by the Darkness for the Blood's corruption at the time, but scholars just like to hear themselves talk and no one had much time to consider the whys of a thing when survival became even more fierce a competition than before.
With the death of so many came a crumbling of government and social structure. The Blood, who never had a law against murder, let go their admittedly rather limited sense of self-control. Old feuds resulted in wars with massive casualties. Wielding their impressive powers, they butchered each other, their livestock, and the land itself. And the landens, who had always been more numerous but possessed of none of the Craft practiced by the Blood, took advantage of the in-fighting. They rose up with the rage of those desperate and hungry for more.
The Great War followed, a war in which the landens and the Blood fought for control of Terreille. The slaughter was incredible, drenching the land in rivers of blood. While the War has ended on paper, the Blood and landens still struggle for power.
THE REALMS OF THE BLOOD
According to myth, the Blood once spread across two Realms to live their lives, and when they died, they traveled to a third Realm called Hell. This is, of course, nonsense. There is only one Realm: Terreille, sometimes called the Realm of Light. It is here that the last vestiges of humanity struggles to survive, and few believe there is any solace to be had in an afterlife.
Some hold out hope that Kaeleer, the Shadow Realm, isn't a myth at all. There are those who believe it is a land rich in power and ancient tradition, but they are fools who cling to ephemeral dreams. Others believe Hell is real. They claim they've seen the demon-dead wandering the midnight walks of the Dark Realm and heard the hell hounds' baying cries.
But the wise man knows this is folly. There is only Terreille and the slow decay of a world that has not yet realized it is dead.
TERRITORIES
Once, myriad Territories existed in Terreille. Barely any remain. We are concerned only with Hayll and perhaps Askavi, for Hayll is the source of the Realm's poisons and Askavi is the seat of all her imagined salvations.
HAYLL
For as long as it has existed, Hayll has been the center of culture in Terreille. Of course, that was before the Cataclysm. Now, Hayll is still the center of culture but less so in the sense that culture comes from Hayll and more in the sense that there is no culture outside of it.
Once the great capital city, Draega is now the failing heart of a dying world. Many of its buildings lie ruined and abandoned. Its people starve. They steal from each other in the night and murder each other during the day.
And yet the zeitgeist of the city is largely one of innovation. Residents in Draega move away from the traditional, classical nature of the Blood and into something frenetic and manic. This furious cultural energy is offset by the utter despair all around Terreille. Some say it's as if the vestiges of human life are giving their one last hurrah—and that in one hundred years, everything will have turned to ash (if you're landen) or returned to the Darkness (if you're Blood). While the landen Guilds and the Ebon Council claim to be doing everything they can to forestall the end, their only real interest is preserving their own lives at the expense of everyone else's.
Hayll is the historical home of the long-lived Hayllian race, marked by their brown skin, golden eyes, and black hair.
Once the great capital city, Draega is now the failing heart of a dying world. Many of its buildings lie ruined and abandoned. Its people starve. They steal from each other in the night and murder each other during the day.
And yet the zeitgeist of the city is largely one of innovation. Residents in Draega move away from the traditional, classical nature of the Blood and into something frenetic and manic. This furious cultural energy is offset by the utter despair all around Terreille. Some say it's as if the vestiges of human life are giving their one last hurrah—and that in one hundred years, everything will have turned to ash (if you're landen) or returned to the Darkness (if you're Blood). While the landen Guilds and the Ebon Council claim to be doing everything they can to forestall the end, their only real interest is preserving their own lives at the expense of everyone else's.
Hayll is the historical home of the long-lived Hayllian race, marked by their brown skin, golden eyes, and black hair.
ASKAVI
The center of the Realm, Askavi is the original home of the Blood. At the center of the Territory of Askavi stands the Black Mountain, Ebon Askavi, where the once-proud Eyrien race lived. Though long-lived as the Hayllians and sharing their coloration, the winged Lords and Ladies of the Black Mountain are now mostly extinct.
It is said that Askavi is not just the center of the Realm of Terreille, but the center of all things. The Blood view both Territory and mountain with something as close to reverence as they get. Even now, if anyone travels to the Black Mountain, they may receive sanctuary from its seneschal if they ask for it or permission to study in its massive libraries from its ancient historian/librarian.
Those who live in the shadow of Ebon Askavi believe the mountain is haunted. From time to time, Queen Fayura travels to the mountain. She calls it her home, something many of the Blood find deeply unnerving.
It is said that Askavi is not just the center of the Realm of Terreille, but the center of all things. The Blood view both Territory and mountain with something as close to reverence as they get. Even now, if anyone travels to the Black Mountain, they may receive sanctuary from its seneschal if they ask for it or permission to study in its massive libraries from its ancient historian/librarian.
Those who live in the shadow of Ebon Askavi believe the mountain is haunted. From time to time, Queen Fayura travels to the mountain. She calls it her home, something many of the Blood find deeply unnerving.