Tuesday, November 19, 2013

The World Map


Above is a map of the world as known by the general populous and the location of all commonly known towns. The continent is mostly comprised of open plains and rolling hills, to the north and south tall mountain ranges designate boundaries that most don’t want to cross (those that have attempted to do so have not returned). Although occasionally a traveler makes his way south through the northern mountain ranges.  These travelers are humans that refer to themselves as former “ice hunters” tell tales of how they were sick of their tribe’s life of fighting frost giants on the frozen northern wastes.

To the WEST lies the great western desert.  It is known that Arad (a small town of animal herders) and Bedrock (the homeland of Dirt Eating Clan) exist somewhere in the wastes. Also Evrai the capitol/holy land of the church of St.Eva commands the butte on the edge of the desert.

To the EAST lies the inner sea.  Within its depths lies the underwater town of Prima.  Protruding from this sea are both the island country of Tunlan and an odd ancient tower that has become occupied and turned into a casino by the Creeping clan, now known as SimaCasino. Along the East coast of the continent, there are three major ports. Whale Cape, Auria, and Cousair
Prima: the center of the world’s commerce. Homeland to the Manillo clan, it is said that one can get absolutely any product in this city.
Tunlan: A village on a tropical island inhabited mostly by women. It is often called the land of music and is ruled by a princess.
Whale Cape, the largest human port in the world and is known for its famous ‘Whale Cakes’ as well as being the landing spot of one of the 7 moonstones. 
Auria, a town/city of upperclass rich folk and headquarters of the Hunters Association. The Hunter’s Association is made up of a wide range of adventurers that take jobs from finding lost items or people to eradicating pesky monsters.
 Coursair is a large town with a small port, it is famous for its huge coliseum and fighting rings.
The center of the map is mostly farmlands overseen by the Farmer’s guild based in Farmtown, the homeland of the Shell clan

To the SOUTH there is the walled city of Camlon, the city of thieves Bleak, and the mountains that surround the city of Highfort.
Camlon is an old human city; it is very cautious of nonhuman clans and has very tight security.
In Bleak, you can find the best thieves in the world though by the time you find them you probably won’t have any valuables with which to pay them.
Furthest South on the highest mountain on the continent lays Highfort. An ancient castle and Homeland to the Highlanders

Among the Northern Mountains sits Gantz, the homeland of the Iron Ogre clan and the best metal smiths in the world.
To the North West is the Sea of Trees.  The city of Windia home to the wing clan is accessible by way of several roads thru the forest as are Tuntar and Tantar.
Windia is built into the side of a mountain, and has become a center of knowledge and learning, it is also known for its many windmills.
Deep into the forest the twin towns Tuntar and Tantar sit at the source of the Yarrl river. This is the ancestral home to the Grassrunner clan.
It is rumored that the world tree Yggdrasil resides In the deepest part of the Sea of Trees.

Wednesday, November 6, 2013

Setting

Background: Several hundred years ago the Goddess Myria with her flock, and Dragon Clans fought a war which engulfed the entire world in turmoil. The war raged for nearly half a century, engaging and decimating the populations of all of the clans.  Then, in what most clan elders refer to as the Shattering of the Moon, the final battle between the goddess and the dragon clans ended the war in one earth shaking event.  One of the two moons orbiting the planet was shattered and the world was laid waste. The survivors from each clan retreated to their historical homelands and tried to recoup their losses. Everyone struggled to survive for many long years as the habitable lands shrunk and the dust filled skies choked remaining plant life to the verge of death. After about two centuries of decay two things happened at once.  First the last stone was placed in the Cathedral at the city of Evrai.  Second s blinding flash of light enveloped the entire world.  When those who witnessed the flash could see again they found that the skies had cleared of smog, rain began to fall breaking devastating droughts across many regions, wildlife returned to the fields and forests, grass began growing; the world was restored.  Those people who were at Evrai at the time found their prophet, dead. Those clans that revere nature, found that the Faerie villages and the Faerie clansmen that were helping to sustain their food sources had disappeared from the world. These events would cause much debate and eventually lead to the flash and restoration of the world to be referred to as the “Faerie’s gift” or alternatively “Eva’s Gift”. In the 200 years since the world has completely healed to the state it was before the War. The clans have worked to rebuild villages and peace between themselves.  No one has seen or knows what became of the dragon clans or the goddess since the Shattering of the Moon. It is known is that the power of both of these sides is what caused the moon to shatter and the world to be thrown into chaos. So there is still lingering resentment towards both the Goddess and the Dragon clans.

The legend of the 7 moon stones:  While it was unimportant at the time, it was noted that when the moon shattered seven pieces, like shooting stars, were seen falling from the heavens. About a century before the current time a hermit by the name of Maiyoru on the stormiest part of the eastern coast reportedly found a stone washed up on the beach. He made a wish on the stone for perfect weather on his beach all year round. From then on, the coast around that beach never saw a single storm again; though storms still made landfall on either side of it. This perfect weather allowed Papa Kakes to found the port city of Whale Cape.  This was the first report of the finding of a Moonstone, and caused many people to begin searching for the other Moonstones, believing that if you could find one that it would grant you one wish of whatever you desired.  Some also believe that St.Eva also had found a Moonstone and used it to heal the world, while devote followers of St.Eva insist that the “gift” was solely the result of the prophet’s own power.  Either way many people who want to find a Moonstone all come to Whale Cape looking for clues on how to find Maiyoru’s stone or another of the seven.

The world today:  The planet has been healed; the barren wastes that the world had been before the “gift” have once again become lush fields and forests.  The scattered towns no longer fear to travel although in the last 20 yrs or so monster sightings and encounters are becoming increasingly common, travel is no longer the near certain death that it had once been.  It is an age of exploration; relearning about your neighbors and exploring forgotten places.  Many youths dream of finding exotic ruins/artifacts, or making a name and fortune with the Hunters Association, or just seeing the world before settling down. There are three forces at large in this era:

The Manillo Trading Guilds: the fishmen were the first to regroup after the “gift” connecting many towns and cities by sea , circumventing the harsh wastes that made travel over land impossible

The Hunter’s Association: a group of adventures who founded an organization about 50 yrs back to help document ruins and preserve historical knowledge. They also have taken to making roads safe for travel by alleviating monster problems for towns in need; for a fee of course. 

The Church of St. Eva:  A group of pacifists dedicated to healing, peacemaking, and uniting the world under one god. Various members of the clergy travel the land preaching and healing. They are also surprisingly tolerant of other religions despite their goal.

Common knowledge concerning religions:
The prophet St Eva, walked out of the western desert 73 years before the “Gift”, and traveled the land healing and preforming medicals and after gathering followers for 31 years, then he founded a Church to continue his work and build a cathedral at Evrai to be a base to train priests to heal and spread his teachings. The prophet St. Eva placed the last stone into the cathedral after 42 years of labor; At the same time the flash of the Gift and his own death.
The goddess Myria:  a goddess that came to the planet in ancient times. She walked among the clans and granted wishes to those who pleased her.

The dragon god Ladon: the founder of the Dragon Clans, patron of travelers, the brave, and the strong. Ladon was known to walk the world centuries before Myria arrived and is said to have been a equalizer, striving to maintain balance in the world.