A religious zealot has been traveling through all the cities of Elyria and spreading fear and a warning. A great storm is coming, one even worse than then the one that destroyed much of their land. This one will kill the rest of the land, leading to their ultimate destruction. Warning them that if nothing is done they will all perish.
Is he right? Is there anything they can do to stop the storm? Or is he spreading fear in order to create chaos or even in an attempt to bring the people together as one as they work to survive?
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The land of Elyria were once vibrant, beautiful and full of life. But they were a land divided. The five races that dominated the lands kept to themselves, they waged war upon one another and fought for dominance of the lands. Eventually the races claimed lands for themselves and forged fragile alliances that held for over a hundred years. There was the odd skirmish between the races but nothing that couldn’t be fixed and for the most part it was a peaceful time.
But all at once things changed.
The Acaedians and Torens had always had a strained relationship, the islands the Torens called home had once been part of the Acaedians great Empire and when they gained their independence it was a blow to the Empire that many would not soon forget. Likewise the Torens would not forget the ‘oppression’ that they’d suffered at the hands of the Empire. So when an alliance, sealed with marriage, was announced to forever create peace between the two lands many Toren were outraged, they led a rebellion against their royalty. The Royal family of Sparkfyre was killed and exiled, they were stripped of their power, their titles and the rebels claimed the islands. It became a hub for mercenaries, thieves, assassins and pirates. There were no laws, no rulers and the only sense of leadership was within the guilds where the Guild Masters still held the reins.
Meanwhile on the mainland there was other problems going on, a great plague swept through the Wyraki lands, killing many. They were fearful and angry, they blamed the plague on the Vanir, their neighbours who seemed to be immune to the plague. Regardless of the hostilities the Vanir worked to help their neighbours, eventually able to create a cure from rare flowers that only grew in their sacred grove, the birthplace of their people if legend was to be believed. Touched by what they had done the Wyraki and Vanir signed a new peace treaty and the two lands began working together for the betterment of both.
Peace returned to Elyria and from that peace a final alliance was made, one that no-one saw coming.
The last alliance was one created not for political reasons, it was an alliance forged from love. The love of an Emperor and his Spymaster, one of the illusive and mysterious Istari. They fell in love and married, one the day of their wedding the Emperor announced to the world that Istari were real, they existed and his new wife was one of them, they were not something to be feared but admired and welcomed into their lands. He decreed that all Istari who wanted to live in peace were welcome in Acaedian Empire, and many took the Emperor up on his offer, coming to live in the Empire. They changed the name of the empire to the Venetia Kingdom to signify this change, in honor of a now lost city.
For twenty years there was a wondrous peace that allowed the races to thrive like never before, perhaps it was fate that they were closer than ever before. A terrible storm raged through the Wyraki lands, setting most of it on fire until it was barren, lifeless. The animals fled the lands and the people could not live there, they turned to their neighbours for help and the Vanir welcomed them into their lands, their Queen proposing a new alliance that would make the Vanir lands now the lands of the Vanir Wyraki nation. The Queen and Chieftain ruling together as friends and allies for the benefit of their people. Once the people had settled into their new lives the Queen and Chieftain announced the marriage of their two oldest children and that through their marriage the Vanir and Wyraki would be forever united. Their children became the First King and Queen of the Vanir Wyraki nation of West Elyria. To honor their two people, they changed the name of their Kingdom to the Allaway Kingdom, meaning wild fields.
This is the Elyria we know today and it has remained so now for the last 150 years.
The land destroyed by fire became a barren wasteland, a place where few care to wander. The two main kingdoms, were forced to relocate slightly. The Allaway Kingdom moved more south, and the Venetia Kingdom did the same, making what once was the Trade City into their Main City.
The treaty of the Vanir and the Wyraki kept both races in equal power. A law was decreed that the Allaway rulers would always be the marriage of one Vanir and one Wyraki. The crown was passed down to the first born male or female as soon as they were of age and married.
The Venetia Kingdom continued their tradition of passing down the crown to the first born son and opted for marriage based on love, when possible, and didn’t put any stipulations on the race of the person they married. Though they discouraged a marriage to a Toren.
The Toren people, like the rest of the races, have spread around to live in whatever kingdom and cities they desire, though many of them remain against the idea of rulers in general and tend to live or return to the islands where they are mostly left alone, except for the danger surrounding a place inhabited by criminals and no rulers. Somehow, they seem to thrive in this lifestyle.
The travel time between the Allaway and Venetia Kingdoms is 2 days on foot and 1 day by carriage. The Toren Isles are a 2 day sail from the Venetia Kingdom. However, due to the Istari being discovered and their incredible magical talents now known to Elyria, there are portals that have been established that go to every established city, including the Toren Isles, cutting travel time down to basically zero. These are usually manned by guards and people to record who is going through and to keep an eye out for trouble.