Legend of Ransera

The tumblr blog of world material for the fantasy world Ransera.

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Velar, the Timeless One

Dragon God of Time

Velar, the Dragon God of Time, was a most curious deity. As a god he spent very little time in the divine realms. Throughout history Velar had been found wandering from one place to the next upon the face of Ransera. He was never without a thick tome within which he was constantly writing, ever a subtle smirk upon his lips as if he was forever enjoying a private joke. Velar was associated with Time, History, Roads, Adventure and Travel. He had eternally enjoyed sitting down with unsuspecting mortals and listening to the stories they told. While he seldom interacted with the world beyond that of a careful observer, when he did there was no mistaking that whatever happened, is exactly what was supposed to have happened in that instance.

Velar had forever been a friend to adventurers, to the brave souls willing to explore the breadth of all the worlds wonders. He and Naori were very close and often worked together as patrons of great heroes. Thus it was when the Stonelords set to work to bring about his downfall, the world truly went to war. The great City of Spells, Daegos Kaitel, was besieged with such ferocity from people of all walks of life that it gave the mighty archmagi pause for thought. If Wraedan’s onslaught of deathly monstrosities had not dissuaded them from their path, the sheer number of people willing to fight beside the Dragon God of Time and his blue dragons proved the difficulties of a war against the gods.

In the end however, Velar was betrayed by one of his own dragons. An ambitious blue dragon who sought to supplant the Dragon God of Time in the hopes of becoming the new Timeless One. It was a vain hope for after the betrayal, the dragon itself was betrayed by the Stonelords.

The Dragon God of Time was the third to fall. When he did, time stood still at the site of his death and the Stonelords nearly found themselves undone. It is said that where Velar died, all flows of time meet and it is there that truly anything is possible.

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Keela, Lady of Enlightenment

Dragon Goddess of Knowledge

If knowledge is power, then wisdom is putting it to good use. While what exactly constituted good use has been a subject of much debate for eons, Keela never begrudged anyone for how they used the knowledge they gained…until the Heartstones were forged. The mother of the copper and brass dragons herself was a teacher, an artist, a musician, she was every endeavor ever undertaken by the mortal mind that ever was or would be. Not only that, she was the understanding of those pursuits on their deepest and most meaningful level. She delighted in mortals overcoming obstacles just as much as she did in the facing of new problems for it meant that one had been presented the chance to grow in their understanding of the world. Keela was heartbroken when the Archmages of Daegos Kaitel forged the Heartstones and set upon their quest to slay and imprison the Dragon Gods. But though she was devastated, she did not remain idle.

Keela tasked her dragons and her followers to begin erasing knowledge from the world. It was through her efforts that so much of Ransera’s history was lost. Wonders were torn from mortal hands. Knowledge of a great many things was simply ripped away from the world. Of all the Dragonflights, the Stonelords and their followers hunted those of Keela’s most viciously. When finally the Stonelords faced Keela, she raised no hand against them. She told them that they were cursed and tampered with that which they would never understand. When her heart was torn from her chest it is said that all hope seemed to fade from the world.

Keela was the sixth Dragon God to fall. When she passed, what few sorcerers were left in the world vanished and dragons became a rarity.

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Vicis, the Fatespinner

Dragon God of Change

Change is inevitable, and it was Vicis who served as the embodiment of that. The Lord of Red Dragons was as widely respected as he was feared. Whimsical and playful in nature, beneath glowing eyes was a deep set wisdom and awareness. He was the master of change, and would bring it no matter how much one may have resisted. Without him, the world would merely have stagnated. Any rules that one may have established prior to Vicis appearing were considered null. He would play by his own game, his own method of thinking at his own decided time. None could command him otherwise, merely request and hope that he instead complied. The playful leader of Red Dragons was associated primarily with change and what it entails be it in small acts of everyday life, the seasons, or even destiny itself.

Of all the Dragon Gods, the demise of Vicis was perhaps the most dangerous. By the time of his downfall, the Dragon Gods of Life, Death, and Time had been slain and their hearts imprisoned. The Stonelords banned together conducting rituals that tampered with the very foundations of Ransera. Pulling at the powers of Life, Death and Time as well as black rituals that cost the lives of thousands, the Stonelords ensnared Vicis in a web of their own making binding him to a Fate of their design. The gambit very nearly failed but in the end, Vicis left them with a prophecy. The words of which have been lost to time.

Some believe he warned them of what was to come. But in their quest for power, the Stonelords did not listen.

Vicis was the fourth Dragon God to fall and with his passing, the world’s fate truly became uncertain.

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Wraedan, the Grimlord

Dragon God of Death

Death comes to all mortals in due time. When it did, their souls were ushered to where they belonged by Wraedan. Those who paid homage to a particular deity most closely in life were taken to the appropriate realm. For those with no close association with any, they were welcomed into the Halls of Silence where their souls remained under the care of Wraedan and his black dragons until they were ready to reincarnate and walk the world once more. Wraedan had always been a quiet deity throughout the ages. He did not seek to bring death to anyone before their time. He had been known to serve as the patron of those in mourning, the comforter of those in grief and sorrow. Alongside his beloved Raella, the two of them saw to the balance of Life and Death throughout the cosmos.

At first glance, Wraedan could be unsettling. Tall, broad shouldered, with ebony skin and eyes blacker than the darkest of shadows he garbed himself in midnight black robes that were softer than velvet. The only bright thing to be found on him were two bracelets crafted of what appeared to be the scales of a golden dragon. Once one got past the shock of his arrival however, they were soon touched by an aura of tranquility that assuages any fear one might have had of the Dragon God of Death. That tranquility was lost following the demise of his beloved Raella, the Dragon Goddess of Life. Horrified and furious, the eternal calm that was once so assured of Wraedan’s presence was shattered.

The Grimlord went mad with grief at the loss of his wife and Death rampaged across the world unchecked. An untold amount of souls were swallowed up in Wraedan’s anguished wrath. Abominations of the most wretched sort roamed the land and stalked the living. The souls of the dead found no rest as Wraedan turned them upon the mortals of Ransera.

In the end, the Stonelords laid a trap for Wraedan by tapping into the very essence of the Lifemother. Drawn to her presence like a moth to a flame, the Dragon God of Death was momentarily pacified. In that moment of clarity it is said that Death himself wept with the deepest of grief. Whether for the loss of and imprisonment of his wife or for the destruction he’d wrought has never been clear. That moment however enabled the Stonelords to mercifully put the Dragon God of Death out of his misery…for better or worse.

Wraedan was the second of the Dragon Gods to fall and so it was that Life and Death became more beautiful and terrifying.

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Naori, the Masked Queen

Dragon Goddess of Chaos

The worship of Naori was to see her as an example to be followed as opposed to an untouchable figure of awe. Naori’s primary domain of Chaos is often misunderstood to mean that she reveled in disarray and destruction. The wisest of her old clerics would have been horrified at such an assessment. The truth was quite the opposite of the Lady of the White Dragons. She embodied the unknown. Chaos in Naori’s hands meant forging ahead into the darkness, staring the impossible in the face and telling destiny that one was the master of their own fate, grand designs and plans be damned. It meant living wild, living free, and being wise in that freedom. Naori embodied the harsh truth of reality in that to live was a complete and total gamble. She admired only those with the strength of will to stand not in defiance of life’s current, but to ride it to whatever destination awaited. Good...or bad.

Naori was a patron to the free spirited and unyielding. The downtrodden sang her name. The relentless gave her undying praise. The Masked Queen scoffed at destiny and professed that it was a shackle, chaining mortals to lives that were not their own. Mortals had no more staunch defender to be masters of their own lives than in Naori. This is why many believe that she perhaps had a hand in the forging of the Heartstones and the downfall of the Dragon Gods. Whether the outcome was her intention, none know.

The Masked Queen’s demise was ultimately one of self-sacrifice. Her beloved children, the Lysanrin, were being relentlessly hunted in an attempt to draw her out. The Stonelords were prepared to grind the Children of Naori into extinction but she appeared and brought with her such wrath and devastation that many thought Ransera would be annihilated in her anger. She drew away the onslaught of the Stonelords allowing what remained of the Lysanrin clans to flee. In the end, the Stonelords took the heart of the Goddess of Chaos but she died in peace knowing she’d saved the people she loved most dear.

Naori was the fifth Dragon God to fall and it was with her passing that the Stonelords first felt a tremor in their resolve.

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Thiovan, the Dreamer

The Dragon God of Dreams

The Dreamer, the Dragon God who ushered all mortals into his realm when they closed their eyes and drifted into slumber. He was there to be a balm against their troubles by delighting them with things only they could imagine. Conversely was there to give stories of terror that were certain to awaken even the most weary from a deep sleep. The races of Ransera knew him well for he visited them nightly with dreams of wonder, nightmares of terror, or with revelations of secrets that lead to many great things. It is said that the Lord of the Gem Dragons knew every dream, every nightmare and every secret hidden within them. He knew the aspirations, hopes, and fears of everyone and everything in all the planes...including the gods.

Thiovan always had a small but dedicated following. The Dreamweavers rallied to the side of their god with unshakable loyalty during the Heavenswar. Utilizing their gifts, the Dreamweavers visited key followers of the Stonelords and either rendered them insane with nightmares or killed them outright through their dreams. At some point however, the Dreamweavers simply vanished. Whether it was because the Stonelords found a way to expunge them or because Thiovan ordered them into seclusion, it is unclear. No Dreamweavers have been seen or heard from ever since.

Of all the Dragon Gods, Thiovan had always been the most mysterious. His manifestation into the physical realm had been so rare that many believed he would be impossible to defeat. Indeed, the Stonelords did not defeat Thiovan, not truly. Legends say that Thiovan simply appeared to Heathra the Mystic, said to be the wisest of the Stonelords. He arrived without warning or fanfare. A stunned Heathra prepared to defend herself but found there was no need. Thiovan gave to her his heart which was placed within her Heartstone and died. This turn of events baffled the Stonelords…except Heathra.

Thiovan was the ninth Dragon God to fall but his demise brought only uncertainty. After this, the wise Heathra became rather secluded. By the time Eikaen was killed she had vanished completely…taking her Heartstone with her.

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Malgar, the Madgod

The Dragon God of Suffering

All that is hardship, corrupting, and reviled, these are the toys with which Malgar wove his influence over the world. Throughout the ages he had been responsible for the corruption of pure souls into twisted reflections of themselves. He was the grand manipulator and the puppeteer of madness and hate. Malgar had been the mastermind behind many great atrocities in the world. He delighted in pain and suffering. The deity himself was notorious for being horribly unpredictable in his temper. He was as likely to reward a follower as he was to smite them for the smallest perceived slight. Mortals were toys to be molded, prodded and even broken for his amusement. 

All forms of suffering were his to drink in like a fine wine. Whether it was from sublime grief to cruel murder to sinister plots it did not matter to him. Where there has been evil in the world, it is almost assured that Malgar had a hand in its inception. For all of his unpredictability however, Malgar was possessed of an insidious genius. Anyone who believed him a fool was quick to learn that there was a brilliant method to his beautiful madness. Despite his depravities, the Madgod had many followers. While there was no organized cult devoted to his worship, his name was commonly invoked in the darkest places of the world.

During the Heavenswar, Malgar sought to capitalize on the devastation being wrought. It was his ambition to supplant the Dragon King as the supreme deity of the pantheon. When he believed that Eikaen was most vulnerable, Malgar engaged the Dragon King in battle in the hopes of destroying him and gaining control of the world. The two deities fought bitterly but during the fighting the mortal powers interrupted the battle. Eikaen was gravely wounded but retreated successfully, the Stonelords however, trapped Malgar and destroyed him.

He was the eighth Dragon God to fall but the Stonelords felt no victory in his downfall. As he lay dying, Malgar simply laughed and they felt only dread.

It is said that his laughter was heard on the winds when the Mistlords brought about the Sundering of the World.

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Origins of the World

“Before there was time, before there was life, there was the Unknowable. The endless stream of consciousness, events, power and nothingness from which all things stemmed. In this state all things were and were not. Mixing together with no discernable identity nor purpose. Then came the first awakening, the first conscious thought. He who became aware of himself for the very first time and thus chose his purpose and in so doing would pave the way for the purpose of others; Eikaen. The Lord of Light stood within the storm that was the shapeless mixing of infinite power. He was the first to stare within it and see it in its truest form. Perhaps only for a moment or perhaps for an eternity, the Dragon King stood above that which was Unknowable and in time, came to Know it. Thus, he would call others to become aware of themselves. Reaching forth into everything and nothing, Eikaen imparted his awareness as he became aware of each facet of himself. Who came first or whether they all emerged from the Unknowable together is a mystery, one only Eikaen himself can answer. From his awareness of beginning he drew forth Velar, who would mark the passage of all things from the time they emerged from the Unknowable to the time they returned to it. From his realization that a change in himself and the Unknowable had happened he called forth Vicis, who would awaken in others the changes they needed most to become who they were meant to be. From his desire to bring others together that he might never be lonely awoke Raella, she who would whisper love and encouragement to they who slept in the Unknowable that they might awaken and share in awareness together. From his desire to understand all that had occurred, was occurring and would occur, awoke Keela, she who would be possessed of a joyous curiosity and inspire others to seek and understand. From his desire to create and bring purpose awoke Aedrin, he who would forge and build and shape that others could marvel at the wonder of creation. From his sadness at being lonely, at enduring the burden of being the first to become aware and thus bring an end to the bliss of the Unknowable, was called Malgar, he who would remind all others that to be aware was to suffer, for one reason or another. From the realization that the time of everything and nothing was ending, was called Wraedan, he who would stand beside all, every step of the way in their journey in and out of awareness that they could rest and return again and again. From his acknowledgement that the Dream was ever shifting with neither purpose nor form, was called forth Naori, she who would remind all others that the Unknowable infused all things and that its influence would stretch on for eternity. And from his acknowledgement that the Unknowable itself was forever a grand mystery arose Thiovan, he who would represent all that was Unknown but that would become Known with but the passage of time and a drive to become aware. Together they stood, the first beings aware in the infinite nothingness and with guidance from Eikaen, he who came to represent the gift of order and purpose, they gave shape to the shapeless, meaning to the meaningless and grew to know that which had never been known before.”- From the Book of the Advent.

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Beginnings.

"We thought to harness the power of the gods. We thought to command the cosmos. We killed them all, never realizing that in doing so, we had condemned ourselves to the same fate."- Rikon Grimheart, Archmage of Daegos Kaitel, City of Spells

For ages beyond memory, the Dragon Gods ruled the cosmos, forging the Heavens, the Hells and all realms in-between. They crafted the mortal races blessing each with a drive and spark of their own. Some were good. Some, not so. All saw to the Balance of Creation. But in the Age of Wonders, there were those who grew arrogant and sought to command the power of the cosmos for themselves. The greatest lords of the age forged the Heartstones, relics capable of making the power of the gods their own. Seeing their folly, the gentle Dragon Goddess Raella the Lifemother tried to dissuade them from this path. Seeing her wisdom as meddling, the great lords turned their relics upon her and in so doing, slew the Mother of Mercy. Thus proving that a god could be killed. The world...would never be the same again. So began the Heavenswar. Whether it was for a single year or a thousand, none truly know. But in time, the Heartstones were used to kill every god that once stood mighty. Last to fall was the mighty and just, Eikaen the Lightbringer. With his death, came the slow doom of the world.

The Dragon Gods were gone and the world slowly began to crumble into madness and destruction. Terrifying beings of dark and twisted power rose up from the ashes of the Heavenswar, seeking to consume all life in their path. With them came the Dread Mists and the Mistspawn Hordes. Realizing they would fall if not united, the very relics used to slay the gods and doom the world were used to save it. The great war, the Sundering of the World, left an already tattered land that much more broken.

By its conclusion, the Mistlords, the godlike entities that commanded the Dread Mists were driven back. Now, mortals have reigned over their own destinies for over a thousand years.

This is the world we have made.

This is Ransera.