Welcome to Thraea

Stuff for my homebrew fantasy setting. Updates non-regularly.

[songoftheworld]

The Heavens

Far above the realm of mortals, only grazed by the summits of the highest mountains, is a realm of pure consciousness. It is called by many names - the Silver Sea, the Celestial Realm, the Astral Plane - but to most it is simply known as Heaven. A boundless timeless firmament, Heaven is a realm of silver-white mists and expanses of inky night. The empyrean vaults of Heven glitter with stars that can be seen from all over creation.

The rulers of Heaven are the Celestials, nine eternal beings said to have been involved in laying the foundations of the world. They are the greatest of the stars, leading the dance of heaven as they move across the sky. They are called planets - wanderers - by astrologers, and in the West, each has been given a special name. Since time immemorial, men have watched the movement of the stars with wonder, and catalogued their movements. The stars, and the Celestials particularly, have a mysterious relationship to the passage of time, lending another name to Heaven - the great jeweled clock. Men have long used the dance of the Celestials to write prophecies, for they reveal - in part or in whole - the secret will of destiny. The Celestials are viewed as teachers and guides of mankind, pushing them toward their eventual end - for good or for ill. They are aloof, expressing themselves to men only through their dance - and there is much argument among scholars whether the Stars control the destinies of men, whether they are messengers for a force more powerful than themselves, or another option, more mysterious - and possibly sinister. Among the other denizens of Heaven are the choirs of angels, sometimes called the heavenly host. Angels are beings born of Heavenly light, and they express that light, exemplars of the virtues represented by the Celestials. The Angels are keepers of cosmic order, and in cosmic wars between the forces of creation and oblivion, they have on a whole been on the side of creation. This is not to say that all angels are always good, and many have fallen to selfishness and violence. Heaven is not organized according to the rules of the mortal realm. It is a place of concept and mind, where distance and time have no influence over travel. The further one drifts from the mortal realm - the higher (or perhaps deeper) one travels into the Celestial Realm - the further divorced it becomes from mortal understanding of reality. Celestial spheres - realms shaped by thoughts and memories left behind by the minds of the living, or formed by the dead - drift through the mists beyond, like islands separated by a timeless sea. They are linked by threads of thought, common points in thought or memory that wind from one sphere to another. The greatest of these spheres are linked to each of the Celestials, each connected to one of the virtues, and organized around it. It is in these spheres that the dead live on in dreams and memories. Those who have died find themselves wandering once more the paths that they tread in life, reliving the experiences that made them who they were in life, and are now, until they reach the end and tread them once more. They are free to leave the path, as their memories and thoughts blend with those of others, conjuring a dreamscape where they might explore possibilities unrealized in life. Separated friends and loved ones reunite here, and those who have lived lives of evil are at last made to confront the suffering they wrought in life, and the suffering within themselves - and either to reconcile, or to further isolate themselves from all other living things. Though it is by all accounts strange to those unaccustomed to it, Heaven is not a faraway place disconnected from the mortal realm. The sky can be seen by all by both day and night. In some places, determined pilgrims may even travel directly from the mortal realm into the Heavens above - from sacred mountaintops so high they reach out of the mortal realm altogether, touching the starry expanse above. From here, travel takes on an entirely different meaning, as they wander through the Celestial Spheres. Wanderers through the Heavenly realm may return to find themselves far from their point of origin - not merely in space, but in time. They may find themselves flung far into the future, or into the distant past - or they may find that, though an eternity in Heaven has passed, mere moments have gone by in the world below. Author's Note: In a pretty recent iteration of Thraea, Heaven was populated by asgardian/olympian style gods. Thraea borrows a lot of its cosmological assumptions from the standard DnD setting, with some major differences, which meant that "clerics" got their magics from the gods. However, as the world of Thraea changed, I realized I didn't want to do that, although that flavor of magic still exists in Celestial Power, a tradition of magic descended from the Giants, and originally, the angels. Since (other than granting divine magic) the gods weren't doing terribly much with all that power they have, I retooled them into the Living Saints, which I'll probably talk more about another week. I think the Saints are much more interesting anyway. Heaven has always been the afterlife in Thraea since the earliest iterations, and its particular design draws from the Dream Bubbles from Homestuck, although considerably reflavored. While I really LIKE the design of the afterlife, it's one of the things in Thraea's continually evolving landscape that I'm not COMPLETELY satisfied with, since it doesn't really have any kind of basis in real-world folklore or mythology. It very elegantly fits into Thraea's cosmology, but it doesn't at all hearken to notions of the afterlife popular in antiquity and earlier - where the land of the dead is a place of dust and darkness, populated by shades who don't do very much of anything, and is typically associated with the Earth - the Underworld. I might change it eventually, but for now I'll live. Heaven also introduces "Narnia Time" to Thraea's cosmology, allowing for time travel adventures!

[socialheresy]

Pineland and Midnight City

At the eastern edge of the former territories of Grand Iron Empire lies Midnight City. The Umberthane river flows out of the Ebon Mountains, and down to the south sea. Straddling the river, near the mouth, Midnight City is a haven for traders and travelers from the islands, and the other continents, making it a bustling capital of trade. Over the years, Midnight City - and Pineland, the surrounding country - has been controlled by many different nations and factions, and has been the site of more than a few sieges, and even sacked on two separate occasions in recorded history. Nevertheless, it has always regrown, and emerged stronger from hardships.

Keep reading

[songoftheworld]

I accidentally posted this on my main blog. Here’s where it actually goes.

[songoftheworld]

The Dragons

There was a time in the distant past before any of the human kingdoms were established, and even before any of the tribes which would eventually become them existed. This was when the Giants ruled the World. Living in cyclopean cities built amidst the highest peaks, the giants ruled the world as the sons of heaven, the offspring of angels and the ancient mortals who were the fore-bearers of humanity. They ruled as the undying sons of heaven. But the Giants grew proud. They became arrogant and cruel,  and lost regard for the other mortals who shared the world with them. The Primordials decided to create a nemesis for the Giants. This is how the Dragons were born. The first dragons - the Five Elders - were greater by far than any dragon to come since, and they were so pure in their destructive intent that some called them the most evil creatures ever to walk the earth - they were manifestations of unchained primeval wrath. The war between the giants and the dragons was cataclysmic in proportion, shaking the world to its foundations. Deep valleys were gouged, mountains moved, seas drained, plains flooded. It was a bloody battle of attrition, any one giant hopelessly outmatched against the vast titans of elemental ferocity. The war lasted seven days, and seven nights. Creation had been reshaped, and the giants had been removed from their place of power, leaving the young races, and humanity in particular to inherit the world. The first dragons had been slain, and their offspring had begun to roost in the mountains. The mightiest of these dragons would grow, over the generations, to become ancient wyrms, siring many powerful offspring of their own. In some places - the Western Continent in particular - Dragons and anything to do with them remain frightening, and Dragons are the source of many heroic deeds in songs and tales throughout the west, serving as primary antagonists. In other places, like the Far East, peace has been made between men and dragons, and they are revered as godlike forces of nature. Magic flows through the blood of dragons, and they were the first practicioners of what would eventually become known as the Arcane Tradition. When Dragons took mortal form, and produced offspring among mortals, they passed down their inherent magical ability, though it sometimes lies dormant for generations. Humans whose ancestors settled in, or near, the titanic bones of the first dragons, absorbed the residual power. Human sages sought to learn the power of the dragons, and some brave souls befriended dragons, seeking to understand their innate link to the Source. Because of their connection to the dragons, practicioners of the Arcane Tradition are feared in the West - though the original reasons for this fear have been forgotten by many. Arcanists are stereotyped as freaks of nature, or arrogant meddlers, playing with forces beyond their control, though this is not always the case. Dragons have left their mark in other ways as well. Some of their non-dragon offspring show obvious signs of their Draconic heritage. Dragonborn are a race to themselves - originally the offspring of Dragon and Man, over time enough collected in groups to form their own kingdoms in some places.  Other less intelligent relatives of dragons, such as Wyverns, are wild capricious beasts. Kobolds are the smallest of the Dragonkin, small creatures of the ilk of goblins - crafty creatures with rugged brown scales who have formed religions centered around their larger brethren. Humans too tend to form religions surrounding dragons, particularly in the outlands, far away from the reach of civilization. These Reaver Cults, as they are called, often blend Druidic religion with a "survival of the fittest" philosophy, regarding Dragons as the ultimate form of life. Others treat dragons with reverence, seeing them as another part of the natural world, and a reminder that man must remain humble in the wide world he inhabits. Whether hostile or benign, Dragons attract attention from their mere presence - awe and terror alike. In modern times, Dragons spend much of their time dormant. The oldest dragons are vast in proportion, and slumber away years at a time. Younger dragons emerge more frequently, though their territory is often much smaller. When a truly ancient dragon emerges, it is a time to be remembered by the ages, heralding either a catacylsm, or perhaps the beginning of a new golden age. Author's Note: One of the classic "final boss" monsters (or at least midboss material), Dragons are a staple of any fantasy setting. In Thraea, Dragons are the furthest thing from tame and civilized, and there aren't any Metallic Dragons to speak of. This isn't to say that it's impossible to make friends with Dragons, but they are not creatures to be meddled with. It would be almost unspeakable for a wizard to hold sway over a dragon, here - although in some cases, it wouldn't be unheard of for a powerful magic user, or even a mighty fighter to earn one's respect! More importantly, dragons are, in a manner, descended from the Elder Gods of the setting. Serpentine Imagery in Thraea almost always hearkens back to the Elder Gods, or in some cases, to the World Soul itself. A lot of ideas for the Dragons of Thraea are taken wholesale from standard fantasy material as it presents itself in core Dungeons and Dragons material and it shows, but Thraea's dragons are a lot more varied than the metallic and chromatic dragons. I will probably eventually talk more about the different kinds of dragons, but I didn't want to write down a list here, since I felt like that'd be kinda clunky.

[songoftheworld]

The Silver Kingdom

Long before the rise of the Grand Iron Empire, there was a chieftan called Theodore who was a devout follower of Zin - the patron Saint of discipline, law, and perfection of form - who united the tribes of the far west and northern coast. He knew that in order to protect his kingdom, he would need to demonstrate his respect for the tribes that had united under him and earn their trust. Whenever he campaigned to protect the borders of his land - from raiders and reavers alike -  he would select men from among the lands they threatened to help him defend. His lands became known as the Silver Kingdom.

As the ministers of Zin spread his word throughout the land, some among King Theodore's people became as devout as he was. When he found a kindred spirit among the warriors he raised to protect his lands, King Theodore would invite him to join his honor guard. Those who accepted traveled with the King whenever he traveled to protect the borders of his lands. As Theodore's Honor Guard grew in size and renown, they eventually came to be known as the Noble Circle of Paladins - twelve men, one from each of the lands of Theodore's dominions, of considerable virtue, and unparalleled warrior prowess.

King Theodore and the Noble Circle established their stronghold on the banks of the Azure River, where they trained, and from which they rode forth to the defense of the Kingdom whenever ordinary, or extraordinary threats arose. Theodore hired the greatest architects in the kingdom to build the fortress. When it was finished, from above it took the shape of a seven-pointed star - Zin's symbol, a symbol representing strength and unity. The walls were fashioned in such a shape and of such materials that they could withstand even dragon's fire. A city grew up around the fortress, and took its name from the distinctive shape of its walls - Starburst City.

King Theodore passed away, but his kingdom continued to prosper. Starburst City grew in size and wealth, and a great temple to the immortal gods was constructed there, with the Altars of Zin and his closest allies being the most prominent. It became a center of trade and culture. The Noble Circle eventually became its own distinct entity, separate from the Crown - a monastic order, dedicated to the teachings of Zin, and to acting as wandering justicars. At the zenith of their influence, warriors of the Noble Circle roamed throughout the entire western continent, founding monasteries elsewhere, and even traveling to distant lands across the sea. They found particular friends in the Kings of the Alabaster Isles to the West.

The people and culture of the Silver Kingdom remained devout down the generations, but as time went on, the princes of the outlying regions,  and eventually even the kings grew more corrupt and decadent, straying far from the beliefs of their devout forefathers. They led wars against their neighbors, leading to a significant divide between those loyal to the Noble Circle, and the ideals of the old kings, and those dedicated to ambition and conquest, and the advancement of the Silver Kingdom's influence. It was during this time that Starburst City was enveloped into the fold of the Grand Iron Empire, forming an alliance with the Emperor of Iron City - until eventually, the Kingdom surrounding Starburst City was fully subsumed into the Empire. Though the prosperity of the Empire quieted the unrest, it never quelled it completely. When the Long War began, the King was the first in a long time to show belief in the principles espoused by his distant ancestor, and he led his people in the initial push. Even so, the people were mistrustful, which led to significant internal turmoil within the Silver Kingdom, over just what their new State would look like when their war for independence was over. As the next King continued to lead them in war, and the next, the common people of the Silver Kingdom became so tired of their monarchs, that it looked as though bloody revolution might bring an end to the Silver Kingdom altogether. 

When his father died of a mysterious wasting illness, however, young Crown Prince Leopold came to the throne. Leopold was among the liberals who wanted to bring reform to Starburst City, and so he chose to meet with the Forum - the representative body which the people had formed in order to contend with the King and his court - in order to negotiate these reforms. The Silver Kingdom withdrew from the Long War, and within less than a year, a Constitution had been written that took much of the King's power, and placed it instead into the hands of the City Forum. Revolution had been accomplished in Silver City without the bloodshed that had accompanied the last great upheaval in the land, and Silver City would go on to pave the way for peace in the West, taking the lead in the diplomatic negotiations that eventually lead to the formation of the Confederation.

The people of the Silver Kingdom are - as a rule - pious, and hardworking. They have a rich history of poets and writers, and a strong warrior tradition that hails back to the time when the Noble Circle of Paladins led the people in the defense of their towns and villages. The Honor of the Noble Circle has been restored, and they once again patrol the lands of the Silver Kingdom with the blessing of the Crown, and the people. Renee Margaret, the Head Speaker of the Senate, has worked hard with the support of Prince Leopold to bring about many changes to the confusing, repressive laws, laid down by generations of weak kings and ambitious princes. With the voice of the people heard in the government that rules over it, Starburst City and its surrounding lands are the exemplar of liberty and security in the West.

Author's Note: Paladin Town! There's no such place as America in Thraea (owing in no small part to the fact that there's no "new world") but I still wanted to have a place in the world of Thraea that would come across as very much sharing the "Guns and Bibles" themes of pre-modernity America (in this case Swords and Holy Scrolls), but with a much more classy and cultured feel to it. I also wanted to avoid rehashing the Revolutionary War in a fantasy setting. Since the Western Continent is decidedly european, I eventually decided to have Starburst City and the Silver Kingdom correspond to real-world france in more ways than a few, while still having its own unique identity. Perhaps the most important differences are its decidedly friendlier history with the Alabaster Isles (which you'll find out more about later, but correspond to the real world British Isles), and the lack of a bloody revolution to move from the bad old days of the king - and consequentially, the emergence of a  much healthier republic. And of course, it's still Paladin Town - though the Paladins here are a lot more likely to be ordinary warriors who still have a lot of faith in the gods.

[songoftheworld]

The Dark Times, The Long War, and the Age of Illumination

A long time ago, there was a mighty Empire that ruled over almost the entire western continent. The Grand Iron Empire, as it was called, stretched from the seacoast in the west to the Ebon Mountains in the east, and from the Bracken Mountains in the north to the Windy Valley in the south. The common people of the Empire were prosperous and happy, and they were at peace with their neighbours. The Elves roamed the land, their enchanted songs and wise sages brought knowledge and light to the hearts of men. The Dwarves were commissioned to build great monuments, palaces, and bastions throughout the land. The west was in a blessed golden age - the people revered the gods, scholars and mystics were exalted throughout the land, and the noble warriors who protected the borders of the borders of the Empire were honored, and settled disputes between towns and cities.

But a new Emperor arose, who did not revere the gods, or heed the wisemen of the land. He was cruel and iron-fisted, oppressing the outlying provinces, and fighting ever more costly wars against the people of the west that were outside his grasp, in order to consolidate his rule. By the time he was in his old age, the outcry was so great that the people could no longer stand him, and they rose up against him. Organizing militias, and gaining support from kingdoms in distant lands, the provinces rose up against the Emperor - only the decadent people of Iron City and its surrounding towns and villages rallied to the Emperor. The civil war started small, but as it grew, soon it became apparent to all that the Grand Continental Empire was no more.

The provinces were able to secure their freedom, but they could not oust the Emperor from his stronghold in Iron City, no matter how long they waged their war - but nor could the Emperor's armies push back out to conquer the West. Before long, the provinces fell to infighting between each other, as they squabbled over new laws, and territory, and within less than a generation, the Alliance fell to infighting. As the war grew in its scope, further dividing the people of the West, the continued fighting laid waste to the once prosperous country. Valleys were dominated by forts erected to control the rivers that ran through them. Farmland and plains became blood-soaked, muddy battlegrounds. Forests were stripped bare, to fuel the fires of war. Villages and towns throughout the west were sacked by fighting armies, and pillaged by renegades.

One Hundred Years Passed.

The Elves sequestered themselves deep in the wilderness, secluding themselves in the secret halls that had once been the heart of their empire. The Dwarves closed their borders to the warring humans, and abandoned all communication with the outside world, leaving many Dwarves stranded in human lands in the rush to return to the Clanholds. Prosperous cities, and their wealth, knowledge, and culture fell to ruin.

Finally, after generations, a shaky peace was established. The people of the West, disillusioned, poor, and weary, could fight no longer. No decisive victory had been won, and there was no clear victor in the Long War - but drained of resources and support, it could not continue. Each of the provinces had been reduced in its scope to a single city, and the towns and villages directly surrounding it - Starburst City in the West, Iron City in the North, Searock City in the south, and Midnight City in the East. After long diplomatic negotiations, a treaty was at last signed, that defined the borders of each new State. Each of the States promised in the treaty to protect the interests of the others, but to stay out of the business of the other States unless conflict threatened the peace. Together, they formed the Confederation.

Thirty odd years have gone by, and the people of the West have begun to rebuild - it is an age of Illumination now, as they struggle to put the dark times behind them. Brave explorers make journeys into the outlands in search of the treasures and learned texts left behind in the ruins of the Empire. Curious empiricists and brilliant inventors have kindled the fires of progress, though they have not yet begun to burn bright.  It is a time of fear and danger as well. Reavers populate the outlands - roving bands of disenfranchised mercenaries and other thugs - threatening the boundaries of civilization. Pirates roam the sea. The people of the west have forgotten the gods, and those who practice magical arts are viewed with fear, or awe. Magic has reached its nadir - but it is not dying. Like a tide, it has begun to swell once more. Dragons have been sighted in the skies of the north, and for the first time in a century, the Elves have begun to emerge from the Elfwood. The Whispers of the World Soul are still heard in the quiet places of the World, and they have begun to grow louder.

It is a time of promise and danger in the West, and while the common folk can live their lives in peace, adventure is often just a few steps away...

Author's Notes: Welcome to the West, and the World of Thraea! Thraea began as a worldbuilding project to create a fantasy setting to tell stories, and play games in, about a year and a half ago. The basic conception of Thraea was to create a fantasy world that has all of the trappings of a classic Dungeons and Dragons world, re-imagined with a feel that hearkens back to classic fairy stories and heroic tales. Magic isn't all over the place and to most people, it is spooky and mysterious. The gods are in their heaven, but all is not well, and many (but maybe not most) people have stopped putting their faith in the divine at all. I've taken a lot of inspiration from my favorite fantasy games, like Dungeon Crawl Stone Soup, and Trine, and as I release more information about Thraea, the inspiration that those things have granted will become more apparent. I can't wait to share more about Thraea with you in the upcoming weeks.