#reilly voss

[worldofalore]

Avalanche

The Avalanche Douru can be found only in the southern country of Crierd. They're one of the largest species of Douru, beaten only by the Violet. During the frequent snowstorms and blizzards that Crierd endures, the Avalanche will hunker down and wait the storm out. When the storm passes and they shake the snow off it can often create a small Avalanche, thus the name.

The fascinating thing about Avalanche Douru? Not only can they see regularly like you and I, but they can also see in Infrared and can hunt via heat signatures. Considering they live in a frozen wasteland it makes sense that they would hunt via heat, or I'm not sure how they'd ever find their prey!

The other cool feature of the Avalanche is that they don't breathe fire. Which I guess makes sense based on where they live, can't have them melting the entire continent every time they get annoyed. I think it would make it more interesting but whatever. Don't get caught in front of their "flame" (I don't know what else to call it) though or you'll end up dead just the same as if it was actual fire.

I can imagine they're not the most popular species for Dourule (don't worry, I asked Havad to get us all the info he can on the Dourule for us so I hope I'll be able to teach all about that soon). I mean, of all the species all you're getting if you pick the Avalanche is an Ice-breathing, infrared seeing, punk. They're a pretty resilient species and tend to stick to themselves so it would take someone special to want one of these ornery creatures as a soul bond!

[worldofalore]

The Stolen People of Tasp

Tasp is a smaller country located Northeast of Rynn, known for their warrior mentality - and their kidnapping of children. If your community comes up against Tasp in battle and loses, you only have 3 potential fates: Marriage, Kidnapping, or Murder.

If you are a young, relatively attractive young woman OR a young fit man (particularly a soldier who may have fought well but was injured and couldn’t fight OR someone they think has potential), you might be married off to a Tasp soldier. If they have any soldiers who are heading home for leave and are open to the idea (ie don’t have a strong enough argument against it), a quick marriage will be performed and their new Tasp spouse will be in charge of them.

While these newly married ‘hostages’ may at first rebel against this, over time they often settle into life in Tasp, suffering from what you know as Stockholm syndrome. If you’re lucky, your new spouse will be kind to you. If you’re not, your life can quickly become an absolute hell with no way out. If you’re lucky, your prayers may catch the ears of a deity who will step in and help. If you’re not? Perhaps you’ll have better luck in your next life.

If you are under the age of majority, you’ll likely be straight up kidnapped and shipped back to Tasp. The first thing that will happen is their name will be stripped from them, and they’ll be given a new proper Tasp name and clothing to help them forget their old identity. Your birthday will be stripped from you as well, your new birthday will be the date you were “saved” by Tasp soldiers. From there what happens next decides on their age.

If they’re under the age of 5, they’ll immediately be placed into a proper Tasp home and given a new home. Kids between 5 and 13 are sent to boarding schools, where those who adjust well are adopted into Taspian homes. If you didn’t adjust well you stayed in the boarding school until your 13th birthday, until you joined all of the other taken teenagers (those who’d been 14 or older).

If you were taken by Tasp soldiers during the ages 14-18, you were immediately taken to a military camp to begin your training. Over your time at the camp you would essentially be brainwashed, until you left the camp at 18, ready to fight to the death for the country that had “saved” your life as a child.

For those who are not married off or kidnapped, your only fate is death. Tasp does not believe in leaving behind any survivors. I’m not sure what fate I’d prefer if I’m being total honest. . .

[worldofalore]

The Primaries

Okay, now that you've had the crash course in deities, I can give you some basic info on the Primaries. I'm not gonna go into too much detail, and don't expect me to do this for the secondaries. There's 48 deities total and I don't have that much time, okay?

Here they are in birth order:

Cataklys - goddess of chaos and animals. Cataklys is a bit of a wild card if you couldn’t tell from her domain, I swear she lives to make Calizra’s life harder sometimes. To be fair, I don’t know how you could be too calm or normal having spent the first bit of your life with only Mother and the first animals on Alore.

Anateus - god of medicine and healing. He’s a bit self righteous, but I mean he is in charge of medicine and healing so I suppose that’s alright. Overall, he’s a pretty good guy and plenty responsible. The kind of guy to sit at home and hold down the fort while the others go to war.

Havad - god of victory and war. I’m not biased or anything, but Havad may be the best. Sure he can be cocky and a good bit of a jerk, but way way way down he’s a pretty solid guy. He just happens to be very aggressive on the outside (and the middle, and the inside - but deep down he’s good I promise).

Naspus - god of plants, trees, and agriculture. Naspus loves for everything to be in it’s place, I swear he’d lose his head if there’s so much as a leaf out of place in his orchards. I think that’s why he let Faerul take over the wilderness, it was just too stressful for him. Naspus may seem like the responsible type but I think that’s all a front what lurks beneath.

Bralvae - god of Travel, Wealth, and Languages. Bralvae may be the youngest of the guys and may not hold an ‘important’ domain, but don’t let that fool you about how important he is. His love for humanity - or rather, a specific human, is the reason secondaries exist.

Vaeracus - goddess of seasons. Vaercaus is a big proponent of change, she doesn’t try to hold onto things and is very much a fan of going with the flow. If it wasn’t for her wife, I don’t think she’d ever try and take part in any of the wars or battles. She tries to stay out of things, and likes to let the chips fall where they may.

Ehona - Goddess of Life. Ehona and Calizra are twins, and the youngest. Ehona definitely has youngest child syndrome, and I don’t think she understands what consequences are. Which means Calizra spends a lot of time cleaning up after her. She’s sweet though, and the kind of person you want to have a drink with after a long week.

Calizra - Goddess of the Dead and Vulnerable. As much as I may hate Calizra for the situation she put us in, I have to admit she’s a pretty decent deity. She's the reason any of the deities are even still around, the one who first fell in love with humanity. And she does try her best to take care of her domain and those she's responsible for. I respect that. Still hate her. But I respect it.

[worldofalore]

Welcome

When speaking of a new world, what is the best place to start? In the beginning perhaps, with the tale of creation. But where is the fun in that? There’s something beautiful in learning about the end before you know anything else, like reading the final chapter of a new novel before you’ve even read the dedication page. If you ask me though, the perfect way to tell a tale is discombobulated, jumping from one spot to the next and scattering info throughout for you to find. The chaos may be confusing but when you find the threads of this scavenger hunt and follow it back to the beginning? That’s the truest joy you can feel.

This encyclopedia will not go in chronological order, backwards, or any real order to be honest. Alore is a world full of mystery and creation, loss and devastation. On Alore, you may come face to face with mages and dragons, deities, and several species of sentient beings.

My goal here is to welcome you to Alore, to prepare you for the experience that lies far away. I’m not sure why I’m writing these tales, creating this online book of knowledge. Perhaps it’s to prepare you for your trip there, or perhaps it’s to remind myself of where I lived. My greatest fear is that here, among your plagues and mundane world, I’ll lose my connection to the lands I called home.

Maybe one day I’ll tell you the tale of how Havad and I came to be here with you, but for now that story doesn’t matter.

-Nysr