“We are all Kings and Pawns in their eyes. We live merely to decide the fates of men who have been given less. We shift the waves, move mountains and persist through generations by nothing more than the binding blood.” -Lord Almare’ Devoil , Mentor to Prince Rastlan
Chapter One: The Origins of the World
The purpose of writing this world is to create a unique living, breathing, self contained world that is both enjoyable and believable to the individuals who read the pages within. This goal will hopefully be met and I write this to serve as a constant reminder of what I hope to accomplish.
The beginning of time can be surmised through a number of important documents passed down through the generations of Kings, men and the Church. These documents are sought after and are highly prized by the ecclesiastical rulers of the world.
It is believed, by menfolk, that power is bound within the house of past scriptures. How are we to learn what is new if we know nothing of what allowed us to come to be? There are four primary artifacts, which are controlled by 4 very different sects, syndicates, groups, etc. Collectively, the pages are known as Eritrian , or Origin Codex in common, as they were bound together before the wars.
The nations foundations are built on the discovery of the Codex. Although it is not religious in nature, men have found ways to instill faith unto the masses by the words transcribed within the documents.
The first section is owned by the Garad Province, a metallurgical conglomerate stowed away within the chasms of the Helstrom Mountains. The predominant fact that must be ascertained about the province is that is the only nation to hold even footing amongst the other nationalistic giants due to its resources. Inside Garad the Aegis Knights protect the surrounding cities, the capital and the scripture. They are the only nation to have successfully kept the book untouched and unscathed by any normal man. The other pages have constantly been stolen, separated or lost throughout the years.
The second section is owned by the Kingdom of Vesiv in the land of fire, a dystopian land of criminals, thieves, and lascivious women. Vesiv’s protection for the second page is great, as even murderers understand its dire importance. However, it doesn’t mean it is completely safe guarded, as it has been stolen over a dozen times within the last 20 years. It always finds it’s way back to the king, however. Vesiv has employed a group of men recently to protect it, called the Hand of Olros, men sworn to each other by blood and their members are known to delve in incestuous tendencies due to generational trust issues.
The third section is safeguarded by a single man, Magister Harro, the Prime Magister of the Court of Eros. Eros refers to an ancient god whose is long forgotten, but his symbolism and elder teachings have superseded the Watcher’s reformation of the church. The precepts of Eros have become an amalgamation of self teachings and personal interpretations for The Watcher. This however, does not mean that the Watcher has been forsaken in the eyes of men, it eludes to the dawning of creativity and self discovery amongst the people. Magister Harro is the only person to know the location of the pages and no attempts at his life have been made due to this very reason. He has publicly stated this very quote.
“Woe unto the man who takes envy in my secluded knowledge, for if my life is forfeit in the eyes of treason and treachery, then the world shall be blind from lack of principles within certain scriptures.”
Finally, the final and fourth section is kept guarded by the Monks of Ectus. Exclusively men, this religious order not only holds the most prized information of the Codex piece, but many of the missing pages that fill in the blanks of the entire codex. It is often said, that each codex is a quarter of the primary collection. While this is true, hundreds of pages are still lost in the world and the devout seem to be the luckiest of treasure hunters. This fortifies the church’s position in many of the worlds greatest orders and dealings as they are regarded as the most informed, as information is power.
The world begins with this scripture, the way it moves,walks, and talks. It’s in its beliefs, it’s army, it’s vocabulary , everything. What does it exactly say? What makes the Eritrian such a imposing dictator of thoughts?
It’s in the science of it all. The book is a journal and thought log of a group of the original navigators, travelers, discoverers and philosophers of the world. The Eritrian contains maps, principles, beliefs, discoveries and drawings of all the worlds firsts. From the discovery and naming of Iron to the dissection of the carrion crows, all formal principles begin within its pages. From the sections of the Codex, we have learned much but it has created a divide in the daily repetitions of man in ways that are unnerving.
On paper, you can divide the thoughts of core society in to two distinctive foundations. There is the Foundation of Eritrian, who believe in the discoveries and concepts bound within the pages of the Codex. They are the logical minded, science driven force that spins the worlds wheels and rotates the axis of thought. Then there is the Foundation of the Watcher. Their beliefs are in the book as well, but greatly emphasize on the non secular principles. Within these interspersed teachings faith has been extracted, created and driven into the minds of men. The Watcher is a being, referred to many times throughout the pages of the Codex. He is primordial in all senses of the word and is given credit to the creation of thousands of the discoveries in the pages.
By reading these facets of information, one could discern that The Watcher has been around forever and that the lands and it’s inhabitants were at least partially created by this ever watching figure. One could also ascertain that our ancestors had great minds and without them, our civilization could be lost. Therefore, who is the real primordial or omnipotent in this scenario? Should it not be considered that a man could rise to godhood by great acts alone, or is it improbable that a generation of ancestors could be worshipped as an entire entity? These questions and thousands more related have been surfacing over the years as a wave of enlightenment, discovery and creation has been on the rise. It is a dangerous time for the church, but equally so for heretics who defy what has “always” been.
The original ancestors leave their markings and tracks all over the world. Whether it be the Watcher’s Eye, the Path of Sols, or the Keeper’s Library, all shed new information about who we are and how we came to be.
How old are these ancestors and what are their names or how are they referred? The ancestors never called themselves anything but they are referred to as many in and out of the Codex. The watchers children, the originals, the creators or the ancestors. Many more names lie dormant but most are widely spread amongst the different languages of the world.
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It’s hard to find and pinpoint an exact time when “we” as humans started to flourish. We’ve always been here and there are remnants of forgotten travelers even beyond what we know as the Watcher’s Children. Who are they? Not much is known except they existed. From the pottery we find, the cave markings and the idle bits of bleached and broken bones in the Drylands, we can determine that they were of human make, with slight differences. The area around the eyes form a completely different pattern, suggesting a more smooth and rounded structure. The jaw lines are more narrow and slender, so their entire facial bone structure is diminished in comparison to a traditional. Are they blood related? It’s hard to tell, to this date there has been only a handful of skeletal artifacts but in the shadow of technology, few experts exist in the study.
The Codex wasn’t always separate or apart in any particular way. The discoveries of each volume came in varied order. Thus, the fourth and final volume was discovered first, by the Church and so on and so forth. Although the date and time of discovery is irrelevant to the common man, the Church demands it otherwise. The fact that they fell upon the Codex first is all the more reason why it is should be considered a holy object, in their minds. Why should it be coincidence that it came to them? The Watcher’s hand guides the path of the righteous to fortuitous roads, as they say. If you keep faith, all will be revealed. These proverbs and more stand as a bastion of resolve and proof on the tongues or the devout in the face of disbelief.
One could, of course go into the history of it all and elaborate on the exact and finer points of the details but for now, the future needs to be focused on.
The Bridging Kingdoms, The Svaris Nation
& The Silent Throne
The world consists of a total of 6 Kingdoms and three primary continents. There is unexplored land, but the fertile and resourceful of them all is prized and taken. With all nations there is war, blood shed, times of peace and victories. It’s within these moments and times that make a nation great. A kingdom has it’s traditions as well, as nationalism, history and those traditions create a memorable place.
The Bridging Kingdoms are the pride of the nation. They are at the heart and center of the continent of Ghardis. The name is derived from aspects of the past, but more so due to the alliance with the two peaceful kingdoms of Algos & Crucia. Algos, the Steel of the West is the eldest kingdom in all of Ghardis. It boasts a population of three hundred thousand individuals. Castle Algos and it’s high towers and citadels ascend to the heavens and reach beyond the clouds as it rests upon an almost impregnable hillside surrounded by jagged cliffs, rocky hill sides and mountainous crags. The defensive bastion of rocks that surrounds Algos is called the Crown of Artus, named after King Algos the First. Below its steady cliffs, the town of Mabel rests as the Hilt of the East. More than a city, it serves as the first line of defense to route would be enemies to their demise. To this day, Castle Algos and its’ township have never been breached.
The sister kingdom of Crucia boasts an impressive number of keeps and castles within its walls but their glory is not found within a bastion of stone and mighty kings. Instead, Crucia prides itself on being a lucrative commerce capital . Like black and white, yin and yang - Crucia and Algos are direct opposites but are in perfect harmony.