The World of Achaea (Ah – kay – uh):
Achaea is a land
emerging from a great darkness. A new
King has replaced the old and brought hope once again to the land. But long
before this new King, the Dragon Lords ruled Achaea. They warred with each
other for countless centuries with no regard for the races they trampled beneath
their claws. The Drakan, part man, part dragon, were birthed during this time
as warriors and slaves to be used in their Dragon master’s unending schemes and
battles. Life for the Achaeans, the predominant human-like race of the land,
was one of grief and poverty during the Dragon Wars. Organized cities and towns
were frequently crushed between the armies of the Dragons so those with an eye
to survival fled to the dark hidden corners of the world.
The fae-folk, or
“Dark Fae”, as they were once called to scare children in bedtime stories, were
the surprising and staunch allies of the Achaeans during this grim time. Their
illusion and protective magic shielded them from the greater conflict, and for
a time, they welcomed the humans to their hidden homes.
Tales tell of gods
older than the Dragons that slumber beneath the earth, perhaps still pained by
the woes of their creations. During this dark time surely they wept as the
earth below cracked and the skies above blackened, the races of the world
crying out. Perhaps they answered those cries, as then came into the world the
first celestials; born of mortal women they were strongly resistant to the
magics of the Dragons. They were warriors of Heaven and Earth, born to defeat
the blight infecting Achaea.
And fight they did.
The celestials of Heaven, the Etherium, and the celestials of Earth, the
Infernal, came together and rallied the Achaean men and Dark Fae from hiding to
create a mighty army. Led by the Etherium Lord Valorius and Infernal Lord
Malagant the army tore through the Drakan hordes and one-by-one destroyed the
Dragon Lords. With only the Arch Dragon
Lord standing between the world and peace the armies marched on his lair atop
the mighty volcano at the center of the world: Karak’Tharn, the Dragon Maw.
The events that followed
remain a mystery save for this: Atop the Dragon Maw there is a great lake of
fire, and it was there that Valorius and Malagant met the Arch Dragon Lord in
battle. No known soul yet lives to tell the tale of that battle at the peak,
with Malagant the only known survivor. Valorius and the Arch Dragon have never
been seen again. Infernal Lord Malagant walked down the mountain as King of
Achaea, and it was a story would never pass from his lips.
Sadly the reign of
Lord Malagant fared little better for the peoples of Achaea than that of the
Dragon Lords. Malagant constructed a great fortress from which to rule, there
on the slopes of Karak’Tharn, on the brink of Frosthowl Cavern, an ancient
cavern leading through the volcano, and some say, as deep as the heart of the
world. Malagant’s first decree was the execution of every celestial Etherium in
Achaea. Thousands of Etherium were killed and the rest driven to hiding.
Surviving Drakan were drafted into slavery, brutalized, and forced to battle to
the death in gladiatorial pit fights. But civilization did progress during
Malagant’s reign. Cities and towns were rebuilt, and for some, life returned to
some semblance of normalcy despite the Infernals despotic rule.
As centuries passed
Malagant’s public presence dwindled and eventually disappeared, a sinister
noble class taking over the running’s of the government as the King delved
secretly deeper and deeper into the depths of Karak’Tharn. The noble class ran
the majority of the Achaean populace to poverty, perpetrating the practices of
Malagant before them. But a people can only be tread underfoot for so long. A
lesser noble of great virtue, Sir Barathios, rose up with the downtrodden
peoples of Achaea and cast out the nobles before marching on Malagant’s fortress.
Within the depths
of the fortress Sir Barathios, his peasant army, and his council of five mages
overthrew the Infernal defenders and slew Lord Malagant. Whatever they
witnessed below Malagant’s palace of ice, deep in the belly of Karak’Tharn,
frightened them. So much so that Barathios’ council of mages remained behind,
sacrificing themselves to ensure Malagant could never rise again. The
stronghold was sealed off and left to the frigid cold of Frosthowl Cavern. Sir
Barathios became King and built a new palace in the heart of the new capital of
Achaea, near the base of Karak’Tharn: Achaeos.
Eight years have
passed since Malagant’s fall. The Etherium and even the Drakan have been
pardoned and welcomed back into the arms of Achaean society. Dark Fae trade and
roam freely in human lands. The Infernals guilty of great crimes during
Malagant’s reign have been hunted down by Barathios’ new Celestial Guard, but
the remaining Infernals, though still spurned and watched with a suspicious
eye, were also pardoned by the King. For the first time in two hundred years
the land knows peace, and its people prosperity.
Yet dark whispers
tell of infernal magics and terrible creatures gathering in the shadows of
Karak’Tharn. No word from the Frostguard stationed at the sealed Frosthowl
Cavern in months. With no messenger its said, having returned alive. Further
still up Karak’Tharns craggy face lies the ancient Drakan city of Karaz’Un
where lights have been seen twinkling ominously in the night for the first time
in nearly a century. The peak of Karak’Tharn hangs impossibly, like a great
claw, over a bubbling lava lake. Its slope cracked and torn, giant slabs of
earth ripped from their rest, somehow suspended to create floating islands in
the sky. It was here the Arch Dragon Lord’s brood made their elaborate homes.
And upon that vast bubbling lake of fire there is an ancient question still
waiting to be answered, and that answer could shake the very foundations of the
earth and awaken its slumbering god.
King Barathios has
sent out a call for adventurers of all races and skill sets to join him in
Achaeos and pursue the mysteries of Karak’Tharn under his sponsorship.
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