[center][s]888888888888[/s] [b]Terminal's Faction[/b] [s]888888888888[/s][/center]

[b][u]Andromache versus the World[/b][/u]
[b]Name:[/b] Andromache[hider=Appearance]Apparently being buried underground for 40,000 years is hell on your complexion. Who knew?
[img=http://th07.deviantart.net/fs71/PRE/i/2012/037/3/c/buried_by_sarafinconcepts-d4ox97u.jpg][/hider][hider=The Legend of Andromache](This section will be updated as events in the IC unfold. There are elements of Andromache's past and overarching story which are not currently discussed here, and will remain obscured until the information has been revealed in-story.)

Andromache has a storied past, one that begins long ago, during the Lost Age.

The Lost Age is considered by most to have been a golden period for humanity, a time of widespread peace, prosperity, and justice. Like all societies, the exalted empire had crimes and sin, arbitration, and punishment – and since the powers commanded by humanity in those days was so great, great was the depth of their depravity and great was the severity of their punishments.

Andromache committed a crime so grave, that a mark of condemnation – the Mark of Sathanas – was carved upon her brow. A sign to all who might look upon her that she had offended that gods themselves with her hubris and folly. She was then buried alive far beneath the Earth, to never see the light of day again, locked in suffocating, intractable darkness for all eternity. By some twisted miracle, Andromache was not permitted the mercy of death. As the millennium passed, the tossing and turning of the Earth and its bones tore at Andromache. The worms and maggots and creatures of the Earth penetrated and defiled her body. The molten blood of the depths burned her, and the dire chill of its tears bit into her flesh. The fibrous roots of plant and fungi alike took sustenance from her flesh, and even her mind. Lifetimes passed, and Andromache lost all knowledge of her life prior to her entombment, forgot her native tongue - with only her own name remaining. Even as the Earth itself bestowed suffering upon Andromache, deeper and deeper was she buried as topsoil, rock, and sediment built atop her tomb. The Ancients had been wise in their choice of prison for a degenerate of her ilk; no force existed that might free her save the Earth itself, which was theirs to command.

The Ancients did not forsee their own decline, however, nor the decline of magic and the closure of the currents of power that ran through the world...And they did not forsee the day the planes would once again come into Conflux, reawakening these currents and stirring the Earth with such force that Andromache would be freed from her tomb.[/hider][b]Personality:[/b] Andromache has returned to the world anew, after 40,000 years of being buried alive, having forgotten the entirety of her past life. Who can say what her temperament will be like?
[b]Armaments:[/b] Andromache starts the RP with only her name.[hider=Powers]In the days of the Lost Age, Andromache was a mere novice, naturally gifted in magic but with little experience and no training. She has a great deal of raw magical power, but has yet to develop the means to wield it effectively. She does possess a number of innate gifts, however...

[b]-Inhuman Strength-[/b] Andromache can beat armored knights to death and tear down stone walls with her bare hands.

[b]-Preternatural Toughness-[/b] Only the strongest or keenest of blows can even begin to injure Andromache.

[b]-Ineffable Grace-[/b] Andromache heals at an accelerated rate, and can recover from injuries that a normal mortal could not. While the rate at which she heals is slower than some other Champions or Demon Lords might be capable of, the extent of injury she can recover from is far greater - she is thus, harder to truly kill. Even traumatic head wounds are not certain to fell her. Such injuries, naturally, can still leave her unconscious, comatose, or otherwise incapacitated until she heals.

[b]-Empyrean Pressure-[/b] Andromache has been imbued with a measure of divine power - enough to put her on-par with Demon Lords. Amongst other things, this grants her access to an overflowing pool of magical power. Andromache also exerts a field of divine pressure about her, which suppresses and resists magical effects, abilities, and other forms of opposing force. She can use this pressure as a weapon, using it to crush those in her immediate vicinity or to augment her strikes with additional force.[/hider]
[hider=Stronghold][b]Name:[/b] The Fissure
[b]Type:[/b] Geographical Anomaly
[b]Location:[/b] The New World, in the center of the Crescent Savannah.
[b]Description:[/b] The Fissure is a vast cleft in the Earth which is miles deep and wide. A few scattered remant ruins from the Lost Age lie revealed in the lower portions. Most of the landscape is upturned topsoil, rocks, and dried mud, with vast pools of ground and river water flowing downwards and stratified layers of crust forming the walls. The Earthquake which form the Fissure was recent enough and the inner terrain loose enough that an individual can climb up and down through the depths without the use of tools...though they had best watch their step in the loose and soggy inclines, least they lose their footing and fall.[/hider][hider=Faction]Andromache is currently alone and without any allies...it is her, and her alone, versus the world.[/hider]
[center][s]888888888888[/s] [b]Flagg's Faction[/b] [s]888888888888[/s][/center]

[b][u]The Lord of the Diadochi[/u][/b]
[b]Name:[/b] Dionysius the Golden, God-King of Dis, Lord of the Diadochi[hider=Appearance]Dionysius adorned in his royal raiment.
[img=http://fc07.deviantart.net/fs71/i/2013/222/c/a/tes__neloth_of_house_telvanni_by_coupleofkooks-d6hi296.jpg]

Dionysius armed and armored for battle.
[img=http://images.uesp.net/d/d0/OB-KotN-PelinalPainting.jpg][/hider][hider=History](This section will be updated as events in the IC unfold. There are elements of Dionysius' past and overarching story which are not currently discussed here, and will remain obscured until the information has been revealed in-story.)

Dionysius is truly ancient. He first rose to prominence in the Lost Age, where he held the office of Divine Arbitrator and Hierophant in an ancient empire long forgotten. 

Through his studies of the tides of magic, the ravings of oracles and the configurations of the stars, he divined that the gods would soon withdraw from the trans-mortal planes, but believed in their promise to give mortals a divine-king who would lead them hence forth, protecting them from the depredations of demons and saving them from chaos and entropy. Determined to see the prophecy fulfilled no matter what, and to serve both his gods and all of mankind, Dionysius gathered 200 of the most skilled mages in the land. They then worked dark and obscure magics in order to imbue themselves with divine power, gifting themselves with eternal life in their efforts to realize which one of them might become the messianic leader of all mankind. They ultimately failed, but pledged to protect and guide mankind nonetheless, uniting to become the Diadochi.

As the ancient world decayed and collapsed, the Diadochi became rulers of city states existing in the ruins of mankind's former splendor. Far from ruling as gods, they slowly degenerated into a clique of sorcerous despots, continually feuding among themselves and waging wars on the barbarians all around them. They were worshiped by the denizens of their territories, but many were cynical about the decadence and degeneracy of their 'mortal gods'.

Despairing and bitter, Dionysius has left his fellow mage-lords to their scheming, intervening only in the most exceptional circumstances but otherwise content to moulder in his Temple-Palace in the massive city-state of Dis, studying magical lore and arcane philosophy, meditating - often for millennia at a time - and begging the gods to return and lead men as they had once promised to do.

He is incredibly hostile to the denizens of the demonic planes, and he and his fellow Diadochi have united countless times over the centuries to push back minor demonic incursions, most prominently in the War of Night, in which the Diadochi banished - at great cost- an avatar of the demonic lord, Night Mother. 

In the cities under their control, magic use is highly policed (children with magical potential are usually offered to the Diadochi, who either train them into elite cadres of battlemages or drain them of their power). It is rumored, however, that the Diadochi themselves have struck secret deals and compacts with various Planar Powers over the millennia.

Now, they are determined not lose their domain to the lords of the Planes, and fight tooth and nail to drive back the extra-dimensional invaders of the mortal realm.[/hider][hider=Personality] Aloof, arrogant, bitter and proud, Dionysius has not allowed centuries of rule as a virtual God-King to dull his wits, and he retains a great capacity for manipulation and subtlety. Though condescending towards and often contemptuous of lesser mortals, his self-image depends on remaining a protector and guardian of Mankind and thus there are limits to his ruthlessness.

He despises (most) of demon-kind, considering them mockeries of the gods he once served, and holds a special disgust for the minions of Mother Night. Moreso than any other being though, there is one entity he fears and loathes above all others - though the only one who knows this is the only other surviving Diadochi from the Lost Age, Knossos the Deathless.[/hider][hider=Armaments][b]Armor of the Golden King:[/b] Forged in ancient times for a mighty emperor long forgotten, this suit of gilded armor is inscribed with ancient runic devices and blessings. It is usually worn by Dionysius in royal audiences and of course, into battle.

[b]Hephaestus:[/b] Dionysius' longsword, personally forged by him from an alloy of magically-attuned metals and crystals. Serves as a conduit for his sorcerous power.

[b]The Heretic's Dagger:[/b] A blade of dark iron with a refined and honed edge of obsidian, and a handle of lead. The nature of this blade is a mystery to all but the Diadochi, and the form of its power unknown - the only thing known for certain is that it originates from the Lost Age. It is aglow with a faint, golden halo of light. Shimmering ichor is dappled upon the blade, refusing to be washed off. Injuries dealt by this blade do not heal, and the blade steals power from the victim, bestowing it upon the wielder. It pierces through flesh and armor alike with ease, and parts magical barriers like cobwebs.[/hider][hider=Abilities][b]Master Magus:[/b] A sorcerer of almost unparalleled power, Dionysius can control the elements with ease, and has mastered arcane arts few thought possible, such as local teleportation, the binding of lesser demons and the deployment of powerful magical shields.

[b]Lich:[/b] Through unspeakable use of dark and obscure magics, Dionysius has discovered a means of granting eternal life through stealing the power of others. As such, all of the Diadochi - Dionysius foremost among them - are masters of dark and forbidden arts centered around draining life and magic from others and in order to prolong their own unnatural existences. It is even rumored they regularly eat human flesh in order to preserve their deathless state.

[b]Augury:[/b] Dionysius can peer into the ever-shifting web of the future, and is often able to anticipate an opponent's move, though too much reliance on augury is ill advised, since nothing in the future is certain.

[b]Arcane Charisma[/b] Dionysius is a potent telepath, able to manipulate others through the medium of his voice and to dominate lesser minds, both mortal and demonic.[/hider]
[hider=Stronghold]
[b]Name:[/b] Dis
[b]Type:[/b] Walled City
[b]Location:[/b] Located on a small, rocky mountain above the River Phlegethon

[b]Description:[/b] A large, walled city, home to between 60 and 90 thousand people. Dis is dominated by the Temple-Palace of Dionysius the Golden. Known as the Tower of the Sun and Moon, it is a soaring, fortified ziggurat occupying the central hill of the city. Dis is filled with marble temples to the old gods of Creation, as well as a massive library. 

The city is formed in two concentric rings, with the Outer City surrounded by a staunch curtain wall replete with towers and parapets. The Inner City is likewise protected by a smaller wall, and is home to Dis' grandest buildings and upper classes.

Beyond the outer walls, the Phlegethon river valley is filled with peasant farms, minor villages, small forts, and trading-stations.[/hider][hider=Faction][b]Name:[/b] The Diadochi and the Order of the Sun and Moon
[b]Size:[/b] approx. 5,000
[b]Hierarchy and Culture:[/b] The faction is led by the six mage-lords known as the Diadochi. They are also known as the Deathless to the common folk. There were originally 200, but most of them have died over the past 40,000 years due to battles, accidents, and 'accidents.' Until 41 years ago, there were seven Diadochi remaining.

Dionysius the Golden, Leader of the Diadochi and the Order of the Sun and Moon
Knossos the Pensive (other than Dionysius, Knossos is the last of the original Diadochi)
Acheron the Enlightened
Aeschylus the Morose
Sarappamon the Mad 
Orpheus the Dreamer (youngest of the Diadochi)
Serbonith the Inquisitive, the seventh of their number, is deceased. Slain by Absalom during the seige of Vanares.

Each of these powerful sorcerers commands an elite personal guard of battle-mages. Dionysius' bodyguard is composed of approximately 700 elite spellswords known as the Order of the Sun and Moon. The Order serves as an internal secret police and inquisition within the cities of the Diadochi, rooting out demonic influence, illicit magic use, and heretical cults. Below them are the City Guard of Dis, a force of assorted hoplites, peltasts and archers. The faction is allied to the various armies of the Successor Cities, and military forces loyal to the individual Diadochi, but these will be NPCs not under Flagg's direct control.

[b]History:[/b][Also refer to Dionysius' history for further information]
The Diadochi have been intricately involved in the history of the mortal realm since their 'ascension' into semi-divinity. Before the onset of the Dark Ages, they strove to control the various empires of man, but their internecine feuds contributed to the fall of the old kingdoms and the onset of the dark ages. Almost alone among the denizens of the mortal realm, the Diadochi were able to sustain significant magical power via dark and twisted blood magics during the long Dark Ages of magic in the mortal plain. Over the millenia, the undying, self-proclaimed Successors to the Gods have done much- serving as advisors to king and emperors, ruling great nations, striving with various Demonic Champions for mastery over the mortal realms. Originally numbering two hundred, the number of Diadochi has dwindled to a mere six over the many millenia of their existence. Only Dionysius and his ever-loyal advisor and lieutenant Knossos remain of the original two hundred, while the other four Diadochi have been elevated to their current state along the long intervening period between the Lost Age and the present.

Over time, the remaining came to rule the so-called Successor Cities, ten city states in the desert land of Varyon. Internally fractious, the Successor Cities and their mage lords have united dozens of times to drive back various extra-planar invasions, most significantly in the War of Night, against the demonically-inspired human Empire of the Merciful Dark. 

[b]Military Capabilities:[/b] The six diadochi are powerful mages with a wide range of magic-based combat abilities. Likewise, they employ a powerful force of spell-swords and battlemages as their personal guards, and beneath them, a small army of hoplites, skirmishers and archers. The Diadochi depend primarily on the fortifications of their cities and their magical power to defend their holdings against the vastly more powerful and numerous demonic hosts at their gates.[/hider]
[center][s]888888888888[/s] [b]SaintArey's Faction[/b] [s]888888888888[/s][/center]

[b][u]Uniter of the Golden Valley[/u][/b]
[b]Name:[/b] Absalom Herluin
[hider=Appearance][img=http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-Qs_eKtuvbyQ/UbsfQwIQYdI/AAAAAAAAAps/30mKuaHwrJQ/s1600/tomedwards_nomaddesign.jpg][/hider]Age: 105 but has the appearance and body of a 30 years old man.[hider=History]Born in the city of Vanares of unknown parentage Absalom grew as a street urchin, suffering harsh lessons of the metropolis’s streets. Ageing normally till 18, Absalom was no different from any normal man, belonging to the extensive criminal underbelly of the city, smuggling, assassination, and larceny were his trade. Gradually, his power began to develop, rising through the ranks of Vanaresian organised crime. 

Eventually he came to be noticed by the Mage Lord of the City, named Serbonith and was plied with riches into the petty and grand wars of the Diadochi overlords. For the next 30 years, Absalom fought for many masters across Varyon and the colonial states of the New World. Absalom grew in both fame and infamy as well as wealth, amassing treasures to rival petty kings, apart from the gifts of gold and lands, artefacts of the Lost Age were bequeathed to him. Among the ancient weapons and armour there were texts of great philosophers and religious texts which then to Absalom where coveted simply for their rarity. 

Defeat was more or less unknown during the ascendancy of Absalom, his masters growing increasingly brazen till, in their hubris (53 years before the present day) they were deceived, coerced and seduced by unknown powers (Knossos) to encroach of the City Sate of Dis. The incursion was practically over before it started, Dionysius himself leading his troops, devastating the invading armies. The retinue of Absalom marching defiantly into the frontlines, past the mass route of allied forces into direct confrontation with Dionysius himself. The duel that ensued was short and unworthy of history books. Absalom lay bloodied and near death as his treasures where looted and his retinue slaughtered. 

Waking not to the deathly void or the desolation of war, Absalom found himself aboard a wagon train of refugees fleeing the horrors of combat, the only thing of his old life remaining being the ancient philosophical texts. In the care of the commoners and the guidance of the lost philosophers of a forgotten age, Absalom came to realise his sin and was undone. 

For 12 years he wandered Varyon in penance as a hermit and supposedly dead, he tried to promote the ideals of stoicism and morality throughout the city states and the barbarian peoples, preaching the philosophy of the Lost Age. He saw a world corrupted, the tyrannical Diadochi oppressing their own citizens and fear people of the tribes who would in turn commit terrible acts of resistance against the forces of their overlords. Once again he turned to the sword. Remerging as a now lawful warrior he toured the interior of the continent gathering the tribes together in preparation for revolution against the Diodachi Warlords. His assault of his old home of Vanares was met with success, even slaying the foul Mage-Lord of the city at great cost to his forces. However, his tactical victory was met with moral defeat the lessons he taught the tribes succumbing to the greed of conquest, his troops engaging in wanton looting. By the time interventionary Diodachi forces arrived Absalom had all but surrendered. His disarrayed and rapine army stood little chance and was massacred mercilessly. In the chaos of defeat Absalom boarded a ship fleeing the conflict for the New World, its inhabitants hoping for a better life. 

Absalom travelled without meaning through the wilds of the New World, content to die but he would not. His body was too strong to succumb to extremes of nature or starvation. Eventually reaching the distant north of the continent he came across the Ururyon Mountain ranges which small population was caught in a bloody war. Weary of war but aware of the otherwise innocence of the society Absalom intervened ending the war. For several years now he has resided as the guardian of the Golden River Valley and the secrets of Mount Ila.

105 years before present: Absalom is 'born'. 
87 years before present. 
53 years before present: conspiracy rebellion 
41 years before present: The Tribal Revolution, led by Absalom 
11 years before present: Absalom reaches the Ururyon Mountains 
7 years before present: Absalom ends conflict in the reigon, making his home of the Golden River Valley where he remains to this date.[/hider][b]Personality:[/b] Despite his grim exterior, a testament to his violent past. Absalom has become a silently caring man, who rules through fellowship and morality. 
[b]Armaments:[/b] All artefacts of power were stripped from him following his defeat save for the writings of the Lost Age which are stored atop Mount Ila. 
[b]Abilities:[/b] His strengths played well to the pursuit of War his skin being able to deflect volleys of all but the sharpest arrows and thrust of pikes and a sword arm strong enough to fell whole ranks of infantry in a single blow. His body is resistant to the extremes of the environment, starvation and thirst.

[hider=Stronghold][b]Name:[/b] Nameless, just referred to as ‘The Fort’ by the people of the Golden River Valley. 
[b]Type:[/b] A stone fort. 
[b]Location:[/b] Atop the very peak of Mount Ila in the Ururyon Mountains. 
[b]Description:[/b] Built by Absalom following peace in the Gold River Valley, the castle is relatively small being crude in design and appearance. However, as a defensive structure it is highly functional. It serves as the last line of defence of whatever great and mysterious power lies beneath the summit of Mount Ila. The Fort also serves as a quasi-religious site for the Ururyons who often make pilgrimages from all over the mountain ranges.[/hider][hider=Faction][b]Name:[/b] The Golden River Valley
[b]Size:[/b] 5000 give or take a couple of hundred. 
[b]History:[/b] is in everything else I have written. 
[b]Military Capabilities:[/b] Sparse, untrained but determined would best describe the military of the Golden Valley. There are only about 50 full time soldiers based in the fort atop Mount Ila who patrol the valley and fight in more serious engagements (such as against raiding parties) or against beasts too large for the Militia to overcome. The Militia number about 150 and are generally just farmers with weapons and armour. They serve as day to day guards and rangers, they are moderately well armed. number upwards of 1000 and can be mobilised if needed. Do not equate their lack of training and equipment to a lack of experience. Most are veterans of the last war and have seen a fair share of combat, making for good, if untrained light infantry.[/hider]
[center][s]888888888888[/s] [b]History of the Mortal Realm[/b] [s]888888888888[/s][/center]
[hider=Mortal Plane Timeline](To put things in perspective - Anatomically Modern Humans are thought to be 200,000 years old IRL, with the first civilizations having arisen ~60,000 years ago.)

[b]~40,000 years ago:[/b] the Mortal World was the center of a Planar Conflux, a result of the discovery of a specific artifact: Díorá Exáriá. Legendary creatures walked the Earth, and powerful sorcerers worked epic magics with the help of the discovery to create wondrous works and utopian societies. This time is generally known by historians and scholars as the Lost Age. Ruins and artifacts of this period, if they exist at all, are buried under miles of topsoil and rock by this point. Discovering traces of the Lost Age is like finding either the Pyramids of Giza or the Tower of Babylon...Underground. Relics from the period are probably beyond priceless. The Nexus Gate is the most prominent of these incredible findings, and serves as the Mortal Lands' access point to and from the Nexus, and, as a result, the Outer Planes as well.

[b]~39,000 years ago:[/b] Planar Conflux ends, the Age of Decline begins. Large populations of mythical beings still exist, and magic still thrives - however, epic magics and great works become irreproducible, and no more Mythical beings arrive. Some may even leave the Mortal Plane. This is as a result of the Nexus becoming less magically active as a result of Gods (of both Ruinous and Virtuous nature) disappearing from Creation for some unknown reason. The Diadochi seize control of the Thearchy of the Sun and Moon, one of the most powerful empires to dominate the mortal plane, and begin several wars of conquest simultaneously. So begins the 10,000 Year War between the Archmages and Emperors of the Ancient Empires and the Thearchy, ruled by the Diadochi.

[b]~35,500 Years Ago:[/b] The Age of Spirits begins. Using previously unknown magics now known as the soul arts, a cadre of nobility including the youngest son of the emperor of the Voldraxean Empire stages a coup. The prince decrees himself Evarast, the Radiant Arbitor and takes over as the new emperor. The new emperor imposed a draconian law code and reforms swept acrosss the empire and announced the foundation of the Radiant Legion, powerful magus knights. Concerned by the sudden rise of Evarast and offended by his blasphemous soul-magic, Dionysius the Golden and the Diadochi declared war upon Voldraxis. Centuries of intermittent war followed, with the balance of power changing hands many times. Eventually Dionysius gained the upper hand through guile and Art, and the capital city of Voldraxis was besieged by the Diadochi. In an attempt to strike before Evarast could gather the strength for an attack,the Diadochi launched a full scale attack on his stronghold. A force of the ancient liches themselves were sent in to head the assault. The attackers were led into a cataclysmic massacre as the Emperor unleashed a final spell. From atop the tallest tower and aglow with heavenly light, the Emperor brought down a hammer of light from on high and smote the whole of the city, and all its inhabitants. All the armies that had been poured into it, and dozens of the Diadochi, were all obliterated. Voldraxis was no more, countless lives had been lost, and a number of priceless artifacts from the Lost Age that could never be replaced had been destroyed. Dionysius the Golden withdraws for almost seven millenia into the precincts of his temple-fortress, in disgust with a war largely of his own making.

[b]~35,000 years ago:[/b] The last mythical being thought to live in the Mortal Plane dies. Magic bottoms out in its decline. The shattered lands of the Voldraxean Empire fragment into numerous subpolities which immediately fall into infighting even as the Diadochi conquer them, one by one. The unity and order of Evarast's rule is all but forgotten.

[b]~27,000 years ago:[/b] The last lands waving the banner of the Voldraxean Empire cease to exist. The Age of Spirits ends, and the Age of Darkness begins. The last vestige of the golden empires of old crumble into several independent polities. Thousands of years of chaos follow, marked largely by the destruction of existing infrastructure and the splintering of several organized societies into geographically and culturally distinct subgroups. Knowledge of magic remains well preserved, but many architectural, chemical, medicinal, and many more sources of knowledge are lost. The Diadochi, in control of a small empire along the river Phlegethon, fall into the first of what will become many periods of prolonged internecine war. 

[b]~12,000 years ago:[/b] The height of The Dark Age. The Empire of the Merciful Dark, a human super power worshipping a demon known only as Mother Night, emerges.They swiftly conquer many of the successor states of the ancient empires. At the same time, Dionysius the Golden emerges from seclusion, uniting the Diadochi, who engage in a two-century long war with the empire, eventually defeating several Champions and even an Avatar of Mother Night at the Battle of Nemsethus. The avatar of Mother Night, deciding to not go down without striking a tremendous blow against her enemies, created a planar rift in an effort to destroy the Diadochi in one fell swoop, resulting in the partial submerging of a continent into the sea and the creation of the Blackrazor. Mother Night's agenda within the Mortal Realm remained unknown, though it was commonly agreed to be a simple bid for domination over the realm. The cult of the Merciful Dark splintered into individual cells and polities, and the remainder of the Dark Age was defined by the struggles between these fractuous elements and the surviving Diadochi. Dionysius the Golden withdraws to his Temple-Palace in the ancient city of Dis, and does not emerge for nearly 7,000 years. 

[b]~11,500 Years Ago:[/b] In the wake of the wars with Mother Night and her cult of Merciful Dark a new threat arose. A failed summoning by a young neophyte in training brought a piece of the demon lord Emyra into the mortal plane. She consumed the poor soul, creating a fascimile under her control. In secret her servant consumed others, spreading her influence. It was slow at first but then it began to spread like wildfire as her spawn consumed others and their numbers grew immensely. The Diadochi were busy dealing with the chaos after Mother Night's assualt and it wasn't until one of their number was slain that they realized the plague was a threat to them. By then an entire city had fallen. The scope of the infection drew the attention of Dionysius himself. He established a quarantine around the city and then personally entered it to investigate. He fought his way to the center of the dead city and found an untold horror. Countless thousands of the infected were joining together in a terrifying union of flesh. Before his eyes he saw an avatar of Emyra herself take form. They fought in the ruins of the dead city until Emyra gained the upper hand. Her compulsion filled the ancient lich's mind and for a moment he surrendered to her siren's song. She embraced him but unlike the others he fought and struggled free of her, and stuck her with the Heretic's Dagger, slaying the avatar. Dionysius emerged from the battle troubled and disturbed, and withdrew once more into his sanctums in Dis while the remaining Diadochi scrambled to secure order and power once more, quickly forgetting the incursions to fight amongst themselves. The Order of the Sun and Moon, charged with detecting and defeating demonic incursions, is thrown into an uproar by their inability to safeguard against Emyra's invasion - out of a mixture of fear and outrage, the Order adopts a much more tolatarian approach, and begins enforcing the use of arcane tattoos amongst the citizens of the city-states in order to better detect and stop demonic incursions before they begin.

[b]~5,000 years ago:[/b] The Dark Age Ends with the complete erasure of the cult of Merciful Dark, and the Age of Abeyance begins. The leader of the Diadochi, Dionysius, begrieved by the loss of so many of his compatriots over the mellennia, emerges from his isolation and begins to restore the weakened order by raising several followers to the status of Diadochi and reclaiming the city-states along the River Phlegethon. While ruling the city-states of Varyon, the Diadochi fall into interminable internecine squabbles, occasionally with the intervention of Dionysius, who nevertheless remains mostly indifferent to political matters. The Successor Cities of Varyon nevertheless prosper over the long and fractious rule of the Diadochi, and remain one of the few centers of civilization to survive the Dark Ages. Entreated many times by his followers to rebuild the glorious empires of old, Dionysius declines, and is viewed by many as immobilized by boredom and indifference bordering on despair. While there is much truth to this, Dionysius is in fact devoting much of his time in study of the Demonic Planes. For thousands of years, the land remained in relative peace. 53 years prior to the Age of Incursion however, there was a massive rebellious movement which abruptly rose out of nowhere and swept across the continent. Cities were raided and pillaged, and even Dis itself was attacked - the apparent leader of this rebellion was a brilliant warlord by the name of Absalom. Thought to be slain by Dionysius in a duel during the siege of Dis, the Diadochi were alarmed when he appeared to have cheated death and raised a second rebellion a mere 12 years later - this time, Absalom even managed to slay a member of the Diadochi, Serbonith the Inquisitive - something that had not occurred since the Dark Ages. The Diadochi mounted a ferocious counterattack, shattering the rebellion in a decisive rout - but Absalom himself escaped, and remained at large. Concerned that they may have been facing the
champion or avatar of another demon from the outer planes, or even Mother Night herself, Dionysius made several attempts to scry the location of the warlord, but failed time and time again.

Increasingly frustrated and worried as he sensed the impending conflux of planes, Dionysius called an emergency council of the Diadochi at Dis in order to prepare for the impending crisis, where all of his worst fears would become reality.

[b]Now:[/b] Age of Incursion. Planar Conflux Occurs. Triggers several high-magnitude Earthquakes and Volcanic eruptions. Magic begins to wax. Uninvited Guests arrive.[/hider]
[center][s]888888888888[/s] [b]The Geography of the Mortal Lands[/b] [s]888888888888[/s][/center]

The Mortal Realm is host to three continents and one subcontinent. Each individual continent has multiple hub-portals connecting to Díorá Exáriá at various locales, and vice versa.[hider=The Sunken Land]The Sunken Land was once a lush, temperate paradise rife with ancient, forgotten cities from the Lost Age. In the height of the Dark Age during the War of Night, the Planar Rift created by Mother Night caused the continent to sink below the waves of the sea. Now what's left of it is mostly marsh and swamp - completely unarable and filled with death. Even before it sank, the continent had been rife with secret, underground sanctuaries and vaults from the Lost Age far greater and more widespread than anybody had suspected - in the wake of the Conflux, massive shifts in the Earth caused these lost sites to rise from the Earth once more, creating semi-flooded ruins filled with magical wonders and guardians. The Planar Nexus Gate is located here, and this continent will be the source of most major demon incursions into the mortal realm. There is also a series of lesser hub-gates leading to various locations on the other two continents and subcontinent.

[b]Notable Sites:[/b]
[u]The Nexus:[/u] The Gate itself is a giant inverse pyramid that stays balanced by some inexplicable force. It would have once been encrusted with a host of powerful magical gems that would surely have made the gate glisten in the light with a certain dvine incandescence - but alas, the gems have since been plundered and looted, leaving this once incredible sight a featureless, rough construct. The balanced point of the gate holds a faintly glowing area of light on each of its four sides, and contact with these gates of light will see an entitiy transported through the veil of Creation to the correspondng gate within the Nexus.

[b]Populations:[/b]
Swamp and Marsh Critters
Death

[b]Starting Factions: [/b]
Demon Hordes
Lost Age Superweapons[/hider][hider=The New World]An untamed wilderness, filled with indigenous tribes - similar in nature to the affairs of the Americas prior to colonialism. The landmass is oblong in shape with several large bays and a number of long island chains stretching away from it. The continent is temperate with several different biomes, but the central region is predominantly filled with a mixture of tropical jungles and large, open savahnahs, with mountain chains to the East and North. There are a number of developed, modernized cities scattered around the coastlines as colonial extensions of the Diadochi city states. The majority of the populace reside in archaic metropolis scattered across the breadth of the continent, with countless semi-nomadic tribes and villages interspersing them. Small scale raids and warfare amongst these metropolis and people is common, but trade is also frequent despite the lack of cultural unity between each city.

[b]Notable Sites: [/b]
[u]The Ururyon Mountain Chain:[/u] A chain of Mountains on the Northern end of the continent, with a number of prosperous vales between them. The mountain chain contains Ila, an unremarkable mountain with a disproportionate number of legends surrounding it (See the faction sheet for the Golden River Valley for more information).
[U]The Crescent Savannah:[/u] An extremely large, fertile savanna in the center of the continent, home to hundreds of individual tribes and bordered by five independent metropolis.
[u]The Fissure:[/u] A vast cleft in the land left in the wake of the Planar Conflux. This ravine is miles deep, revealing the depths of the Earth. Several ruins and sites from the Lost Age are scattered within...Including the tomb of Andromache.

[b]Populations:[/b]
Indigenous Natives, Primitive Tribals, Archaic Religious Cities (NPCs)
Ururyon Valley Folk (SaintArey)
Diadochi Colonials (NPCs)

[b]Starting Factions:[/b] 
Andromache (Terminal)
Golden River Valley (Saint)[/hider]Note: The Mountain Range is not a continent (being a part of the New World), but is a sufficiently large area of important landscape meriting a detailed description.[hider=Ururyon Mountain Range/Chain]Located to the far north of the New World, a thin, isolated and seemingly desolate strip of mountain range intersped with hidden fertile valleys have, for the most part separated the Mountain folk from the wider world for almost a thousand years. The men and women of the Ururyon Mountains have been long accustomed to the fierce conditions of the windswept and treacherous peaks but choose to settle in the comfort of the verdant lowlands as they can only compete with the elements for so long. The extreme landscape has led to both isolation from the outside world and among the mountain people themselves the terrain splitting the small population into small valley bound communities. Society is generally, simple and idyllic. Small agricultural villages subsist in the valleys caring for the land. However, some groups have grown to know war conducting raids on other valleys for produce, materials and even people.
 
[b]Notable Sites:[/b]
[u]Mount Ila (iLa).[/u] The Uryuron Mountains were once a place of grandeur like the seven great cities. However, that time has long since passed and the ruins of that forgotten kingdom lay scattered amongst the heights of the land. The Mountain folk general pay little attention to the legends save for one. It is generally accepted that beneath the outwardly average looking Mount Ila lays an object of immense power, its nature unknown it has been coveted by many who have been known to fight bloodily over the peak. If it were not for a weary outsider known as Absalom, who possessed considerable power, bringing peace to the Mountain and Valley below. If he had not Ururyon society could well have collapsed. (P.S There is a small stone fort atop Mount Ila built by Abslaom at the end of the last war.)

[b]Population:[/b] Mountain People. Assumed around 25 thousand all split into pocket communities. They are fairly adanced having knowledge of agriculture and metalworking unlike the other tribes of the New World. They are likely descended from the survivors of whatever mysterious, advanced, lost civilization preceded them. 

[b]Starting Factions:[/b] Gold River Valley (and Mount Ila), the largest of the communities numbering around 5000, the vast majority being lowly farmers.[/hider][hider=Varyon]A large, Australia-like continent with relative fertile, temperate boundaries filled with barren desert within the interior. A series of major rivers crisscross this desert, with the Diadochi city-states interspersed along them. There exist small, isolated tribes in the deepest and most desolate areas of the desert, and they are widely considered to be a culture apart from the people of the city states. Off to the East, there is a Subcontinent connected to Varyon by a small land bridge, called Ethica.

[b]Notable Sites:[/b]
[u]Ten Cities[/u]
Dis, Fortress-Temple of Dionysius
Axander
Malossus
Nova Gathos
Sovenes
Cleon's Folly
Amphipolis
Vanares, a sprawling yet poor metropolis on the coast to the far south east.
Diothrien
Hrerpolis
Numerous Ancient Ruins half-buried in the desert.

[b]Populations:[/b]
Men of the City States[/u] (NPCs)
Interior Tribals (NPCs)

[b]Starting Factions:[/b]
Dionysius the Golden, Leader of the Diadochi (Flagg)[/hider][hider=Ethica]A triangular subcontinent roughly a fifth the size of Varyon, Ethica has a lush Northern climate filled with temperate forests, with drier plains and rolling hills to the south. The subcontinent is dominated by the Alexian Monarchate, an Oligarchical superpower governed by a series of wealthy mayors who hold the economic reigns of each region. Though the Monarchate has no true capital, the city of Telflamm is the largest and most prosperous city outside of Varyon, making it the unofficial ecomonic and political center of Ethica. The Monarchate is also reknowned for its powerful navy, the largest in the world.

[b]Notable Sites:[/b]
[u]Telflamm[/u] is a large fortress-city and the largest settlement in Ethica. Its approximately 23,500 inhabitants under the apparent rule of their King Windyn Balindre The Young, though behind the scenes it is in fact the Shadowmasters, a thieves guild, who run the city.
[u]The Shyn Wood[/u] is an ancient forest in the center of the continent, remarkable for a largely intact remnant of the Lost Age in the form of a cultivated temple to the old gods residing therein. Members of the local populace regularly maintain and worship there as part of a Druidic subculture.

[b]Populations:[/b]
Ethicans; mostly farmers, serfs, and merchants.

[b]Starting Factions:[/b]
Alexian Monarchate (NPC)[/hider]