In the autumn of year 1140, the end came to the people of Reath. A peaceful day, it had been, and so multitudes of citizens in the great cities had witnessed, with awe and horror, as a godly form descended from the heavens. The sun was hidden by a great shadow that grew until it encompassed the entire sky. As the Great God materialized, the very sight of his pure form incinerated the young, the elderly, and the weak in close proximity. The first city to fall was Thrushall, the capital of King Elrin's domain. Mitchin's huge form wielded a mighty hammer, its head so large it must've been forged from a boulder of pure adamantite. He summoned great storms that passed over the city, which continue to this day to wreak paths of destruction, fueled by the Great God's vast power. The city fell before the sun set, and this day is known as the First Decent.

One by one throughout the following winter, each of the five other members of the Divine Pantheon followed their All-Father to their once-beautiful creation. After that, deities from other pantheons were drawn into the conflict. The extended Second Descent was what brought about the true end-times. The earth turned black and infertile, and the sun's ;light dimmed further. Disease, famine, and chaos spread across the continent as land that once supported life grew decrepit and caustic. The remaining mortals receded to the few places still untouched by the Creeping Death. However, that did not guarantee that these places were safe. Living shadows and twisted monsters were released unto Reath from the outer planes. They roam freely, devouring any living creature they come across. The shadows plague what were once settlements and villages, claiming those who seek refuge in these relics of a world now passed. Great storms rage constantly and relentlessly in every terrain. But the greatest terrors of this descent are the Gods that now walk Reath. They take many forms and have no purpose but to end all life of Reath. These entities came to be called Anti-Gods.

As mortals abandoned the worship of the Divine Pantheon and other defectors they had no choice but to turn to those still lingering in the godly planes. In turn, there was a power flux among the Gods. Deities are powered by the faith and worship of their disciples. The Anti-Gods were once fueled by this as well, but in their rejection of mortals they now gain influence from the fear they spread. Many Gods that were once obscure became prominent, and the amount of notable deities increased dramatically, giving mortals access to divine magics once more. The mortals pleaded with their new saviors, and with their continued devotion gave enough power to these deities to summon Avatars to help them against the Anti-Gods. This development was the Final Descent, in which the mortals gained a fighting chance.

King Elrin ruled the human lands of heartland Reath. People of his kingdom cultivated fields and raised livestock, and provided much of the population of the world. The kingdom was incredibly diverse in cultures, nationalities/ethnicities, and specialties thanks its size. It was simply called “King Elrin’s Domain” as a whole because there were many nations within it. These nations were all held to the same laws, taxes, and policies, with sovereignty given to the capital city-state, Thrushall.

In the central forests, the sheer range of which included the tropical rain forests of Catanna and the taiga hills of Jinnrelion, Emperor Tanmion Hyryndill ruled from afar. The elves lived mostly in clans and tribes, some clans even leading nomadic lifestyles. However, there were elven cities and settlements, all seamlessly ingrained with the world around them. Theses cities were more independent than a nation would be, and less structured. There are several different types of elves, although they lived mostly in integrated communities. The only elves that lived separately were the Frost Elves.

The dwarves of Reath lived in different city-states and territories in large underground caverns and chasms. There are several kinds of dwarves, and they most often lived in settlements with their own kind. They lived separately from each other with their own unique governments and societies, but the common ancestry of all dwarves was celebrated by the stout race universally.

In the year 1138, the Orcs invaded and captured territory on the Yussand Coast. No one had seen the uprising of the bestial race in the deserts below, no one had thought the animals capable of such thought as to make organized warfare. A large swath of land was lost from King Elrin's domain in the east. This area was inhabited by Orc troops and their war parties. There were three small settlements that had been attacked, but because that part of the King's territory was uninhabitable desert, the amount of life lost was minimal.

Reath itself was torn asunder in the aftershocks of the Great Descent.

After the First Descent, large storms razed the continent from coast to coast. Miles across with no eye, they all feature driving rain, furious lightning, and violent wind. However, some storms are elemental in nature and feature particularly insidious pillars of fire, or large chunks of hail. They decimate wooden structures and natural floral life. The leave obvious paths in their wake but crisscross the lands in random patterns. The sun itself was dimmed; high-sun is now only as bright as early morning used to be.

The Second Descent was the harshest blow to Reath. The five members of the Divine Pantheon released many horrors from their home plane. The Creeping Death is a sickness of the land that makes the soil turn crumbly and black. Is erodes easily, and areas that have been infected for long have air polluted with an almost soot-like substance. Nothing new grows in the black soil, and that which was once rooted within it gets drained of life. Extended exposure to the Creeping Death leads to illness, and in the worst of times, death, in mortals. Gaping fissures into other planes spit out all manners of creatures. Hulking giants and prowling abominations skulk the land for mortal prey. Living shadows travel in the night, taking over areas once inhabited by mortals. Spirits are no longer contained within the Underplanes, and haunt the night, possessing animals and the weak to cause trouble for the living.

The Final Descent had a much lesser impact on Reath. The Avatars of deities hold some of their power, but not enough to combat the Anti-Gods living on Reath. However, they can help combat the effects of The Great Descent. They can heal the earth of the Creeping Death, and can banish creatures back to their home plane. These Avatars can only be summoned by the most powerful of priests and congregations, and as such have not been as helpful to the mortals as one would expect. Little trust is put in the gods' anymore.

The remaining mortals of Reath gather in the stretch of inhabitable land in the north-east. They are slightly nomadic, for congregated mortals attract attention. The new dangers of this world seem to sense mortals.

(Playable Races are underlined)

Humans

The largest human settlement of Reath was King Elrin's Domain. He ruled justly and held a court system that protected his citizens moderately well. There were many different nations under his control that, although did not hold sovereignty of their land, were given enough freedom to develop individually. Humans are adaptable, hardy creatures that, although lead short lives, make up for it in zeal and ability. They have no natural resistances, but learn skills faster. They were the most numerous race on Reath and still are.

Elves

The elves were nomadic, and so were master hunters, rangers, scouts, and druids. They are highly in tune with magic and nature, and elves were found to have the easiest time adapting to the new world; they had the highest survival rate during the Great Descent. They are not as physically strong or resilient as the other races. There are several different subspecies of elves, all with different innate magical abilities.

• Sun Elves: A race of tall, spindly elves that lined in the mountainous areas of central Reath. They are dark in color and typically the strongest of the elves. Sun Elves have the ability to absorb sunlight to heal themselves.
• Moon Elves: These are the elves that lived in the thickest part of the rain forests and under towering evergreens, where sunlight is less common. These elves, although pale in skin, typically have dark shades of hair while having vibrant eyes somewhere along the red spectrum. They have the ability to see in low-lighted areas and with infrared (heat) vision.
• Ground Elves: The most common species of elf, they are less specific to region as they were so widespread, and account for almost as much of the current population of Reath as humans. The have varied appearances of almost any combination. Ground Elves had the ability to create simple, harmless illusions of light, like faerie fire.
• Frost Elves: Named such for living in the taiga regions of Reath, Frost Elves are incredibly pale and light colored, and their eyes are pastel shades. Frost elves have a resistance to the cold. They have the innate ability to create sparks with their hands (they cannot produce flame; just sparks). It was this gift that allowed them to survive where others could not.

Dwarves

The dwarves of Reath suffered heavy losses during the Descent, and many of their people are trapped underground by the Creeping Death. Some managed to flee to the surface, although their numbers are lessening because they often lead suicidal missions to save their kin. There are three types of Dwarves, and although they used to all live separately, they now congregate and can be found in groups. They are strong and hardy and have a hereditary resistance to magic (which means they also have less success manipulating it). It is very rare to see Dwarven Arcane mage, although this does not mean their clergy is lacking.

• Iron Dwarves: The most common species of dwarf, Iron Dwarves make up a good majority of the population of dwarves on Reath. They have no certain appearance. Iron Dwarves are the strongest of their race and are skilled warriors. The dwarves of Reath lived a life that took pride in their honor, and this ideal sometimes persists to them now.
• Rust Dwarves: The smallest species of dwarves is the Rust dwarves, which rarely exceed four feet. They have brown or red hair and dark eyes and skin. They lived the deepest underground and were known to have large, powerful forges of lava. They have a resistance to heat in addition to magic.
• Diamond Dwarves: With thick black hair and crisp blue eyes, Diamond Dwarves are specific in appearance. They are the least common dwarf and had the smallest population to begin with. Diamond dwarves are master enchanters. They are not as strong as their kin but the make up for this with their determination and attention to detail.

Orcs*

Orcs are almost always mindless bestial people who have a lust for war. They lived in violent societies comprised of clans and tribes, but just before the Great Descent the orcs had gathered under a common banner to wage war on the other races and gain territory of their own. They follow a single, chaotic God, and typically serve him their entire lives. They are not very intelligent and weak against magic, but they make up for that by being physically superior to the rest of the races. There may have once been different types of orcs, but inbreeding and savagery blurred those lines ages ago. Currently, the South is almost completely cut off from the rest of the continent and so they are rare in these times.

(*To be an Orc, you must have a good enough reason to be outside of Orcish society. Please PM me for permission.)

Lycanthropes

Many types of Lycanthropes exist. From tigers to wolves, from ravens to snakes, lycanthropes are rare but not unheard of. They usually travel in packs outside of society, so it is unknown how many of them fared in wake of the Great Descent. Different lycanthropes follow a mixture of human and animistic behaviors, which varies by species and their location. Lycanthropy can be either inherited (Natural Lycan) or transmitted (Turned/Infected) Lycan. Natural lycanthropes can change at will, have a half-from that is a mixture between their two bodies, and can infect others with lycanthropy at will. Those who have been turned into a lycanthrope turn uncontrollably into their animal form during full moons, and can only infect others in their animal form. Some very experienced turned lycanthropes are said to have more control over their forms.

(*To be a natural lycanthrope, you must have a good enough reason to be outside of a clan. Please PM me for permission. I am also going to limit the number of these in general due to popularity mixed with my desire to have a diverse cast.)

Floram*

The Floram are the youngest race on Reath; there are records of their first appearances in some of the oldest Elven texts. A creation of the gathering of Sylsetria's and Arrela's energy, the Floram are a race of plant-based mortals that lived within forests and rarely came out. They would trade and converse with the Elves, but were however wary of humans due to the deforestation their settlements sometimes caused. They never had much of a society and instead lived alongside nymphs and dryads quite simply. Now, the Floram are extremely rare as most have died from the Creeping Death, as it can infect them as fast as it infects the earth. The Floram vary in appearance and basic physiology. Some have soft, thin green skin that tears easily but can absorb sunlight, with hair that can be great puffs of cotton in whites, blacks and grays, or thin silken strands of vibrant colors. Other have skin like rough but flexible bark, with thick waxy leaves sprouting from their scalp. They can communicate with nature and have inclinations to natural magics similar to druids. They are typically very religious and devoted to their creators.

(*Because they are mostly dead, I will only be allowing one Floram character. If you are interested, please be patient because I'm not too inclined with first come/first served.)

Dragons

Mighty creatures that bow to no man, Dragons have stayed largely away from the mortals and Gods during the end times. They are powerful enough to withstand the onslaught of divinity (thanks to a lack of yet trying on the Gods' end), however, the toll it is taking on Reath has affected them. There are many types of dragons, differing in appearance and strength, but they are not seen often by mortals. With the Gods' focus on the lesser mortals, the dragons have receded and are saving their strength.

Godlings

A godling is a mortal champion of a deity, or a mortal with divine blood. A Godling can really only be considered a race when considering those born with immortal blood, and not when a follower turns into a Champion, but there are physiological changes that come along with the title. Godlings have been caught in the middle of this conflict. Those of deities that are now Anti-Gods are mostly dead, as devout followers of deities often unintentionally gave their deity sovereignty over their body by not rejecting their faith during the Descent. For the deities still in the sky, Champions are useful and can be powerful; however, it is difficult to become one, and many do not trust the divines any longer.

(Please note that race names and titles are listed in their Trade Tongue counterparts. Elves do not call Sun Elves "Sun Elves," that is just their human misnomer.)

Mitchin, the Great Destroyer

The most powerful deity in this multiverse, Mitchin was once called The Great Creator, for it was he who ruled the heavens and created Reath and made it possible for life to form. He created his brethren and they became his pantheon. He has many powers, including the ability to create great storms. He wields a giant hammer. His Avatar rightfully strikes fear in even the most powerful priests.

Balorn, the Keeper of the Dead

Balorn is the deity that presides over death, decay, and the afterlife. His servants guard the doors to the Underplanes where spirits go once their host dies. In normal times, a spirit will pass through and into the plane that they earned in life. Now, the Gatekeeper creatures either devour the souls, ending their memory forever, or the souls flee and return, maddened, to Reath. It was he that caused the poisonous Creeping Death and brought such widespread death.

Mandyl, the Bringer of Shadows

Mandyl was once called the Bringer of Light because it was she who created the Sun. She was once revered as the goodliest member of the pantheon, but she is also Mitchin’s wife and follows him without question. The Living Shadows were once demons of her domain, and she released them when she dimmed the Sun.

Derirt, the Demon-Father

Derirt was the god who shaped the face of Reath. He rose towering mountains and carved deep oceans. Derirt was the Father of Life; it was he and Fredna who birthed the first of each race who rose to become the most powerful of their races’ deities. After the Great Descent, Derirt laid with evil gods and monsters to spawn hellish abominations to seek and devour mortals. Derirt's minions account for much of the living forces against mortals. His children range from dire forms of simple monsters like hellhounds and cyclopes', to unnamed abominations bred through his perverted machinations with centaurs, giants, griffins, and anything else under the sun. The most nefarious of his creatures are the cursed from his own plane, dragged painfully through the multiverse to Reath.

Waznear, the Trickster Prince

Waznear had never been partial to mortals and never had a large following. He was the second of the deities to fall during the Second Descent, preceded only by Mandyl. From his plane, many lesser trickster demons and spirits came to Reath. They cause misfortune and misery wherever they go and live to cause chaos and fear.

Fredna, the Traitor Princess

Fredna was the Mother of All Life. She and Derirt are credited with creating the chief Deity of every racial pantheon. Although once worshiped as She Who Brought Life, but has faded thanks to her small role in the Descent. She played the smallest role in the Great Descent, merely coming to Reath and destroying a few settlements herself, before returning to her home plane. She released no calamity on Reath herself, but did nothing to stop the rest of the pantheon.

Relanthon, the Protector

Relanthon is one of the children of Fredna and Derirt. He is the father and creator the elven people. He stands for justice, community, and strength. He has not abandoned his people to the forces beyond their hope. He is constantly spearheading the remaining deities' efforts against Mitchin, and tries to still be an active god for his people. His servants are called easily to his priests' sides.

Sylsetria, the Forest Maiden

The goddess of wilderness, wild animals, geography, and natural forces, Sylsetria is very weak as of now on Reath. The Creeping Death has decimated her earthly domains and now she is hidden away on Relanthon's divine plane. Many still worship her in hopes to give her power once more. Her priests are devout, but their spells are weak.

Verainne, the Flippant Bard

The goddess of bards and music, Verainne, was turned against her pantheon. She was once the patron of bards and minstrels everywhere, but now fights alongside the Anti-Gods. She has come into contact with Relanthon many times, and is always defeated, but still resists.

Rutak, the Metal Melder

Supposedly, Rutak was the God who gave the people of Reath iron, gold, copper, and silver. He is a son of Fredna and Derirt. He was turned by the Divine Pantheon with promises to be able to create much of the geography of the new world.

Juunda, the Forever-Mother

Bound to the dwarven people, Juunda had stayed strong in the face of adversity against the Divine Pantheon. She had blessed the people of Reath with increased fertility to bolster their numbers, but it is hard to raise children on the road. Juunda fights against the Anti-Gods with the other deities.

Kurladt, the Forge Master

Kurladt is the blacksmith of the Heavens. He forged Mitchin's Hammer, as well as many of the other deities’ arms and armor. Easily swayed by promises of gold, Kurladt was one of the first of the other deities to join the Divine Pantheon on Reath.

Therold, the Unbroken

Therold is the chief God of the Human Pantheon and child of Fredna and Derirt. He is called the Unbroken because humans are looked at as the toiling nation; they have no natural affinities and so no natural skills. This God reveres hard work, sacrifice, charity, and loyalty. He was not wavered in his support of the human race.

Hgnarth, the Battle Master

Hgnarth is the God of physical strength, fighting, and swordsmanship. Unfortunately, honor is not one of his principles. Hgnarth, loving war, joined the Divine Pantheon as soon as he was approached. Hgnarth works as a champion of Mitchin, fighting for him in battles against other deities.

Yearneth, the Scholar

The goddess of knowledge and willpower, Yearneth had been one of the most long-lived deities. She is quite protective of the human and elven races because of their intellectual pursuits. She has always protected the mortals against their own ignorance, and now plans to protect them from Mitchin’s.

Arrela, the White Witch

Arrela is the goddess that gifted mortals with the ability to channel their mana. She views mortals in a favorable light and is close to the goddess of knowledge, Yearneth. She appears as an elf but is not a part of the Elven Pantheon.

Ruthek, the Leper

Always a God out of favor with mortals, Ruthek has never been a force for good. Ruthek is one of the Gods that exists to help keep balance in the world. He spreads disease and misfortune. Jealous of the popularity of other deities, he had no qualms joining the Divine Pantheon's rampage.

Elanom, the Lady of the Night

Elanom is the goddess of Reath's three moons. She comes to Reath at night in hopes to help defend it against Mitchin, and is one of the few remaining deities to still actively travel to Reath. She helps all mortals in any situation she comes across, desperate to help them against Mitchin.

Magic on Reath is fueled by mana. Mana is a naturally-occurring substance in all living things, as well as in the earth and air itself. It can physically manifest in underground pools, streams, and frozen crystals. It is powerfully potent in its natural form and requires a skilled hand to handle it. Every person has mana, but it takes training and discipline to be able to channel it. Mana is like its own strength. You can use your arm over and over again, but you get sore and eventually can't move it anymore. The ability to channel mana, or someone's will, starts low but advances with practice. Spells with large effects take more energy and vice versa.

There are several schools of magic on Reath, and within the schools, several aspects. Every spell and technique falls into an aspect and its respective school. Most often, mages choose one school of magic and several aspects from that school, in their magic style. That way, it levels across the board and the mage. To gain power in one school, you must practice it, so choosing too many can be a detriment. (**There has been some confusion on this system. If your character uses arcane magic, their magic styles can only draw from one SCHOOL each, but any of the ASPECTS within that school. If a mage focuses on the "Creation" school and does a lot of "Life" magic, they will have most of their skill in that, but he is also better at "Summoning" and "Light" magic than a novice "Creation" mage, even though they don't practice those two latter aspects as much. If this still doesn't make sense please ask**)

Divine Magic is a different kind of energy than Arcane Magic on Reath. Although they are very similar, they are powered by different forces; Arcane magic comes from within, from mana, and Divine magic is gifted to priests from their patron deity. Their spells, instead of following a school of magic, relate to their deity's tenets, domains, and dogma. Priests are unique in that they do not have to follow the course of a School to gain power. A priest can gain high level spells without having previous spells in that school or aspect. However, it is harder to advance along the path of a priest than a mage.

A "Magic Style," as is listed in your CS, is a small description including any combination of the following; a description where your power comes from, how you learned it, what school it accesses, and what aspects your character starts with. Here's an example: Nature's Wrath: After living in the forest for much of his life, the mage has become in tune with nature. The mage has learned this style from the ranger he followed since adolescence. He can access the Primal school of magic with a focus on the elemental and natural aspects. At the start, the mage can cast simple elemental spells, but as he gains skill can come to summon massive storms. Please see my CS for another example. The point of this is to keep mages from too powerful.

Enchantment in this setting refers to imbuing items with magic powers. The only way to do this is to work with raw mana. Dwarves are good enchanters because they live underground, which is where mana naturally appears, and because they have a resistance to its effects.

This is a multi-plane world. A plane is a meta-physical location; you cannot physically change planes, only project yourself into them. Reath is on the Mortal Plane. Each pantheon has its own plane of existence. The leader of the Pantheon has absolute control over any entity in its plane. Each deity in the pantheon has a "domain;" this has two meanings. The first is their territory on the Divine Plane, the second are the places on the Mortal Plane over which they have influence.

Reath was a fledgling world in the terms of innovation, technology, and invention due to the accessibility of magic. However, thanks mostly to the Dwarven populations and innovative mages, Reath had tasted the beginnings of an industrial era. The start of steam power had been in the works deep underground and in the halls of royalty and the most wealthy, and the contraptions coming from magical academics were both awesome and terrifying.

Steam power was in its infancy before the world was ruined. Simple, practical machines such as those used in mining, agriculture, and medicine were the brunt of what the gifted minds of Reath’s engineers had managed to culminate into works of wonders in the short time between the power’s invention and the Great Descent. There are very few of them, especially on the surface, though they aren’t necessarily unheard of due to their domestic purposes. There was never much talk on steam powered weaponry, at least to the common man.

Magic powered devices and machines were much more common, but were expensive, inaccessible to those outside of the magic community, and require much magical power to use in most cases. The mages of royal courts were known to have magic powered rifles and artillery, though these devices were rarely used in the peaceful times that preceded the Great Descent. Magical devices with lesser power were readily available to mages within groups or guilds, though it was and is rare to find a person who owns one themselves.

Currently, the mortals left on Reath typically follow what was once the High Road. In most cases, the road is flat yet unadorned, making it a less-than-preferable place for Living Shadows to stay. It is not uncommon to come across other settlers when traveling, going in either direction. There are places that are known safe-spots, whether because of geography, religious protection, or powerful yet small mortal settlements. However, on bridges and high-rises, the supports typically harbor dangers. In such spots, there can be mercenary outposts: a powerful group who can offer protection will wait if they please, until someone who could not make it alone needed the assistance. Some do it for free, others take advantage.

You have come to the port city of Urenda. In the past, it had been a small city with a very diverse population and a trade-based economy. The city proper was once infested with Living Shadows, but recently a sect of Relanthon Priests have taken to protecting it. They have driven most of the shadow-walkers out, and have more than a few followers living in the city. There are usually one or two traveling merchants at Urenda at one time, and these settlers have taken to tending some of the outer fields. The priests do well by their charges and work earnestly to help any mortal that comes their way.

For this roleplay I will rarely restrict posting. I only ask you be considerate of others in the roleplay. You do not necessarily need to wait for a certain amount of people to post in between your own, but please refrain from bogging down the IC with multiple dialog posts between two characters (I’m talking like four - just don’t let four posts in a row be from two people unless this is dying but lets not jinx that). If you are in a conversation with another character, please let at least one other person post in between the two involved. Or, you could always make a collaborative post! Those are great. The only time you shouldn't post is if I say something, we are doing something important IC (which I will typically point out), or, again, if you and another character are in dialogue and need to let another post.

Combat is this roleplay falls under three types: PlayerVSPlayer’sMonster (PVM), PlayerVSPlayer (PVP), and PlayerVSGM (PVG).

If you generate a monster and start a fight with it, you can control its actions, the effects you have on it, and the effects it has on you. This includes attacks, lingering effects, and reasonable environment damage.

If you are fighting another player, the combat will be carried out either via either PM or Etherpad with myself and the two+ players in combat; there will be little input from the other players directly to try and keep things fair, unless they want to have their character join the combat. Strength will depend on your abilities, how powered up they are, and what effects they would reasonably have on your opponent (this is so the number of SP doesn’t necessarily determine the winner, seeing as how it will not be uncommon for the characters to all level differently). I will also reward your personal writing skill/ingenuity. If it turns out there are a lot of problems, I'll probably turn to the whole group to decide, but I'm going to do my best to keep everything reasonable and fair. I'm not familiar with the arena, which is why I'm not using it.

If you are fighting a monster spawned or controlled by me, however, things will be much different. You cannot state what effect you have on a monster - I will determine what effect you had on it on everything from damage to even if your hit connected - I WILL NOT TOLERATE WHINING. Please contest me if you truly believe I'm not being fair, but ultimately I am the GM.= (**As long as you're acting reasonably we will have NO issue I promise! Plus, there are others that can tell me if I'm being a bitch in the OOC so yeah**). I'm not going to be extremely hard, I'm not going to be unreasonable, but this setting is made to be physically difficult for your characters. Feel free to post hypothetical reactions to the monster’s reactions in your posts (for example. Mike slashes with his sword. If it hits, he will try to backhand another hit. If the bandit blocks, he will try to force through the block. If the bandit dodges, Mike will overbalance.) but you are by no means required to. During combat with my monsters, posting frequency will go up and posting size will go down, most likely, which is alright. I will also try to engage as many people with one post as I can respond to whenever I post as to be efficient and not bog down the IC with one .