Voltin

Scholars of This Algid Earth! Come Worldbuild with us!

Still here; just waiting on more people to post so I don't feel like I'm dominating anything. >_>

Scholars of This Algid Earth! Come Worldbuild with us!

@BingTheWing

Flip a coin? ¯\_(ツ)_/¯

Scholars of This Algid Earth! Come Worldbuild with us!

The Red Queen

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(Historical Figure)

Having expunged upon possible causes for the Cataclysm, I thought I would move on to a popular tale here within Reln; "The Red Queen".

"The moon, the moon, the chained moon. The red, the red, the red rivulets. Can you hear it? The dragging. The scrapping. She comes, ready for your blood. She's mad; she won't listen to your pleas. She'll cackle, all the while, as the bone atop your brain is crushed all the same. She wants it, you know; your blood. It's her nectar, the one thing to keep her eternally young. So she'll come, arms limp behind her, dragging her chained moon; ready to strike while you're away, away from your mother's embrace; the comforts of the hearth. So children, if you ever see the moon -- the red orbulette so far above in the clouds -- run, run as fast as you can to your mother's arms, for she can be the only one to save you from the Red Queen's embrace..."

-from the Compendium of Relnish Oral Traditions
by Scholar Ibiz Arlock

Childhood tales aside, the Red Queen is an enigma in the history books, yet a mystery which has been partially solved if not only through hearsay and half-true rumors.

First off, I'll address why she is such a shadow on Reln's history. A woman believed to be the lover of the old Emperor Haldisfar, and mirroring many of his characteristics: the madness; her status as a chained one with a chain said to be long enough to have bound the moon; her ardent belief in Mogaes, the God of Death, whose teachings are held within the Fourth Soul; as well as her lust for battle. The last of these, had been her downfall, as she was the last general to wage war on the Abandoned Continent; the Dragon Armament there wiping any and all from living memory as well as written record.

So how do we know of her existence as an actual figure, you may be asking. Tales, for as little truth as can be found in them, were not altered as history texts had, nor were they stricken from memory. And spirits, they are seemingly not affected as they spend the rest of their eternity acting out the last moments of their lives. One such site where a mass of such beings can be found is one of the few distinguishable landmarks left on the Abandoned Continent, the Red Queen's Forest; a place where the spirits reside within the Many-Eyed Oak Trees of the woods. The dead soldiers there still whisper, still play out the slaughter that had taken place amongst the trees.

Wherever the scarce information may come, the Red Queen is always associated with this primal fear, as she is now a terror without face or factual knowledge; just tales of dead men and those we still tell our children at night.

Records of a Trapped Man
by Deles Tro, the Traveler

Scholars of This Algid Earth! Come Worldbuild with us!

Dragons

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(Creatures)

Moving on from my previous discussion of Druids, yet still pertaining to the cause of the current Cataclysm; Dragons. They were beasts long thought to be extinct centuries before man ever had its first lucid thought. From the few skeletal remains that we have found, a few things have been deduced.

One, they appeared to have been hierarchical by nature, but not in the same way humans are. Rather than a societal, divine right that appoints our rulers, dragons appear to have been biologically chosen. The largest of the dragons -- both from sheer mass, as well as the broadness of their chests -- seem to have been given certain "rights" by the smallest of the horde¹. More riches, a larger selection of mates, etc... However, these privileges do not seem to have been hereditary. In fact, from what evidence that has been garnered on the matter, it appears the broad-chested dragons are incapable of having young like themselves. Whether these larger dragons were simply just a mutation, or part of some grander design is still a mystery.

Second, the dragons appear to have been gifted magically. While there was no way to determine this simply from their remains, places where they have been found also contained powerful artifacts. Dragonfire Armaments. These unwieldy devices have proven bizarre to human standards, and many of their exact uses have proven so esoteric as to stump even the most genius of artificer and scholar. How do we know of their power then, exactly? Well, one has been successfully activated, and as much has led to the Abandoned Continent's creation...

Lastly, and perhaps the hardest fact to believe, they still live. Not only are there records of bones being just as old, if not younger, as humanity as a whole, but recently, they've been making appearances; a fact I would not for the life of me believe had I not seen one with my own two eyes. They live, and are highly aggressive. They are not here to parlay (though it begs the question if they can even understand us, let alone us to them). I have seen one thoroughly wipe out a standing army of over a thousand men without batting a lash and barely got away with my own skin. Though, with such power, this supposits the question: what are they doing here?

With this recent "Resurgence of Dragons", there has also been an increasing amount of heretics; those who believe the dragons to be the children of Ignaes himself. They have somehow come upon the belief that these dragons are the true inheritors of the Earth, and that humans and their kin are nothing more than upstart impostors. They call themselves "The Breath", and while a majority of them have proven docile, they are definitely not friendly, or working in the best interests of humanity.

¹Hoard being the term used for a group; much as one would say "school" for fish.

Records of a Trapped Man
by Deles Tro, the Traveler

Scholars of This Algid Earth! Come Worldbuild with us!

evil evil druids.

@Crucible

Now whenever did Deles say they were evil? Most of what's written is what he's heard. Most of what people tell him is what's heard from the Church and people around them. 'ware rumors and propaganda alike.

@Polybius Yeah, I can see the categories getting out of hand. I would say you should put a limit, but a soft cap; like a number of references you should try to keep around?

Scholars of This Algid Earth! Come Worldbuild with us!

@Polybius Tank ya dearly. I figured some conjecture on as to why the Cataclysm is happening would be a good place to start, and I'm sure it will be one of many theories that my own character offers up, no less. xD

Scholars of This Algid Earth! Come Worldbuild with us!

Druids

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(Magic/People)

Seeing as my penance within this Tower is due to the tumultuous cataclysms which are befalling the land, I figured the first topic with which to begin my books with are the matter of druids.

...through their foul, supernatural workings and glib avoidance of our laws, I here-forth grant our zealous executioners way with the vile druids...
Proclamation of Heresy,
The High Wick of Ignaes, Prescur III. Circa XXXX

Even during my isolated upbringing high on the un-scalable peaks of Mount Quos did I hear about the Keepers from the Sky; those said to maintain the balance of the Earth's humors, just as some Calpasian physician might. A people who are strictly secretive of all their matters, they have also been proclaimed as heretics by Ignaes' church for the strange magic and rituals they are said to have conducted.

This proclamation, however, has been long since forgotten by the common people as you may have noticed my past tense; the druids have seemingly disappeared. No longer were children abducted from their homes. No longer were infrequently used roads a source of paranoia nor the doubt that the wolf in front of you truly was a wolf¹. No longer has a new Grove been discovered...

Though, as previously stated, secretive, some information has been gleamed about the druids through the ages. Their organization is loose, yet singular; pockets are said to be scattered throughout the world, yet recorded information from discovered Groves -- such as regional weather and soil fertility -- match, with nary an indescrepency between such information.

The magic they are said to have worked is also believed to be a separate category than those permitted by Ignaes and his church, hence the old Wick's declaration. However, I myself have heard little on this magic's exact nature except that it granted control over form; both of one's self and the land itself.

¹Though therianthropes have been documented throughout the ages -- and recently have rose to prominence -- their skinchanging should not be confused for a druid's thorough transformations; often resulting in some hybrid of creature and man.

Records of a Trapped Man
by Deles Tro, the Traveler

Scholars of This Algid Earth! Come Worldbuild with us!

"Hey, now. Quit your pushing!" yelled the the chained Deles to his guard. He, like a few of the scholars gathered at the docks, were not here of their own volition. His gaze had settled on a poor man who was shaking and muttering something about water. Poor sod, the Traveler thought to himself.

Deles had heard of the Mad King's rounding of great minds some time ago; while flattered that he was one among many to be considered, he wasn't so pleased to be cattled about as he was. Had he wished to stay trapped in a single place, he would have spent the rest of his days with the Ulloy monks, not wandering about as joyously as he had been.

Still, there was one thing that had been ascertained in his travels; the world was dying, so much was obvious even to the most uneducated of peasants. Yet their king was busy collecting great minds like they were pieces of art; not much of worth except to tell their myriad tales. Great leaders should be quelling their peoples' fears, not callously hoarding the current world's information. Or so the man believed.

Deles knew he should have avoided this country; his last visit had played out just as terribly, yet was probably the exact reason as to why he was known. However, this was an unprecedented chance to gather vast swaths of knowledge in a microscopical amount of time, as well as to share what he knew with fellow scholars; even if they weren't his preferred audience.

The Traveler sighed in resignation as he was pushed forward once more. It seemed fate had a cruel sense of humor to the man.

Log Horizon: Western Europe

I'm expressing interest. Expect my CS soon. xP

The Lost Lands of Ialdia: A paired high fantasy RP

Yep, a lack of dedication is the cause of about 95% of RP deaths. *nod-nod*