[h1][center][b]Heroes of Thalnaris[/b][/center][/h1] [center][img]https://i.imgur.com/f7iahXX.jpg[/img][/center] [h2][center][u][b]Introduction[/b][/u][/center][/h2] Welcome to Thalnaris, a fantasy land full of wonder, danger, darkness, and moderate amounts of silliness. In this land, all beings have seemingly limitless potential, and can train themselves or be trained by others to wield enough power to withstand dragon fire, to lift objects by the ton, to run over a hundred miles an hour, to cast and shape magic to their heart's desire. People like this have gathered to create a faction to do work for others all across the land. Protecting civilians from Orc Tribes, destroying a farmer's rival, finding someone's lost prized chicken. This faction is the Guild of Heroes, and you are a fresh, new graduate. Will you be a protector of the realm? Or will you be the next scourge to bring it to its knees under your rule? Welcome to Thalnaris, your story begins. [hr] [center][img]https://i.imgur.com/fKLG160.jpg[/img][/center] [u][h2][center][b]Setting[/b][/center][/h2][/u] Thalnaris is a high fantasy world with many magical items, mystical creatures, and limitless potential. Anyone can become extremely powerful, wielding heavy armor, big weapons, bows, and spells all at once. Most people are content to lead more simple lives, so the vast majority of people are the 'power' level of normal humans going about their everyday tasks. But for those who seek adventure and power, it can always be obtained. The technology level is set in the medieval ages. There is no gunpowder or technologically powered electricity. There are a few conveniences that are present through magic. Such as functional internal plumbing with standard teleportation runes to send waste far away into some distant ocean. Some buildings are even outfitted with magical lights that illuminate the entire room and turn off and on with a single command! Though this is usually reserved for governmental buildings or the shops of highly successful merchants. Thalnaris is a land of both happiness and lots of sunshine, along with the darkest, most vile depths of evil, decayed, dangerous areas. Mystical creatures, both benevolent and monstrous roam the land. Bandits try and make easy money from travelers. Orc bands slaughter and raid simply for sport. Despite the danger at every turn with monstrous giant wasps, bandits, and other foul creatures, the economy of Thalnaris is always relatively stable. Most citizens are happy, almost as if living in a state of blissful ignorance of the dangerous world they live in. The citizens of Thalnaris live in various cities across the land, usually spread out rather far from each other. There is no central government, each city making their own rules. They mostly depend on themselves to be self-sustaining, but the cities do keep in frequent contact with each other to make sure each one has what it needs. Trading between cities is extremely common, and some even focus on developing mostly a single resource. There is even a town named Cheddar Village, which focuses on spreading cheese all throughout Thalnaris. The arguably most unique piece of Thalnaris however, is the world famous Guild of Heroes. An enclave of extraordinary men and women of all kinds. Good, evil, skinny, fat, warriors and mages. All are found at the Guild of Heroes. These are likely the people that keep the economy afloat, though none of the villages will admit it. As they keep the bandit populations somewhat in check, along with making sure a giant queen scorpion doesn't come too close to a village to wreak havoc. The good heroes are praised, and called to be saviors of the land. While evil heroes become the scourge of the world, striking fear wherever their name appears. This, in the Guild of Heroes, is where our story begins. [u][h2][center][b]Origin of the Guild[/b][/center][/h2][/u] The Guild of Heroes was created about 600 years ago. This was a time when powers were going crazy throughout the land for both good and evil. There were constant fights between individuals, all wanting more power. Some wanting power to protect others, and some just wanting to serve their own greed. Eventually, something drastic united them all. Kathnul, the God of Chaos, invaded Thalnaris with the intention of destroying absolutely everything. Kathnul plunged all of Thalnaris and its neighboring Kingdom, Rhaelith, into war. Suddenly, everyone, both good and evil, had reason to fight. For their own survival, for the survival of others, for whatever other selfish reasons, Kathnul was an opponent for every being on Thalnaris. The most powerful people in the land banded together as one faction, one that cared not for alignment or personal tastes. It was the resistance against Kathnul. Through fighting for nearly a decade against Kathnul and his forces, they eventually managed to push him back and seal him away, preventing him from ever accessing the world again. All of the land called these people, no matter how evil some of them were, the proper title of Heroes. They saved everyone. Despite differences in opinion, the faction stayed together under a new name. The Guild of Heroes. They have adapted themselves to have a very loose moral code, while still following law enforcement to keep themselves out of trouble. The threat of Chaos is not gone though. While Kathnul himself is unable to invade, he is able to occasionally amass enough power to summon creatures to fight and destroy for him. He has avatars and devotees that forever search for ways to break the seal and allow their lord to invade once more. All Heroes, regardless of alignment, know that Kathnul is an enemy to everyone in the land, and it is their eternal duty to stop him. And even if some may scoff at the notion of 'duty', they still have reason to look out for themselves and stop him anyway. After all, what can you selfishly hoard if everything is destroyed? [u][h2][center][b]Pantheon[/b][/center][/h2][/u] Goddess of Creation - Mavis Mavis is known by Thalnaris citizens as a kind, gentle, motherly woman who cares for all things and loves to breath life into the world. She intends for all things to turn out wonderful, but sometimes her vision gets twisted by chaos and evil. The truth however, may be a little bit embarrassing to her followers should they ever discover it. In truth, Mavis is a very young Goddess. Child age actually. And is very immature at that. She is, and acts like, a spoiled child. Her overactive imagination and power allows her to create living beings of all kinds, ranging from a cute, harmless bunny, to an immensely powerful and destructive five-headed dragon. If you ever come across a 100-foot-tall chicken that breathes out sleeping spray, it can only be an example of Mavis having a bit too much fun. God of Death - Baronest Baronest is thought to be an evil being that hates Mavis' creations, and therefore makes it so all will wither and die. Truthfully, Baronest is like an older brother to Mavis, and put the laws of death in place to allow her to keep creating. The rate she was going, she would have filled up the entire world with just way too much of everything. A two-hundred mile long land whale would be made nearly every day, or some other monstrosity. Baronest put the rules of growing up and death to put some standards on how life needed to work, and also how long it would last to create room for new life to be made in its place. Mavis thinks that he is being a big meanie, without realizing how much he's helped her. God of Order - Heiron Heiron is a god that likes things to be neat and orderly, for there to be rules to follow, structure. He furthered Baronest's standards of death, making it so things could die from more common factors that mostly all of them shared, such as the need for consumption. Heiron also came up with the idea of sentient beings to develop and rule over the land, which most of the other gods got behind readily. God of Benevolence - Kallen Kallen is a good-natured god who welcomed the opportunity to influence sentient races, to put good intentions within every being. He is very fond of smaller, playful animals and children. Whatever brings a being happiness without bringing pain to others gives Kallen great joy to witness. Goddess of Malice - Lizzabet Lizzabet is nearly the opposite of Kallen, enjoying there to be strife and misery. She wants all beings to be in pain and suffering, or for personal joy to come from stomping on others. Sentient beings were excellent for this, and she put in the influence of what she loved most. Greed, spite, the ability to manipulate. Surprisingly, she dislikes physical violence, finding it to be crude and barbaric. To her, lies and deceit are much more effective tools, and much more entertaining. The only violence she can appreciate is a well-executed assassination or political framing resulting in someone being put to death. But outright fights are for barbaric fools in her eyes. Lizzabet is often blamed for the creation of evil beings such as vampires and werewolves. Surely they must have originally been good creations by Mavis, influenced by the corruption of Malice. Only some of the time this is correct. God of Chaos - Kathnul Kathnul is a bully and the enemy of all gods, even that of Malice. They used to be close with each other but over time she found him too barbaric and lacking in any tact. All he wants to do is destroy. Kathnul wants everything to burn and be reduced to ashes, and does so with only one resource. Pure brute force. He doesn't care for alignment or acts of anyone or anything. He just wants to spread his own fun of turning everything into a giant heap of rubble. Kathnul is the enemy of all gods, and all sentient races of the world. [hr] [h2][u][b][center]Map[/center][/b][/u][/h2] [center][img]https://i.imgur.com/aJQ5W29.png[/img][/center] [i]These are not the only cities or special areas in Thalnaris. The following is but a few select landmarks to give an idea of the world.[/i] 1. Land of Thalnaris : This is the land of Thalnaris, where the characters of the roleplay live. The Land of Thalranis has a rather odd government set up. All the cities are unified, but separate. There is no overall central government, each city can set up its own laws. 90% of all taxes though go into a central pool that all cities share. The other 10% goes directly to the Lord or Mayor. In order to take from the pool, a city must have permission from the majority of all the others. This is done with frequent round table meetings hosted through magical items, where the lords discuss with each other and convey concerns and needs. 2. Kingdom of Rhaelith : The Kingdom of Rhaelith is known by the Thalnaris people as the Kingdom of Madness. This is due to rumors that the King is insane. The Kingdom of Rhaelith continually seeks war with the Land of Thalnaris, often sending ships across the sea to attack. So far Thalranis has done very little in the way of retaliation, but this is mostly due to the various Lords not wanting to gather the resources, rather than simply benevolent intentions. 3. Island of Nothing : A very large, expansive landmass that is eerily devoid of life. It seems to be one huge [url=https://drscdn.500px.org/photo/21010195/m=1170_k=1_a=1/f55055a2f49560a3de0e5aacebcf979a]dry desert[/url], the sand having collected into a cracked, rock-like floor. The entire thing seems to be completely flat, no elevation or plants to be seen for miles. Many expeditions have been made to this place to try and discover if anything is there. Most have come back with nothing to report except a feeling of emptiness and something wrong. A select few have never returned. 4. Lunar Island : This is an island that due to magic, clever sculpting, or possibly just sheer coincidence, is swallowed up by the tide to make it the exact shape of the visible moon. When the moon is full, the island is fully uncovered by the sea. When only half is seen, half the island is submerged. No one lives on the island, but trips to it are made frequently for the purpose of harvesting the various unique fauna, fish, and insects that live there. 5. Land of the Dead : Easily the most dangerous landmass known due to its inhabitants. The mountain range houses uncountable amounts of undead, who are easily able to find protection from the sun from the various canyons and caves. Alongside them are multitudes of barbarian tribes, seemingly made up of madmen. Cannibalism, self-mutilation, and tribe wars for no reason other than sheer sport, are all more than common, among other atrocities. This land is commonly used for disposing of violent criminals of Thalnaris. For people who commit enough crimes to be charged for execution, it is carried out by way of shipping them off in droves to the sea close to the mountain range. From there, the criminals are left to their own devices. Most simply become food for some lowly undead, but others become fierce rulers of their own barbarian tribes. There is one large city on the Land of the Dead. The city of Watchtower. Its purpose to watch for any mass of barbarians or undead who somehow manage to make it out of the mountain ranges and their direction. If their numbers are big enough, a ship is sent out towards Thalnaris to warn of a possible invasion. 6. Ruins of Calmor : Calmor was once the largest city in Thalnaris. Currently it is an abandoned, broken ruin, having been laid to waste during the war against chaos. Now it is overgrown and filled with more animals than people, but visits are relatively common for various reasons including historical research and treasure hunting. 7. Mt. McSplodey : A stupidly but accurately named supervolcano in the middle of Thalnaris. It is rumored to have once had a better name, but the citizens decided on a more idiotic title. This mountain is checked weekly (at least) by the Hero's Guild for any signs of an upcoming eruption, so they can try to find some way to stop it. If it does erupt, it has the potential to wipe out nearly all of Thalnaris. The Hero's Guild is purposefully set up near to it so that the most powerful people in the land are able to at least attempt to lower the damage caused should an eruption occur. That, and the location is convenient for travel. 8. Nymphwood : A forest that is inhabited almost entirely by Fae. Many sprites, dryads, and other mystical beings call this place home. How dangerous this place is varies a lot and is unpredictable, as Fae can be very fickle creatures, and not all of them are benevolent. 9. Dragonpeak Mountains : A very large Mountain range that once was home to many dragons. They are assumed to be much fewer in number now, though these mountains are still dangerous due to the multitude of other large, dangerous beasts that call them home. 10. Valor's Rest : The unofficial capital city of Thalnaris. Easily the biggest city with the most shops, jobs, factories, citizens. Hero's are often called here for various jobs. 11. Misty Canyons : A mysterious range of multiple Canyons. An odd, almost unnatural fog permeates the area, but overall the land isn't much more dangerous than most of undeveloped Thalnaris. 12. Cedarville : A large village that serves as a central trading and distribution hub for the many surrounding local farms. Due to the farms counting as part of the village, Cedarville by technicality spans for many square miles in every direction. 13. Barony of the Brave : This large city is mostly used for the training of soldiers in Thalnaris. Many come here to learn to fight for various reasons. Either to become actual enlisted soldiers, or to have the skills necessary to be effective guardsmen in their own hometowns. All manner of different criminal justice is taught here as well, including investigation tactics. 14. Cult Towers : A large plot of land is declared unable to be built on for any purpose other than religious gathering, and even then, builders are encouraged to take up little space. Various towers dedicated to many different gods can be found here. Generally for gods whose existence remains unconfirmed, or for gatherings of worshipers of the evil deities. The area is one of pure religious freedom, however, if a group commits any crimes within the area or is caught conspiring to commit a crime anywhere, their tower is marked to legally be destroyed at any time. 15. Darkwood : This forest has been twisted by corruption and chaos. It remains as one of the more dangerous places in Thalnaris, with many foul beasts lurking within. The forest itself seems to be alive, shifting with intention to make travelers lose their way. A pathway has been cleared out through the middle by heroes, but even that pathway can be dangerous. 16. Guild of Heroes : This large, brilliant castle is home to all of the registered Heroes of Thalnaris. The entire guild is run with large amounts of magic. Including infinite rooms that can be reached from a Hero's Badge that serve as small homes. A library that can pull up nearly any book ever written. A banquet hall that can form an overabundance of food on command. Near the exit of the guild is a map that lists all the requests for the guild. Many conveniences like this are within the guild, making it nearly the perfect home for any registered Hero. On top of all that, it serves as an academy for those who wish to become Heroes. Many come, and they are trained, pushed to their limits, and formed into adventurers ready to take on the world and make their mark in history.