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[indent][b]An Earthen Lament[/b] is a dark fantasy roleplay in the vein of Dragon Age: Origins and The Witcher. It is a world that will be generated as player and GM involvement dictates, though the style will be dictated through the darkness that permeates throughout the setting. Staples of the setting are pretty cut-and-dry at the moment. Magic is heavily restricted and dictated by the religious wing of the current monarchy otherwise known as the Divine Order. The people of Lerenthia get more superstitious and wild as you go further south toward the frontier and marshlands.

General fantasy races exists such as dwarves and elves, but they serve in similar capacity as in the World of Dragon Age. Anything else will be explained periodically or be generated through discussions and plotting. Player Characters should be characters who are relatively fresh apprentice monster hunters. Writing expectations are flexible, but those accepted should expect to be able to write and format to an intermediate level. I'm not asking for novels, but imaginative and descriptive writing whether it be two paragraphs or seven. Only paramount rules are don't waste my time, don't be an asshole, and be patient.

All character proposals should be posted here before being accepted and migrated to the characters thread.[/indent]
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[indent]The marshes and swamps of southern Lerenthia is a dangerous place.

Several centuries ago, a group of heroes stood before a twisted evil, a dragon that had been corrupted by a growing darkness that had seeping out of the veil. The most popular version of the story claims that an abhorrent cult of sorcerers were responsible for corrupting the dragon's soul and mind and bringing doom upon the Kingdom of Féngarde. When the dragon and an army of tainted freemen came to the great city of Toranrath, it stood no chance against the dragon or its horde. If not for Aethelstan Meriweder and his sword, Dragonsbane, Toranrath and the Kingdoms of the Marshlands would have only been a footnote in the demise of all of Lerenthia, and maybe the world.

The Kings of Anemor, the human nobles of the lands north of the marshlands, have remembered this story for centuries. The Divine Order have used it as a cautionary tale to unchecked magic. The surviving petty lords of the marshlands look to it to define their superstition.

Some say that it is with the tragedy at Toranrath that every spellcaster has been judged not for their own character and magic, but the character of corrupted sorcerers and dark magic. In the years since, the world has changed into a more shrewd and oppressive place. The marshlands never restored the Kingdom of Féngarde proper, choosing to instead be divided into a confederacy of feudal states. Toranrath could never be rebuilt after dark magic cursed a dozen dynasties that tried to hold court in the ancient city until eventually its location became lost. The only remnants of the world before Toranrath are stories and the southern noble dynasty that arose from Aethelstan’s deeds. However, the decentralization in the marshlands has some merit of freedom. As superstitious and blunt as the southron humans may be, they are not as draconian as those in north within the dominion of the church and the dominion of Anemor. Mages and criminals alike have used the marshlands as a haven for a second life, though the former has found it far more difficult than the latter. Escaping the justicars and inquisitors is hard enough, but finding acceptance in a people prone to think you are a blood mage or necromancer us even more difficult. At the end of the day, mages will try despite the challenge.

It is now the 12th year of the current age. It is a hot summer and in the south, you and a handful of others have finally been assigned to a veteran master after being inducted into a society of monster hunters known as The Blackwarden You are accompanied by several other apprentices as you finally face the first trial of being a proper apprentice member of the order. But the dangers of your service are yet to reveal themselves.[/indent]
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[indent]The earliest documented people to craft civilization and culture in Lerenthia were not humans but rather Elvenkind, otherwise known in their native tongue as the Tylwyth Teg.

Ancient Elven history was traditionally oral rather than written, though what can be deciphered even today is that all elves in the greater realm of Escarion were derived from the goddess Lyriandae and the world tree, Bydcoeden, that connects the court of fae to the material plane. It is through Bydcoeden that the elves consorted with their gods eternal and where they built the greatest kingdom of the prehistoric age when humanity were still hunter-gatherers.

Through this kingdom, Môrogoed, the elves created a society of magic and wonder. However, the elves of Môrogoed were blinded by hubris and curiosity. Eventually, they lost Bydcoeden and their divinity with it. Môrogoed fell not long afterwards. A schism occurred between the elven clans and for centuries the elves waged war upon one another as beyond their home in Gwyrddmôr, the large expanse of forest and swamp that persisted in the southernmost areas of the continent. All the while humans had grown from their tribal beginnings into petty lords and kings. As this occurred, new threats rose to power and looked to the fall of Môrogoed as sign of weakness and opportunity.-Among these threats the greatest were the orcs of Baz Nulgakh. This would begin a struggle and subjugation that would last until the remaining elves called out to the human warlords for aid in a final act of desperation. The orcs were driven from Lerenthia and into the depths of the southron mountains to never be heard of again for centuries. 

This is when recorded human history in Lerenthia begins.

The first human kings were tribal warlords whom had strong values of liberty and honor, though they would eventually come to lose faith in the elves they had liberated from the orcs. While it wouldn’t be until much later that they regarded elves as second class citizens within their lands, Lerenthian humans initially admired their elven neighbors--after all, it is they who educated them on the veil, magic, and the spirits beyond the material plane. For humans in Lerenthia, these pagan magicks would be their first exposure to the arcane. With human warlords and sorcerers becoming prominent north of the southron wilds, humans were steadily becoming the new inheritors of the continent. The earliest kingdoms were Féngarde and Anemor, respectively known as ones founded by the most powerful warrior-kings of the marshlands and lowlands. Among them were many others, but none would become as prominent as they. But with prominence comes attention from forces mystical and mundane alike.

The Imperial Sovereignty of Iliandur, a foreign power northeast across the Sea of Echoes, arrived on the shores of Marna several centuries later with a sword in one hand and a holy writ in the other. The highly organized and technologically superior imperials conquered the elves and humans of Lerenthia before the year was over and declared it a colonial province of their empire. It appeared that the humans from Lerenthia's sister continent had been played a better hand at that point of time. And for over one thousand years the imperials ruled Lerenthia. Only deposed when the over-extension of the empire led to a vulnerability that the Lerenthians spotted. 

Lerenthians never accepted Imperial dominion. Not even after nearly two-thousand-years under the foot of the imperial magistrates.

Anemor had been traditionally ruled in its history by a variety of northron dynasties prior to the Imperial Conquest. The ruling dynasty of the great kingdom when the imperials arrived on the shores of Marna was House Caerwyn. The significance of the Caerwyns was wide and strong, with blood ties throughout many houses and a well-regarded leadership. Unfortunately, the imperial army came during a time when the realm was already involved in a long-fought conflict against the southron marshlanders. Divided and with forces exhausted, it was no surprise that the imperial forces of Iliandur won their conquest with little challenge. The Caerwyn bloodline would not survive the occupation. 

It was a story that Lady Theudelinde of House Drache had never forgotten.

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The only child of the Lord of Völkben, Theudelinde lived in a time where the Drachenian Dynasty was on the verge of destruction. It was through Theudelinde's sheer will that fate would be denied and destiny reborn.

The imperial magistrates had stripped the rights of the landed Lerenthian nobles for years, turning strong dynasties like Nlaughih, Irvine, and Drache into little more as petty lords of little significance. However, this had allowed Lerenthian barons and counts to become closer with them peasantry and for some members of these families to garner greater aspirations. Theudelinde, like many other ambitious young heirs, had gathered great clout with nobles, knights, and peasants alike—forging her own legend as a heroine of unparalleled honor and virtue. Many flocked to her banners when she rose her flag in rebellion, though perhaps this was in part due to the vast amount of energy her father put into arranging alliances and sowing descent from the Western Reaches to the Marshlands.

A domino effect occurred like a wildfire when Theudelinde demanded liberty and justice for all Lerenthians. 

A weakened and ineffective imperial leadership led to corrupt actions, which after enough time was decried by the faith. When Lydus Sotericus, the head magistrate of Lerenthia, declared the faith tainted by a rebel insurrection it seemed that everything and everyone had turned on the imperial magistrates. When imperial soldiers burned down the Templum Ingens ad Caelo to purify the heresy from the capital, Inquisitors throughout the realm felt the cries of Helstar ignite in their souls in anger. The Divine Order would then in the coming weeks unite under a Grand Inquisitor who swore to bring the murder of the Grand Clerics to justice. With southron rebel leaders, Theudelinde in the west, and the surviving inquisitors in the east the rebellion converged. Even with Sotericus promising the Magicariums full protection and freedom wasn’t enough to stop the demise of imperialism.

A fact that was canonized when Theudelinde arrived in Amberaube and was crowned Queen.

Though, with this hard fought victory won, things had changed culturally and spiritually. The imperials had brought with them the Divine Faith of the Light, of the myths of paladins, and the belief of divine providence. The humans of Lerenthia were not going to return to warbands with loose, decentralized territory, or at least not those north of the marshlands.[/indent]
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[indent]Magic has always been present in Lerenthia. The first users of magic, the elves, have been practicing the use of arcane and druidic magic since before history was recorded by pen and parchment.

The earliest institutions of magic for humans were unorganized until Gorm the Wise created the Council of Sorcerers in a monolithic tower in a mountain vale near the ancient kingdoms of Féngarde and Gorthal. It was here that the greatest spellcasters came to be, until a falling out several centuries later led to the disbandment of the council, leaving human kings as the only sphere of influence through their court wizards. The council itself would never have a true successor, mostly due to surviving spellcasters believing themselves better suited to rule, influence, or gain wealth over serve as mediators between kings and conflicts within the greater realm. Those altruistic sorcerers whom remained in their shadow soon faded into obscurity.

When the imperial conquest (or renaissance, for those with pro-imperial sentiment) arrived in Lerenthia, they brought with them the structure of their church and the magical traditions of their homeland known as magicariums.

Magicariums were convenants of arcane study that had a depth of organization and philosophy, not dissimilar to the Council of Sorcerers in antiquity. With magical doctrines and centuries of imperial texts to go back upon, arcane study would find a resurgence despite the dubious nature of imperial law among the Lerenthian natives. While imperial magistrates observed the native-born nobles and their denizens, they did allow a certain freedom of study as long as it was a careful one. However, when tragedy struck in Toranrath this liberal acceptance changed and the Divine Order stepped in to oversee all magical study and with them a new writ was written by a cleric who came to be known as Zephrine that became accepted. 

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Zephrine, one of the heroes who stood against the corrupted forces that destroyed Toranrath, was a beloved figure and by the end of her life became known as the most influential member of the faith in Lerenthia. However, she was also controversial among the liberal members of the magicariums and southron independent convents. This is, of course, due to the fact that Zephrine's writs were believed to suppress magical freedoms. Whether her intention was to suppress mages after what she witnessed in the south is uncertain, though the fears of her critics became reality several centuries later.

The modern day Magicarium is seen as a dual-edged blade. It educates mages in arcane sorcery, but it also serves as almost a prison at the same time with the inquisitor's axe ready to swing at the slightest imprudence. Magic is now extremely litigated and schools of magic such as necromancy and conjuration have been banned following several incidents. Some see this as a “dark age”, but imperial rule has continued to be prominent in kingdoms such as Anemor in spite of the liberation two centuries ago--and that's just in the north. But how did Zephrine enforce her writs? How did the Drachenian Dynasty? Through faith, of course.

The Divine Order of the Light in Service of All Men against Darkness and Horror, often surmised as “The Divine Order” is the official religious body of humanity in both Lerenthia and Iliandur. It is also the magical arm of the faith through a knighthood of highly trained clerical knights. The Inquisition. A noble order trained in the divine and arcane, inquisitors are powerful spellcasters and heavily trained knights. They accept peasants, tradesmen, knights, and nobles into their order—as long as they pass the trials of becoming inquisitors proper. Though, in recent years it can be argued that the inquisitors have lost their path due to writs that have asked the inquisitors to rather than hunting evil to spend resources watching over mages who might become corrupt.

The role of Inquisitors becoming glorified mage-babysitters started following the incident centuries ago in Toranrath. An act of magic so terrible that it asked inquisitors to not only act as judicators throughout the realm but also contain magical threats no matter the cost of personal self. It is through this elevation that inquisitors are not only paladins of the highest skill, but also responsible for keeping the peace of magical responsibility out of fear that mages might tear open the veil once again and bring corruption to the material plane. It is due to this responsibility that they watch over the mages that study in magicariums in Anemor and hunt down ones who revolt from the faith’s strict laws. It is due to that reason that the skillsets of inquisitors have changed much in the last two dozen or so centuries. But before they watch over mages or seek out injustice, Inquisitors must like all clerical priests and knights alike must pass the Rites of Communion.

The Rites of Communion is a set of trials of faith and belief that occur upon deep seated meditation in a Cathedral of the Dawn's blessed hall, as they meet with the celestial spirits of the light after taking into a potion to incur transportation of their spiritual self into that of the Hall of Embers in the Celestial Plane. Tests of physical, spiritual, and mental skill are endured in this state--those who fail to pass never remember their trials and are often cast away. An Inquisitor is the soul of the righteous and holds fury against darkness; only a pure soul may find acceptance from the celestial patrons who grant them their powers.

Only after inquisitors have passed the trials can they begin arcane training through transcribed elven tomes. The rest is just experience and service to virtue through effort and prayer.

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[indent]The Blackwarden is a dignified order of monster hunters, witch hunters, and unorthodox adventurers.

For some, the wardens have always existed. They are spoken of as mythic heroes, ruthless warriors, and at times, unspeakable boogeymen depending where you are in Lerenthia. Some treat them with respect and others with scorn due to the warden's methods of acting beyond king or country. Their strict adherence and extreme training conditions has made them some of the most capable combatants and investigators in the world, though with that comes a price. They are the south's equivelant to the Inquisition, though they are very [i]very[/i] different.

The Blackwarden were supposedly established during the ancient era where elves were the dominant cultural force in all of Lerenthia. The ancient elves referred to them as “The Gwylwyr”, a denomination that meant watchers. Though, the order has evolved much since a few wayward highlanders banded together to protect the world from evil at the cost of personal self and personal liberty.

Wardens are beholden to The Path, a loosely defined set of values of duty that are paramount to service. A transcript of said values is written below.

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I. Man does not rule over nature, nature rules over man.
II. Life is precious, in all of it’s forms.
III. Journey with ideas of compassion, but not reckless empathy.
IV. No one should suffer, ease the pain of those who do.
V. Evilness lingers in all men, be wary of its dangers.
VI. The responsibility to protect others falls upon us all.
VII. Do not give in to false idols, be perceptive, not blind.
VIII. Trust in your actions, do not abandon hope.
IX. Do not fall into ruin, know oneself and be true.
X. Remember who we are. Travel the path.[/hider][/color]
In essence, every single warden of the order interprets this in some shape or form.

As the order is mostly decentralized, the code of conduct wardens live by is often followed to the best of a warden's ability. The various interpretations are called warding philosophies, which can be explained as a warden's credence and definitions of their tenants. Some wardens are consequentialists while others are deontologists, serving the main two branches of the aforementioned philosophies. Neither are inherently wrong, a fact that wardens recognize, though the two camps still debate over the proper interpretation of their code to this day.

These interpretations exist to arbitrate decisions not regarding the monsters or slavers they often come across, but rather of more human concerns. The steady amount of refugees from the north are often disguised and disenfranchised mages who seek the liberty of the south without fearing for the retribution of the more northern, imperialistic church. Prior to mages fleeing the north, during the era of Toranrath, wardens had no such problem so relatively speaking it is a very modern issue. Does a warden, who is committed to fighting witches and other dark magic, blame magic as a whole or do they judge the intent over the action? Ultimately, it is a question that no warden has an objective and absolute answer for.

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Philosophical quandaries aside, wardens are sworn to protect people and fight against the dark forces that corrupt the world.

Aberrations, abominations, demons, and witches are as common of a warden's adversary as a bandit, slaver, or corrupt lord is. This can be challenging considering the fact that mages are a very rare fixture in the wardens. As a result to the world getting more and more twisted by the arcane and infernal wardens have found a solution over the last several centuries in alchemical experiments. While these reagents put into potions are supernatural at times, they are not things alien to this world; and as such they are not explicitly frowned upon by wardens who are innately superstitious or prejudicial. Wardens bear a high price, but to protect others, most seem to justify it.

The Blackwardens have no political connections, though some might say some noble houses often seek the attention of their support. While the trials of becoming a warden are undoubtedly rough and harrowing, there are two ways potential recruits are found.

The first method is the simplest, most traditional method in that they seek out orphaned children who fit the profile of survivors. Giving them a chance with the wardens allows them a chance for purpose and family, though not every child apprentice makes it to a fully-fledged member of the order. Many apprentices of this kind do not survive the trials to become a fully-fledged warden. It is a sad fate, but a common one.

The second method is the most well-known where recruitment liaisons scour the settlements of the marshlands, looking for people who have had their trial-by-fire and have earned the warden’s attention. People who are already skilled in a few talents that could be combed into a proper blackwarden. Dejected mercenaries, redeemed outlaws, shrewd rangers, and brilliant alchemists have all found family within the wardens, though getting their personal beliefs to change from the individual to the collective is the most challenging part of recruiting through this method.

Beyond these methods, there are other ways to join the order. Some adventurers seek out the wardens themselves. Others are liberated slaves. The wardens do not discriminate based on sex, race, or lifestyle as long as they are willing to put in the work to apprentice under a veteran warden, train at a warden stronghold, and make the effort to become a warden. When a blackwarden takes on an apprentice, they either train them from the ground up or expand on the skills they have already gathered over time. 

Wardens are expected to be skilled combatants with at least one martial weapon and adept with two others. The average warden's kit includes a sword, shortbow, and a light mace. All wardens are generally from the south and know how to track monsters and beasts alike. Perhaps not on the level of a true ranger, but enough to get by. Not necessarily in making them. Wardens are trained in the use of bombs, potions, elixirs, and poultices. Warden's are aware that certain enemies are weak to things such as silver, cold iron, wyvern blood, salt, chalk inscriptions, spider acid, and fire. Finally, wardens are also required to understand not only their code of conduct, but how certain resistances work and how to solve supernatural events such as hauntings through non-magical means if at all possible.

If one is in the south, the chance of meeting a Blackwarden is expected at some point.

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[b]Over 10,000 Years Ago[/b]

The Elven Kingdom of Môrogoed is lost.​

[b]5,000 Years Ago[/b]

The Council of Sorcerers is disbanded. The monolithic tower that housed them falls into decay.​

[b]2,100 Years Ago[/b]

The Imperial Sovereignty of Iliandur arrives in Lerenthia and conquers it. The Emperor selects magistrates to govern its new territory and bring enlightenment to the faithless nobles who oppose their dominion.​

[b]2,000 Years Ago[/b]

Toranrath is destroyed by the corrupted body of Sandalphon, an elder dragon. Several weeks later he is destroyed by Aethelstan Meriweder.​

[b]1,932 Years Ago[/b]

Grand Cleric Zephrine dies in her sleep, days after Aethelstan does the same. This coincidence sparks superstitious gossip.​

[b]200 Years Ago[/b]

After losing direct support from the mainland and suppressing various minor rebellions, imperial magistrates witness a weakness as the native nobility unite around the Drachenian Dynasty. After a long and arduous rebellion the magistrates are either driven out or put to the sword and Lerenthia falls back into native rule. The Kingdom of Anemor becomes independent under the Drachenian Dynasty and the southern lords return to their ways.​

[b]165 Years Ago[/b]

Queen Theudelinde Drachen of Anemor dies after weeks of battling a summer sickness. Her eldest son, Anskar, is crowned her successor thus establishing the new royal lineage of Anemor.​

[b]Current Year[/b]

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[b]1st of Dawn[/b]

- Grand Enchanter Feroardus creates a cult comprised of free mages, whom he uses the souls of to power his magic.​
- A group of inquisitors led by Ser Ebregisel are joined by a band of blackwardens to defeat Grand Enchanter Feroardus. Only Ebregisel and a lone warden survive.​
- The Council of Clerics announce the passing of the Age of Reconstruction. They name the new age Dawn due to the holy victory against Grand Enchanter Feroardus.​

[b]8th of Dawn[/b]

- Prince Lorec is crowned King of Anemor when his father, King Anskar III, dies in his sleep.​
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[indent]If you have gotten this far, I commend you.

An Earthen Lament has a lot of information and it is constantly being added to. By this point you are expected to understand the general history of Lerenthia, the relation of magic in the setting, your character’s role, and about the Blackwarden—a major faction that play a major role in the story of the roleplay. As such this is the time for questions. If you do need help making a character, please let me know.

A character sheet will be provided shortly, but keep in mind I am looking for commitment. This is a small group thing. I'm looking for two-to-four additional people at this time.[/indent]
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