Hi. Here is an overview of the locations of the world and their history, as well as some of the important characters that the player will deal with early in the story. Also, the MC's name has been changed to reflect his new origin story. Prepare for a wall of text.
PLACES:
The mainland: The largest continent in the world. It is home to both “normal” humans and elves. The human kingdoms occupy most of the east and southeast of the continent, while the northeast Is generally home to smaller towns and lordships. This northern towns are constantly threatened by Storm Raider raids coming from the Storm Islands north of the mainland. The elves’ ancestral homeland, Emyethsera, is to the far west of the continent as are most of their largest cities, and their territory spreads to about the middle of the mainland, where one of their largest cities, Ilfethemar, was built centuries ago. Ilfethemar has been a source of constant dispute between the human kingdoms in the east and its elven owners in the west due to its close proximity to the human’s perceived border. As such, the city has constantly changed ownership during the past centuries after the human kingdoms banded together to fight the perceived threat posed by the Elven Imperium. The city was finally taken by a human coalition led by King Uldritch (Ádemar’s uncle) and was given to one of his vassals for safekeeping. Some years later, a young elven general called Aien Vawynn led a massive offensive against several human border settlements, including Ilfethemar. The elves expanded east and regained their ancient city. Vawynn became known as The Wolf after the campaign due to his aggressive strategies and cunning methods. He has held Ilfethemar since then, defending it successfully against several human attacks for the last 20 years, adding to his almost legendary reputation. Recently, Ádemar has begun to retake some of these territories from the elves, moving further west into elven lands but still avoiding Ilfethemar. The Elven Imperium is the ruling body in elven territory. Elven society is comprised of a caste system, where one’s value is based on their ability with magic. The most powerful mages in the Imperium make up the nobility, clergy, government and military leadership, while those with less magical talent are military officers, merchants, or artisans. Elves who display no magical affinity whatsoever tend to join the army as foot soldiers or find some sort of trade or manual labor to support their families. Additionally, a combination of magical deficiency, poor economic status and simple bad luck turns many elves into slaves. Elven slaves, while not treated particularly cruelly are nevertheless despised by the general populace and are often put to work in mines, dangerous construction or if they’re lucky as general helpers around small towns.
Dwarves also live in the mainland, in their massive underground cities. The roads that connect these cities with each other are believed to stretch throughout most of the mainland, underneath human and elven territory alike. However, dwarves keep completely to themselves nowadays after a violent war with elves many years ago. Few people alive today can claim to have ever seen a dwarf, much less one of their cities. The few dwarves one can hope to lay their eyes on these days are exiles who are forced by their people to live out their days in the surface that they loath.
Storm Islands: A grouping of small islands located north of the mainland, they are home to the Northerners, a subspecies of humans who are taller, stronger, and generally better than mainland humans. They are resilient to extreme weathers and illness. Most Northerners are organized into the Storm Raiders, a loose grouping of several “raiding parties”. Each raiding party is independent from each other and led by a warlord. Each party holds land in the Storm Islands and is free to raid along the northern coast of the mainland as they see fit. However, once or twice every year, all the parties come together to the call of the Storm King. The Storm King serves no ruling role other than supplying ships, weapons and equipment for the Great Raids that he organizes each year in exchange for tribute from the participants. In between raids, the King has no say over the day to day matters of life and rarely intervenes in disputes. Influential warlords constantly fight each other for control over more raiding parties and consequentially more territory. Combat for rulership over a new party is a ceremonial battle in which not only the feuding warlords participate, but all their raiding parties as well. This is because not only the individual talents of the warlord are being tested, but their leadership and battle strategy as well. The same is true for anyone aspiring to the Storm Throne. Whoever wishes to be Storm King must defeat the current one and all of his men in order to do so. In recent years, the Storm Raiders have begun conquering and actually occupying territory in the mainland’s northern coast under the leadership of such warlords as Torstein and Helga (Ryder’s mother), as opposed to just pillaging it. This is part of a new initiative by the current Storm King, in an attempt to gain farmable lands and become more self-sufficient as to not rely solely on raids for resources. This in turn has turned the Raiders into a much bigger threat for both humans and elves than they ever were before.
Ishtaray Isles: This is the name given to the large, desert archipelago located east of the mainland. It is home to humans usually called the Ishtarians. They are very similar to the humans from the mainland, except for the fact that their skin tends to be more tan or “golden”. They tend to have light green or hazel eyes. Each island is ruled by a different ruler, but important decisions affecting the entire nation are reviewed and discussed by a council comprised of influential lords, merchants and high-ranking military officers from each island. Every island has their own standing army, but all these armies are kept to the same standard to ensure that no one island can overpower the rest, and that if the islands must fight together, they can do so without much challenge. The islands were only “discovered” by Northerners exploring uncharted seas about forty years ago. The Ishtarians decided to play it cool with all their new neighbors, and immediately established amicable relationships with humans, elves, and northerners alike. The demand for the exotic products that the Isles provided soon became evident, and many Ishtarian merchants have made fortunes selling spices, creatures, plants, foods, and other luxuries native to the islands. Ishtarians practice slavery, but are much more inhuman in their treatment of slaves than the elves. Ishtarian slaves are seen as little more than animals, and aside from the back-breaking work they are made to do, many are forced to participate in the Ishtarian tradition of The Pits. The Pits are a series of fighting arenas located in the largest islands where rich nobles and merchants take their slaves to participate in gladiatorial style fights to the death while their masters bet on the outcomes of the fights. Reva was forced to fight on such conditions until she won her freedom through fighting. Indeed, it is not uncommon for slaves to be granted freedom if they excel in The Pits. Therefore, while some slaves may dread the day they are forced to fight for ther lives, others actually look forward to it, knowing it might be the only chance they have at becoming free men. Lately, Ishtarians have begun trading with both the Storm Islands and the mainland for men and women instead of money, setting up camps and docks to transport these new human, northerner and elven slaves to their lands. Ishtarian slave camps are said to be the stuff of nightmares. Recently, the Ishtaray Isles have been threatened by a horde of mysterious invaders coming from unexplored waters to the far north known only as The Decimation. Comprised entirely of a new race of large, biped reptiles, The Decimation took the northernmost Ishtarian islands by surprise, quickly gaining ground due to their clearly superior physical capabilities, good tatcics and perhaps most importantly for the 3 warships made entirely out of steel that they arrived in. After an initial series of devastating defeats, the entire Ishtarian army was brough together and they managed to stop the invaders at one of the northern islands, with both sides reaching a stalemate. For now, the motivation of The Decimation remain unclear, as the group has refused any attempts at negotiation.
CHARACTERS:
Hakkon: The MC and leader of the mercenary company The Crimson Talons. His mother is Helga, a northerner warlord who conquered a large territory for the Storm Raiders in the north of the mainland. There, she gave birth to twins from either a priest or a fisherman that she raped. Hakkon was raised in Atlay, a town in the northern coast of the mainland that his mother conquered and turned into her new stronghold. His sister Sibbe was always close to him, but his older brother Halfdan (a result of Helga’s marriage with a warlord whom she later killed to take over his raiding parties) would continually clash with the twins over their half-human status and the circumnstances behind their birth. Hakkon always needed to be one step ahead to keep up with his brother and be able to defend both himself and his sister. Helga was uncompromising with all her children, expecting them to learn how to fight, work and farm from early ages. As they grew and matured, the children learnt to put aside their differences and became closer. Eventually, both Hakkon and Sibbe, having no real obligation towards the Storm Raiders, were given the choice by Helga to choose their way in life. Sibbe chose to remain in Atlay while Hakkon chose to try his luck as a mercenary in the mainland, putting his ease towards combat to work, not knowing if he would one day return to his family.
Reva: Born as a slave on the Ishtaray Isles, Reva was first thrown into The Pits at the age of 14. Realizing quickly that the only ways she would leave the ring would be dead or victorious, she took advantage of the paralyzing fear the other kids were suffering and killed them. The next 10 years of her life consisted on being put against the most difficult odds the betters could come up with and coming out victorious against everyone’s predictions. Reva made a name for herself because of her prodigious skills at killing and was set free because of her victories on her 25th birthday. Unsure of what to do, and unfamiliar with any kind of work that didn’t involve killing, she joined a group of warriors intending to set sail for the mainland to find work as mercenaries. Their ship was caught in a storm and the survivors washed up on the eastern coast, where they were immediately attacked by the soldiers of a local lord. On the run, fatigued, hungry and injured, the three survivors of the once twenty-strong group accepted their fate and fought their attackers to the death. One was killed before the sudden appearance of short but massive armored figures wielding large weapons, who cut through the lord’s men with ease while letting out blood curling screams and threats. Some even continued to hack at their fallen foes after death. When it was over, their saviors were revealed to be dwarven berserkers, members of an ancient order of dwarven warriors who use emotions such as anger and fear to trigger a bloodrage that allows them to fight with improved tenacity and ferocity. However, after a while the prolonged use of the bloodrage causes their mind to rot and thus they are exiled from their underground cities to live out the rest of their days in the dreaded surface, until they die fighting or the madness finally takes them, at which point their fellow exiled berserkers are sworn to kill them. Reva and Hector, the other survivor, were allowed to travel with the group and Reva eventually convinced them to teach her they ways of the berserker. After some months, Reva essentially became part of their order. The dwarves explained that a setback of being a human was that she couldn’t enter a bloodrage to the extent a dwarf can, but this also had the benefit of not causing her to lose her mind. Over the following months, the dwarves began dying in skirmishes with bandits or animals. Some were taken by the mind rot and were thus put down by their comrades. Reva herself killed the last remaining dwarf after he too went crazy. After this, her and Hector went on to fulfill their original purpose for coming here and formed their mercenary company. Eventually, fate or luck would make her path cross with Hakkon’s.
Ádemar: The King of the Aerealan Kingdom, the largest human kingdom. He is the nephew of the previous King, Uldritch. When Uldritch died, his son James was expected to take the throne. However, James had a fame for avoiding work and enjoying wine and the company of women wore than his duties to the kingdom. His cousin, Ádemar, decided to push his somewhat strong claim to the throne (being prince of the royal dynasty eligible for kingship) and declared that the late King had told him in his deathbed about his wish to see Ádemar on the throne instead of James. Several earls and nobles sided with him, happy to have an alternative to mess that was King James. However, most still sided with James out of respect for tradition. In order to stand a fighting chance, Ádemar began augmenting his forces with mercenary companies, gaining a bad reputation as an unjust fighter, with some of his original supporters leaving his side. Despite this, both Ádemar’s reinforced army and his brilliant tactics ensured several victories in the war which allowed him some freedom to take arms against those that abandoned him, making sure to set an example. After this, Ádemar continued hiring larger mercenary companies until the size of his army had nearly doubled. Using the resources of his newly conquered land and his already vast riches to finance this pagan army, he was soon able to defeat his cousin’s army in open battle and killed James himself. He consolidated his power and quickly announced his intention to expand. In some months he began a new campaign using his army made up in large part of mercenaries and hired blades against some of the smaller neighboring kingdoms. While his bad rep continued to grow over his unconventional choice of foot soldiers and his use of women as warriors, few could back up their words when faced with the massive army standing at their doorstep. Becoming ridiculously rich after acquiring these new territories for himself, he set his sight higher. He resolved to conquer the entire mainland, swearing to kick out the invading northerners and finally bringing the human’s ancient foes, the elves, to heel. Despite his unpopularity in other nations, most people living under Ádemar’s rule like him. The immense riches his campaigns have brought in allow the people of the Aerealan Kingdom to live much more comfortable lives than before, and most people certainly like being part of the most powerful human kingdom in the world.
Cass: A former elven slave turned mercenary, Cass joins the Talons at the beginning of the game. Gifted with a natural talent for fighting and an unusually high stature for a female elf, she comes from mysterious origins and seeks to climb higher up the mercenary food chain. She is very intelligent and often looks to Hakkon for guidance. Whether he knows it or not, his actions will have a large impact on the kind of person that Cass will come to be.
Torstein: A northerner who along with Helga and others was instrumental in conquering land in the mainland for the Storm Raiders. Despite his victories and great fame, Torstein was sentenced to death for sleeping with the Storm King’s wife, at which point he fled to the mainland and became a mercenary. Torstein’s company is the largest one employed by Ádemar, numbering at almost a hundred. Torstein has become something of an advisor to the King in military matters and is taking full advantage of what he considers the opportunity of a lifetime, having made large amounts of gold working with Ádemar while being able to do what he loves most: killing. Torstein’s company is made up of members of all races, but he only allows other northerners to attain any form of leadership role. His second in command is a fellow northerner called Sigrún, who was a member of Torstein’s raiding party before her exile. She was sentenced to death herself for heresy and paganism but managed to escape and join Torstein on the mainland. She has a reputation for being something of a coward when it comes to fighting by herself, but those who perpetrate such rumors usually end up jumped by a gang of Torstein’s men with Sigrún at the helm, ready to silence these wild claims.
Senior members of the company (Hector, Jonah, Law and Lady): Over time, some members of the Talons have distinguished themselves from the rank and file and gained Hakkon and Reva’s trust. Hector has been by Reva’s side since they left the Ishtaray Isles together, remaining with her when she joined forces with Hakkon. He is a good swordsman and a leader to the other mercs. Jonah is the Talon’s quartermaster, handling both equipment and supplies for the company, as well as training new recruits. He was a member of Reva’s first company and remained when the Talons where formed from Reva’s and Hakkon’s previous company. Law is a mustached, lean man with a sharp eye. He is very good with any kind of aimed projectile weapon, but he excels most with a crossbow. He trains other Talons to use bows and crossbows and is generally a good leader to the men. He was one of the first members of Hakkon’s original company, and thus is a close friend of Hakkon. Lady, which is clearly not her real name, was the leader of the company Hakkon originally joined when he left Atlay. She took Hakkon under her wing and groomed him to succeed her one day. As she got older, she decided to accelerate the process and stepped down to allow Hakkon to lead, remaining by his side as a faithful advisor and friend ever since. She is about 60 years old and is gifted with magic, using her abilities to rain fire on enemies or heal her allies.
Hakkon’s family (Helga, Halfdan and Sibbe): Hakkon’s family continues to live in Atlay. Helga is a renowned Storm Raider who married a warlord as a young woman and then pulled his allies from right under his feet, killing him and acquiring his raiding parties and lands. She raided the northern coast for several years until under orders from the new Storm King she led along with other warlords including Torstein a large-scale attack into the northern coast of the mainland, taking several small towns, the largest of which was Atlay. Her raiding party learnt how to farm the lands and she has turned Atlay into her stronghold, walling the town and using it as a base to stage other attacks on neighboring towns. Here, she gave birth to Hakkon and Sibbe. Sibbe is Hakkon’s twin sister. She is a good fighter but more importantly, she is kind and understanding, which are definitely not traits common in the family. She and Hakkon are very close. Halfdan is the eldest. While he once quarreled with his younger siblings, age has tempered him, and he is close to his brother and sister. He acts as Helga’s right hand around Atlay, knowing well that someday he will be required to rule the land in his mother’s stead.
Gudmund: An overweight man who leads a large mercenary company. While not terrible in a fight, he is nevertheless frequently outmatched by others, hence why he tends to surround himself with strong, dumb and easy to influence men. His company has some bad blood with the Crimson Talons which too often comes bubbling up to the surface when both companies must work together.
The Wolf: Aien Vawynn, better known as The Wolf, is an elven general who made a name for himself after leading a large-scale offensive on human territory close to the elven border, taking many towns and forts including the ancestral elven city of Ilfethemar. He has since held the city from continued attempts by the humans to retake it, and has become something of a legend both for the elves and humans because of his apparent invincibility.
