Information about the world of Essaria
The world of Essaria was not supposed to exist. No God planned it or forged it or created it on purpose.
When other realms and worlds were created, there was always leftover material. Cosmic building blocks, mystical energies, divine leftovers, so to speak.
These all drew together, and once they reached a critical mass, there was a world. No one is sure how large it is, or much of it has been explored or inhabited. Sometimes it seems to have design...other times, it just is. There are places where magic is more powerful and places where it doesn't exist at all.
The world sometimes seems to shift and change...one day, a path will lead one place, another day, it will lead another.
Though, for the most part, the central continent, Avaria, seems to be stable and not as subject to those strange shifts.
No one knows quite how the races got there...only that they did. And there are more races there than most people know what do with. Either the world expands to fit them...or they were meant to be there. Even the Gods are confused by Essaria.
More so than other worlds, the Gods are limited in power there - if they take mortal form, they are, indeed, mortal.
If they die on Essaria, they die everywhere.
The problem is that most of the races that came to Essaria first were evil, and the world has re-made itself in their image. Most forests are twisted, dark places. There are very rarely beautiful woodland glades or anything of the such - where there are such things, they were crafted by the hand of mortals or gods to be such.
Essaria is a place where evil rules. The evil races rule the world. Goblin hordes, Orc bands, evil Dragonlords, dark mages, and corrupt kings are everywhere.
Good people exist, but they don't admit they're good in public.
There are temples to the good Gods - behind serious protections, private armies, and under the direct protection of their deity. There is not such thing as a good priest who doesn't get persecuted - there are more martyrs and saints and fallen heroes than there are anything else.
Imagine if Mordor ruled Middle Earth and you have a fair idea of what Essaria is like.
It is a place of opportunity for any bandit chief to become a king - national borders and such are always shifting and there is never a time when most people are not at war.
About 80 years ago, there was a group of adventurers. True, epic heroes, lead by a Paladin of Pelor named Matthew. He is known at the Lord of Silver, the Shining Lord, and some think him to be a Messiah, meant to deliver the world from darkness and into light.
They rose from obscurity and began to fight for the common folk - for the 'good' races of other worlds. They battled demons and demigods and evil in all it's forms. Nothing could stand before them.
They were a beacon of hope.
Armies were sent against them...and armies fell before them.
Finally, the Silver Champions rode against Asalon - a kingdom of evil Elves ruled by a dark wizard/priest who some said was no longer quite living - no one spoke his name, because to say it might make him aware you existed. He was powerful beyond hope or reason.
In an epic duel, Lord Matthew fought him atop a mountain - the sky was black with clouds, and the light and thunder of their battle could be heard across half the continent.
Finally, the Dark King fell, his body plummeting from the mountain to fall a the feet of Matthew's army - an army raised from the good people of the world, all sworn to follow him unto and beyond death.
They had marched across half a world, freeing those in bondage, healing those who were hurt and converting those who did not believe in hope.
The War of Light, it was called. (And yes, I came up with that before Green Lantern. Damn you, Geoff Johns. Damn you.)
At the end, Lord Matthew crushed the crown of the Dark King under his boot freed the people of Asalon. The Kingdom was changed, and in a single night, all those of evil hearts were cast from the borders of the kingdom. Some say it was agents of Pelor who came down and cast them out.
Some say King Matthew's presence stretched from border to border and they could not bear it.
Some say omens and dreams spoke to them, and the knew they could not stand before the Lord of Silver.
No one knows for sure but those who left - and if they have ever spoken of it, it is not recorded anywhere.
For eighty years, Asalon has stood - a stronghold of light. No army sent against hit could hold it.
No agent of evil could gain a foothold within.
And even the true powers and dominations could not stand against King Matthew or his closest comrades. In particular, one figure, know only as the General, is spoken of only in whispers.
A warrior none has defeated in living memory.
Asalon still stands.
In recent months, though, King Matthew has begun to build an army - an army the like of which the forces of Good have never seen.
Agents have gone to all corners of the world...no one knows how, but they stand on street corners where even a High Priest could be mugged, raped and skinned alive and call out to the scions of Good to come to Asalon and join this army.
There are whispers of a prophecy of something horrid, something so dark, so ancient and so evil that even the Powers of the other nations only whisper of it. Some say it is the Dark King, returned. Some say it is the power behind the Dark King, come to reclaim his own.
There are rumors also, that King Matthew has had a vision - though, what that vision is, none has spoken of.
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It's a sprawling port city laid out up against a huge bay - known as Dragon's Cove.
Mostly, because there is some kind of dragon that lives at the bottom of the bay and occasionally eats ships, kraken and anything else it takes a fancy to.
It is not a walled city, nor does it really have a government per se - though there are a lot of rich and powerful people who live there and make sure their interests are looked after.
There is no real order or city guard or any such thing, but there are lots of mercenaries and militia that work in and around the city.
It's a cesspool, full of disgusting puddles of things you'd rather not think of.
Crime is a way of life, and there are strange things crawling in every place and part of the city; familiars for wizards and other, nastier magic users, imps flying overhead and the occasional demon walking about it's unspeakable business.
The docks are controlled by the minotaurs - though the dwarves seem to have a monopoly on the undercity. Goblins and hobgoblins seem to be the predominate species, with humans serving as an underclass alongside orcs, kobolds and gnomes.
The major tourist attraction is the Spire, a tower built in the image of the Dark Lord's tower, but possessing much less dark glamour and none of it's majesty. Currently, it's controlled by a lich calling itself the Dread Lord - and it does, indeed, possess powers not seen before.
The Dread Lord doesn't seem to care about Asalon or Lord Matthew, because Lord Matthew has money - which is the driving force behind everything in Lestra.
There have been rumors across the Continent of Lord Matthew's army. Whispers of agents sent in to the darkest, most horrid places on Essaria to find those brave few willing to stand against what he has Seen.
In every major city or settlement, people have either just seen a group of recruits leave or have heard of one coming.
All those rumors point to Lestra as the place where the recruits come to be taken to the Shining Plains, deep in Asalon, where the army is being assembled.
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Little is known about Lord Hester, other than his name. Very few have seen him in recent years, and most of those who saw him in his youth are dead or serve him. He killed most of those who don't serve him and the rest died of old age. Lord Hester is thought to be nearly a century old, and some urban legend have said that a young Hester encountered Lord Matthew.
Lord Hester was once a small-time mercenary, but in the chaos after the founding of Asalon, he founded his own Company, which has expanded for 80 years. He has amassed his own army, though it is fractured, working in cells around the continent of Avaria. He has vast monetary and magical resources, and commands very high rates. He has offices in most major cities, including Lestra and accepts all recruits - he can find a use for anyone or anything. He pays well and pays even better for information. His spy network is second to none. The exact extent of his influence is unknown, but he does own several large towns outright, as well as several fortresses, one large castle he had custom built, at least two military academies and one mage school.
The other thing known about Lord Hester is that he hates Lord Matthew with a deep, abiding passion. He will do anything to destroy Matthew and Asalon, and opposes him at any opportunity. He has invaded Asalon twice under contract from other nations, and offers discounted rates to anyone who has him pitted against King Matthew.
Hester often interferes with recruiting efforts for the Army of Light, but has so far been unsuccessful in stopping Asalon from gathering its forces.
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