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Backstory
On the mystical island of Avalon, the high priestess carried out the council, a ring of wizards and lesser priests gathered in a circle before her. After much chanting and singing of ancient hymns, the council summoned an enchanted sword, which rose out of the earth like a ghost. This they passed to the high priestess, who would decide its fate. After a moment of contemplation, in one graceful motion, the high priestess turned and walked towards the western coast, where she cast the sword into the sea.
In the time after the sword hit the bottom of the sea, the land of Crownen arose. This was a massive continent in the shape of a bird, Avalon being its "egg". The large and forbidding Sentinel Mountains rose first, right along the bird's back, and the legendary Wolfsbane River cascaded from the highest glade within its peaks. Forests and plains sprouted, digging intricate caves and faery lairs in roots of trees and hollows within the ground. And there after the land was formed, folk from lands afar began to inhabit Crownen, from the elves in the wing to the pirates and ne'er-do-wells in the head, to the harpies of the Nightwing Lake in the foot and the mighty lions of the Pandrean Desert. Folk came from lands and legends of old, from faery-tale worlds and times of the old earth.
Then there was the Holy Land, nestled in the back side of this bird-shaped continent, where the religions of the world would gather and collaborate. But even so, this region was often overseen by two goddesses: Maia, goddess of light; and Katami, goddess of darkness. Even though the goddesses were literally like night and day, they still spent some time traveling around Crownen together, marveling its beauty and heritage.
After much traveling, Maia and Katami discovered an ancient temple deep below the heart of Crownen. Inside this temple, resting in the very centre of the round and spacious chamber, was none other than the Sword cast by the high priestess of Avalon long ago. Both goddesses knew that whoever held this sword could bend Crownen to their will... but as they were goddesses, they themselves could not wield the Sword. Instead, they each chose a mortal individual, a puppet of sorts, to do the job.
Maia, being the goddess of light, desired peace and harmony in all existence. She wished Crownen would be a lovely place where all the races would exist harmoniously, where there would be no need for wars and disputes. Thus, she turned to the most benevolent and influential leader she knew: Satani Merelda, the queen of Crownen.
It was Satani who founded and instructed the seven Star Knights, who were long considered the "heroes" of Crownen. These were not only knights, but people of varied skills and abilities and races--there were two wizards among them, for example. With keen intuitions and fair senses of justice, the Star Knights trimmed the tree of dangerous crimes throughout the land, defeating feared enemies like Captain Dom o'Willy and his dirty shipmates, and the infamously sadistic Vampyres of Nemaforte. Satani gave these Knights council and guidance, thus being the key to their success. They were a small group, but they hoped to grow into a large organisation of warriors and peace-makers.
Katami, being the goddess of darkness, desired chaos, pain, and corruption. As she traveled around Crownen, she was disgusted by all the happy faces on people, and thought life was "too easy" here. To set Crownen straight and put an interesting spin on things, she looked to a cult of a mysterious, esoteric race called the Sakh. Mornain, leader of the Sakh, piqued Katami's interest as a being of ill intention.
The Sakh were recognised by their horned and fluffy-haired heads, their reptilian eyes, their arrow-tipped tails, and their small draconic wings. Mornain was a well-known spellcaster in this cult, and performed many wondrous miracles--he could heal a fellow Sakh's wounds in a heartbeat, he could manipulate the weather when he sacrificed a fellow Sakh, and he was said to be able to enter people's dreams freely. Not only that, he was gifted in alchemy, and was best known for turning large stones into deadly weapons made of pure diamond. He did some wonderful things, but to get on his nice list, one had to believe that he was the supreme god of Crownen.
And so it was a race--who would reach the Sword first? Maia and Katami guided their chosen along, bending the elements to their favour, clashing their powers when their chosen got too close together, threatening the chosen of the other. It was an epic race indeed, and the tales of it are still told today... but in the end, it turned out that Satani and Mornain reached opposite sides of the Temple at the same time. This temple would stage their epic battle...
...Or not. A battle would have started, but then Satani did something rather odd. Taking a step backwards, she said to Mornain,
"Mornain. I can see this Sword has the very power to change the course of Crownen to the desires of its owner. I can think of several good uses for this sword if it passes into my hands. However, I do not need such a power. One does not need a sword accursed as this to arouse peace in this world. You, Mornain, may take the Sword if you so desire, but be aware of the karmic impacts that arise from your use of it."
Mornain stopped to think for a moment. For what seemed like a very long time, he and Satani stood in silence, facing each other with the Sword between them. Then, with a smirk on his face, Mornain grabbed the Sword, plunging it into Satani's chest. Satani died, and with her, so did the Merelda dynasty which would have continued had Maia gotten her way. Even the Star Knights lost a bit of their power; they held a grand funeral for the fallen queen, and were on their own without protection from then on.
As for Mornain, after he killed Satani and licked her blood off the Sword, he laughed. And then he laughed some more. And his laughter rose into great bellows. That laughter became an evil power spreading throughout Crownen in the years afterward. The Sakh, who were overyjoyed by the presence of the Sword, multiplied and came out of hiding, seizing the heart of Crownen. They hired many a sorcerer and assassin to do their bidding, and sent orders to kill anyone who did not see Mornain as Crownen's supreme god. Their first targets were the elves, who they also found to be very tasty when killed.
But even with Mornain's reign spreading like butter across a cob of corn, there were many who opposed Mornain's strategy for creating "the perfect world". Foremost among these people were none other than the Star Knights, struggling to keep Satani and Maia's wishes alive. There was a grand battle at one point--the Battle of Starfall, waged on opposite sides of the Wolfsbane River. The Knights were able to defeat a good chunk of the Sakh, but there is a reason why the battle was called Starfall. In the end the Star Knights fell, to the larger army of the Sakh, and even to the terrible sorcery of Mornain himself. Four of them died, one of whom was Parth, Satani's son. The remaining three retreated, never to be seen again.
Not even the next king of Crownen was any help. With Parth dead, King Ben took the throne, having been Satani's advisor and financial manager in the past. However, he refused to support the Star Knights, instead gathering a more conventional army of his own. These soldiers patrolled around Crownen, collecting taxes, fining people who didn't carry out ordinances, raining on any parade or festival that was held without Ben's permission, shutting down inns and taverns, dragging the village wizards to prison for "talking nonsense", even murdering women who were unfaithful or unloyal to their husbands. Playing music in the streets became a punishable offense. Alcohol consumption became illegal. Women were not allowed to take most jobs and were required to give all their money to their husbands. Most fortune-tellers were fired for speculating on the king's evils. It was a time of unrest indeed.
To make matters worse, Ben became enlightened by Mornain and his followers, convinced that Mornain's miracles were the key to Crownen's success. He even welcomed Mornain's followers as allies to his army. Under this rule, and the combined army, the number of outside invasions from across the sea went to practically zero--all outsiders stained the ocean with their own blood before they could even get a chance to set foot in Crownen. King Ben convinced people that this was a definite improvement over the Star Knights, who were not numerous enough to keep out all invaders and eliminate crime. True, the crime rate in Crownen dropped as well, and all sorts of criminals were harshly punished in the new prison Ben's henchmen constructed. Crownen became a "safe place to live in", at least according to Ben and those who adored him, which was slowly becoming most folk of Crownen.
As for the many people who were outraged by King Ben's new rules, and fearful of Mornain's conquest of Crownen, what were they to do? With the Star Knights gone, Satani dead, and a king who would not listen to them, who were they to turn to? Throughout this time a few rebel groups rose up, but Ben's army and the Sakh made quick work of them before they could grow. The only thing they could do was try to keep the happiness in their villages going, and hold festivals as usual which they would shut down upon the army's arrival. Hope was dying.
...Or was it? Though Crownen was on a definite road to chaos, one place remained relatively untouched. Avalon was the one refuge from the unrest in the land, because the magical border around the island kept the Sakh and Ben's soldiers out. For years these armies tried to break through the border, but to no avail. The sad part, though, was that many of the hordes of people desperate for help were unable to enter as well, for the wise spirit who created that border knew that Avalon was not meant to hold people plagued with revenge and despair. Only those true of heart, as that spirit would say, were able to make it through the border.
Then one day, out of Avalon flew a raven named Ezra, who traveled around Crownen carrying several letters. Though Ezra was blind, she belonged to an old wizard named Sisturnia, who was her psychic sight into the world. Ezra saw right into the hearts of every individual she met, and after the trip around Crownen, she reported back to Sisturnia, informing her of the worthy recipients of the letters (that's you, the people who signed up for the RPG). Each of these letters told the recipient to meet Sisturnia in Avalon, where they would be allowed to enter. At her residence, they would discuss a plan to hopefully stop Mornain from taking complete control of Crownen...
Discussion Thread Rules
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- I will post any new information about the RPG (important places, NPC's, etc.) in this thread, and make an announcement whenever I make changes to that information.
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What to post in this RPG
- Any questions, comments, or suggestions you might have about the RPG and any part of it (I love questions, just to let you know ^_^)
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