The Solarians

Frenos, keeper of awe, humility, and respect. Darkened over time and became more focused on fear and shadows. Survived the First World and exists as the Jack of Shadows.

Zalnor, keeper of the cycle of life, knowledge, and wisdom. Darkened over time and became more focused on death and secrets. Survived the First World and exists as the Carrion King.

Allanora, keeper of hope, renewal, and growth. Never darkened. Was killed by Culminos in the Solarian War.

Ellicor, keeper of craftmanship, endurance, and patience. Never darkened. Survived the First World and exists as himself, albeit in a non divine reduced form.

Culminos, keeper of freedom, excitement, and inspiration. Darkened over time and became more focused on envy, jealousy, and rage. Cast into the void by Omnos at the climax of the Solarian War.

Brulor, keeper of justice, righteousness, and equality. Darkened over time and became more focused on oppression and slaughter. Slain in the fight against Zarthos.

Pipos, keeper of faithfulness, purity, and innocence. Never darkened. Slain in the fight against Zarthos.

Shardan, keeper of thought, inquisitiveness, and perception. Never darkened. Survived the First World but driven mad. Exists as the Puppet King.

Lyrica, keeper of love and beauty. Darkened over time and became more focused on lust and hedonism. Slain in the fight against Zarthos.

Arglos, keeper of defense, sacrifice, and shepherding. Never darkened. Slain in the fight against Zarthos.

Ellicor's Tale

Omnos is the creator, the sole God, and he creates the world. He appoints 10 Solars to oversee his creation and guide the main races. These Solars are elevated and able to grant clerical spells to their followers, as Omnos imbues them with a fragment of his essence (divine rank). Over time the races of the First World viewed them less and less as intercessors to Omnos and eventual worshipped them as gods. Omnos, while distant, remained reachable and had a loyal set of clergy that maintained that he was the sole divinity. His worshippers did not have access to high level clerical magic (speculated because he imbued the Solarian pantheon) and thus their theology was often discounted. The Solarians eventually fought among themselves over the manner in which they interacted with their followers. Many believed they were in fact were gods. Some had darkened over time, warping into harsher or selfish versions of their original selves. There was war in heaven, as the Solarians led their respective angel subordinates against each other.  In the fight Culminos slew Allanora and in response Omnos, who had ignored the squabble, cast Culminos into the outer void.

This dramatically ended the fight and the Solarians went their separate ways. The angels who had supported the darkened Solarians became devils, and carried on a quiet war with the angels who remained, on behalf of their dark Lords. Time passed and Culminos sought a way to return to the world from the void, but was barred by Omnos’ edict. Denied, he then chose to lead the dark elder being known as Zarthos to the world in spite. Zarthos was a creature from outside of Omnos’ creation, and seems to be a personification for needless and purposeless destruction.  At first, only the intensity of the heavenly war changed as Zarthos approached and his influence touched the world. Then the peoples of the world began to take a turn for the darker. Madness for the first time was known.  Then the demons began to appear. Finally Zarthos himself began to enter the world (a process which took years).

Instead of fighting Zarthos or denying him entry, Omnos chose to allow him to act. Before Zarthos’ incarnation, Omnos collected all his faithful to him. The Argloians, warned of an impending apocalypse by the Omnian Brotherhood decades before, had spent those years gathering as much written knowledge as they could. This they hid in the tombs and the necropolis against the day that a second world came. When Zarthos’ avatar appeared the Solarians united, Dark and Light, and sought to slay or rebuke him. Only Ellicor refused to participate, which earned him the title of Betrayer from his bretheren. The majority were slain, only 3 besides Ellicor survived. In a gluttony of slaughter Zarthos wiped the surface of the world clean of life. At that moment, Omnos returned and dispersed Zarthos’ essence across the cosmos. All was dead save those trapped in stasis under the ground, and the 4 remaining Solarians who were altered, drained of power, and stripped of any semblance of divinity (divine ranks) by the magnitude of Zarthos’ lifewipe and dispersal. Omnos then gathered Zarthos’ essence and materialized it in a physical form. Then he took the shattered fragments of the world and crafted a prison for Zarthos – a giant ring with him chained within. He then erected massive enchantments over the world, and separated it from the multiverse to keep Zarthos imprisoned. Omnos retreated into the void, to start a new creation elsewhere. Before he left he gave the world itself sentience, and the charge to keep Zarthos imprisoned.

2nd Excerpts From the Journal of the Marquis Daedalus

It seems in the west on the far shores of what is now called the Dragon Wastes lives one who is called one of the “Endless”. To whom is this referring? Its far enough away that I don’t feel it threatens my territory, but it would be best to be on my guard.

……………………………………..

So Omnianism survives. Whether the priests or the monks does not matter. How much remains? It’s so hard to make sense of my memories as a beast, especially from before. Sticks and Shadows, Crows and now Omnos. Those I remember though under different guises save Omnos, as well as the Lily and the Flame. If the Book becomes Sticks and the Wing becomes Crows, what would the Lily become?

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I have detected massive magics that seem to be laid upon the world. They appear to be binds, enchantments, and wards.  A madman in my village tore out his eyes and activated one such enchantment by saying a word, where-upon he exploded. Note to self – be careful of what you say. By monitoring the effect I was able to reverse engineer the word he said. It seems to be a name, but it means nothing to me.

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The city of Illmar has expanded and now claims to be a Kingdom. Its university sent an emissary to me to figure out what I am and how I came to be. He was quite tasty. I sent a polite letter back in return asking if they planned to provide a steady supply or if this was a onetime occurrence.

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I met the Gnome of Gnomewood. He named me for what I am. My first inclination was to attack, to cast, to swallow him whole. But I did not. Something about him… he radiates a quiet power that I chose not to test. Thankfully he does not seem to venture often or far out of his woods.

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I discovered an old text that maybe from what the humans call “the First World”. It mentions that the book containing the “nine words” was moved to the Western Tombs. That would place them in what is now Goldmeadow. What are these nine words I wonder? It seems the author was advocating moving the most “dangerous” texts to the Western Tombs, and this was the first to be sent.

Libros Arcana

By Phineas Whooperill

The nature of magic can be studied and debated ad nauseam. There are several books which do just that, and I encourage you to peruse the writings of Robleon Arcanis if you are in dire need of a good paperweight. For the love of all that’s wonderful Robleon, would it kill you to actually write something useful? …but perhaps that is hypocritical of me as this book is only useful to a small subset of casters. If you are concentrated and focused in your studies, save yourself the time and stop reading here. If however you wandered down a few arcane paths before settling on one, first there’s no shame in that as many discover what is known as sorcery before migrating on to wizardry, and second this book is for you.

Look, what you need to know is that if you are casting spells, whether you are doing it by singing, gut instinct , or study, you are basically manipulating the same forces in ways that only differ cosmetically. I will give you an example using the sport of hoopball.

In hoopball the player throws a ball through the air in an effort to pass it through a hoop mounted in some fashion on a wall, tree, or pole. Now our first player glances at the hoop, hefts the ball, and throws. On his third try he sinks it. On his fourth try he remembers how it felt to sink it on the third and applies that “feeling” to all future shots.

Our second player measures the distance to the hoop, weighs the ball, does some math, and shoots. Seeing his shot fall short he adjusts his math for the upward angle’s fight against the falling principle and tries again. He continues to refine his calculations until he consistently sinks his shots.

Both players are doing the same thing the same way. They are both trying to put a ball through a hoop by throwing it with their arms. The only difference is what they are thinking about while they do it. So too with magic. In this volume I intend to illustrate how one can take the ability to spontaneously cast and the ability to studiously cast, and use one to inform the other. If you are interested in why some magic seems to be musical in nature I reluctantly suggest you read Robleon’s Nature of Creation. Assuming you can get through all the “is a flower really a flower” nonsense without casting a fireball under your own chin he has some unique and not uninformed observations on the relationship between music and magic. And now let us compare a sorcerous casting of the Light spell and a memorized casting of the Light Spell.

Known Powers of Andara

By Robleon Arcanis

We live in a magical world.  Reality can be altered by anyone with the talent and time to learn how to do so. Each new spell and ability however reveals how much more the adept does not know and brings awareness that for all our magical might we are mice fighting where lions roam. This treatise is intended to explore the various Powers; beings who either lay claim to divinity, seem to have some immortal aspect, or are simply beyond the ability of the average man to contest. As with most of my published works this volume deals with what is and what might be, and perhaps on the fringes with what was. Those seeking a practical application of magic will be disappointed – there are no spells here. No tricks of the trade, only thought, a small bit of research, and a large helping of speculation.  For more practical things I encourage my readers to seek out the writings of my esteemed colleague Phineas Whooperill.

First a note on magic. Magic is a deviation or alteration of the natural order of our world. It is possible to do such by manipulating the very substance of reality itself, which is at its most base and pure an act of will and means. When the will and the means are both the same source and local we refer to it as Arcane. When the will or the means have a different source or are not local to the temporal world we refer to it as Divine. The presumption here being the will or source originating from a concept, personality, or being that is Divine – immortal, eternal, and of exterior origin. When the deviation or alteration of the natural world does not involve an act of will, but is merely due to the nature of a creature, place, or object we refer to it as Supernatural. Let these definitions stand for the duration of this tome.

Let us now discuss Gods.  Until the advent of Omnianism it is said that there were no Gods in Andara. This is not true. The despot who rules the giant empire is referred to as the God-King and has lived for thousands of years, and the priests who worship him are able to use Divine magic. The dark cults of Zule, Nath, and Tur worship demons, devils, and dark things of madness from beyond. What is interesting though is that 1) the notion of deity does not seem to be foreign to humanity and the Firstborn and 2) there seems to be a collective understanding of what deity IS, enough to notice its absence and reject the aforementioned examples as falling short. You can chalk up humanity’s knowledge as being a hereditary understanding from before their arrival in Andara (most -including scholars- forget that humanity is an invasive species), but that explanation does not address the Firstborn, who are natives to the world. From where then does this seemingly universal concept originate?

And then there is of course Omnianism. Again we are confronted with an inherit understanding. Some agree and subscribe to Omnianism, some choose to co-exist, and some seem angered by and combative of Omnianism, but no one to my knowledge has challenged the idea that Omnos is in fact 1) real, and 2) a Deity. Even those who aggressively want to suppress Omnianism do not challenge the validity of the faith. If he is a deity from the first world, why was he not revealed until a moldering book was found? Is he the only deity from the first world? If so how does non Omnianism divine magic work, and what is its source? If not then where are the other first world gods? Perhaps one of my readers can use the information herein to answer one or more of these questions.

The Chronosi are four monolithic entities that created Andara. Or so our legends say. I find it interesting that we give them credit for creating a world that was already there. None the less they are responsible for the world as we know it. Each Chronosi is unique and has different attributes and spheres of influence. The Laughing Maid provides life, animals, plants, etc… The Storm Lord or Lightning Lord provides weather, cold, etc… The Stone King provides heat and shepherds the existing stone and rock.  The Silent Lady… well she doesn’t really provide anything does she? She dwells in the ocean, and thereby controls it one assumes, but other than that all she does is share her hall with the dead. Of the four she is not portrayed as active in any way. Why? Why is she different?

The Chronosi for all their power and influence on creation are not Gods. How do we know? We don’t. We just understand it to be so. Even as I write this sentence purposely questioning this idea I do so with the firm conviction and acceptance that they are not Gods. People have tried to worship them anyway. They do not grant spells or abilities. They do not engage. They seem largely indifferent to us mortals. I would like to suggest the idea that they are in fact automatons of some sort, rather than self-aware entities with a personality. If so, who created them and why?

Order of Brulorian Sentinels: Combat, Chivalry, and Prayers

These are the secrets of the Brulorian Order, the Sentinels who follow Brulor the Just and honor Omnos the Creator. None outside our Order must ever be taught these techniques on pain of death and everlasting damnation.

While mounted combat is common among the various martial orders and private armies, only the holy monks of Brulor have perfected the art; we are unparalleled and unmatched, save for perhaps the Cavaliers of Blue Mount. When a Sentinel is on his horse and prepared, he is an unstoppable mechanism of retribution.

One of the greatest secrets of the Order however is that the techniques for riding can, with some contemplation, prayer, and practice be applied to footed melee as well. When you have mastered a particular skill of mounted combat, seclude yourself from others and meditate on you and your horse as one being rather than two. Absorb the movement of this unity, and pray to Brulor or Omnos for understanding. Maintain this meditation in footed combat to your success.

Additionally the experienced knights in the Order are able to call their steeds from realms beyond, but it is said that some of the Cavaliers of Blue Mount chose instead to form bonds with their horses of this world and those horses gained extraordinary abilities thereby. Be not discouraged as the greatest of us know techniques of summoning to place our otherworldly mount in use in any battle.  Once you have grown in faith to the point where Omnos or Brulor grants you the ability to cure disease, seek out the Book of Mounts from the seniors of our order or travel to the Citadel to receive training on these penultimate techniques.

Magical Weapon Theory

A study by Phineas Wooperill

…and thus I have determined that I can be of most use to my comrades in arms by endeavoring to see that they are more effective vis-à-vis their weaponry.  Recorded herein are spells that temporarily affect weaponry in various ways. That being said the pinnacle (which I have of course reached) is to make permanently magical arms. By which I mean weapons of course. Blades and clubs and such. Making magical limbs will have to wait for later exploration and then only to empower combat. Do you hear me Robleon? If you’re reading this quit those disgusting dalliances with tavern wenches and apply your “magical enhancements” to a more proper use. What you’re doing is just obscene.

It should be noted that while the studies outlined in this book will allow me (and those who follow me) to create enchanted weapons it is by far not the only way to make such things. The Firstborn have crafting techniques that yield weapons of a magical nature, and various materials produce enchanted effects when worked into weaponry. I have taken the liberty to describe them here.

Dwarven Forged – Dwarven craftsmanship with metal is such that they produce a weapon that is either extremely sharp or weighted in such a way to land devastating blows. The Mountainborn understand combat.

Elvencrafted – the Skyborn weave “starlight” into their weapons, which sounds like the kind of superstitious malarkey that only a drooling imbecile would believe (still reading Robleon?). In any case weapons made by the Skyborn glow faintly when wielded which looks rather dramatic and is an excellent way to tell all enemies “here I am! I am clearly the biggest threat, my stuff glows! Kill me first!”

Halfling Made – the Meadowborn have a knack for throwing everything from rocks and stones to their lives away. Every weapon the Meadowborn make is balanced in such a way that it can be thrown accurately. Not understanding that there is already a whole class of weapons devoted to throwing (see my earlier book Classification and Types of Weapons – an Academic Reference) the Meadowborn decided that everything should and can be thrown, from dart to halberd. If they made siege engines they would probably devise a way for a whole village to unite and throw the trebuchet instead of just loading and firing the damn thing.

Gnome Carved – The Forestborn are miracle workers when it comes to wood and have developed techniques to create wooden weapons that are as durable and as sharp as steel. While their products are extremely serviceable and effective, I personally see their craft as mere novelty. We have steel. Why run off and make something as good as steel when steel is sitting right there? It’s like someone looking at a fork – that was given to them - and saying “Hey this could be handy to eat food with! I’m going to set it down and cut tines into a spoon, making it almost as good as the fork I was given and completely useless as a spoon with the added bonus of making me look like a damn fool!” (But don’t take my word for it Robleon… go ahead and market your “Foroon”, I’m looking forward to seeing you try).

Materials:

Lava Smelt – this is metal that was forged completely out of and submerged in lava. It produces something that looks like opaque black glass veined with red. When wielded the weapon bursts into flame and burns its victims as well as cuts/crushes/stabs. I'm saying the weapon still functions as a weapon, but while on fire. Thus burning and hurting. And yes I am aware fire hurts. Grasp the concept or abandon it; either way move on.

Perma Ice – this is actually ice harvested from the far north – some say (fools) from Eternal Ice itself. The ice is so dense and compacted that it does not melt if worked correctly and adds a deeply cold touch to the wounds it inflicts. Which I guess also burns. But it burns with cold not with fire. See it gets so cold that your nerves report pain, but the sensation is similar to the pain experienced from heat and oh just go to the next entry already.

Pitted Iron – pitted iron is only found in special mines throughout the world. It is a dark ash grey iron that is porous and constantly weeps a caustic acid. The combat benefits should be obvious to anyone of even passing intellegence (acid chemically burns flesh Robleon, making the owies hurt more).

Skymetal – falls from the sky as meteorites and can be worked about as easily as steel. It retains an electrical charge (Matry wrote that it acquires the charge as it passes through the sky dome where the clouds rub up against each other in his book Skymetal – Evidence of Worlds Beyond?; don’t bother reading it I just quoted the only piece that doesn’t read like a rabid dog chewing on its own gonads).

Adamantine – this extremely hard metal is difficult to work with but produces a weapon that can pierce the toughest of natural hide. Indeed reputably there are creatures that can only be effectively hurt by such stuff. Matry's ego is still impervious though.

Cold Iron – the bane of the fey, this softer metal must be forged underground at low temperatures, and is often finished in the dark, with the smith operating by sound and touch alone. Somewhat impractical for repeated use, against the right creature even its touch is devastating.

Mithril – the lightest and the prettiest of the mystical metals, mithril can be forged into hard weapons, or armor that bends almost like cloth. The Mountainborn know its rarity and are loath to part with it, while the Skyborn greedily covet every scrap they can get. More than one local war has been fought over possession of mithril.

Alchemical Silver – unlike the rest of the materials discussed here, Alchemical Silver is not found naturally. Instead it is created through a chemical process that involves bonding silver with another metal – usually steel or cold iron. Creatures of the night are said to fear this substance which makes it a good choice for weaponry. That is if you're fighting creatures of the night. I wouldn't take it into a desert during midday. Not going to be as cool.

Dragonbone – to my knowledge no one today makes weapons out of dragonbone. I mention it here because of rumored dragonbone weapons found in local ruins and in far off lands. Having never seen such a weapon I do not have any inkling as to what properties it might possess, if it exists at all.

Excerpts from the Journal of the Marquis Daedalus

I am having difficulty collecting my thoughts. What few memories I retain prior to my “awakening” are fragmented. There is a pressure on my mental facilities. Even though I was not fully sentient, I still had an awareness. It is enough to know that this is not my world. Why can I not think straight?

………………………………….

After much trial and error I have succeeded in magically shifting my shape into that of the local prey. It is imperfect, particularly in my face, but once out of my true form the pressure on my mind vanished. It is time to define my territory, create a lair, and then ponder my new circumstances.

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I must confess the elf I ate for dinner is much less substantial than what I remember. It is curious to me how this world can be so similar to the last, yet so different. This new prey, these humans, are the main difference. Physically they are very similar to the Xianni but not as indifferent to the world. As of yet they have not encroached on my territory but I imagine they will in just a few centuries.

……………………………………

It seems I am not the only survivor. I must see to my hunting range’s defenses. Also it seems these humans are a threat. They are crafty, aggressive, and powerful. And worse, where they go the so called “Firstborn” become the same. I have modified my alternate shape to reflect a human, as best as I can. My magical studies are difficult; it seems there are limits to what magic I can aspire to.

……………………………………

I am NOT the only survivor. Shadows, wicker, and crows! I will ally myself with humanity! I will set wards and magics throughout my territory! I will create an army! And I will have the means to end myself or flee. Shadows, wicker, and crows! They walk as men!

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A necromancer from Nath has set up a tower in the Hidden Hills. His probing into the Void triggered one of my wards. I flew to his tower and confronted him but he was far more powerful than I anticipated. I was forced to flee. More and more I am finding that guile and intrigue are more effective for me. I will leave this necromancer be for now. Let him pursue madness in Void. I need not act unless he contacts something there. And then, well perhaps being a “human” lord will work against mighty wizards too.

Mooncrest Scroll Scraps

Four separate scraps of paper are all that remain in this ancient scroll case, the bulk of which has long deteriorated into dust. The scroll case is ancient and locked with some mechanical means that is not obvious to the eye. Fortunately Fyn is able to open the case, and a careful casting of the Mending spell by Frumious repairs the scraps enough to be legible. The language however is unknown and an additional spell from Grigor is needed before the meaning is revealed...

Scrap 1

....as many know the knowledge of the Nine Words of Power are considered pinnacle of arcane ability, but what is seldom known is that there are also three Words of Power that are not arcane in nature, and the demons have their own Words in dark mimicry...

Scrap 2

 ...it all comes down to what is the definition of godhood. If it is merely that which receives worship then there are untold number of gods. If the definition is expanded to include that which can respond to prayers in obvious and "magical" means, then the list is reduced to several dozen. If however we take the stance of the Omnian monks and to be a god means to be eternally divine and unkillable then there is only one, or perhaps two if the liturgy of the dark order of...

Scrap 3

 ...the experienced knights in the Order are able to call their steeds from realms beyond, but it is said that some of the Cavaliers of Blue Mount chose instead to form bonds with their horses of this world and those horses gained...

  

Scrap 4

The Argloian Order has for centuries spoken of another world to come, just as the Ominans have preached an end to this one. Now the Omnians are all gone, and the world seems to be on the brink of destruction. The Argloians have taken all the writings they have collected and preserved to the Gravelands and the Necropolis, for their prophecies say that in the end all that will remain are tombs...