Godspine Mountains
At the center of the known continent stands a monstrous range of jagged peaks known as the Godspine Mountains, believed to be the petrified remains of titanic gods long dead. The Godspine cleaves the continent into four cardinal realms, East, West, North, and South. Narrow, dangerous valleys allow passage between them, but are relatively safe for travel if you have numbers.
East
Fifteen years ago, the Das Reikstahl Dominion (or just call Eastern Empire for short), a brutal theocratic empire ruled by the fanatical Emperor Vortan XII, known as The Divine Flame, invaded the eastern lands, sparking a crusade of conquest and annihilation.
Centered in the fortress metropolis of Himmelhart, the Dominion worships Korthax the Purifier, a god of fire and pain, through a ruthless faith that preaches purification by flame and the extermination of non humans. Under the iron grip of Reikstahl, lands once vibrant with culture, nature, and honor have been reduced to ash and agony.
Reikstahl is a clockwork war machine powered by stolen dwarven innovation, black powder, and religious zeal. Society is rigidly stratified, with nobility at the top and scorched, enslaved outcasts at the bottom. The terrifying High Inquisitor Malgar Vex and his Crimson Inquisition enforce divine doctrine through torture, mass burnings, and soul-testing rituals. Daily life is dominated by sermons, curfews, and public executions. In Reikstahl, mercy is heresy, and only those who burn with divine purpose are deemed worthy to live.
Eastern Realms Forgotten
The Witherwilds, once the Eastern Elven Lands, are now a desecrated wasteland of forge chapels and twisted Beast Trials, where ancient groves burn and elves are hunted for sport. The people of these lands were hunted, burned on pires. Some escaped south, some west.
The Silent Depths, once mighty dwarven holds, have become molten tombs, their wonders repurposed into imperial war machines while mutated Depthborn whisper of a lost legacy. The eastern dwarves were proud people, their holds strong. But divided. The empire used this against them, causing infighting. This was used to weaken the holds and isolate them leading for them to taken.
The Three Fallen Kingdoms of humanity fare no better. Maidenpool lies drowned, its sacred waters tainted and repurposed to feed the Empire's capital. The Kingdom of Verrath's shattered legions are forced into brutal inquisitorial combat trials, their honor twisted into a weaponized creed. Caldenholt, the Last Knightdom, fought to their very last breath leaving deep scars in the East Empire.
South
The Emberlands are a vast and sun scorched region in the south, marked by golden deserts, fertile river valleys, and ancient cities that glimmer beneath the relentless sky. Once hailed as the Jewel of the World, the region now lives under the tightening grip of the Reikstahl Empire. Yet the south simmers with tension, pride, and a deep, unbroken memory.
Three major forces define this fractured land. The desert kingdom of Virezza, ruled by Queen Saphirra the Veiled, clings to old customs, its people masked, its mystics hunted, and its throne watched by imperial envoys. Beneath its dunes, long lost warrior orders stir once more.
To the east lies The Riverholds of Myria, a web of mercantile river cities where loyalty is for sale and gold decides fates. Ruled by the Council of Nine, they are a true force to be reckoned with. Most cities bordered by sea and rivers, the naval power of the nation is not to be trifled with. Though they publicly cooperate with Reikstahl.
Further inland, the Sunborne Elves stand defiant. They are proud solar warriors who worship Akarin, the Burning Spear, and live by fire, combat, and truth. Their cities blaze with light, their warriors brand sacred sun marks into their skin, and their high priest generals prepare for holy war. Borders closed off to all lands. Of the three powers, only the Sunborne openly welcome conflict with the Empire.
West
Known as The Evermarch, the Western Kingdoms are strong and unifed. A land of misty moors, towering mountains, and sacred groves.
The kingdom of Cairnheart stands proud under the rule of King Alric Iron Brow, an aged but unbroken monarch and former war hero who presides from Cairnheart palace, a mountain citadel carved into the Godspine. The Iron Throne of Cairnheart, crafted of blacksteel and root iron, is said to whisper with ancestral voices. The heir to the throne, Prince Rowan, currently governs Dunmire, a minor stronghold, and is an idealistic, sharp witted young leader testing his mettle amidst its hazards. The Border Marches form the scarred frontier under the rule of Alric. A land of crumbling fortresses and constant skirmishes with Reikstahl raiders, where grim Marcher Lords maintain vigilance. The fertile River Duchies serve as the agricultural backbone of the kingdom, though plagued by infighting between noble houses. Finally, the Stormcoast is home to the wild Stormbound Clans, seafarers and tempest priests who honor an ancient sea god and stand ready to fight for the West.
The Evermarch is composed of diverse, yet allied, regions.
To the south of the Evermarch, The Eastern Elven Kingdom of Eldoria, nestled within the primal Forest of Elderglen, is an ancient, unconquerable woodland ruled by a high king, steeped in mystery and protected by its secretive elves, feybound beasts, and hermit seers. The kingdom is large and powerful. Perhaps too powerful.
High North in the west lies Kingdom of Thurn'Durak, the Dwarven Bastions riddle through out the mountain pass seperating the evermarch from the Blight Lands. They are a proud mountain kingdom ruled by High King Durgan Emberthane.[1] Renowned for their blacksteel weapons and war machines, they resist both Blightland monstrosities, and are very good terms with guarding the legendary Riftgate Vault. The Dwarves gaurd the mountain pass before them killing any orcs that try and move south from the Blight Lands.
The Blight Lands is a broken realm north of the dwarven kingdom and borded by the Northern section mountains of Skarnheim. The land is a mess, said to be monsters that roam the destoryed land. Orc bands litter the realm. Orc chiefs battle for power. Some try and flee south. Some make war with the south. Much is a mystery with this land.
North
Skarnheim, the Land of Ice and Blood, is a brutal northern frontier where survival is earned through steel, strength, and ancient rites. Its landscape is a frozen tapestry of black fjords, volcanic vents, and cursed tundra, haunted by myth and storm.
Home to fierce Skarnic clans of the frostborn, Red Orc warbands, and titanic beasts, it is a place where every breath could be your last and every child must prove their worth in blood and tale. The Skarnic culture is rooted in honor, shamanic tradition, and oral lore, governed by Jarls and the Council of Antlers.
Currently, Skarnheim is besieged by Red Orcs surging from the Blightscar Wastes, fracturing the already volatile clans. Some Jarls speak of forging a High Jarl to unify them. Others prepare to spill more clan blood. Ominous signs plague the land, vanishing stars, two legged wolves, and blood-red auroras that tear through the dark.
While the Reikstahl and Evermarch may dismiss Skarnheim as a savage winterland. The clans care little for the politics of the south, but should they rise as one, all the empires of men may tremble beneath the storm howls of the north.
Shadow Lands
The Shadowlands Beneath, is a vast, lightless expanse lying far beneath the sunlit world, a realm where even the memory of the sun is a forgotten myth. It is a sprawling labyrinth of immense caverns, twisting tunnels, and subterranean seas, a perpetual night broken only by the eerie glows of phosphorescent fungi, strange minerals, and the glimmers of dark magic.
Every footfall here echoes with danger, and the very stones seem to hum with the whispers of forgotten gods and the nightmares that coalesce from shadow. This is a land of brutal survival, a crucible where empires of stone and darkness rise and fall in the flicker of arcane light, and where primordial evils stir beneath ancient, frozen tombs.
Among its many perilous features are the Chasms of Whispering Veins, where maddening or prophetic voices drift on the subterranean winds, the sprawling Blackroot Forest, a fungal jungle both life giving and deadly. Dominating much of this realm is the City of Shadowglass, a gleaming, obsidian metropolis ruled by the dark elves whose ruthless matriarchy, cunning priestesses, and reverence for the cruel Spider Goddess, define a society steeped in brutal intrigue, sorcery, and assassination. Alongside them, the Deep Dwarves (Grymklor), master smiths of clan holds, vie for territory, and war againts the dark elves.
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Strength Levels
Untrained
Militia
Trained
Well Trained
Expert
Master
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[1] All dwarven kings are named durgan!