Othus Lore

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TIMELINE:


~5000 BC: Great Dragon War. Seven Ancient Artifacts forged, Age of Mortals Begins



~4000 BC: Scourge of the Giants. Elves eradicate the Giants of the Great North and destroy the forests they lived in. Giants flee into Othus, some Elves join with the Humans enslaved by the giants to settle the land.



~3000 BC: The Great North fully turned into desert, renamed Uhl’Sanada. Many Elves and Humans abandon it, but the stubborn remain to make a life there.



1027 BC: Arcadia founded from a Gnome village.



786 BC: Invasion of the Giants. Refugees from Parsall found the town of Foccu. (Later Foccupolis)



754 BC: A Halfling allegedly crushes a tribe of Orcs, the Glurosk, by knocking a hill over, gaining the name “Hilltopple.”



702 BC: Treaty of Sunbeam ends Elf-Foccu hostilities.



692 BC: 1st Arcadian Revolution. Gnomes removed from power, Elves emigrate there en masse, Foccu benefits from trade with the new government.



623 BC: Elven Lands lose control of the Holy West, and withdraw except for a few religious communities. They declare it sacred, and decree it should never be owned by a country.



584 BC: Charles Polk begins uniting Foccu.



573 BC: War of Sunbeam. Elves attempt to conquer Foccu, repelled by the Humans. Charles Polk crowned King Charles the Uniter.



523 BC: Charles dies. His son becomes Charles II.



343 BC: 2nd Arcadian Revolution. Gnome communities rebel against Mage-Queen Olympia III. They are crushed and banished to the Eastern Wastelands.



344 BC: Banished Gnomes move south, protected by Orc tribes, and found Strinkledom.



256-254 BC: Elf-Goblin War. Elven Lands expel Goblin Raiders, and repel a revenge attack from a union of three Goblin Tribes from the Wastelands.



253 BC: Count Leopold I of Moonbeam is granted a boon by the Elf King. He requests the Lightscale Bow, one of the Ancient Artifacts, which he returns to Moonbeam with.



152 BC: The Ruby of Majesty, one of the Ancient Artifacts, is discovered buried underneath Foccupolis. King Leonard I has it set within Foccu's crown.



42 BC: T’Rack Swordarm is born.



16 BC: T’Rack Swordarm searches for and finds the Lost Sword, one of the Ancient Artifacts.



14 BC: Tribes of the Wastelands united by T’Rack. Empire of Scorcast founded. Only Strinkledom recognizes it as a new country.



10 BC: Oswald Wernher crowned Ozymandias I.



0: Ozymandias Calamity. Arcadia destroyed, overrun by demons. Refugees seek help from Strinkledom, but are turned away. Demons attack Foccu. Elven mages develop the Barrier and cast it to protect the Elven Lands.



1 AC: Kata’Or discovered by Arcadian refugees. Foccu and the Arcadian refugees given the secret to the Barrier–on the condition they keep it from Scorcast. Blocked out by the Barriers, Demons attack Scorcast, but are kept at bay by the Scorcastrian Army.



2-5 AC: Construction of T’Rack’s Bulwark. Crime Gangs grow in power in South Sealand. People start counting the years by the Calamity.



6 AC: New Arcadia formally founded. Construction of Grand Academy begins.



7 AC: Muchwurton opens its doors to outsiders, in anticipation of trade deals with Foccu.



10 AC: Grand Academy completed. Lewis Twodoor is made the First Archmage.



11 AC: Archmage Twodoor hires a band of six adventurers, called the Darklanders, to retrieve the Staff of the Mage-King, one of the Ancient Artifacts, from the Mouth of Ozymandias. They succeed, but only one survives. They become a popular subject of folk tales.



16 AC: Thriving from trade with the Dwarves, Foccu expands its borders to the “Holy West,” irritating the Elven Lands.



24 AC: T’Rack disappears at the age of 66. He is said to have ascended to the Heavens as a god.



31 AC: Fable City founded by Foccu settlers.



56 AC: The Foccu crown sends soldiers into Sealand to quell the Bandit epidemic.



122 AC: Cloak of Untraceable Shadows stolen from a vault in Fable City. Its location remains unknown.



352 AC: War of Gnome’s Revenge. A forged letter results in war between Arcadia and Strinkledom, won easily by the Gnomes thanks to Warforged and Firearms. Foccu profits from the war.



373 AC: King Charles VII sends more soldiers to Sealand, crushing the bandit problem for good.



376 AC: Northwest Territory challenges Charles VII to a “battle of verse” to win their independence. Charles grants it to avoid participating.



384 AC: Charles VII attempts to reconcile Foccu and the Elven Lands, but his efforts are rejected.



383 AC: Republic of Music founded.



467 AC: Daos Soulstaff born.



473 AC: Caelynn born.



477 AC: Sombra Moonshadow tried for murder, kidnapping, and unethical magical experimentation. She is banished from New Arcadia.



478 AC: Sombra Moonshadow kidnaps her son, Daos, to use to complete an immortality ritual. He escapes and destroys it.



479 AC: King Leonard II crowned King of Foccu.



482 AC: Margaret Greenlace dies. Selena Serpentine replaces her as Advisor to Foccu.



489 AC: Caelynn leaves her orphanage and tries to make an honest living.



495 AC: Queen Lucy poisons herself.



498 AC: Caelynn’s daughter is born. The father, Marcus Gibson, disappears.



503 AC: Daos Soulstaff sets off from Ren.

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The Kingdom of Foccu:

A powerful feudal kingdom in the center of Othus. Split into eleven counties, divided between three Dukedoms: Parsall, Sealand, and Central Foccu. All three prosper economically, but a lack of law enforcement in Parsall and Sealand lead to problems with bandits and organized crime.

Foccu’s population is made mostly out of humans, but plenty of other races find their homes here. While only humans can inherit titles of nobility, Dwarves, Elves, Halflings, and even Orcs and Goliaths can make a living as merchants, shopkeeps, mercenaries, or any other careers–even public offices, like judges and mayors. In fact, many live and die exclusively in Foccu, never having inhabited their country of origin. People like this are called “Demihumans,” by some with more disdain than others.

Foccu worships Elshodi, a god whose doctrine is that Humans are his chosen people, and that it is their duty to spread his teachings across the world. (Though many Humans forget the second part). Those that follow his laws will be rewarded after death, and those who reject them will be banished to the Abyss for eternity. And those who would violate the minds and bodies of others with Enchantment and Necromancy spells should have their damnation accelerated considerably.

True Elves hold a grudge against Foccu, as the Kingdom was founded after a victory over the Elven Lands. They also colonized the Holy West (modern-day Music), in violation of a sacred decree the Elves made many years ago. Foccu has made some effort to reconcile, but Elves have long memories.

The Elven Lands:

A feudal kingdom in the northeast of Othus. The Elven Lands are the oldest country on the continent–by a loose definition of country. The land has been inhabited by Elves since “the dawn of time,” if you believe the True Elf scholars, though its form of government and its level of influence has shifted many times over the years.

Two different factions exist within the Elven Lands. True Elves revere the Archfey, King of the Fairies and ancestor to all Elves. They hold political and social power in the land, living in towns and castles, and are generally what people think of when you refer to Elves. Wood Elves, meanwhile, reject the Archfey, and worship Persephone, goddess of nature. They are exiles from True Elf society, living in small communities in forests all over Othus.

Worship of the Archfey involves following a set of five tenets. Failure to follow those tenets results in sacrifice: no more, no less. Most Archfey worshippers interpret the tenets loosely, and waive them for outsiders or accept a symbolic sacrifice of an effigy. However, among the more zealous circles of worship, travelers must be extremely mindful of the tenets if they want to make it out of town alive.

As True Elves will tell anyone who will listen, Elves are descended from Fey, and are thus objectively superior to all other Mortals. They show respect to Dragonborn and reverence to Feytouched, but generally would not give the time of day to any other race.

The Kingdom of Mortahl:

A Dwarf kingdom in the Mortahl Mountains, in the north of Othus. Composed of underground Burghs, each ruled by a Thane–with the exception of the capital, Muchwurton, ruled directly by the King. The Dwarves of Mortahl have tended to their own business for thousands of years, only interacting with the surface world on special occasions.

Only after the Ozymandias Calamity were they convinced to open up a few Burghs to trade with the outside world, reeling from the threat of Demons. Since then, they have formed healthy trade relationships with Music and Foccu, exchanging their plentiful minerals for goods. They have yet to interact extensively with the Elven Lands.

Dwarves worship Thor, god of thunder, who was said to have created Dwarves from gravel stuck in his beard. Thor worship continues mainly out of tradition, with few truly fervent believers left anymore.

The Republic of Music:

A republic in the northwest of Othus, ruled by an elected council of nine Muses. The most egalitarian of Othus’ countries, all races are guaranteed equal privileges. Though the population is mainly a mix of Humans and Elves, every species of Mortals lives there in some form or another. It also has the highest population of Tieflings of any nation.

The presence of the Lost Woods (where the Archfey is said to dwell) and Lolth’s Refuge (a great pit where the Drow were allegedly sealed underground) make the Holy West, as the lands are called, sacred ground to True Elves. Their declaration that no nation was to colonize the land was ignored by Foccu, who established cities there following the calamity.

Three hundred years after that, new ideals began to spread in the land–ideals of self-government, freedom of expression–freedom to mock those in power. This culminated with them declaring independence from Foccu in 376 AC, and forming a new government shortly after.

The Republic of Music has no official religion, with everyone free to practice their own faith, so long as it doesn’t infringe on others. (Quite a lot of verbal conflict occurs in the land because of this.)

Music has a strong tradition of creativity. Painting, writing, comedy, and of course, music, are the most celebrated careers in the culture. These outlets are utilized by prospective Muses to gain support for their candidacy–and by opponents to ruthlessly mock any character flaw revealed in them.

The Scorcast Empire:

An empire in the east of Othus, ruled by an Emperor. Scorcast has no true nobles, but the ruler surrounds themself with respected and talented individuals, called Consuls, to provide guidance. Unlike most nations, the Emperor does not inherit the throne. Rather, a number of candidates are chosen to face each other in competitions of combat, strategy, and oration. The one deemed to be the best fit to rule takes control of the Empire. If the Consuls believe the Emperor unfit to rule, they may sponsor a challenger to face the Emperor one-on-one in a competition to take power. However, this has only happened twice.

Scorcast is formed of Orcs, Goblins, and Kobolds, though some Elves and Humans also live there. It has a culture that respects strength and ability above all else, and that believes in the harsh punishment of evil. Bandits and outlaws are killed without mercy, and lawbreakers are dealt with harshly.

Scorcast has a reputation for having the most powerful military in the world: huge numbers of strong, expertly trained soldiers. Despite this, they have never been at war with another country: each time conflict seemed inevitable, it was averted thanks to diplomacy and intimidation. However, they have been holding off swarms of demons from the Darklands for five hundred years. Any who doubt the strength of Scorcast’s soldiers retract their opinion after a single day spent at the Bulwark.

The people of Scorcast worship their founder, T’Rack Swordarm, as a god in Mortal form. The tribes from which Scorcast were founded quickly linked aspects of T’Rack’s life to prophecies made about the reincarnation of the Dead God Grun’Tuk. (Who, according to Orc mythology, died protecting his creations from the other gods, who wished to exterminate them.) T’Rack never confirmed or denied his godhood in life, and disappeared at the age of 66–ascended to the heavens, his faithful say.

The Empire has an oddly strong bond with the Gnomes of Strinkledom. When the Gnomes were exiled to the Eastern Wastelands following their ill-fated rebellion against Arcadia, it was a union of Orc tribes that protected them as they migrated south to their current home. Strinkledom actually began trade with some of the tribes of modern-day Scorcast, sparking disgust and bemusement from the rest of the world. It was the first to recognize Scorcast as a country, and it remains its staunchest ally.

Strinkledom:

A democracy in the southeast of Othus. Strinkledom is formed of one large city, Strinkleton, and dozens of small farming towns. Strinkledom is the most technologically advanced country in all of Othus, having developed tractors and combine harvesters, firearms, and Warforged–mass-produced steel golems with advanced logic protocols.

Gnome culture has always had a heavy emphasis on collectivism and group decision-making, so their democratic government works very smoothly. Public voting machines are used to register votes, automatically tally them up, and magically send the results to the Vote Analysis Center (or VAC) for them to announce and enforce the results.

Warforged are a common sight in Strinkleton, acting as police for the city–or personal assistants, for some particularly affluent Gnomes. In the country, wealthy farmers purchase a Warforged or two to act as fieldhands. The military of Strinkledom is about 50% Warforged, outfitted with swords and arm-mounted rifles, with the rest being Gnomes trained in the use of firearms or combat magic.

Strinkledom and Arcadia have a long and storied history. The original Arcadia was founded from a Gnome village that grew as Wizards and Sorcerers came there to study. A rebellion a few hundred years later removed the Gnomish Council from power, and replaced it with a (typically Elvish) Mage-King. Gnome mages, stigmatized among Arcadia’s schools, turned to melding magic with advanced technology. The Mage-Queen at the time banned this practice as a perversion of the sanctity of magic. Within a few years, a Gnomish revolution rose up–and was crushed by Arcadia’s powerful magic. All Gnomes, even those few uninvolved with the revolution, were banished to the Eastern Wastelands. When the Ozymandias Calamity occurred, refugees sought safety in Strinkledom, but were turned away, as the Gnomes were still furious at Arcadia thanks to their exile. Three hundred years later, Strinkledom and New Arcadia were on the brink of reconciliation–but a forged letter from an unknown source drove Arcadia to attack instead. They were crushed by Strinkledom’s advanced war technology–firearms and the new Warforged–leaving Arcadia bitter once more.

New Arcadia:

A powerful country in the south of Othus, New Arcadia was formed by the Arcadian survivors of the Ozymandias Calamity. It is ruled jointly by the Archmage of the Grand Academy (largely responsible for diplomacy and foreign affairs) and the High Council of Dragons (controlling domestic affairs).

The discovery of Dragons in the mountains of New Arcadia was quite a shock, as both Metallic and Chromatic Dragons were thought to be extinct. The Metallic Dragons of Kata’Or explained how their ancestors took refuge within the mountains after the Great Dragon War, and how even they do not know the fate of the Chromatic Dragons. (Though many still believe with certainty they are extinct). The Metallic Dragons, ever seeking the power and influence to do good, offered to rule over and protect the survivors–an offer they accepted.

Aside from the Dragon City of Kata’Or, the largest city in New Arcadia is Paragon City, home of the Grand Academy, the greatest school of magic in Othus. No greater wellspring of knowledge and magical experimentation exists, and people will pay extravagant sums for themselves or their children to study there.

Arcadia is considered a paradise. Poverty, illness, and political conflict are all but eliminated thanks to the guiding hand of the High Council. However, two problems still remain, despite the Dragons’ efforts. First is a loose morality when it comes to magic. Experimentation and progress often takes a backseat to what other nations and religions consider moral. Even necromancy is accepted so long as it is used with an acceptable purpose. Second is a deep hatred of Strinkledom. Gnomes are distrusted, Strinkledom Gnomes hated, possession of advanced Gnomish technology heavily punished, and dealing in it is punished by execution.

There is very little unified religion in New Arcadia. The Metallic Dragons worship Bahamut, the seven-tailed dragon god of good, who exists in tandem with his sister/other self, Tiamat, seven-headed dragon goddess of evil. For every evil, good must rise to stop it. For every good, evil makes trouble elsewhere…balance is everything. Some citizens follow this faith, or one of the others. Many mages actually reject the existence of gods at all, and spend much of their time theorizing where Clerics actually get their spells from.