In the Beginning...
Nostra Celeste is a phrase in the old tongue meaning "Our Heaven." It was native to no inhabitants until the elves discovered it nearly four thousand years ago. The dwarves began arriving not too long afterward, followed shortly by the humans. Other races came and went, but nothing like the purposeful colonization of the big three.
The island continent is governed mostly by independent city-states, each with its own religions, ideals, and governing bodies. The two largest and most influential of these city-states are Cloudharbor and Valemont. Each of these cities sit on respective opposite ends of the massive Lake Duernegar, which dominates the center of Nostra Celeste. Cloudharbor holds a pact with much of the north and eastern cities, while Valemont is the city-elect of most of the southern regions. There are a few that still consider themselves independent of the concordat, but by and large, every city supports one of the two in some form or another.
While conditions remain fair, the relationship between the two city-states is less than cordial. Most of the bitterness arises from trade disputes and differences of religion - which is typical for bitterness anywhere. While an all out war seems far away, skirmishes and squabbles are common in the Lakelands region, even in the private sector. Fishing boats in particular fall prey to fanatics from either side.
The rest of the continent remains mostly peaceful, but there are always challenges. It's not uncommon for a man or being rises up, whether by magic or his own accord, and raids city, holds ransom a governor, raises an army, challenges the leadership, founds a cult, etc. Sometimes they rise in a misguided effort to "unite the lands" under one rule, other times, they are just out to seek the greatest power. When that happens, heroes arise to confront them as if the realm itself knows to produce such characters in order to take care of itself.
Other than that, the continent is mostly quiet. Aside from the nearby continent of Amethystia, Nostra Celeste is a few thousand miles from the nearest other continent, which leaves trade minimal. Although a few of the mages have erected portals to the far reaches of the world for travel and communication, they have yet to perfect the ability to move large amounts of people or goods very far without it costing more than it's worth to move them.
The island continent is governed mostly by independent city-states, each with its own religions, ideals, and governing bodies. The two largest and most influential of these city-states are Cloudharbor and Valemont. Each of these cities sit on respective opposite ends of the massive Lake Duernegar, which dominates the center of Nostra Celeste. Cloudharbor holds a pact with much of the north and eastern cities, while Valemont is the city-elect of most of the southern regions. There are a few that still consider themselves independent of the concordat, but by and large, every city supports one of the two in some form or another.
While conditions remain fair, the relationship between the two city-states is less than cordial. Most of the bitterness arises from trade disputes and differences of religion - which is typical for bitterness anywhere. While an all out war seems far away, skirmishes and squabbles are common in the Lakelands region, even in the private sector. Fishing boats in particular fall prey to fanatics from either side.
The rest of the continent remains mostly peaceful, but there are always challenges. It's not uncommon for a man or being rises up, whether by magic or his own accord, and raids city, holds ransom a governor, raises an army, challenges the leadership, founds a cult, etc. Sometimes they rise in a misguided effort to "unite the lands" under one rule, other times, they are just out to seek the greatest power. When that happens, heroes arise to confront them as if the realm itself knows to produce such characters in order to take care of itself.
Other than that, the continent is mostly quiet. Aside from the nearby continent of Amethystia, Nostra Celeste is a few thousand miles from the nearest other continent, which leaves trade minimal. Although a few of the mages have erected portals to the far reaches of the world for travel and communication, they have yet to perfect the ability to move large amounts of people or goods very far without it costing more than it's worth to move them.
Birth of the Titans
Legends say that titans came into being nearly 12,000 years ago, in the long Ages of Myth before man.
Those legends state that the god of sport and athleticism, Kord, was competing against the other gods for the hand of Ayailla, the goddess of celestial radiance and beauty. Kord won the competition in a tiebreaker with Vex, the deceiver, beating him by the width of a hair, despite Vex’s trickery. Vex, jealous and embarrassed, cursed Ayailla, rendering her mortal.
Weeping, Kord took his new bride and withdrew to the earth, where they conceived 12 children, each born a titan, due to the mortal, yet godly blood within them.
It is said that Kord made a deal with Vex. In exchange for longevity of life, he may lie with Ayailla once every 1000 years, and her life be extended by that amount with each passing millennium. It is during these visits that the world is darkened by chaos and revelry and the law of man fails as Vex, the god of chaos and trickery, walks among the realms seeding debauchery wherever he goes.
Those legends state that the god of sport and athleticism, Kord, was competing against the other gods for the hand of Ayailla, the goddess of celestial radiance and beauty. Kord won the competition in a tiebreaker with Vex, the deceiver, beating him by the width of a hair, despite Vex’s trickery. Vex, jealous and embarrassed, cursed Ayailla, rendering her mortal.
Weeping, Kord took his new bride and withdrew to the earth, where they conceived 12 children, each born a titan, due to the mortal, yet godly blood within them.
It is said that Kord made a deal with Vex. In exchange for longevity of life, he may lie with Ayailla once every 1000 years, and her life be extended by that amount with each passing millennium. It is during these visits that the world is darkened by chaos and revelry and the law of man fails as Vex, the god of chaos and trickery, walks among the realms seeding debauchery wherever he goes.
Since then...
The Tall Twelve Titans acted as sort of guardians over the peoples and nations of Nostra Celeste. They have thwarted many great perils and crushed threats of war. This doesn't make Nostra Celeste entirely peaceful, but it has created a place of relative safety for the realm's denizens.
Only five of the original twelve remain, and they keep mostly to themselves in the secluded Titanlands. However, every now and then one will venture out to conspire with the governance of Nostra Celeste. These days, they rarely interfere with the trifles of man, but will lend a hand if the needs are great or dire.
Only five of the original twelve remain, and they keep mostly to themselves in the secluded Titanlands. However, every now and then one will venture out to conspire with the governance of Nostra Celeste. These days, they rarely interfere with the trifles of man, but will lend a hand if the needs are great or dire.
The Revelry
Although Vex only comes to the Earth once every thousand years, the denizens of Nostra Celeste mark his coming every ten years. What started off as a simple commemoration has, over the years, turned into a festival of drinking, sodomy, and as the name suggests, revelry. Every ten years, the whole realm celebrates for three weeks; from the end of the year into the new decade.
During these celebrations, the guards and constabulary can barely keep up with the general rabble-rousers, much less actual criminals.
During these celebrations, the guards and constabulary can barely keep up with the general rabble-rousers, much less actual criminals.
Dwarves
Don't be surprised if dwarves are treated like second-class citizens everywhere they go. Long ago, the entire dwarven nation left Nostra Celeste out of disgust of the aloofness of the elves and trivialities of the himans. For centuries, the dwarves have lived in moderate isolation on the nearby continent of Amethystia.
The judges there, especially in the capital of Truuj, have been giving it's heinous criminals two options: beheading or banishment. The noble of these always choose beheading, as it is the last honorable thing a dwarf can do before returning to the stone.
The others choose banishment. They sit in prison for up to a year before loading aboard a vessel with any others who chose the same fate, bound for their new lives in Nostra Celeste. These convicted criminals are unshackled and tossed overboard along the mountainous western coast of the Quiver, miles from civilization. The ones who survive usually resort back to their nefarious ways of survival and sully the thought of dwarves in the public eye. It isn't uncommon for the bulk of gangs and n'er-do-wells to be dwarven.
Since this practice has been going on for over a thousand years, there is a large population of dwarves in the continent. Many of these dwarves are as noble as their ancestors back across the Ichyrian Sea, but appearance is everything in a realm of pettiness and political intrigue. A dwarf in high position is a laughable thought in Nostra Celeste, but that hasn't stopped a number of groups from popping up such as the League for Dwarven Betterment, which lobbies in various cities across the entirety of Nostra Celeste.
Some dwarves had a different approach entirely, and have abandoned the hope of joining the civilizations of man. They instead formed their own city-states in the Paladim Mountains, which run for over 700 miles across the entirety of Nostra Celeste. They have formed quite an economy of their own. Most of these dwarves were born here and are sometimes upwards of ten generations removed from the convicts that landed their families here.
The judges there, especially in the capital of Truuj, have been giving it's heinous criminals two options: beheading or banishment. The noble of these always choose beheading, as it is the last honorable thing a dwarf can do before returning to the stone.
The others choose banishment. They sit in prison for up to a year before loading aboard a vessel with any others who chose the same fate, bound for their new lives in Nostra Celeste. These convicted criminals are unshackled and tossed overboard along the mountainous western coast of the Quiver, miles from civilization. The ones who survive usually resort back to their nefarious ways of survival and sully the thought of dwarves in the public eye. It isn't uncommon for the bulk of gangs and n'er-do-wells to be dwarven.
Since this practice has been going on for over a thousand years, there is a large population of dwarves in the continent. Many of these dwarves are as noble as their ancestors back across the Ichyrian Sea, but appearance is everything in a realm of pettiness and political intrigue. A dwarf in high position is a laughable thought in Nostra Celeste, but that hasn't stopped a number of groups from popping up such as the League for Dwarven Betterment, which lobbies in various cities across the entirety of Nostra Celeste.
Some dwarves had a different approach entirely, and have abandoned the hope of joining the civilizations of man. They instead formed their own city-states in the Paladim Mountains, which run for over 700 miles across the entirety of Nostra Celeste. They have formed quite an economy of their own. Most of these dwarves were born here and are sometimes upwards of ten generations removed from the convicts that landed their families here.
The Dead Lands
Eons ago, two of the greatest elven wizards of all time lived on opposite mountains looking across at each others tower. Only a valley, now known as the Valley of Kings, roughly fifty miles across lay between them. Those wizards were named Galabrion and J'unos. Over the years, Galabrion and J'unos each grew to immense power and reputation, and with that power came the paranoia that the respective other was secretly plotting against him (which, each did over time in retaliation to suspecting the other.)
It did not take long before under-mages, scribes, acolytes, and even slaves to cross the valley to spy, corrupt, steal--sometimes even to murder key members of the opposing wizard's cabinet. The constant espionage never directly involved either wizard. Each was always too fearful of the other's power to attack directly.
Finally, the day came when they had each run out of peons to send in their stead. In their venerable years, they had fallen entirely into insanity and paranoia, each with demi-godlike power coursing through their veins. They had spent all of their treasures and assets in pursuit of subterfuge. Whatever they didn't spend was stolen by their remaining staff as they fled the madness of their lords, leaving each alone to dive further into the deranged power they possessed.
For the first time in over half a millennia the two spoke to each other. No one knows who spoke first, but somehow the two agreed to meet in the flatlands near the coast to the south. They stood no more than fifty yards apart and spent the better part of a week, still, trying to find a way into the other's head to gain an advantage. Each knew that one mistake, acting to quickly or too late would be their demise. They also took the opportunity to belittle the other, name calling and swearing the whole time. It's important to note, this is all hearsay, as no living person was there that day to tell the tale.
It happened suddenly. Both wizards unleashed a torrent of pure magic at the other. It was near raw weave of magic, as best that historians can tell. Each torrent met in the middle and the collision shook the earth to its very core. The ensuing reaction created a blast of pure magic that cascaded for nearly one hundred miles in all directions, killing, maiming everything in its path. The things that were not utterly destroyed were changed on a cellular level as magic altered the very molecules of their DNA.
Galabrion and J'unos each stood standing, encased in pure diamond, their final looks of malice perfectly preserved forever. Approaching the site is considered a baleful act and none but foolish teens ever do so. Those who get too close swear they can see the eyes watching them and feel the sense of something attacking their very psyche. Even the most daring of wizards and warriors don't dare venture too close for too long.
The creatures that still make their home in the Dead Lands have been forever changed. Humanoid and monstrous races and beings, the likes of which Nostra Celeste had never seen, began to evolve and emerge from the devastated fallout the wizards created. Some have evolved the intelligence and charisma necessary to make a living among the civilized. While most regard them with suspicion and sometimes fear, the world does not yet know how to react to these new beings. Others, however, remain feral and a legitimate and severe danger to travelers and homesteaders to the south.
It did not take long before under-mages, scribes, acolytes, and even slaves to cross the valley to spy, corrupt, steal--sometimes even to murder key members of the opposing wizard's cabinet. The constant espionage never directly involved either wizard. Each was always too fearful of the other's power to attack directly.
Finally, the day came when they had each run out of peons to send in their stead. In their venerable years, they had fallen entirely into insanity and paranoia, each with demi-godlike power coursing through their veins. They had spent all of their treasures and assets in pursuit of subterfuge. Whatever they didn't spend was stolen by their remaining staff as they fled the madness of their lords, leaving each alone to dive further into the deranged power they possessed.
For the first time in over half a millennia the two spoke to each other. No one knows who spoke first, but somehow the two agreed to meet in the flatlands near the coast to the south. They stood no more than fifty yards apart and spent the better part of a week, still, trying to find a way into the other's head to gain an advantage. Each knew that one mistake, acting to quickly or too late would be their demise. They also took the opportunity to belittle the other, name calling and swearing the whole time. It's important to note, this is all hearsay, as no living person was there that day to tell the tale.
It happened suddenly. Both wizards unleashed a torrent of pure magic at the other. It was near raw weave of magic, as best that historians can tell. Each torrent met in the middle and the collision shook the earth to its very core. The ensuing reaction created a blast of pure magic that cascaded for nearly one hundred miles in all directions, killing, maiming everything in its path. The things that were not utterly destroyed were changed on a cellular level as magic altered the very molecules of their DNA.
Galabrion and J'unos each stood standing, encased in pure diamond, their final looks of malice perfectly preserved forever. Approaching the site is considered a baleful act and none but foolish teens ever do so. Those who get too close swear they can see the eyes watching them and feel the sense of something attacking their very psyche. Even the most daring of wizards and warriors don't dare venture too close for too long.
The creatures that still make their home in the Dead Lands have been forever changed. Humanoid and monstrous races and beings, the likes of which Nostra Celeste had never seen, began to evolve and emerge from the devastated fallout the wizards created. Some have evolved the intelligence and charisma necessary to make a living among the civilized. While most regard them with suspicion and sometimes fear, the world does not yet know how to react to these new beings. Others, however, remain feral and a legitimate and severe danger to travelers and homesteaders to the south.