Sunna’s forces gathered in the halls of Warin to feast, weary from war. In that time came the emissary from the Vermin. Grossly bloated and adorned in finery of the Avras style, he was borne aloft by a dozen slaves, surrounded by a hundred black-furred guards. His proclamation echoed in the chamber: “Serve the Empire and be rewarded. Oppose and be destroyed.” Sunna’s generals fell to discussion. Warin led those who would agree, and see their people spared another war. Arcaleone urged rejection (...)
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A Dawn is Coming
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An Age of Iron
An Age of Ruin, an Age of Iron
As split was world so too were we
Our only hope a foreign truce
With Avras proud we did ally
To war ‘gainst fate we did return
From elves disloyal no aid was found
‘Cross endless sea retreat and flee
Unfit they are of dwarven aid
Not worth the fire of dwarven rage
The path they tread is ruin bound
Of orcs of men of beasts no end
Now war and siege and misery
As one we kill so sprout two more
And flight nor fight avail a dwarf
Our dominance so too now rent (...) -
An Empire of Man
A nation founded upon the exploits of Sunna, goddess given flesh, our ally has developed far from its early days. The tribes Sunna unified have endured together, never forgetting her memory and glory, symbolised by her eponymous sword Sonnstahl. The core of human supremacy in Vetia, with Destrian wealth now united through marriage with its grand armies and economy, there is no limit to the Empire’s ambition. But, to command such a diverse nation, an Emperor must not simply conquer in battle, (...)
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Atua and the Origins of the Saurians
Much of our scant knowledge of the Saurians comes indirectly from the human nations who live in closer proximity to their enclaves. While attempts to communicate directly with the minds of their corpulent, allegedly mind-reading mages typically ends in even greater confusion or madness, there are some who over the centuries have discerned more useful information. Of particular interest is the account of the natives of the southern Sunrise Sea archipelagos, who speak of a mighty, but (...)
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Calamandran’s Demise
Dearest Cyrela,
Before this letter arrives, the news of our failure – my failure – will reach our shores. The lands of our ancestors remain beyond our reach, and the creatures who squat in our inheritance remain unbroken. In our arrogance, we have underestimated them – I have underestimated them. Treacherous elves, foul dwarves, uncivilised men and worse rose to resist us, the fury of a continent unleashed against our legions. Fifteen years we endured, but alas the task given to me by the (...) -
Camilla
Among the more unusual flora native to Sagarikadesha is camillia. An unremarkable shrub producing miniature white flowers in spring, the plant appears to have no use in either cuisine or medicine. And yet, as you may know, camillia was one of the primary reasons for the vast effort and resources invested by the Highborn Elves in their colonisation of this country, and trade in its leaves still accounts for a remarkable portion of Celeda Ablan’s economic activity. After many months in one of (...)
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Dathen and the Obsidian Thrones
Sources I can find portray a grim picture of the birth of the nation of Dathen. It seems that in the First Age of Ruin, the Highborn’s Vetian provinces faced formiddable threats from barbarian hordes and dwarven enmity. Many elves fled into the West, settling in the colonies that the Pearl Throne had already established in Silexia, and began to tame that wild region. Yet this work made them grow resentful of the Aldan nobles who sought to profit from what they were building, and who had sent (...)
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Dating of the Sunna Cycle
Q: When was the Sunna Cycle put together?
A: Well, it’s not easy to be precise. Such works are rarely the work of a single individual, nor even a single lifetime. Collected from the verbal records passed down in story and myth, the Cycle unites the histories of those tribes which came together to form what is now Sonnstahl. The earliest versions were likely collated centuries after Sunna’s day, and your guess as to their accuracy is likely as good as mine. Those versions which are shared now (...) -
Elves, from the perspective of the Mad Hermit
Aloof, conceited, self-righteous...should I keep going? Of course, they got that way by living in those sky-poking towers, I’ve always said so. Living in towers is an old Arandai tradition - done it ever since they tiptoed out of the big forest and started lording it over the rest of us. Didn’t stop with the hills and valleys - next it was the rivers and the oceans. Discovered their precious whitecliffed islands and built towers there too. Imaginatively called them "Celeda Ablan" - White (...)
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Epic of Tsanas
In the time of great suffering The lands boiled The skies darkened. Water turned to acid, food warped and spoiled And every kind of unnatural, despicable creature Poured forth across the lands As a horde of malice. The tide swept all before it, They weren’t few, but countless, The hearts of those who saw them stopped. The Myahet were driven before them Scattered to the four winds. Among the daemons were The Shapeshifter and The Decaying, Terrifying brutes and powerful sorcerers, Armed with (...)