History

The once peaceful world of Elandra has been laid low by strife and warfare orchestrated by forces now known as The Corruption. This movement worships a tetrarchy of deities, that they claim to be the true Pantheon of Elandra, and that the remaining free peoples of the world know as “The Four”. The direct and most powerful mortal servants of The Four, the generals and high priests of the Corruption, are known as “The Crowned”. They are masters of treachery and deception, and have enacted an assault upon the history and cultural memory of Elandra itself, causing the Fading of Knowledge. 

The beginning of the Corruption was subtle, like a cough that heralds a plague. In the waning days of the Age of Legends a new religious movement was founded by a disparate group of fringe priests and mages claiming to have received a divine revelation. Such movements were not uncommon during the Age of Legends, as churches split due to mortal squabbles or theologians reinterpreted the aspects of the deities. The followers of this New Path sought to live in accordance with four precepts;

I shall seek the Plenty that is my due, I shall win it from the undeserving and keep what is mine safe from thieves and parasites.

I shall reject received wisdom and all those who hide behind comfortable lies, I will not allow my Truth to be stifled.

I shall rise to my true potential through the power of my Will, and stand unflinchingly against any who oppose me.

I shall cast aside old ways, I shall never let the expectations or achievements of others diminish me, I shall achieve Freedom whatever the cost.

Through the machinations of the Crowned and the growing influence of the Four in Elandra the New Path offered tangible benefits to its initiates in a way that other movements could not. By that same growing power there arose a series of “natural” disasters, calamities, and conflicts that the followers of the Pantheon were hard pressed to explain or to deal with. The advocates of the New Path preached that the Pantheon and their servants were falling short of their duty to protect the Realms. Soon the New Path had a foothold in every Nation, people disillusioned with the Pantheon and looking for answers to these frightening new developments.

Thus began the Age of Calamity. Once the Crowned at the heart of the New Path had acquired a large enough following to enact their fell schemes then they performed a series of apocalyptic rituals at key locations of power across the Realms. The Four, whatever they truly are, were at last able to take direct action in Elandra. The New Path then raised the first of the monoliths, its transition into the Corruption now complete, and the voices of the Pantheon fell silent. 

With the priests of the Pantheon no longer able to communicate with their deities or wield faith in their name, there was chaos among the nations. None were spared the effects of the droughts, hurricanes, wildfires, and earthquakes which redoubled in intensity. Those trusted to lead in times of crisis seemed to lose their wits, or succumb to despair or paranoia. Monsters ran loose from rifts to the elemental planes, Realms threatened to split apart, the cries of the people went unanswered.

In these disasters only the New Path retained its power. They preached that the Pantheon had abandoned the world and that all the Nations needed to cleanse themselves of the corrupt old ways if there was to be any hope for the future. People flocked to their temples out of desperation and anger, leaders pledged their fealty to the New Path or were overthrown, many of those with reservations surrendered to spare their people from warfare. One-by-one the New Path assumed control of communities, then regions, and then whole Nations. Some fought against the conquest, either out of loyalty to the now silent Pantheon or simply in defence of their own freedom. Those who took up arms were defeated in battle or slain by treachery, the champions of resistance against the New Path were forced to either flee or hide.

As the New Path assumed dominion over the world they brought the monster attacks and natural disasters somewhat under control. Those calamities that continued to occur were proclaimed to be just punishments for the continued wickedness of the world, or acts of sabotage by followers of the false deities. The rule of the New Path was a crushing weight on the Nations; its sacrifice hunters and tribute collectors were intrusive and demanding, its preachers sowed fear and suspicion from the pulpit, its informants were ever present, its enforcers were without mercy, and its iconoclasts set to tearing down anything and anyone that honoured the old Pantheon. The New Path has raised a network of monoliths across the Realms, the Pantheon remains silent, for nearly everyone this has become the way things are.

Of the tragedy that was the Pact of the Nine and the great crime that was the Fading of Knowledge more shall be written elsewhere…

Yet in the bleakness of these reversals remains a glimmer of hope. Through secret ways in the mountain passes, shaded inlets, crystal caves, and living archers in the deep forest arrives a diaspora of disparate peoples fleeing the tyranny of the New Path. Although the refuges they have sought should be hundreds of miles apart, these folk of scattered nations find themselves emerging upon the same unspoilt field before a mighty standing stone. As the refugees seek respite in preparation for a last stand, the remaining priests among them discover a revelation – the voices and power of the Pantheon can still be felt at this monument to their ancient departure from the world. The message from the Pantheon is one of hope. The deities have not abandoned the world, and they are far from powerless to oppose the forces that have wreaked such destruction. This Haven and its monuments will be the beginning of the Reclamation..

The Fallen

“I shall seek the Plenty that is my due, I shall win it from the undeserving and keep what is mine safe from thieves and parasites.”

The Crowned of the Fallen are covetous above all else, they have sacrificed their humanity in return for the promise of endless plenty to add to their bursting treasuries. They display their opulence, but their fixation is on keeping hold of their wealth, and it is through gritted teeth that any of them begrudgingly allow even a single coin or grain of wheat to pass from their control.

The lands under their occupation are controlled by want; strict rationing, crippling taxation, imposed debt, and merciless enforcement.

The emblem of the Fallen is a silver hand with splayed fingers; symbolising the grasp for more, warding away the needy, and the cold grip of debt upon the soul.

The Tyrant

“I shall rise to my true potential through the power of my Will, and stand unflinchingly against any who oppose me.”

The Crowned of the Tyrant delight in violence and subjugation, they have sacrificed their humanity for raw strength and power. In all things they seek dominion and the destruction of individuality, to burn away whatever is not subservient to their will.

The lands under their occupation are controlled by force; mass conscription, brutalisation, loyalty tests, decimation, and the unfeeling march of war.

The emblem of the Tyrant is a red wheel with six spokes; symbolising the literal blood-soaked wheels of war chariots, the tortures inflicted by authority, the grinding mechanistic and impersonal demand of war, and how all authority flows from the center.

The Terror

“I shall reject received wisdom and all those who hide behind comfortable lies, I will not allow my Truth to be stifled.”

The Crowned of the Terror live by manipulation – whether as demagogues wielding xenophobia and paranoia from the pulpit like a barbed lash, or puppet masters pulling strings from the shadows. They have sacrificed their humanity in return for the rapt attention of the masses. Each sits at the centre of a web of suspicion and fear, manipulating underlings to torment those beneath them in turn.

The lands under their occupation are controlled by fear; omnipresent informants, angry mobs, victimised scapegoats, and lies stamping on the truth.

The emblem of the Terror is a white eye; symbolising a constant hostile gaze, the need to watch at all times for threats, the exhausting state of perpetual alarm, enforced wakefulness, the blindness to unwelcome truths. 

The Void

“I shall cast aside old ways, I shall never let the expectations or achievements of others diminish me, I shall achieve Freedom whatever the cost.”

The Crowned of the Void are consumed by bleakness, they have sacrificed their humanity to be rid of the burden of pity. That which has been built or achieved by others is anathema to them, any beauty or legacy from which someone could draw strength is to be ruined without hesitation. 

The lands under their occupation are ruled by alienation; deportation, the destruction of identity, iconoclasm, erasure, and the rewriting of history.

The emblem of the Void is a black flame; symbolising the destructive power of fire to disfigure and pollute, the demand to sacrifice identity and meaning, the drive to transform and co-opt, and the urge to erase.