Post by fable on Apr 3, 2018 18:02:15 GMT
I found a massive forum thread on 3T. As the wiki is lacking in info I figured I might repost it here. Perhaps a DM will sticky it. It's from 2007 so probably some errors here and there.
Source: z6.invisionfree.com/TKRKS_PBeM/index.php?showtopic=63
---------------------------
the adventure starts at the windmill... then you make your way by level 23 or so to the epic portal on the other side of the island, where you are transported to the desert realm of harata
over those levels you can descend to the underdark (far too big for me to draw on paint, but it's underneath the square Iron Brotherhood fortress next to orc hill)
once you go through the portal, you start on the east side of THIS map
user posted image
(you'l notice this map is not nearly as big, the old map was in development for 5 years, this new one's only existed for 2 years, but we're still adding content. im pretty sure there should be a large annexation for the minotaur zone of a deep green valley)
and work your way over to the manonera city (manonera used to be people, but in a horrible magical cataclysm, they transformed themselves into hideous spider-centaurs. they now guard thier sunken city of jewels in the hopes that thier blood god will return to them and undo the curse.)
ill post the entire 3T story here a little bit later.
K: the story as the players see it
Players start in Wheaton where they are reasonably unaware of whats goin on around them. As they venture into the world, they realise all is not right for the Towns:
Wheaton.
In Wheaton, Bandits are forever raiding and taking over peoples homes. Robbing the farmers of their crops and harassing merchants travelling from Towns to Town. Various people have gone missing - Tinnely the little girl, Friam the halfling to name but two.
The Mayor seems very interested to know what the Bandits are doing mining the Wheaton Woods. Bardham's deliveries and orders seem to be getting disrupted.
Father Peter sends people to discover the truth about an ancient evil, but what is it? Where does it come from? And more importantly, what is it doing now?
Surely there is something more sinister going on here?
Arakan.
Travelling to Arakan, adventurers find the plot gets even more curious, and takes a turn towards the macabre.
Goblins seem very well organised and are troubling the Guards. They have appointed a "Grand Vizier" who seems to be doing all he can to disrupt trades between the Towns.
Sojan Hawkfeather has had many reports of people going missing and asks for help with that mystery.
The mage tower has been abandoned, and its master left in a hurry, for an unknown reason. Where did he go, and why? Surely Arakan has need of him now as much as ever.
Towards the Graveyard, even stranger things are happening. A dark mage, Isenduil, has taken up residence in the Graveyard, mastering the undead there to do his bidding. Isaac the Vampire has long been recovering (from what?) in the depths underneath Delorfin's house, and Isenduil threatens to uncover his presence and/or drain his minions. He cannot allow this so he is using adventurers to attack Isenduil and get rid of him.
It turns out, he has an interest in the "Ancient Evil" Father Peter sends people to discover. He has taken an important journal relating to it, but why? And we still dont know what this evil actually is.
In the Library, Izz sends people to examine an Orc Totem. It turns out they are summoning a powerful Aspect to help them. Dark powers must be aiding them somehow...
Between Wheaton and Arakan lies the Bandit mines, and deep beneath them an ancient map untouched for centuries. Perhaps this will come in useful later on?
Fer.
In Fer, the guards have the age old problem - the indigenous Ssathla are fighting over territory. Once those are dealt with, the Guards refer players to Elijah Lightbringer, the chief defender of Fer, and her allies. He can muster and organise and guards of the Three Towns against the enemy but cannot force them back. Players can aid him by taking out important leaders in the attacking forces, but even this is not enough, leaders are replaced as fast as they can be ousted.
Inside, there are problems. The smiths have lost the use of their mine due to a collapse, and many miners are trapped inside.
Richal has managed to get an undercover BE operative to infiltrate Drassa, but hasnt heard from him. Why not?
Players find Thelonious, a crippled dwarf, in his house outside Fer. He informs them that evil creatures named Uhlek have been taking people prisoner and carrying out horrific experiments. This is what happened to Tinnely and Friam, no doubt. But why? and how?
In the Guardians Guild, Arana the True is desperate for the Guardians to make allies, sending players to search for potential allies and take offers of treaty to them.
Donald the Guard sends players to find out about the Iron Brotherhood, penetrate their defneces and find out how they get their power.
Heading West, the Passage, and Vanguard and Beyond.
These are dangerous areas. Only Ten Dragons stands as an area of civilisation here. Largely unclaimed these areas are fought over day in day out, with organise hordes of Orcs descending from the north and Iron Brotherhood rising from the South. The Bleeding Eye have been roped in to help, persuaded by assurances of gold and supplies. Many lives are lost on both sides daily.
It seems the Uhlek have their lair here. Inside players discover that they have many creatures from all over the continent held, imprisoned, and being experimented on. Many creatures appear to have been created by merging those less powerful, and some true abominations have been created including Grindels and Ogre Hybrids. But again, why are they doing this?
To the North, the Orcs train hard and many thousands live in the Settlement. On penetrating the Orc Commander's household, players discover the presence of a far greater power, manipulating and controlling the Orcs. What is this power? Why does it wish the destruction of the Towns?
Heading to the east or south, the lands become rougher. Old battlements, remnants of a war long forgotten are in place, mostly crumbled into ruins. An acient ruined city - Caendryll - infested with spiders gradually decays and rots. Why does such a great city lie in ruins?
Those who stray too far west find themselves in lands almost untouched by civilisation. A primitive yet extremely powerful race lies here - Grindels. Created by the Uhlek in their laboratory, now left free to breed and multiply their numbers in preparation for large scale attacks on the Towns.
Even further west, and the Varul are found. None dare to venture here, these lands have never been returned from alive so who knows what mysteries lie here? Deep into Varulheim, ancient mystical powers are at work, but Varul appear indifferent to all but protecting their land with a vicsiousness almost unrivalled. Searching carefully, it seems there is a shoreline here, with ancient runes of opwer waiting to be unlocked.
To the South, beyond the Bleeding Fields, lies Stormhold governed by General Bragg. Again on penetrating this bastion of military might there is a powerful presence, another apparition. Why? Who? Well, Also in here a mage informs you that mages are trained on an Island, and gives you a map. Yet another mage holds a journal of great importance to Father Peter. Why are so many interested in this ancient evil? What is it and where does it lie?
Exile has made itself comfortable out of the way of the towns, yet sufficiently close to cause havok. The Servants of Lloth make their home in McCaughey old village where they aid the Drow in their plots and schemes.
Mount Drassa and Beyond.
Northwest of the Orc settlements a huge mountain lies. Inside its deep caverns players find Richal's undercover contact. He reports several important points:
1. The Orcs, BE and IB are mastered by something called the Manonera, but he doesnt know any more than that.
2. The Uhlek are carrying out their experiments unhindered by these Manonera, yet not altogether in an alliance.
3. the Uhlek and BE are training and crossbreeding Orges and other creatures into far more powerful and advanced creatures in preparation for an attack on the Towns.
Players may or may not have known some of this from doing Orc/IB quests and mysterious disappearances.
Further North Giants are largely unreceptive to this force, either being too stupid to be worth training, or simply too powerful for Uhlek to easily manipulate. They have tried though, and their failed experiements have been abandoned out in the wilde mountainsides to bear the weather and storms of the lands alone.
Red Giants serve a powerful Ancient Wyrm, lying in his lair coddling his wealth. Ice Giants serve their queen devotedly, their lands being too cold and inhospitable for most creatures, yet the only place they feel comfortable. Therefore these 2 civilisations mostly keep to themselves, defending their lands yet not being aggressive and bringing unwanted attention from either the Manonera or the Towns.
Even further west from Drassa, and the Ogre village is found. Beyond that is a village of Mountain Dwarves, struggling to survive against the Ogre attacks and in need of allies. In both players and the Three Towns, they have now found them, and hopefully can begin to trade and work together with the smiths guild.
Underground.
Deep underneath the contested areas, covering a huge area, lies the Underdark. Down here, Drow and duergar are at war and each seeking allies where they can be found. Players may ally themselves with either, and each has their own designs. Drow send them on errands, and to kill those above ground in vengeance for past wrongs. Duergar are somewhat less aaggressive, and would probably be happy enough simply to be left alone with their anvils and city.
Players stumble upon the Mage's Lab, where an abandoned student is having trouble contending with rampant Golems and drow thieves. His master has left for elsewhere - again he seems one step ahead of the adventurers. What is he up to?
Islands and Distant Lands.
Various areas appear to players as they discover more about the world, continent and its history. Everywhere that a shadow sailor can sail to, must either be visited first or located on the map. Points available for discovery on the map are:
1. Isle of Storms. IB training tower and Calduil's current location. Players access this by persuading the IB mage to give them a map, and locating it in the map room.
2. Isle of Death. King Caendryk was imprisoned here long ago after the Rebellion by Dwarves and Elves. Accessed through Father Peter's quest.
3. Isle of Lost Dreams. Monk retreat, as yet unfinished but probably an extension of 10D quests. There will be plot hooks here, and I have asked Taroc to have a think about it as 3Ts best known monk player. I would like to utilise his Order of the Rising Dragon here if possible, but lets see what he comes up with.
4. Isle of Ice. Long ago, the Arials fled the manonera to this Isle only to be enslaved by Azath and driven mad. Accessed through Batu the Bard's quest. I think...
The following are accessed first, then sailors told of their locations:
1. Harata. Accessed through a Portal quest, which will be started when players first come across the Ancient runes on the Western Shore. Through a combination of Vorathana, and the Elf Hermit, players will complete the quest, go to Harata, return via the portal, locate Harata on the map, and then shadow sailors can take them there.
2. Pureblood Settlement: this isnt that far away, once accessed it can be found by shadow sailors easily enough without being found on the map
Isle of Storms.
The Isle is where the Iron Brotherhood train their mages, and when they reach the top level the players find yet another manonera apparition. This time, it almost taunts the player and treats them with scorn. So, again, the manonera are manipulating the IB even here.
However, there is more to it. Finally Calduil has been located. He appears to be building up an army of constructs underneath the IB Tower, but to what purpose? He is certainly here under the pretense of helping the IB, but players cannot help wondering if he is just using them. Is he helping them? Just using their lab and tower as a base from which to study, and get mutual benefit? Or is he even a potential ally for the Towns, could he and his army help topple the IB and destroy their structure?
Players will eventually find out, and possibly even affect which of those he is doing depending on their actions.
The General Plot of 3T
Before the Cataclysm
Long ago, the area now occupied by the Three Towns was just a small peninsula of land, scarcely occupied. There were Ssthla in the areas around Fer and quite a large goblin tribe in the area known as Blackwood. There were brief sightings of secretive wood elves, but never many at once. Wild creatures and demi-humans occupied the majority of the land forming their own tribes and cabals.
Beyond the western seas of this land lay a vast continent of great power. Great cities grew and fell, empires came and went and many battles were fought. The mightest of all the empires was that of the Manonera, ruled by a group of Divine magic users who an ancient god. Their god was Mephistopheles, who had been cast out of this realm and banished by the other gods during the ancient times, the times when Gods walked the lands. The single purpose of these priests was to bring their god back and restore his power.
Now the Manonera lived in a magnificant city that housed many different races and creeds. As the city grew so did the power of their priests. Mephistopheles was a blood god and so the priests saw it as their duty to spill blood upon the ground. They believed that once enough blood had been shed then Mephistopheles would walk the earth once more.
So it was that the Manonera set out to make war with all those around them. Not for glory, power or riches but purely for the sport of war. Their army, marching under a banner bearing a symbol of a drop of blood, conquered all those that opposed them. With death all around them, their power only grew.
Eventually the time came where the priests believed enough blood had been split that they could attempt to bring their god back into the world. A council was held in the Temple of Kemet to agree this action. All but a small few agreed that the summoning could take place.
So it was that the priests gathered in the Temple of Kemet, in the upper City of Jewels, high on the hillside and gathered together all their power - arcane, divine and other forms. Thousands were sacrificed in the Temple that day so that the floors were awash with blood. Focusing this power into a single individual, they hoped to open the way for their god to return. However, something went wrong.
The cause is not that important - the effects were. A vast magical out-pouring, the combined power released without direction or control. It laid waste to a large section of the continent, rendering it into a barren, desert wasteland where in fires burned rocks and shattered skies. Many people are died, being torn apart by the storm. Other people underwent horrific transformation; people grew tails, wings, bugged eyes ... all manor of mutations.
The city of Manonera fell deep into the earth, burying it from sight, with the rocks overhead melting to form its own tomb.
The Story of Caendryk
Out of those that objected to the council's decision Lord Caendryk was probably the most notable. Fearing the folly of the priests actions he took a large group of loyal followers and left the city. A great many folk followed this reknown general including the mighty Stormhold, one of the empires bravest knights.
Lord Caendryk fled east, out through one of the smaller gates. The priests heard about the Lord's decision to leave and sent an entire legion, 1000 men, to deal with him. Knowing a great fight would ensue they saw only victory in having more blood split. With not enough men to hold the gates Caendryk had the gates magically sealed with such a spell that they could never be opened without the key.
To hide the magical key to the gates, and to buy his people time, Caendryk broke the key in half and hid both halves. To ensure the key would be well hidden, Caendryk gave it to his two most loyal followers, Stormhold and Salios. These two took their halves and went north and south from the Towers of Sebayet. Taking them deep into the caves the two followers knew that they would never see the promised land.
So it was that Lord Caendryk led his people through the eastern lands, were little but wild Asabait lived and finally to an ancient mystic portal. There the runes were activated into a configuration that lead them away from their home land.
That was the Cataclysm.
The City of Caendryll
There followed a dark time. What was left of the continent was a wasteland of strange brutal creatures and survivors. Those that survived the cataclysm were left permanently and magically corrupted.
The group of survivors following the Lord Caendrykk has made it safely to a new land. It was fertile, and held many natural resources that could be used by the survivors. They settled at first on the western coast, but soon pushed further in-land. Creatures, or native races that already inhabited some areas of the continent, the survivors either avoided or conquered these peoples.
Lord Caendryk though had other plans and he brought the settlers together to start a new kingdom. Great castles where created and forts to protect the borders from the many wild creatures that abounded. The culmination was the creation of a city, the capital, Caendryll.
Always weary of the possibility of the Manonera coming once more a mighty defence was built to protect the new city. To the north was The Vanguard, a series of walls and great towers. To the south was a powerful fortress named Stormhold, after that most loyal of servants.
The King and the Rebellion
Now Caendryk had Manonera blood running through his vains and slowly it took its toll. He named himself King of the land and, being the great warrior he was, he not only subdued the many wild creatures (driving them into the darkest of corners) but his iron will also extended to his people.
However, not all of his people wanted to be ruled by him. They had escaped with their lives from their homes and fled to a new continent and they wanted to do things differently this time. The Dwarves and Elves were the first to rebel, seeing not only the evil nature of the new King but also the fact that if he was to be removed, they would be free to live their lives as they wanted.
There was a great war between the King and the elves and dwarves known as The Rebellion. Some elves and dwarves were driven underground becoming the drow and duergar. Some elves fled to the southern woodlands where they went into hiding, closing the border and killing anyone who came near them.
The King took the war to the elves but in a fearsome battle the elves finally overthrew him and imprison him in a great tomb. There also the elves buried many of the great heroes that had fallen to guard and watch over the tomb. With the loss of the King the kingdom started to fall into ruin. Towers and watch-posts were abandoned and the castles fell into ruin.
The fall of the King and the Seduants
After the fall of the King, Caendryll was ruled by a combination of Clerics (or divine influenced people) and mages. They took it in turns to run the city - 5 years divine, 5 years arcane. Conditions within the Kingdom had been getting worse since the death of the King. The people had to work hard to feed themselves and many lost their lives on the borders, fighting wild creatures or elves. After one particularly unhappy term of the divine council ruling, the arcane council promised that things would change. A year or so into their rule, the leader of the arcane council died from a strange illness and a young powerful mage called Vorathna was elected the new council leader. She conducted research into all sorts of ancient spells and magic and uncovered some texts about spells that open a portal to another world. After some experimentation, she found the Sendaunts world. She brought a few of them through and tested them. She found that under domination spells, they were good workers and could feed the people and would be good entertainment. Everything went well for a while but then there were just too many Sendaunts being used. The power of the items was not enough to keep them all dominated, they broke free, spreading in all areas of the city, killing and poisoning the citizens. Rumour had it that Vorathna was carried off through the portal.
So with the fall of the great city, the continent returned back to the wilderness with small groups of survivors living in ruins and remote corners. Many settlements were either abandoned, or over run by the native creatures. Only the most defendable settlements with the most determined inhabitants survived.
The Three Towns
On the eastern coast of the continent were situated three small towns, built quite late on during the reign of the King. These were the towns of Fer, Wheaton and Arakan. The towns had been build in very defendable positions, with the coast to their east, the Icy Mountains to their north, the large, treacherous expanse of the Blackwood to the south and a smaller but still imposing range of mountains to the west. These towns were constructed mainly by sympathisers to the Elves and Dwarves, and soon became a haven for them. Fer, in the north, was situated at the foot of the Icy Mountains and became a centre for mining and craft of metal goods. Many Dwarves came to live in this town. Arakan, in the south, was located just inside the Blackwood, and was mainly populated by Elves, who sought to keep the old magical arts alive on this new continent. Wheaton was situated on the fertile land between Fer and Arakan, and quickly became a farming settlement, supplying food to the other two towns.
After the fall of the King, the three towns of Fer, Arakan and Wheaton were alone in isolation, pinned into their strongholds by roaming bands of wild creatures and desperate survivors. Contact was lost with other settlements one by one, until the three towns assumed that very few, if any other settlements were still left.
Eventually each town locked their gates and held desperately on to what ever they had, to survive those ravaging post-war years.
Two centuries passed, generations came and went and history was forgotten.
Eventually the three towns established their own guard and eventually secured a foothold in their local regions. Scouts and fighters eventually broke through and made contact with the other towns. Only three were located: Wheaton, Fer and Arakan. The towns banded together to form an alliance of defence, from which they pooled together their resources. They became more successful is holding off the more violent attacks from wild creatures and eventually secured trade routes between the towns.
Many of those that had been the old guardians of the watch-posts, old soldiers and their families, had survived in the old keeps and castles. Fighting for their lives, burning every book to keep warm in the winter months, they form roaming bands of bandits and tribes like the Iron Brotherhood and Bleeding Eye.
What of the Manonera?
Meanwhile, back with the Manonera: many of the Manonera had been killed in the cataclysm. Of the ones that remained, some had been transformed in some way by the cataclysm. They separated for a long time but eventually their need to re-build their power base brought them back together. They came back to their great city and rebuilt much of it. Now deep in the earth they faced many problems from new Horrors that came up from the depths to destroy them. They enslaved many of the weaker races, such as kobolds, to do their bidding. The Manonera once more grew strong and powerful and started to seek out to redeem themselves.
Their High Priest saw that the only chance for their true redeption was to finish the work that they had once started, finish the summoning. For that though they desperately a great war and the blood of many. They only problem was their entrapment and lack of willing victims.
Then one day they receive a message from an Iron Brotherhood mystic that has discovered an ancient text buried in some ruins. The Manonera finally see an opportunity to forefill their desires. They grant aid, teaching and training to these villians so that a war may ensue. This time they are careful though. Rather than subdue the entire nation of the Three Towns, they grant the IB only enough power to wage war, not enough to win it. Thus a greate cycle is perpetuated where-by ensuring that the flow of blood is steady.
Seeing this war start, the Manonera send out emassaries in long boats. They hope to seek out violent and malevolent beings that will join their cause and fight for money, power (whatever it takes).
The Uhleks
The Uhlek are a race of creatures that are seeking perfection. They seek to combine the powers of arcane magic and the prowess of monk skills. The Manonera quickly saw how a conflict with the Uhlek could hurt them for little gain, so they reached an agreement with the Uhlek. They would not come into conflict and the Uhlek would be able to carry on their research. The Iron Brotherhood would provide the Uhlek with test subjects and in return the Uhlek would share their research and skills. One of the first things the Uhlek did for the Manonera was to create a race of very powerful fighters - the Grindels. These were few in number, so are being bred and trained as shock troops for an assault on the three towns. Also, the Manonera established a base in the near by Drassa Range, and recruited Ogres and Giants. The Uhlek are assisting with the training of these creatures in order to help with the attacks on the Three Towns.
The Exiles in the Ice
CURRENT STATE
The Manonera continue to build up their forces in the area. They launch periodic raids on the towns to ensure a steady war.
The duergar and drow hate all outside influence as it is inbred that outsiders put them in this position
Deep in the southern woods the wood elves still remember what happened. They kill anyone on sight, entering their woods
SELECTED READINGS FROM THE HISTORY OF THE WORLD
A Past Long Forgotten
All before were corrupt - they concern us no more.
Those that sought glorious death have been satisfied.
Those that had no stomach for freedom are banished.
Our path is true.
Our will is unbending.
Our fate is written.
(an excerpt from �The Cleansing� - a text from the Ruins of XXXXX)
Unsatisfied with their state, desiring knowledge, mastery and perfection the Mahru Lehk were a formidable force of mind, body and spirit. Their mastery of the continent was ruthless and uncompromising. All that opposed them by force were slaughtered. Those that submitted were sent through the Cleansing Gate into a life time of exile. The Velox, the Spemin, the Ounag, all great civilizations, all destroyed. From the time of the Cleansing, their power was absolute, their enemies eliminated or isolated.
The Cleansing Gate was a one-way portal to a distant land, a one-way trip to a hellish frozen island at the end of the world.
While their works were mighty and their cities grand, they were unsatisfied. They lived in a constant state of self-doubt, self-hate and struggle � no longer against outside enemies but against themselves. They turned their awesome power against their own imperfection.
They could not kill their own but they could not live with those who but lack of conviction or will or strength did not meet their uncompromising ideals. They sent them through the Cleansing Gate into eternal exile.
But they were not without mercy. They gave the exiles one way to escape this fate � Tarn Rue � the Pool of Sorrow. And many took this mercy � only a few would not go, they would reform themselves, to prove their worth and to return.
They entered exile, a harsh land dominated by their former enemies, those that had preceded them through the Cleansing Gate � the Ounag. They hid themselves and thought and schemed and worked to rebuild what they had lost.
But such a self-destructive society could not last, their own obsessions weakened them and others rose to power and they were forgotten.
Before the Cataclysm
Long ago, the area now occupied by the Three Towns was just a small peninsula of land, scarcely occupied. The climate was cold and harsh, and only the hardiest of Lizardfolk, Ice Giants, and Demi-Humans managed to survive. There were Ssthla in the areas around Fer and quite a large goblin tribe in the area known as Blackwood. Wild creatures and demi-humans occupied the majority of the land forming their own tribes and cabals.
Beyond the western seas of this land lay a vast continent of great power. Great cities grew and fell, mighty empires came and went and many battles were fought. At this time, the mightiest of all the empires was that of the Manonera, ruled by a group of Divine magic users who worshiped an ancient god - Haqeldema Mephistopheles, who had been cast out of this realm and banished by the other gods during the ancient times, the times when Gods walked the lands. The single purpose of these priests was to bring their god back and restore his power.
The Manonera lived in a magnificent city that housed many different races and creeds. As the city grew so did the power of their priests. Haqeldema Mephistopheles was a blood god and so the priests saw it as their duty to spill blood upon the ground. They believed that once enough blood had been shed then Haqeldema Mephistopheles would walk the earth once more.
So it was that the Manonera set out to make war with all those around them for the sport of war and gratification of their God. Their army, marching under a banner bearing a symbol of a drop of blood, conquered all those that opposed them. Those who fell before them included the Velox, the 'something, and 'the something else'. With each death , their power grew.
Eventually the time came where the priests believed enough blood had been split that they could attempt to bring their god back into the world. A council was held in the Temple of Kemet to arrange agree this action. All but a small few agreed that the summoning could take place.
The Story of Caendryk
Of the few that objected to the summoning, Lord Caendryk was probably the most notable. Knowing that pride and hubris, not reflection and understanding, had motivated the Calling of Haqeldema Mephistopheles, he prepared quietly and diligently to take a a large group of skeptics out of city. A great many folk followed this renowned general including the mighty Stormhold one of the empires bravest knights, and Salios Caendryk's trusted councillor and spiritual advisor.
As the Calling was being prepared, Lord Caendryk left the City through one of the smaller Eastern gates. As they were preparing the priests heard about the Lord's decision to leave. They relished in the thought of adding Caendryk and his followers to the sacrifice for their Lord. They sent an army to spill the blood of the traitor. An entire legion, 1000 strong, was dispatched to bring one last victory before the Calling.
[And a whole bunch happened that makes sense, the door was sealed, Stormhold and Salios took their groups North and South, Caendryk had time to leave and �]
With not enough followers to withstand such a force, Caendryk had the gates magically sealed with such a spell that they could never be opened without the key.
To hide the magical key to the gates for reasons we need to decide on Caendryk broke the key in half and hid both halves.
To ensure the key would be well hidden, Caendryk gave it to his two most loyal followers, Stormhold and Salios. They each took their charge and traveled in separate directions, one to the North, one to the South, knowing their duty and that they would be forever separated from their Lord.
So it was that Lord Caendryk led his people through the eastern lands, where little but wild creatures lived and finally to an ancient mystic portal, the likes of which he had not seen before. Caendryk knew the only hope for his people to escape the Manonera for good was to take this chance and enter the unknown. They had no home behind them, there was no turning back. Unaware of the impending destruction of the City of Jewels, Caendryk and his followers entered the Portal and left their home behind.
The Cataclysm
So it was that the priests gathered in the Temple of Kemet, in the upper City of Jewels, high on the hillside and summoned all their power - arcane, divine and other forms. Thousands were sacrificed that day � the floors were awash with blood � their spirit was strong. Focusing their power into a single individual, they opened a passage, a passage to bring Haqeldema Mephistopheles home. Their work was folly, their hopes were destroyed, they did not understand their power or the power of those who had cast Haqeldema Mephistopheles out.
Their mistake is not that important - the effects were. A vast magical out-pouring � their combined power released without direction or control. It laid waste to a large section of the continent, rendering it into a barren, desert wasteland where in fires burned rocks and shattered skies. The celebrants and their followers torn apart by the storm. Those who survived began a sickening transformation, they grew grew tails, wings, bugged eyes ... all manner of mutations.
The City of Jewels fell deep into the earth, burying itself into the hardened rock on which it had stood, disappearing from sight as the rock above melting to create a tomb.
There followed a dark time for the followers of Haqeldema Mephistopheles. What was left of the continent was a wasteland of strange brutal creatures and survivors. All the faithful were left permanently and magically corrupted. The non-believers, those outside the city through magic, sheer luck or the divine intervention of their own gods were not effected.
The City of Caendryll
The group of survivors following the Lord Caendryk were surprised by what they found. A wasteland, sparsely populated and covered in Ice, barely surviveable. Indeed, they were beginning to think they had made a serious mistake when the effects of the Great Cataclysm began to affect both continents, to varying degrees. While the Old World became a hot barren wasteland, the warmer climate spread more gently to the new continent, melting much of the ice and gradually revealing land which was fertile enough for their purposes and held many natural resources that could be used.
They settled at first on the western coast, but the ruins there, while familiar as they were obviously of similar workmanship to a number of old-world ruins, possessed an aura of despair and fear. Wanting to leave that behind, they pushed further in-land. Those that they found already inhabiting the land were either avoided or conquered.
Pleasant as it might have seemed, Lord Caendryk had greater ambitions. Not only would he master this continent � he would return to the City of Jewels, he would save the Manonera from their folly. He brought the settlers together to start a new kingdom.
Always wary that the Manonera may follow through the portal, great defenses were built to protect his people. To the north was The Vanguard, a series of walls and great towers. To the south was a powerful fortress named Stormhold, after that most loyal of servants.
The crowning glory of his new kingdom was a great city � a capital � Caendryll.
The King and the Portal
Now Caendryk was Manonera � the blood of his ancestors could not be denied. He crowned himself King of the land and, being the great warrior he was, he not only subdued the many wild, and not so wild, creatures he found - either destroying them utterly or driving them into the darkest corners of his new Island Kingdom, he also subdued, as far as he was able, the bodies and minds of his followers � tying them ever closer to his will.
His will replaced their will, his goals replaced their goals, his great power molded and sculpted them into instruments of his desire. And no greater desire did he have than a return to his home. But that was not an easy proposition. Even if he could amass the power to defeat the Manonera there was no obvious means of return. The portal gave little clue as to its origins. While its magic connected it to the continent how could that magic be used? Could it be opened?
Four powerful mages where charged with discovering the secret of the portal. The Mage Unnamed Human, the Druid [Wild Elf name], the Sorceror [Drow Elf name] and the Cleric [Varul name]. Each had his strength and his weakness, together there was no greater collection of minds than the Rada. They delved into every aspect of the portal, studying its ruins, its craftsmanship, the very essence of its magic. The portal itself gave up little information but the study of its magic did reveal that they were not the first to make this kind of study. One of the wards that protected the portal from tampering had been broken. But there was no sign of the culprit. None of the native tribes had the intelligence to perform such powerful magic.
Only the most diligent observation and study revealed the truth about the island. The island had been a prison, the portal was it�s gate. Small groups of exiles had lived and died cut off from their home. And one group had discovered some of the secrets of the portal. The Ounag, an intelligent race, had spent centuries studying the portal. It was they who had broken one of the protective seals. They had studied the magic, discovered some of the basics of its power but were unable to finish the job.
With the knowledge of the Ounag and spurred on by their King, the Rada expended great power, each in its own field. Each of them found a solution to one of the seals. Isaac forged a great orb of power, [Varul] exploited the waters of Tarn Rue, [Wild Elf] had something or other, [Drow Elf] had something or other.
But, the search and the discovery � while satisfying created a feeling of unease. During the years of their study Caendryk had become more and more distant. His passion to return to the continent and the knowledge that the Rada were close to completing their tasks had spurred him to demand more and more of his people. All of his resources were poured into the building of a massive army. Every man, woman and child was dedicated to this task. The local populations of Ogres, Giants, Orcs, Ssthlaa and Goblins were made slaves to this purpose � the strong as warriors, the weak as supply machines, producing the arms, the armor, the vast stores needed to take the City of Jewels. Blood games where held to train his warriors in combat. The victors became his champions, the victims were used to swell a vast army of undead minions.
This single-minded obsession, the willingness to subvert everything to one single selfhish goal concerned the Rada. While the had the knowledge that Caendryk desired, their hearts told them that the use of the portal � a return to the continent � the victory of Caendryk and the imposition of his will on the whole of the Manonera would be a magnificent failure and an end for their kind, not a new beginning.
So, they delayed and they plotted and they found followers among their communities, people who had lost faith in Caendryk and his purpose. Their support was great, but not as great as the might of Caendryk. They devised a plan to take him by surprise. Late on the eve of the Festival of Return they acted. Attacking Caendryk in his palace with all the force they could muster. And they were successful � somewhat. Caendryk was grievously wounded and thought dead by his followers. Unknown to them, his life hung by the slimmest thread with only his iron will keeping him from eternal rest.
But while Caendryk was personally incapacitated, his loyal lieutenants were not. They rallied their loyal troops and with a blood fury revenged themselves upon the assassins, driving them from Caendryll and chasing them to the furthest reaches of the land. Isaac they captured, but not until he had shattered his orb. The followers of Something fled underground into the deepest, darkest passages they could find and became the drow and the duergar. The Varul fled into the mist of the Western Shore. The remaining Elves fled into the deepest forests of the Southwhere they went into hiding, closing the border and killing anyone who came near them.
The funeral of the King was savage. His body was borne by Ogres over the bodies of the prisoners taken in the rebellion. A thousand ships were made from the bones of the defeated and the souls of the dead were bound to the ships as their crew. A tomb was prepared on a remote island where the King was laid along with his fallen comrades and sealed with magic and they left him there - buried alive.
While they had a great victory, the loss of Caendryk, the loss of his purpose and drive was fatal to the kingdom. Towers and watch-posts were abandoned and the castles fell into ruin.
The fall of the King and the Senduants
After the fall of the King, Caendryll was ruled by a combination of Clerics (or divine influenced people) and mages. They took it in turns to run the city - 5 years divine, 5 years arcane. Conditions within the Kingdom had been getting worse since the death of the King. The people had to work hard to feed themselves and many lost their lives on the borders, fighting wild creatures or elves. After one particularly unhappy term of the divine council ruling, the arcane council promised that things would change. A year or so into their rule, the leader of the arcane council died from a strange illness and a young powerful mage called Vorathna was elected the new council leader. She was captivated by the story of the calling of Haqeldema Mephistopheles and the opening of a portal to other worlds. She researched ancient spells and magic and uncovered knowledge of the calling and the means of opening a portal to another world. After some experimentation, she found the Sendaunts world. She brought a few of them through and tested them. She found that under domination spells, they were good workers and could feed the people and would be good entertainment. Everything went well for a while but then there were just too many Sendaunts being used. The power of the items was not enough to keep them all dominated, they broke free, spreading in all areas of the city, killing and poisoning the citizens. Rumour had it that Vorathna was carried off through the portal.
So with the fall of the great city, the continent returned back to the wilderness with small groups of survivors living in ruins and remote corners. Many settlements were either abandoned, or over run by the native creatures. Only the most defendable settlements with the most determined inhabitants survived.
The Three Towns
On the eastern coast of the continent were situated three small towns, built quite late on during the reign of the King. These were the towns of Fer, Wheaton and Arakan. The towns had been build in very defendable positions, with the coast to their east, the Icy Mountains to their north, the large, treacherous expanse of the Blackwood to the south and a smaller but still imposing range of mountains to the west. These towns were constructed mainly by sympathisers to the Elves and Dwarves, and soon became a haven for them. Fer, in the north, was situated at the foot of the Icy Mountains and became a centre for mining and craft of metal goods. Many Dwarves came to live in this town. Arakan, in the south, was located just inside the Blackwood, and was mainly populated by Elves, who sought to keep the old magical arts alive on this new continent. Wheaton was situated on the fertile land between Fer and Arakan, and quickly became a farming settlement, supplying food to the other two towns.
After the fall of the King, the three towns of Fer, Arakan and Wheaton were alone in isolation, pinned into their strongholds by roaming bands of wild creatures and desperate survivors. Contact was lost with other settlements one by one, until the three towns assumed that very few, if any other settlements were still left.
Eventually each town locked their gates and held desperately on to what ever they had, to survive those ravaging post-war years.
Centuries passed, generations came and went and history was forgotten.
Eventually the Three Towns established their own guard and secured a foothold in their local regions. Scouts and fighters eventually broke through and made contact with the other towns. Only three were located: Wheaton, Fer and Arakan. The towns banded together to form a defensive alliance. They pooled their resources and together were able to extend their power further West. They became more successful at holding off the more violent attacks from wild creatures and eventually secured trade routes between the Towns.
Many of those that had been the old guardians of the watch-posts, old soldiers and their families, had survived in the old keeps and castles. Fighting for their lives, burning every book to keep warm in the winter months, they form roaming bands of bandits and tribes like the Iron Brotherhood and Bleeding Eye.
What of the Manonera?
While most of the Manonera had been killed in the cataclysm, the ones that remained were transformed by it. They scattered to the West for a long time but they never forgot their City of Jewels and it called them back home. They returned to the ruins of their great city and rebuilt much of it. Deep in the depths of the continent their influence grew. They enslaved many of the weaker races, such as kobolds, to do their bidding. The Manonera slowly but surely grew strong and powerful in their new twisted forms, and started to seek out to re-establish their glory and finish the work they had started.
Under the leadership of their High Priest they once again prepared for the Calling. They needed the blood of many to soak the ground and prepare the way, but they had no power for a great war. What they once took by force, they would now have to take by guile.
They searched their world for other civilizations in which they could meddle and set to war with their neighbours. They found the war-like Asabiat and gave them help against the young civilization of Harata. They also recieved contact from a powerful mage of the Iron Brotherhood and through them found a new world of which they knew nothing. With careful balance they support the IB against their enemies, but grant them only enough power to wage an never-ending war, not enough to win it ensuring a steady flow of blood.
The Uhlek
After being Exiled the Uhlek struggled through life as best they could. Their numbers were too few to breed and expand their new home, but they were a far hardier race than the Ounag and able to survive due to long life cycles, experimentation and cross breeding with other creatures.
After a millennium of exile with their survival on a knife edge, followed by centuries in hiding from the Caendryk and his heirs, the Uhlek, the few surviving remnants of the Mahru Lek exiles are once again strong enough to venture out from their seclusion and into the world. As did their anscestors, the Uhlek continue to seek perfection of body and mind, and to begin to expand their homes beyond deep caves and hiding places. They seek to combine the powers of arcane magic and the prowess of monk skills. Unsatisfied with their own bodies, they seek the means to create elite warriors and transfer themselves into those bodies. They are unknown to the Manonera but have commenced discussions with the Iron Brotherhood with the hopes of using them. They have labs in the Mirianar and have set up a training center in the Center of Drassa where they cross-breed Ogres with their other creations to build the their hybrids (known as Grindels to adventurers).
The Exiles in the Ice
After the cataclysm the Arials left the CoJ but were not scattered. Their guardian Azath protected them from the transformation that effected the other Manonera. He gathered them together and took them away from the continent to a remote island where they would not be corrupted.
However their isolation had it's own perils, other than the inhospitable climate of the Isle of Ice. Paranoia that the Manonera may someday bring the curse to them pursure them began to set in, the cold took its toll on the soul of Azath and his followers gradually driving them to build a fortress deep in the Ice. Over centuries he has become mad with fear and frost and all outsiders those who are not likewise are killed on sight.
The only hope for the Arials is to destroy their once great guardian and free them from his madness.
CURRENT STATE
The Manonera:
The Manonera learn more of the island and its inhabitants but know nothing of its history. They are happy with the status quo. A long-standing stalemate between the Towns and the IB and work to maintain that balance.
What don�t they know? They don�t know about the portal, never saw it. They don�t know about the Uhlek, the IB have not told them of their contact and do not know of the relavence. They don�t know about the drow, duergar or wild elves. They have never found the tomb of Caendryk, nor do they know his full story.
The Underdark:
While the Duergar and the drow entered the UD as allies, years of isolation have split them apart. Both try to dominate the other. The Drow recently were able to take the Duergar city, but they don�t have the punch to knock them out. Neither group trusts anyone from the surface.
The Southern Woods:
Deep in the Southern Woods the Wild Elves believe that their safety is ensured by remaining in hiding.
The Uhlek:
Have begun to release their creations into the wild to multiply and prosper so that they are hardened and become suitable for holding their souls.
The Mountain Dwarves:
Another group of survivors that struggles to survive like the Towns. They recognize the commonalities and will work with them.
Caendryll
The remnants of Vorathna�s mistake still hold the town.
Source: z6.invisionfree.com/TKRKS_PBeM/index.php?showtopic=63
---------------------------
the adventure starts at the windmill... then you make your way by level 23 or so to the epic portal on the other side of the island, where you are transported to the desert realm of harata
over those levels you can descend to the underdark (far too big for me to draw on paint, but it's underneath the square Iron Brotherhood fortress next to orc hill)
once you go through the portal, you start on the east side of THIS map
user posted image
(you'l notice this map is not nearly as big, the old map was in development for 5 years, this new one's only existed for 2 years, but we're still adding content. im pretty sure there should be a large annexation for the minotaur zone of a deep green valley)
and work your way over to the manonera city (manonera used to be people, but in a horrible magical cataclysm, they transformed themselves into hideous spider-centaurs. they now guard thier sunken city of jewels in the hopes that thier blood god will return to them and undo the curse.)
ill post the entire 3T story here a little bit later.
K: the story as the players see it
Players start in Wheaton where they are reasonably unaware of whats goin on around them. As they venture into the world, they realise all is not right for the Towns:
Wheaton.
In Wheaton, Bandits are forever raiding and taking over peoples homes. Robbing the farmers of their crops and harassing merchants travelling from Towns to Town. Various people have gone missing - Tinnely the little girl, Friam the halfling to name but two.
The Mayor seems very interested to know what the Bandits are doing mining the Wheaton Woods. Bardham's deliveries and orders seem to be getting disrupted.
Father Peter sends people to discover the truth about an ancient evil, but what is it? Where does it come from? And more importantly, what is it doing now?
Surely there is something more sinister going on here?
Arakan.
Travelling to Arakan, adventurers find the plot gets even more curious, and takes a turn towards the macabre.
Goblins seem very well organised and are troubling the Guards. They have appointed a "Grand Vizier" who seems to be doing all he can to disrupt trades between the Towns.
Sojan Hawkfeather has had many reports of people going missing and asks for help with that mystery.
The mage tower has been abandoned, and its master left in a hurry, for an unknown reason. Where did he go, and why? Surely Arakan has need of him now as much as ever.
Towards the Graveyard, even stranger things are happening. A dark mage, Isenduil, has taken up residence in the Graveyard, mastering the undead there to do his bidding. Isaac the Vampire has long been recovering (from what?) in the depths underneath Delorfin's house, and Isenduil threatens to uncover his presence and/or drain his minions. He cannot allow this so he is using adventurers to attack Isenduil and get rid of him.
It turns out, he has an interest in the "Ancient Evil" Father Peter sends people to discover. He has taken an important journal relating to it, but why? And we still dont know what this evil actually is.
In the Library, Izz sends people to examine an Orc Totem. It turns out they are summoning a powerful Aspect to help them. Dark powers must be aiding them somehow...
Between Wheaton and Arakan lies the Bandit mines, and deep beneath them an ancient map untouched for centuries. Perhaps this will come in useful later on?
Fer.
In Fer, the guards have the age old problem - the indigenous Ssathla are fighting over territory. Once those are dealt with, the Guards refer players to Elijah Lightbringer, the chief defender of Fer, and her allies. He can muster and organise and guards of the Three Towns against the enemy but cannot force them back. Players can aid him by taking out important leaders in the attacking forces, but even this is not enough, leaders are replaced as fast as they can be ousted.
Inside, there are problems. The smiths have lost the use of their mine due to a collapse, and many miners are trapped inside.
Richal has managed to get an undercover BE operative to infiltrate Drassa, but hasnt heard from him. Why not?
Players find Thelonious, a crippled dwarf, in his house outside Fer. He informs them that evil creatures named Uhlek have been taking people prisoner and carrying out horrific experiments. This is what happened to Tinnely and Friam, no doubt. But why? and how?
In the Guardians Guild, Arana the True is desperate for the Guardians to make allies, sending players to search for potential allies and take offers of treaty to them.
Donald the Guard sends players to find out about the Iron Brotherhood, penetrate their defneces and find out how they get their power.
Heading West, the Passage, and Vanguard and Beyond.
These are dangerous areas. Only Ten Dragons stands as an area of civilisation here. Largely unclaimed these areas are fought over day in day out, with organise hordes of Orcs descending from the north and Iron Brotherhood rising from the South. The Bleeding Eye have been roped in to help, persuaded by assurances of gold and supplies. Many lives are lost on both sides daily.
It seems the Uhlek have their lair here. Inside players discover that they have many creatures from all over the continent held, imprisoned, and being experimented on. Many creatures appear to have been created by merging those less powerful, and some true abominations have been created including Grindels and Ogre Hybrids. But again, why are they doing this?
To the North, the Orcs train hard and many thousands live in the Settlement. On penetrating the Orc Commander's household, players discover the presence of a far greater power, manipulating and controlling the Orcs. What is this power? Why does it wish the destruction of the Towns?
Heading to the east or south, the lands become rougher. Old battlements, remnants of a war long forgotten are in place, mostly crumbled into ruins. An acient ruined city - Caendryll - infested with spiders gradually decays and rots. Why does such a great city lie in ruins?
Those who stray too far west find themselves in lands almost untouched by civilisation. A primitive yet extremely powerful race lies here - Grindels. Created by the Uhlek in their laboratory, now left free to breed and multiply their numbers in preparation for large scale attacks on the Towns.
Even further west, and the Varul are found. None dare to venture here, these lands have never been returned from alive so who knows what mysteries lie here? Deep into Varulheim, ancient mystical powers are at work, but Varul appear indifferent to all but protecting their land with a vicsiousness almost unrivalled. Searching carefully, it seems there is a shoreline here, with ancient runes of opwer waiting to be unlocked.
To the South, beyond the Bleeding Fields, lies Stormhold governed by General Bragg. Again on penetrating this bastion of military might there is a powerful presence, another apparition. Why? Who? Well, Also in here a mage informs you that mages are trained on an Island, and gives you a map. Yet another mage holds a journal of great importance to Father Peter. Why are so many interested in this ancient evil? What is it and where does it lie?
Exile has made itself comfortable out of the way of the towns, yet sufficiently close to cause havok. The Servants of Lloth make their home in McCaughey old village where they aid the Drow in their plots and schemes.
Mount Drassa and Beyond.
Northwest of the Orc settlements a huge mountain lies. Inside its deep caverns players find Richal's undercover contact. He reports several important points:
1. The Orcs, BE and IB are mastered by something called the Manonera, but he doesnt know any more than that.
2. The Uhlek are carrying out their experiments unhindered by these Manonera, yet not altogether in an alliance.
3. the Uhlek and BE are training and crossbreeding Orges and other creatures into far more powerful and advanced creatures in preparation for an attack on the Towns.
Players may or may not have known some of this from doing Orc/IB quests and mysterious disappearances.
Further North Giants are largely unreceptive to this force, either being too stupid to be worth training, or simply too powerful for Uhlek to easily manipulate. They have tried though, and their failed experiements have been abandoned out in the wilde mountainsides to bear the weather and storms of the lands alone.
Red Giants serve a powerful Ancient Wyrm, lying in his lair coddling his wealth. Ice Giants serve their queen devotedly, their lands being too cold and inhospitable for most creatures, yet the only place they feel comfortable. Therefore these 2 civilisations mostly keep to themselves, defending their lands yet not being aggressive and bringing unwanted attention from either the Manonera or the Towns.
Even further west from Drassa, and the Ogre village is found. Beyond that is a village of Mountain Dwarves, struggling to survive against the Ogre attacks and in need of allies. In both players and the Three Towns, they have now found them, and hopefully can begin to trade and work together with the smiths guild.
Underground.
Deep underneath the contested areas, covering a huge area, lies the Underdark. Down here, Drow and duergar are at war and each seeking allies where they can be found. Players may ally themselves with either, and each has their own designs. Drow send them on errands, and to kill those above ground in vengeance for past wrongs. Duergar are somewhat less aaggressive, and would probably be happy enough simply to be left alone with their anvils and city.
Players stumble upon the Mage's Lab, where an abandoned student is having trouble contending with rampant Golems and drow thieves. His master has left for elsewhere - again he seems one step ahead of the adventurers. What is he up to?
Islands and Distant Lands.
Various areas appear to players as they discover more about the world, continent and its history. Everywhere that a shadow sailor can sail to, must either be visited first or located on the map. Points available for discovery on the map are:
1. Isle of Storms. IB training tower and Calduil's current location. Players access this by persuading the IB mage to give them a map, and locating it in the map room.
2. Isle of Death. King Caendryk was imprisoned here long ago after the Rebellion by Dwarves and Elves. Accessed through Father Peter's quest.
3. Isle of Lost Dreams. Monk retreat, as yet unfinished but probably an extension of 10D quests. There will be plot hooks here, and I have asked Taroc to have a think about it as 3Ts best known monk player. I would like to utilise his Order of the Rising Dragon here if possible, but lets see what he comes up with.
4. Isle of Ice. Long ago, the Arials fled the manonera to this Isle only to be enslaved by Azath and driven mad. Accessed through Batu the Bard's quest. I think...
The following are accessed first, then sailors told of their locations:
1. Harata. Accessed through a Portal quest, which will be started when players first come across the Ancient runes on the Western Shore. Through a combination of Vorathana, and the Elf Hermit, players will complete the quest, go to Harata, return via the portal, locate Harata on the map, and then shadow sailors can take them there.
2. Pureblood Settlement: this isnt that far away, once accessed it can be found by shadow sailors easily enough without being found on the map
Isle of Storms.
The Isle is where the Iron Brotherhood train their mages, and when they reach the top level the players find yet another manonera apparition. This time, it almost taunts the player and treats them with scorn. So, again, the manonera are manipulating the IB even here.
However, there is more to it. Finally Calduil has been located. He appears to be building up an army of constructs underneath the IB Tower, but to what purpose? He is certainly here under the pretense of helping the IB, but players cannot help wondering if he is just using them. Is he helping them? Just using their lab and tower as a base from which to study, and get mutual benefit? Or is he even a potential ally for the Towns, could he and his army help topple the IB and destroy their structure?
Players will eventually find out, and possibly even affect which of those he is doing depending on their actions.
The General Plot of 3T
Before the Cataclysm
Long ago, the area now occupied by the Three Towns was just a small peninsula of land, scarcely occupied. There were Ssthla in the areas around Fer and quite a large goblin tribe in the area known as Blackwood. There were brief sightings of secretive wood elves, but never many at once. Wild creatures and demi-humans occupied the majority of the land forming their own tribes and cabals.
Beyond the western seas of this land lay a vast continent of great power. Great cities grew and fell, empires came and went and many battles were fought. The mightest of all the empires was that of the Manonera, ruled by a group of Divine magic users who an ancient god. Their god was Mephistopheles, who had been cast out of this realm and banished by the other gods during the ancient times, the times when Gods walked the lands. The single purpose of these priests was to bring their god back and restore his power.
Now the Manonera lived in a magnificant city that housed many different races and creeds. As the city grew so did the power of their priests. Mephistopheles was a blood god and so the priests saw it as their duty to spill blood upon the ground. They believed that once enough blood had been shed then Mephistopheles would walk the earth once more.
So it was that the Manonera set out to make war with all those around them. Not for glory, power or riches but purely for the sport of war. Their army, marching under a banner bearing a symbol of a drop of blood, conquered all those that opposed them. With death all around them, their power only grew.
Eventually the time came where the priests believed enough blood had been split that they could attempt to bring their god back into the world. A council was held in the Temple of Kemet to agree this action. All but a small few agreed that the summoning could take place.
So it was that the priests gathered in the Temple of Kemet, in the upper City of Jewels, high on the hillside and gathered together all their power - arcane, divine and other forms. Thousands were sacrificed in the Temple that day so that the floors were awash with blood. Focusing this power into a single individual, they hoped to open the way for their god to return. However, something went wrong.
The cause is not that important - the effects were. A vast magical out-pouring, the combined power released without direction or control. It laid waste to a large section of the continent, rendering it into a barren, desert wasteland where in fires burned rocks and shattered skies. Many people are died, being torn apart by the storm. Other people underwent horrific transformation; people grew tails, wings, bugged eyes ... all manor of mutations.
The city of Manonera fell deep into the earth, burying it from sight, with the rocks overhead melting to form its own tomb.
The Story of Caendryk
Out of those that objected to the council's decision Lord Caendryk was probably the most notable. Fearing the folly of the priests actions he took a large group of loyal followers and left the city. A great many folk followed this reknown general including the mighty Stormhold, one of the empires bravest knights.
Lord Caendryk fled east, out through one of the smaller gates. The priests heard about the Lord's decision to leave and sent an entire legion, 1000 men, to deal with him. Knowing a great fight would ensue they saw only victory in having more blood split. With not enough men to hold the gates Caendryk had the gates magically sealed with such a spell that they could never be opened without the key.
To hide the magical key to the gates, and to buy his people time, Caendryk broke the key in half and hid both halves. To ensure the key would be well hidden, Caendryk gave it to his two most loyal followers, Stormhold and Salios. These two took their halves and went north and south from the Towers of Sebayet. Taking them deep into the caves the two followers knew that they would never see the promised land.
So it was that Lord Caendryk led his people through the eastern lands, were little but wild Asabait lived and finally to an ancient mystic portal. There the runes were activated into a configuration that lead them away from their home land.
That was the Cataclysm.
The City of Caendryll
There followed a dark time. What was left of the continent was a wasteland of strange brutal creatures and survivors. Those that survived the cataclysm were left permanently and magically corrupted.
The group of survivors following the Lord Caendrykk has made it safely to a new land. It was fertile, and held many natural resources that could be used by the survivors. They settled at first on the western coast, but soon pushed further in-land. Creatures, or native races that already inhabited some areas of the continent, the survivors either avoided or conquered these peoples.
Lord Caendryk though had other plans and he brought the settlers together to start a new kingdom. Great castles where created and forts to protect the borders from the many wild creatures that abounded. The culmination was the creation of a city, the capital, Caendryll.
Always weary of the possibility of the Manonera coming once more a mighty defence was built to protect the new city. To the north was The Vanguard, a series of walls and great towers. To the south was a powerful fortress named Stormhold, after that most loyal of servants.
The King and the Rebellion
Now Caendryk had Manonera blood running through his vains and slowly it took its toll. He named himself King of the land and, being the great warrior he was, he not only subdued the many wild creatures (driving them into the darkest of corners) but his iron will also extended to his people.
However, not all of his people wanted to be ruled by him. They had escaped with their lives from their homes and fled to a new continent and they wanted to do things differently this time. The Dwarves and Elves were the first to rebel, seeing not only the evil nature of the new King but also the fact that if he was to be removed, they would be free to live their lives as they wanted.
There was a great war between the King and the elves and dwarves known as The Rebellion. Some elves and dwarves were driven underground becoming the drow and duergar. Some elves fled to the southern woodlands where they went into hiding, closing the border and killing anyone who came near them.
The King took the war to the elves but in a fearsome battle the elves finally overthrew him and imprison him in a great tomb. There also the elves buried many of the great heroes that had fallen to guard and watch over the tomb. With the loss of the King the kingdom started to fall into ruin. Towers and watch-posts were abandoned and the castles fell into ruin.
The fall of the King and the Seduants
After the fall of the King, Caendryll was ruled by a combination of Clerics (or divine influenced people) and mages. They took it in turns to run the city - 5 years divine, 5 years arcane. Conditions within the Kingdom had been getting worse since the death of the King. The people had to work hard to feed themselves and many lost their lives on the borders, fighting wild creatures or elves. After one particularly unhappy term of the divine council ruling, the arcane council promised that things would change. A year or so into their rule, the leader of the arcane council died from a strange illness and a young powerful mage called Vorathna was elected the new council leader. She conducted research into all sorts of ancient spells and magic and uncovered some texts about spells that open a portal to another world. After some experimentation, she found the Sendaunts world. She brought a few of them through and tested them. She found that under domination spells, they were good workers and could feed the people and would be good entertainment. Everything went well for a while but then there were just too many Sendaunts being used. The power of the items was not enough to keep them all dominated, they broke free, spreading in all areas of the city, killing and poisoning the citizens. Rumour had it that Vorathna was carried off through the portal.
So with the fall of the great city, the continent returned back to the wilderness with small groups of survivors living in ruins and remote corners. Many settlements were either abandoned, or over run by the native creatures. Only the most defendable settlements with the most determined inhabitants survived.
The Three Towns
On the eastern coast of the continent were situated three small towns, built quite late on during the reign of the King. These were the towns of Fer, Wheaton and Arakan. The towns had been build in very defendable positions, with the coast to their east, the Icy Mountains to their north, the large, treacherous expanse of the Blackwood to the south and a smaller but still imposing range of mountains to the west. These towns were constructed mainly by sympathisers to the Elves and Dwarves, and soon became a haven for them. Fer, in the north, was situated at the foot of the Icy Mountains and became a centre for mining and craft of metal goods. Many Dwarves came to live in this town. Arakan, in the south, was located just inside the Blackwood, and was mainly populated by Elves, who sought to keep the old magical arts alive on this new continent. Wheaton was situated on the fertile land between Fer and Arakan, and quickly became a farming settlement, supplying food to the other two towns.
After the fall of the King, the three towns of Fer, Arakan and Wheaton were alone in isolation, pinned into their strongholds by roaming bands of wild creatures and desperate survivors. Contact was lost with other settlements one by one, until the three towns assumed that very few, if any other settlements were still left.
Eventually each town locked their gates and held desperately on to what ever they had, to survive those ravaging post-war years.
Two centuries passed, generations came and went and history was forgotten.
Eventually the three towns established their own guard and eventually secured a foothold in their local regions. Scouts and fighters eventually broke through and made contact with the other towns. Only three were located: Wheaton, Fer and Arakan. The towns banded together to form an alliance of defence, from which they pooled together their resources. They became more successful is holding off the more violent attacks from wild creatures and eventually secured trade routes between the towns.
Many of those that had been the old guardians of the watch-posts, old soldiers and their families, had survived in the old keeps and castles. Fighting for their lives, burning every book to keep warm in the winter months, they form roaming bands of bandits and tribes like the Iron Brotherhood and Bleeding Eye.
What of the Manonera?
Meanwhile, back with the Manonera: many of the Manonera had been killed in the cataclysm. Of the ones that remained, some had been transformed in some way by the cataclysm. They separated for a long time but eventually their need to re-build their power base brought them back together. They came back to their great city and rebuilt much of it. Now deep in the earth they faced many problems from new Horrors that came up from the depths to destroy them. They enslaved many of the weaker races, such as kobolds, to do their bidding. The Manonera once more grew strong and powerful and started to seek out to redeem themselves.
Their High Priest saw that the only chance for their true redeption was to finish the work that they had once started, finish the summoning. For that though they desperately a great war and the blood of many. They only problem was their entrapment and lack of willing victims.
Then one day they receive a message from an Iron Brotherhood mystic that has discovered an ancient text buried in some ruins. The Manonera finally see an opportunity to forefill their desires. They grant aid, teaching and training to these villians so that a war may ensue. This time they are careful though. Rather than subdue the entire nation of the Three Towns, they grant the IB only enough power to wage war, not enough to win it. Thus a greate cycle is perpetuated where-by ensuring that the flow of blood is steady.
Seeing this war start, the Manonera send out emassaries in long boats. They hope to seek out violent and malevolent beings that will join their cause and fight for money, power (whatever it takes).
The Uhleks
The Uhlek are a race of creatures that are seeking perfection. They seek to combine the powers of arcane magic and the prowess of monk skills. The Manonera quickly saw how a conflict with the Uhlek could hurt them for little gain, so they reached an agreement with the Uhlek. They would not come into conflict and the Uhlek would be able to carry on their research. The Iron Brotherhood would provide the Uhlek with test subjects and in return the Uhlek would share their research and skills. One of the first things the Uhlek did for the Manonera was to create a race of very powerful fighters - the Grindels. These were few in number, so are being bred and trained as shock troops for an assault on the three towns. Also, the Manonera established a base in the near by Drassa Range, and recruited Ogres and Giants. The Uhlek are assisting with the training of these creatures in order to help with the attacks on the Three Towns.
The Exiles in the Ice
CURRENT STATE
The Manonera continue to build up their forces in the area. They launch periodic raids on the towns to ensure a steady war.
The duergar and drow hate all outside influence as it is inbred that outsiders put them in this position
Deep in the southern woods the wood elves still remember what happened. They kill anyone on sight, entering their woods
SELECTED READINGS FROM THE HISTORY OF THE WORLD
A Past Long Forgotten
All before were corrupt - they concern us no more.
Those that sought glorious death have been satisfied.
Those that had no stomach for freedom are banished.
Our path is true.
Our will is unbending.
Our fate is written.
(an excerpt from �The Cleansing� - a text from the Ruins of XXXXX)
Unsatisfied with their state, desiring knowledge, mastery and perfection the Mahru Lehk were a formidable force of mind, body and spirit. Their mastery of the continent was ruthless and uncompromising. All that opposed them by force were slaughtered. Those that submitted were sent through the Cleansing Gate into a life time of exile. The Velox, the Spemin, the Ounag, all great civilizations, all destroyed. From the time of the Cleansing, their power was absolute, their enemies eliminated or isolated.
The Cleansing Gate was a one-way portal to a distant land, a one-way trip to a hellish frozen island at the end of the world.
While their works were mighty and their cities grand, they were unsatisfied. They lived in a constant state of self-doubt, self-hate and struggle � no longer against outside enemies but against themselves. They turned their awesome power against their own imperfection.
They could not kill their own but they could not live with those who but lack of conviction or will or strength did not meet their uncompromising ideals. They sent them through the Cleansing Gate into eternal exile.
But they were not without mercy. They gave the exiles one way to escape this fate � Tarn Rue � the Pool of Sorrow. And many took this mercy � only a few would not go, they would reform themselves, to prove their worth and to return.
They entered exile, a harsh land dominated by their former enemies, those that had preceded them through the Cleansing Gate � the Ounag. They hid themselves and thought and schemed and worked to rebuild what they had lost.
But such a self-destructive society could not last, their own obsessions weakened them and others rose to power and they were forgotten.
Before the Cataclysm
Long ago, the area now occupied by the Three Towns was just a small peninsula of land, scarcely occupied. The climate was cold and harsh, and only the hardiest of Lizardfolk, Ice Giants, and Demi-Humans managed to survive. There were Ssthla in the areas around Fer and quite a large goblin tribe in the area known as Blackwood. Wild creatures and demi-humans occupied the majority of the land forming their own tribes and cabals.
Beyond the western seas of this land lay a vast continent of great power. Great cities grew and fell, mighty empires came and went and many battles were fought. At this time, the mightiest of all the empires was that of the Manonera, ruled by a group of Divine magic users who worshiped an ancient god - Haqeldema Mephistopheles, who had been cast out of this realm and banished by the other gods during the ancient times, the times when Gods walked the lands. The single purpose of these priests was to bring their god back and restore his power.
The Manonera lived in a magnificent city that housed many different races and creeds. As the city grew so did the power of their priests. Haqeldema Mephistopheles was a blood god and so the priests saw it as their duty to spill blood upon the ground. They believed that once enough blood had been shed then Haqeldema Mephistopheles would walk the earth once more.
So it was that the Manonera set out to make war with all those around them for the sport of war and gratification of their God. Their army, marching under a banner bearing a symbol of a drop of blood, conquered all those that opposed them. Those who fell before them included the Velox, the 'something, and 'the something else'. With each death , their power grew.
Eventually the time came where the priests believed enough blood had been split that they could attempt to bring their god back into the world. A council was held in the Temple of Kemet to arrange agree this action. All but a small few agreed that the summoning could take place.
The Story of Caendryk
Of the few that objected to the summoning, Lord Caendryk was probably the most notable. Knowing that pride and hubris, not reflection and understanding, had motivated the Calling of Haqeldema Mephistopheles, he prepared quietly and diligently to take a a large group of skeptics out of city. A great many folk followed this renowned general including the mighty Stormhold one of the empires bravest knights, and Salios Caendryk's trusted councillor and spiritual advisor.
As the Calling was being prepared, Lord Caendryk left the City through one of the smaller Eastern gates. As they were preparing the priests heard about the Lord's decision to leave. They relished in the thought of adding Caendryk and his followers to the sacrifice for their Lord. They sent an army to spill the blood of the traitor. An entire legion, 1000 strong, was dispatched to bring one last victory before the Calling.
[And a whole bunch happened that makes sense, the door was sealed, Stormhold and Salios took their groups North and South, Caendryk had time to leave and �]
With not enough followers to withstand such a force, Caendryk had the gates magically sealed with such a spell that they could never be opened without the key.
To hide the magical key to the gates for reasons we need to decide on Caendryk broke the key in half and hid both halves.
To ensure the key would be well hidden, Caendryk gave it to his two most loyal followers, Stormhold and Salios. They each took their charge and traveled in separate directions, one to the North, one to the South, knowing their duty and that they would be forever separated from their Lord.
So it was that Lord Caendryk led his people through the eastern lands, where little but wild creatures lived and finally to an ancient mystic portal, the likes of which he had not seen before. Caendryk knew the only hope for his people to escape the Manonera for good was to take this chance and enter the unknown. They had no home behind them, there was no turning back. Unaware of the impending destruction of the City of Jewels, Caendryk and his followers entered the Portal and left their home behind.
The Cataclysm
So it was that the priests gathered in the Temple of Kemet, in the upper City of Jewels, high on the hillside and summoned all their power - arcane, divine and other forms. Thousands were sacrificed that day � the floors were awash with blood � their spirit was strong. Focusing their power into a single individual, they opened a passage, a passage to bring Haqeldema Mephistopheles home. Their work was folly, their hopes were destroyed, they did not understand their power or the power of those who had cast Haqeldema Mephistopheles out.
Their mistake is not that important - the effects were. A vast magical out-pouring � their combined power released without direction or control. It laid waste to a large section of the continent, rendering it into a barren, desert wasteland where in fires burned rocks and shattered skies. The celebrants and their followers torn apart by the storm. Those who survived began a sickening transformation, they grew grew tails, wings, bugged eyes ... all manner of mutations.
The City of Jewels fell deep into the earth, burying itself into the hardened rock on which it had stood, disappearing from sight as the rock above melting to create a tomb.
There followed a dark time for the followers of Haqeldema Mephistopheles. What was left of the continent was a wasteland of strange brutal creatures and survivors. All the faithful were left permanently and magically corrupted. The non-believers, those outside the city through magic, sheer luck or the divine intervention of their own gods were not effected.
The City of Caendryll
The group of survivors following the Lord Caendryk were surprised by what they found. A wasteland, sparsely populated and covered in Ice, barely surviveable. Indeed, they were beginning to think they had made a serious mistake when the effects of the Great Cataclysm began to affect both continents, to varying degrees. While the Old World became a hot barren wasteland, the warmer climate spread more gently to the new continent, melting much of the ice and gradually revealing land which was fertile enough for their purposes and held many natural resources that could be used.
They settled at first on the western coast, but the ruins there, while familiar as they were obviously of similar workmanship to a number of old-world ruins, possessed an aura of despair and fear. Wanting to leave that behind, they pushed further in-land. Those that they found already inhabiting the land were either avoided or conquered.
Pleasant as it might have seemed, Lord Caendryk had greater ambitions. Not only would he master this continent � he would return to the City of Jewels, he would save the Manonera from their folly. He brought the settlers together to start a new kingdom.
Always wary that the Manonera may follow through the portal, great defenses were built to protect his people. To the north was The Vanguard, a series of walls and great towers. To the south was a powerful fortress named Stormhold, after that most loyal of servants.
The crowning glory of his new kingdom was a great city � a capital � Caendryll.
The King and the Portal
Now Caendryk was Manonera � the blood of his ancestors could not be denied. He crowned himself King of the land and, being the great warrior he was, he not only subdued the many wild, and not so wild, creatures he found - either destroying them utterly or driving them into the darkest corners of his new Island Kingdom, he also subdued, as far as he was able, the bodies and minds of his followers � tying them ever closer to his will.
His will replaced their will, his goals replaced their goals, his great power molded and sculpted them into instruments of his desire. And no greater desire did he have than a return to his home. But that was not an easy proposition. Even if he could amass the power to defeat the Manonera there was no obvious means of return. The portal gave little clue as to its origins. While its magic connected it to the continent how could that magic be used? Could it be opened?
Four powerful mages where charged with discovering the secret of the portal. The Mage Unnamed Human, the Druid [Wild Elf name], the Sorceror [Drow Elf name] and the Cleric [Varul name]. Each had his strength and his weakness, together there was no greater collection of minds than the Rada. They delved into every aspect of the portal, studying its ruins, its craftsmanship, the very essence of its magic. The portal itself gave up little information but the study of its magic did reveal that they were not the first to make this kind of study. One of the wards that protected the portal from tampering had been broken. But there was no sign of the culprit. None of the native tribes had the intelligence to perform such powerful magic.
Only the most diligent observation and study revealed the truth about the island. The island had been a prison, the portal was it�s gate. Small groups of exiles had lived and died cut off from their home. And one group had discovered some of the secrets of the portal. The Ounag, an intelligent race, had spent centuries studying the portal. It was they who had broken one of the protective seals. They had studied the magic, discovered some of the basics of its power but were unable to finish the job.
With the knowledge of the Ounag and spurred on by their King, the Rada expended great power, each in its own field. Each of them found a solution to one of the seals. Isaac forged a great orb of power, [Varul] exploited the waters of Tarn Rue, [Wild Elf] had something or other, [Drow Elf] had something or other.
But, the search and the discovery � while satisfying created a feeling of unease. During the years of their study Caendryk had become more and more distant. His passion to return to the continent and the knowledge that the Rada were close to completing their tasks had spurred him to demand more and more of his people. All of his resources were poured into the building of a massive army. Every man, woman and child was dedicated to this task. The local populations of Ogres, Giants, Orcs, Ssthlaa and Goblins were made slaves to this purpose � the strong as warriors, the weak as supply machines, producing the arms, the armor, the vast stores needed to take the City of Jewels. Blood games where held to train his warriors in combat. The victors became his champions, the victims were used to swell a vast army of undead minions.
This single-minded obsession, the willingness to subvert everything to one single selfhish goal concerned the Rada. While the had the knowledge that Caendryk desired, their hearts told them that the use of the portal � a return to the continent � the victory of Caendryk and the imposition of his will on the whole of the Manonera would be a magnificent failure and an end for their kind, not a new beginning.
So, they delayed and they plotted and they found followers among their communities, people who had lost faith in Caendryk and his purpose. Their support was great, but not as great as the might of Caendryk. They devised a plan to take him by surprise. Late on the eve of the Festival of Return they acted. Attacking Caendryk in his palace with all the force they could muster. And they were successful � somewhat. Caendryk was grievously wounded and thought dead by his followers. Unknown to them, his life hung by the slimmest thread with only his iron will keeping him from eternal rest.
But while Caendryk was personally incapacitated, his loyal lieutenants were not. They rallied their loyal troops and with a blood fury revenged themselves upon the assassins, driving them from Caendryll and chasing them to the furthest reaches of the land. Isaac they captured, but not until he had shattered his orb. The followers of Something fled underground into the deepest, darkest passages they could find and became the drow and the duergar. The Varul fled into the mist of the Western Shore. The remaining Elves fled into the deepest forests of the Southwhere they went into hiding, closing the border and killing anyone who came near them.
The funeral of the King was savage. His body was borne by Ogres over the bodies of the prisoners taken in the rebellion. A thousand ships were made from the bones of the defeated and the souls of the dead were bound to the ships as their crew. A tomb was prepared on a remote island where the King was laid along with his fallen comrades and sealed with magic and they left him there - buried alive.
While they had a great victory, the loss of Caendryk, the loss of his purpose and drive was fatal to the kingdom. Towers and watch-posts were abandoned and the castles fell into ruin.
The fall of the King and the Senduants
After the fall of the King, Caendryll was ruled by a combination of Clerics (or divine influenced people) and mages. They took it in turns to run the city - 5 years divine, 5 years arcane. Conditions within the Kingdom had been getting worse since the death of the King. The people had to work hard to feed themselves and many lost their lives on the borders, fighting wild creatures or elves. After one particularly unhappy term of the divine council ruling, the arcane council promised that things would change. A year or so into their rule, the leader of the arcane council died from a strange illness and a young powerful mage called Vorathna was elected the new council leader. She was captivated by the story of the calling of Haqeldema Mephistopheles and the opening of a portal to other worlds. She researched ancient spells and magic and uncovered knowledge of the calling and the means of opening a portal to another world. After some experimentation, she found the Sendaunts world. She brought a few of them through and tested them. She found that under domination spells, they were good workers and could feed the people and would be good entertainment. Everything went well for a while but then there were just too many Sendaunts being used. The power of the items was not enough to keep them all dominated, they broke free, spreading in all areas of the city, killing and poisoning the citizens. Rumour had it that Vorathna was carried off through the portal.
So with the fall of the great city, the continent returned back to the wilderness with small groups of survivors living in ruins and remote corners. Many settlements were either abandoned, or over run by the native creatures. Only the most defendable settlements with the most determined inhabitants survived.
The Three Towns
On the eastern coast of the continent were situated three small towns, built quite late on during the reign of the King. These were the towns of Fer, Wheaton and Arakan. The towns had been build in very defendable positions, with the coast to their east, the Icy Mountains to their north, the large, treacherous expanse of the Blackwood to the south and a smaller but still imposing range of mountains to the west. These towns were constructed mainly by sympathisers to the Elves and Dwarves, and soon became a haven for them. Fer, in the north, was situated at the foot of the Icy Mountains and became a centre for mining and craft of metal goods. Many Dwarves came to live in this town. Arakan, in the south, was located just inside the Blackwood, and was mainly populated by Elves, who sought to keep the old magical arts alive on this new continent. Wheaton was situated on the fertile land between Fer and Arakan, and quickly became a farming settlement, supplying food to the other two towns.
After the fall of the King, the three towns of Fer, Arakan and Wheaton were alone in isolation, pinned into their strongholds by roaming bands of wild creatures and desperate survivors. Contact was lost with other settlements one by one, until the three towns assumed that very few, if any other settlements were still left.
Eventually each town locked their gates and held desperately on to what ever they had, to survive those ravaging post-war years.
Centuries passed, generations came and went and history was forgotten.
Eventually the Three Towns established their own guard and secured a foothold in their local regions. Scouts and fighters eventually broke through and made contact with the other towns. Only three were located: Wheaton, Fer and Arakan. The towns banded together to form a defensive alliance. They pooled their resources and together were able to extend their power further West. They became more successful at holding off the more violent attacks from wild creatures and eventually secured trade routes between the Towns.
Many of those that had been the old guardians of the watch-posts, old soldiers and their families, had survived in the old keeps and castles. Fighting for their lives, burning every book to keep warm in the winter months, they form roaming bands of bandits and tribes like the Iron Brotherhood and Bleeding Eye.
What of the Manonera?
While most of the Manonera had been killed in the cataclysm, the ones that remained were transformed by it. They scattered to the West for a long time but they never forgot their City of Jewels and it called them back home. They returned to the ruins of their great city and rebuilt much of it. Deep in the depths of the continent their influence grew. They enslaved many of the weaker races, such as kobolds, to do their bidding. The Manonera slowly but surely grew strong and powerful in their new twisted forms, and started to seek out to re-establish their glory and finish the work they had started.
Under the leadership of their High Priest they once again prepared for the Calling. They needed the blood of many to soak the ground and prepare the way, but they had no power for a great war. What they once took by force, they would now have to take by guile.
They searched their world for other civilizations in which they could meddle and set to war with their neighbours. They found the war-like Asabiat and gave them help against the young civilization of Harata. They also recieved contact from a powerful mage of the Iron Brotherhood and through them found a new world of which they knew nothing. With careful balance they support the IB against their enemies, but grant them only enough power to wage an never-ending war, not enough to win it ensuring a steady flow of blood.
The Uhlek
After being Exiled the Uhlek struggled through life as best they could. Their numbers were too few to breed and expand their new home, but they were a far hardier race than the Ounag and able to survive due to long life cycles, experimentation and cross breeding with other creatures.
After a millennium of exile with their survival on a knife edge, followed by centuries in hiding from the Caendryk and his heirs, the Uhlek, the few surviving remnants of the Mahru Lek exiles are once again strong enough to venture out from their seclusion and into the world. As did their anscestors, the Uhlek continue to seek perfection of body and mind, and to begin to expand their homes beyond deep caves and hiding places. They seek to combine the powers of arcane magic and the prowess of monk skills. Unsatisfied with their own bodies, they seek the means to create elite warriors and transfer themselves into those bodies. They are unknown to the Manonera but have commenced discussions with the Iron Brotherhood with the hopes of using them. They have labs in the Mirianar and have set up a training center in the Center of Drassa where they cross-breed Ogres with their other creations to build the their hybrids (known as Grindels to adventurers).
The Exiles in the Ice
After the cataclysm the Arials left the CoJ but were not scattered. Their guardian Azath protected them from the transformation that effected the other Manonera. He gathered them together and took them away from the continent to a remote island where they would not be corrupted.
However their isolation had it's own perils, other than the inhospitable climate of the Isle of Ice. Paranoia that the Manonera may someday bring the curse to them pursure them began to set in, the cold took its toll on the soul of Azath and his followers gradually driving them to build a fortress deep in the Ice. Over centuries he has become mad with fear and frost and all outsiders those who are not likewise are killed on sight.
The only hope for the Arials is to destroy their once great guardian and free them from his madness.
CURRENT STATE
The Manonera:
The Manonera learn more of the island and its inhabitants but know nothing of its history. They are happy with the status quo. A long-standing stalemate between the Towns and the IB and work to maintain that balance.
What don�t they know? They don�t know about the portal, never saw it. They don�t know about the Uhlek, the IB have not told them of their contact and do not know of the relavence. They don�t know about the drow, duergar or wild elves. They have never found the tomb of Caendryk, nor do they know his full story.
The Underdark:
While the Duergar and the drow entered the UD as allies, years of isolation have split them apart. Both try to dominate the other. The Drow recently were able to take the Duergar city, but they don�t have the punch to knock them out. Neither group trusts anyone from the surface.
The Southern Woods:
Deep in the Southern Woods the Wild Elves believe that their safety is ensured by remaining in hiding.
The Uhlek:
Have begun to release their creations into the wild to multiply and prosper so that they are hardened and become suitable for holding their souls.
The Mountain Dwarves:
Another group of survivors that struggles to survive like the Towns. They recognize the commonalities and will work with them.
Caendryll
The remnants of Vorathna�s mistake still hold the town.
