The lore of Palodar
Palodar, also known as the mortal plane, is an earth-sized planet orbited by two moons and orbits a single sun. The name ‘Palodar’ comes from the ancient elven language of Tiirenou. The name is said to mean ‘new home’. This stems from the belief that Palodar was created by the Elven Goddess of the Moon and the Human God of the Sun as a sign of their love.
Palodar is made up of four major continents, Elanoias, Esturan, Mordark, and Thoradlin. There are also several islands and archipelagos, such as Tokroorcruk Isles and the Sanddrift Islands. A mysterious subterranean system known as the Evernight Forests spreads through numerous tunnels and vast caverns, creating a world below the vastly populated surface level.
The Death of the Dragons
In the year E7 956, tragedy fell upon the lands of Palodar when the evil Witch Queen, Natasha Grey, took the guise of the Queen of the Dragons, Aldiranairdrax, and assassinated the king of the kingdom of Nardhomir. The defenders of Nardhomir stood to defend their city against the Queen and the awakened King of Dragons.
As the battle ended and the King and queen of dragons took their last breaths, the draconic bloodline ceased to exist, as all those of dragon descent.
In recent times, cults have risen, adventurers have banded, and individuals have devoted their lives to seeing the resurrection of the dragons to no avail. Can you be the one to right the undoings of the world's oldest creatures?
The Ancients
Very little is known about the original inhabitants of the lands of Palodar, known to those of the current time as “The Ancients”, aside from their mystical and dominating architecture that dots every corner of the world. Aside from the scale of the architecture and old tales of the elder races, there is little to no record of what the ancients looked like.
Mighty, undead warriors of the Ancients, known as The Silent Warriors, defend the structures of the Ancients. Their origins are unknown, but they are believed to be mortal race folk infused with the ancients' magic, locking them into service even beyond death.
Will you be the one to unlock the mysteries of their architecture and the secrets of the Ancient race, their history and their connection to the world?
The Gods Walk The Lands
The deities of Palodar are the most important beings on the material plane. They grant magical spells to their worshippers and occasionally interact with the people of the lands. Even though they are established beings, their power grows and diminishes in the lands of the number of mortal worshippers they possess.
Some areas will focus their worship depending on what the area requirements are. Coastal towns will often be found worshipping the elven god of the ocean as well as the halfling god of the harvest. Whereas farming communities will focus their worship on the human god of harvest and the elven god of nature.
Can you be one of the few that the Gods choose? One touched by Tyngwth or protected by Aravaniel? Will you cross paths with the Gods on your rise to greatness?
Magic, The Arcane Arts & The Roots Of The Chantefayane
Magic throughout the lands of Palodar is rare and mystical, and its effects on the mortal body take a toll every time the world's magic is channelled through one's body. In time, all users of magic begin to feel their bodies breaking down, and the tragedy of those having mortal wounds healed by magic does not erase the traumatic memories of scraping death.
The magic of the world travels from a singular point, the Chantefayan Tree, by its root system through the Evernight, an endless network of underground tunnels caused by the ever-shifting and moving roots.
How will you deal with the effects of magic channelling through your body? Will you limit your usage to prolong your body, or will you throw caution to the wind and push your limits at the risk of your body or mind failing?
The Forgotten Gods
Trapped within crystallised prisons since E3, the ‘Forgotten Gods’ have recently been unleashed upon Palodar, seeking to sow chaos as they did during the Forgotten War (E1). Also referred to as the Dark Gods, they possess self-awareness and great power despite not being true divinities. Their influence on worshippers remains significant despite their origins lying outside mortal desires. They feed on sentient beings' emotions and collective desires on the material plane. Each deity represents a fundamental aspect of mortal existence and desire, encompassing selfishness, wrath, change, pleasure, and death.
Those who choose to worship and follow the ways of the Forgotten Gods will gradually succumb to physical and spiritual corruption. Since their release, their motives and actions in the material realm remain uncertain. However, when whispers echo in the shadows, an unsettling sense of being observed, or an overwhelming dread permeates the air, it clearly indicates the nearby presence of the Forgotten Gods.
Will you answer the temptations offered by the corrupted ones, or will you stand true to your beliefs and with the Gods of Palodar?
Language & Communication
There are many different languages found throughout the lands outside of the common languages spoken by the common folk. Thieves, druids, and illusionists all have their own special, unique languages, as well as the languages of magic, which is used to activate runes and to conjure spells. Almost all intelligent creatures throughout the lands can understand and speak the “common” language, which is also known as the “trade-tongue of men”, which is so widely spread and spoken with little variance throughout all lands.
Depending on the region, the common language will have different accents, and slightly different vocabularies, which have been influenced by other local human languages and non-human tongues.
In a similar style, non-human tongues belong to the same linguistic tree, so that the elves native to Maernthor, Meshiru, and the members of Elven Lords Court may understand each other just as the Dwarfs of Typerthirea, Ishintere, and the Dwarven Lord’s Council do. To humans, an “elvish common” is referred to simply as elvish and the “dwarvish common” as dwarvish.
Technology & Engineering of the Lands
The need for technology has not advanced very far beyond the current era as with the ability of magic, the need and desire to pursue more isn’t not felt required. While there are a rare few, such as the gnomish tinkerers and the occasional artificer who will research further advancements, it is not a very common avenue explored.
Most elements of earth can be found throughout the lands of Palodar, however, there are some differences to the ones found on earth. One key element that differs is sulfur, which is much rarer and requires a much higher temperature to ignite compared to that of its earth counterpart. Due to this, certain things, such as gunpowder do exist, but its components are rare and typically only ignites with the assistance of magic which takes away its desirability to use very often.
Magic & Medicine
The magic of healing, unfortunately, cannot reverse the effects of long-term injuries, as its limits are to simply accelerate the healing process, not reverse the damages done.
With significant injuries such as a torn tendon or ligament, it can be healed to its original state if tended to quickly enough, however, if scar tissue begins to develop, magic will only accelerate the growth of the scar tissue, in turn, leaving behind lasting effects such as limps & mobility limitation.
Certain natural occurrences also cannot be healed, for example, cartilage breakdown within the body cannot be healed as it cannot naturally regrow and the disease arthritis, as according to the body it is not particularly a fault according to the immune system.
The more magic is used in healing, the more it becomes immune to the effects of magic.
It has been seen throughout the ages, that as with the use of healing magic, the more a magic-user uses magic, the more it breaks down their body. Each time a spell is cast, it takes a toll on the caster's body, eventually over years and years of use will break their body in a way it cannot be healed. Due to this, it has also ushered in the creation and use of medicine, for use when magic is unavailable (which is common in most low populated areas) and for those whose bodies are starting to develop resistance to healing magic.
Military & Militia
Due to the size and differences in every kingdom, there is no set standard for how the military is viewed. Each kingdom will have its own different military and militia views, as some will be a military state kingdom, whereas some will solely rely on able-bodied militias to defend their lands.
It is common to see each major city have its own military which will also be responsible for the protection and law-keeping of not only their city but also the city-state surrounding.
Smaller towns may have a full unit of official city-state guards as well as a number of able-bodied people who are able to bear arms.