Main Characters:

• Hadrian of Cutra
• Lotem Jarval
• Sylva of Clan Strenath
• Casselia the ‘Crownless’
• Krinka the ‘Archivist’
• Alsarana the ‘Harbinger’

Secondary Characters:

• Astalia – [Venerate] assigned to guide Ryaldon, Telvar, and Avlain.
• Ryaldon – Second Year Ranger
• Telvar – Second Year Ranger
• Avlain – Second Year Ranger
• Thar Nol Grok – King of the Tul
• The Balar – The Khan of Khans, the True Khan of the Thurbal
• Kathanka – The dead white bison steed of the Balar.
• Rovan Khal, the Titan of Carven Bone – One of the three remaining Immortals.
• Sylvine, the Sovereign of Emerald Skies – One of the three remaining Immortals.
• Nyxol, the Scribe – One of the three remaining Immortals
• Wilson and Warma – Lotem’s personal bison that remained with the Zherenkhan
• Sabel – Lotem’s companion, a kitten that he brings into Aslavain.
• Morvan – A Numen Beastmaster and Imperial Ranger assigned to Lotem in the Trial of Tir Na Nog
• Drakar – A Numen [Breaker of Bone] assigned to Hadrian in the trial of Tir Na Nog
• Seraphis – A Sunborn Eidolon and [Priestess of the Radiant Flame] assigned to Sylva in the trial of Tir Na Nog
• Marquis of Bone – A prior student of Casselia, Alsarana, and Krinka. Known best for his sympathetic magic used in the Battle of Kaelums Refuge. The Marquis was killed by one of the [Assassins] of the [Procurator].
• Emilia – A candidate from Saralainn who has a strong grudge against the Dion.
• Valentine – a candidate from the Dion Carvers Blood who enters Aslavain and is assigned a [Venerate] mentor, Chanvar.
• Kirian – a candidate from the Tulunganar tribes, picked as the mentee of Shansha Six-Step. An accomplished archer and Axebeak rider.
• Shansha Six-Step – one of the best known Bal [Venerate], a battle courier known for making dangerous deliveries when others will not. She was at the Battle of Kaelums Refuge and blames the [Triumvirate of the Broken Crown] for the battle.
• Ulthgavar – one of the Blind, Ulthgavar has joined with Valentine as a member of her triumvirate.
• Dulvar – A retired Imperial Ranger who has returned home to Essal, one of the Luminaries outposts much like Cutra, in order to form a shrine.
• Charisa – A Bal candidate who forms a Triumvirate with Kirian.
• Meris of Clan Torthen – A Silkborn candidate from the Sect of Silken Grace assigned to compete in the Ylfenhold trial. Known for his bladework.

Locations:

• Cutra, the City of Untamed Mist – Hadrian’s city of origin. Located beyond the Spine in the Fologian Forest in lands claimed by the Brood.
• Aslavain – The Training Realm of the Empire. A demiplane older than the Sul Empire which allows for the rapid development and training of youth for a single year after they become citizens. Admittance to Aslavain is controlled by the Last Immortals though every Shrine within the empire has minimal access to the realm through their own demi-planes.
• Beastlands – The great expanse of uncivilized territory south of the empire controlled by various clans of nomads or beasts.
• Bridgelands – The southernmost expanse of the Empires territory within the Fologian Forest
• Fog Lands – The middle expanse of the Empires territory within the Fologian Forest
• Silklands – The northernmost expanse of the Empires territory within the Fologian Forest.
• Eisentor, the City of Woven Word – One of the Eternal Cities of the Empire. Affiliated with the Kiel, though Eisentor has strong connections to the Malan Sects.
• Hirion, the City of Conquest – One of the Eternal Cities of the Empire. Affiliated with the Kiel and the Luminaries.
• Ylfenhold, the City of the Veil – One of the Eternal Cities of the Empire, home to the Justicars and the judicial system of the empire.
• Saralainn, the City of Growth – One of the Eternal Cities of the Empire. Saralainn is a Malan holding focused on the growth of food, alchemical ingredients, and rare plants. The second most populous city in the empire after Rahabia.
• Sabkhata, the City of the Sun – One of the Eternal Cities of the Empire. Sabkhata is home to the Sunborn and the Penitent. It is associated loosely with Malan holdings.
• Rahabia, the City of Games – One of the Eternal Cities, home to the throne of the Empire where the Imperial Triumvirate reign. Home of the House of Lords, the parliamentary body of the empire.
• UlaanThur, the City of the Crossroads – One of the Eternal Cities, home of the Bal and their mighty Eldar. The City of the Crossroads is the heart of trade within the empire.
• Dornogor, the City of Beasts – a shrined city located near Ylfenhold. Forms an unstable zone with Tir Na Nog and Bonehold.
• Tir Na Nog, the City of Rage – a shrined city located near Ylfenhold. Forms an unstable zone with Dornogor and Bonehold.
• Bonehold, the City of Moving Bone – a shrined city located near Ylfenhold. Forms an unstable zone with Tir Na Nog and Dornogor.
• Quartzall, the City of Peace – a shrined city located in UlaanBal lands, though it has no single organizational affinity.
• Haffarah, the City of History – a shrined city along the Malanvar River. Famous for its grand archive.
• Cairn of Titans – The burial ground for the last remains of the eleven dead Titans. Accessible only to specific champions in each years contest in Aslavain, those who do enter the Cairn often emerge with the blessings of the long dead progenitors of mankind.

Organizations:

• ThurBal – The northern tribes of Bal who occupy the plains in the center of the empire. Most ThurBal are human or Numen in ancestry.
• UlaanBal – The southern tribes of Bal who occupy the plains in the center of the empire. The UlaanBal are diverse with a population split between Orcs, Goblins, Gnolls, Centaurs, or Humans.
• Malan – The founders of the Sul Empire, a primarily human denomination that occupy the northern reaches of the empire with a strong affinity for stone and competition.
• Dion – The second cultural group to join the Sul Empire, the Dion are governed by the scions and leaders of ancient bloodlines. The Dion respect their ancestors above all else and host a large population of [Witches] and [Necromancers] who use the bones of the dead in a variety of ways. The Dion are widely regarded with suspicion across the empire.
• Kiel – The Kiel people migrated from the Dion and Malan territories into the Fologian Forest in the west in a settlement effort to expand the territory of the empire. The Kiel are the most militaristic of the empires factions with a strong desire to expand the empire even further west.
• Sect of Silken Grace – The premier training sect for Silkborn after their creation. Renowned for its excellence in training the next generation of heroes and powerful figures within the empire. The Sect of Silken Grace is located within Malan lands, though it has come to be associated closely with the Kiel in recent centuries.
• Luminaries – The Luminaries split from the Penitent and Sunborn to lead the conquest and colonization of the Fologian Forest to the west. Luminaries specialize in the practice of imbuing flames with emotion and subjective understanding.
• Justicars – The judicial administrators of the empire, the Justicars specialize in powers drawn from conviction in abstract principles like justice, equality, and fairness. The Justiciars administer challenges throughout the empire to ensure fairness, though they are primarily found in the region surrounding Ylfenhold.
• Penitent – A cult of fire worshippers who live within the Gondaran Marsh and the Province of the Sun. The Penitent believe that fire cleanses and purifies. The Penitent adhere to a strict caste system with the Sunborn as the primary power within the region.
• The Mandate of Empire – A secretive organization that is dedicated to the prevention of the Third apocalypse by any means necessary.
• Sect of Eight Strands – Kiel sect dedication to divination.
• Conclave Earth – A Malan sect
• Rivers Remorse – A Malan sect
• Bonecasters – The Dion sect dedicated to intelligence gathering and omens.

Species:

• Tul – One of the Banes, the species created by the dread Tul-Tul-Tar to oppress and control. Tul are ogre like creatures that grow larger the more they consume. The Tul are able to steal the memories and powers of those that they consume. Primarily found in the Tul lands east of the Diontel River, the Tul are the sworn enemy of the Sul Empire although there can be decades of peace in between points of tension and conflict.
• Bloodmarked – The most feared of the Banes. The Bloodmarked are native to the plains to the far east of the continent and kept in check by the military authority of the Scaled Dominion.
• Numen – A humanoid species that are much larger than normal humans. Known for their double sets of lungs and secondary heart, the Numen are feared warriors who can regenerate or push through wounds that any other species would consider mortal.
• Silkborn – The Silkborn were the greatest creation of the Weavers before their extinction. Modeled after humankind, the Silkborn replace flesh and blood with silk animated by powerful magics. The Silkborn awaken fully grown in their adult body with shades of memories that fade with time. In order to awaken a new Silkborn their parents must infuse enough of their own souls and memory into the new form to create life. The Silkborn believe that they are superior to humans in every way, except perhaps when it comes to fire.
• Orc’s – Orcs are a rare species in the modern era, having experienced genocide and extinction preceding and during the Blood Wars. The remaining orc tribes who survived live nomadically as a part of great nomadic coalitions. The only orcs within the empire are UlaanBal who invaded with the Bal and were admitted after the conquests. Known for their great tusks and gruff demeanor.
• Goblin’s – Goblins share much history with the orc tribes, though they don’t share much respect for the others. The goblin warrens are run by notoriously secretive matrons who administer the actions of the clans from the shadows. Goblins are known for their alchemical prowess, stealth, and reclusive nature.
• Gnoll’s – Gnoll tribes are rare in the empire, having experienced a near extinction during the Beast Wars, though some tribes survived that chaos.
• Centaur’s – Centaurs are a fading species, nearing extinction. Their primary lands to the south were ravaged by the Beast Wars and unlike the Greenskin Tribes they were unable to migrate north in the Bal migration.
• Nygmar – A species of frog-like people equivalent in size to humans, the Nygmar are still regarding as mysterious following their emergence from the deep caverns underneath the empire. The Nygmar tend to worship the Crimson Heart and pursue bloody conflicts to appease their crystalline god.
• Blind – the third of the remaining humanoid species are the Blind. Most of the Blind stand less than half the height of a human with thin, diminutive frames that are suited for navigating the lightless tunnels underground. The Blind lack eyes, though they ‘see’ the world through a soul sight that recognizes the presence of the Sulphen. The Blind can read the contract that empowers the Citizens of the Sul Empire unless the souls are sufficiently warded.
• Arenea – the true children of the Weavers, the Arenea are sentient spiders the size of a dog who communicate telepathically. The Arenea are known in the empire for their construction of the great silken tunnels of the Silklands and for their dominance in the magical arts honed in Eisentor, the city of Woven Word.
• Drake’s – The kin of dragons, Drakes are equivalent in size to a human, although they have scaled tails and, on occasion, wings that allow for them to fly. Drakes occupy a middling caste within the Scaled Dominion with different shades of scales or specialized aspects granting a higher authority throughout the Dominion.
• Kobold’s – Kobolds look much like smaller, more diminutive Drakes who are known for their cowardice and low social standing within the Scaled Dominion.
• Naga – Naga are snake-like humanoids who have a long tail instead of legs, although from the waist up they resemble most humanoid’s. Naga’s are known for their spellcasting abilities with a strict adherence to magical discipline based on the color of their scales.
• Lizardkin – Lizardkin are the weaker, submissive form of naga’s who have not yet been able to ascend by their own authority. Each color of scales form a different lizardkin tribe with the appropriate naga’s ruling over them.
• Dragon’s – One of the three honored immortal races, the dragons were slain near to the last in the Breaking of Chains that ended the Blood War. Now, Sylvine is one of the only dragons known across the continent, though Sylvine resides in Aslavain as a bound guardian to the Sul.
• Titan’s: One of the three honored immortal races, the Titans were giants who stood near a hundred feet tall and traveled with entire tribes of humans. They were slain near to the last in the Breaking of Chains that ended the Blood War. Now, Rovan Khal is the only Titan who remains alive, though he is a bound guardian to the Sul. The remaining eleven Titans have ancestral legacies that are bound within the Cairn of Titans.
• Weaver’s – The Weavers were the pinnacle beings of a conglomerate of insectile races who evolved independently into sentient societies. Each Weaver was the mother of her hive and an entire species of her kin. Nyxol the Scribe for example is the Weaver who birthed the Aranea and eventually wove the Silkborn into being. Of the immortal races, the Weavers were the least impacted by the Blood Wars, though only a handful survived the Breaking of Chains. The remaining Weavers, aside from Nyxol herself, are the advisors of the modern hives of the Brood.

Historical Events:

• The Blood Wars – three thousand years prior to the story, the Tul-Tul-Tar arose and overthrew the existing empires and order through brutal conquest, enslavement, and destruction of all in their way. The Blood Wars categorize the centuries of resistance that has become known as the First Apocalypse.
• The Beast Wars – one thousand years prior to the story, beasts all around the continent evolved in rapid evolution into Beast Kings, progenitors of new races who grow crowns that give them full authority over an entire species. Every Beast King has awoken with a sense of burning fury towards civilization, the Beast Wars were the first expression of that fury as localized powers rose throughout the continent to challenge the civilized empires dominance. Now known as the Second Apocalypse, the Beast Wars changed the continental power balance into what it is today.
• The Flower Wars – five hundred years prior to the story, a coalition of nomadic tribes fled a worsening geopolitical situation in the south as the remaining Beast Kings fought to expand their territory. The Bal invaded the Sul Empire in an attempt to secure the lush, safe pasturelands at its heart which were largely unoccupied. The Flower Wars ended after two generations of pitched warfare with the Treaty of Swallows Grace which integrated the Bal into the empire with concessions made to ensure equal treatment as citizens.

Other Empires:

• The Brood – The name for the collective of insectile hives that administer territory throughout the Fologian Forest.
• The Scaled Dominion – The Scaled Dominion is the continents most powerful nation. Ruled by the Serpentine Monarchs, the dual throne of the Dominion spreads power and authority between a king and queen, one from the draconic ancestries, one from the Naga’s greatest. The Scaled Dominion operates as a strict caste system with little social or class mobility without grand feats allowing for a racial evolution.