Aelora is a land forgotten. Legend tells of a blight known only as The Void that spread through Aelora two millenia ago. As nation after nation fell the last of the Aeloran races joined together to seal the continent of Aelora away in a final effort to contain the blight from spreading to the rest of the planet. A veil was erected and Aelora was lost to time and memory.
For two millenia the veil held and none could enter nor leave Aelora, and for two millenia the war with the void raged on. Nations were shattered, races driven into extinction, and what survivors remained retreated into mountain strongholds until the tides were turned with the return of the Elysian Vanguard - a fabled order of heroes and legends.
With the blight driven back the races of Aelora have stepped forward to reclaim their ancestral homes, but they aren't alone. With the passing of time the veil that separates Aelora from worlds beyond has begun to fray. Crossroads, or points at which the veil is weakest, have begun to form. These crossroads are typically places of power with high concentrations of magical energies that serve as temporary gateways between Aelora and the realms beyond. Should one happen upon one of those crossroads they might find themselves within this fantastical land of myth and legend. A crossroads can appear at any location within the Multiverse and often one does not know when or where a crossroads will appear, or for how long it will remain.
Due to the high concentration of both void and fey magic within the lands of Aelora, both the flora and the fauna of the continent have been greatly influenced to give birth to all manner of fantastical species exclusive to this unique landscape.
OOC Notes:
- The people of Aelora have long been caught within a primitive age that predates the invention of more modern weaponry. Any modern technology present in Aelora would have been introduced through a character crossing into Aelora via a crossroads and would be limited to whatever they had in their personal possession when they arrived.
- The flora and fauna of Aelora is highly fantastical in nature and deviates greatly from that found within the real world. Feel free to take creative liberties with creatures encountered within Aelora.
- Lore local to Aelora is characterized by originality. Please don't introduce unoriginal or borrowed works as native Aeloran lore. If you wish to use non-unoriginal content in Aelora it probably came to Aelora via the crossroads and isn't native to the region.
- Catfolk, Mira
- Celestial
- Centaur
- Dragon
- Dragonkin
- Elf, Altari
- Elf, Dw'in
- Elf, Lunari
- Elf, Sylvali
- Elf, Tal'asan
- Fae
- Goblin, Wibjibbet
- Human, Aramaean
- Human, Cordelian
- Human, Keradoran
- Human, Orlesian
- Sylvae
- Wolven
Note: If you want to add a race to this list, just shoot me a PM. Please be respectful of the fact that native Aeloran lore is characterized by original content though. We more than welcome people adding their own content to Aelora but if you have something that doesn't fit with Aeloran lore, or something unoriginal that you want to use, it probably arrived in Aelora via a crossroads rather than being native.
Script said:The tension within the chamber was palpable. Barely audible, the sounds of battle permeated the air from the streets below. Men and women screamed, and the horrific beasts that were swarming the city shrieked monstrously. The gathering upon the top floor of Avensora's Aethyr Tower shared the same grim expression upon their faces.
They were a gathering the likes of which had never been seen before. It seemed as though near every race in Aelora was represented in some form, and despite the tension, there was no hostility between them. Amongst the many races, the Archmages of the Kethrian and Amarathian Altari stood side-by-side with nary a dirty look cast between them, the fierce Archons of the Dwi'in and the serene Elluvianae of the Sylvali avoided abrasion, and the smooth-skinned elders of the celestials and dragonkin stood side by side with the aged elder wizards of humanity. Even a mysterious lone figure that some whispered was one of the long-lost peoples of the Lunari had joined them.
Such a concentration of the magical elite of Aelora as this was almost beyond comprehension. The collective power in the room could cast an entire nation into dust. But despite the battle raging outside, as void creatures flooded the streets of Kethria's capital city, they were not gathered here to wage war.
No, the war was already lost.
So many nations had fallen, so many lives had been lost. Nothing could stem the tide of the void now, nothing could save Aelora. But the rest of the world needed not follow. The call had gone out to all corners of the continent, to assemble this gathering at the last remaining bastion near the centre of the land.
"We are in agreement, then." The shimmering form of Ymiria, the celestial who had masterminded this effort, stepped forwards and spoke to draw the attention of the room. "To prevent this catastrophe consuming the world, we must contain it, even at the cost of our homelands. Aelora must be sealed. We do not have long - the void creatures have breached the lower levels of the tower. I believe that Nae'shiara knows of our aims and seeks to stop us. The ritual is prepared. I require only your strength, and it shall be done."
One by one, the assembled groups spoke their agreement. Debates had gone on for days beforehand, whilst the city walls still held, but now a decision had been forced. None withdrew their support.
"Then we should proceed at once." Ymiria spread her arms and wings, "Honoured mages of Aelora, I am proud to stand with you in this, our final hour. Let us show the world what we are capable of when united."
As each mage, archon, elluvianae, witch, wizard, warlock, seer, sorcerer or shaman linked their power with Ymiria's, the room grew more and more dense with magic. Crackling wisps of energy formed in the air with its intensity, and the arcane markings upon the stone floor of the tower grew brilliantly bright as the spell was weaved.
Sounds of battle grew louder, as the armies of the void invaders tore through the defenders in the upper levels of the tower and flooded towards the ritual chamber. When the ravenous creatures burst through the reinforced doors of the room, however, it was too late. The last of the gathering of magical powers was dropping to the floor, their magic drained beyond their limits.
Only Ymiria remained, at the epicentre of a ritual that threatened to rend the realm asunder with its power. She was more magic than celestial, now, and it was with a final gasp that she was consumed bodily into the last moments of the spell. And then the tower exploded. Stone was annihilated as magical power speared into the sky in a beacon that was visible for hundreds of miles around. The light blossomed in the heavens and expanded, aethyric mist warping and stretching outwards in a dome that reached across the entirety of Aelora.
Across the continent, fighting paused for just a moment to stare upwards at the rippling display of light that crossed the sky. The stars in the night sky faded from view.
From an outsider's perspective, it was as though the entire continent of Aelora had simply vanished from Terra. Only a strange, ethereal cloud of mist upon the ocean waves remained. The veil had been formed, and Aelora was lost to history.