Age of Conquest - Fall of the Gods
The Age of Conquest is a fantasy chronicle and campaign, which started during the summer of 2018 and is still ongoing. The plot takes place in the Kingdom of Aurun, in the year 3168 AoM, the 50th year of rule after the rebellion of the mysterious Overlord against the former king of the country. Only the oldest inhabitants still remember a time before the rule of The Overlord. The realm has become more wild and violent since and the inhabitants have to live with the new laws and hard reality, they are confronted with. The plot of the chronicle is based on the path of adventurers, called "Ratcatchers", who don't have a good reputation among the nobility of the realm and are openly despised, but their existence is important to do the things, The Overlord and his armies can't or don't want to do. And so these interesting folk are often loved by the people of the realm, but despised by the nobility and leadership at the same time.
Plot Summary
Season I
Rise of the Red Horde (Chapter 1 - 15)
The story begins with Alexasar Dayne, a warpriest originating from the Boreas Island, a small island in the north of the realm of Aurunia, who carries a knightly legacy and has sworn the oath, to one day become the greatest swordsman of the world. Alongside him, the story focuses on Kolgar Thoradin, a Dwarven warrior from Morandins Mountains, which is on a mission to cleanse the name of his clan and stabilize the rule of his kind. The two of them become accompanied by a bunch of other warriors, each of them with their own dreams and goals in their life as adventurers. One by one the group gathers and soon they has to fight against the onslaught of The Red Horde, a gigantic army of Orcs and other Greenskins, which have the goal, to conquer the whole of Kingswood and all of the Kingdom of Aurun, by slaying the humans. While mobilizing troops, recruiting new allies and readying the people of the Kingswood for the fight against the Orcs, the heroes also have to face their own problems and come to realize, that behind the army of the Greenskins stands a much larger force and that the mysterious Lord of Cinder and his cult have their own plans set in motion.Season II
March of the Dead (Chapter 16 - 40)
The ratcatchers achieved victory against The Red Horde in the Battle of the Ashes right in front of the city of Northfield and finally they saved the County of Kingswood, but with great personal losses. The group itself has fallen apart in this process and now they are separated all at different places. Alexasar and Kolgar have to deal with the aftermath of the battle, before they can start to gather their allies again. During their endeavours to do so, they got support from the warrior Juno Sariel, who got the mission to lead the ratcatchers into the capital city of Dawnlight. There the group meets Lancinnei Reginaux, the niece of Alexasar, who becomes his squire soon after then. Through the goddess of the moon, Selûne, the group was sent on a new mission to stop the upcoming invasion of The Forces of Orcus, an undead army raised by the Demon Lord Orcus. They also find out about the schemes of the god Bane and his schemes, to use the conflict between the living and the dead to achieve his own personal goals and transform himself into the most powerful god of all. The group of ratcatchers, which become stronger and more influential, give themselves the name "The Ashenblades" and they start to gather allies to battle this new threat to the realm. To achieve this, they have to face political intrigues, unspeakable challenges and handle personal losses and doubt once more, so they can, at the end, fight the ultimate battle between life and death against an all powerful enemy.
Season III
Into the Mist of Ravenholm (Chapter 41 - 65)
15 months have passed since the end of the war between the Kingdom of Aurun and the The Forces of Orcus. New peace has spread throughout the Kingdom and the ways of The Ashenblades have separated once again, so every member can handle their own obligations. But destiny reunites at least Alexasar Dayne, Kolgar Thoradin and Varen Cresthill and the three warriors finally got a summon from Dawnlight, where they hear, that Aurun, after the devastating war with the undead, no longer has the military prowess to stand its own against the Kingdom of Sargus in the south, which have allied themselves with the mighty Empire of Noraxus. Now The Iron Legion of Noraxus marches forth to the border of the Kingdom of Aurun and is close to threaten all inhabitants of the Kingdom. Because his family originating from there, Alexasar Dayne got the mission, to travel to the Duchy of Ravenholm and make a peace treaty with Lady Serena, so Aurun can focus its strength against their real threat and stop an invasion from the combined forces of the Kingdom of Sargus and the Empire of Noraxus. Kolgar Thoradin also has a personal mission to travel to Ravenholm, since the last traces of his long lost father lead there. And so The Ashenblades start a new mission, supported by a few old, but also a bunch of new allies, all of them with their own reasons to enter Ravenholm. The group travels into a cursed land, where they have to confront the past to forge a new future.
Season IV
The Future of the Realm (Chapter 66 - 82)
The Ashenblades return from Ravenholm, having achieved great political, but also personal victories. But they also have to handle new burdens and losses, they got in the process. Each and everyone of them has changed while in Ravenholm and now they see the world different, having grown fully while into the cursed duchy. Finally, when they return, they come to realize, that all they did will not change the outcome of the war significantly, because The Iron Legion is already near the border of Aurun and the kingdom is about to fall. In a last desperate attempt, to change the tides of war, The Overlord sends a mysterious young Wizard into the heart of the enemy, to negotiate and get The Iron Legion to retreat. The Ashenblades get the task to accompany her on this mission and get her safely to her destination. With the promise to get full legitimation als a military group inside the Kingdom of Aurun and so finally to become more then just a bunch of ratcatchers outside the law, The Ashenblades accompany Raia Samaris on her dangerous mission. Reunited with Juno Sariel and so in their old composition as a group The Ashenblades get on a new journey. But who is the mysterious sorceress, on which shoulders The Overlord placed the burden to safe his kingdom? Which role plays her ancestry from the Overlord himself? The journey through the rivaling kingdoms is a trial, but first, when the group arrives in the heart of their enemy, The Ashenblades will see, which plans The Overlord really has and how the destiny of the Kingdom of Aurun can be changed to the better.
Season V
Odyssey through the Nine Hells (Chapter 83 - Ongoing)
Alexasar and Kolgar failed their Mission in the Nine Hells to rescue the Brightwater Sisters and finally died, leaving the future of the Kingdom of Aurun and all of Arceiron unsure. While the conflicts in the world of the living continue and the Ashenblades have to fight without their fallen comrades, Alexasar and Kolgar get rescued by the most simple of beings: a small Imp, which got interested, in who they once was and so helps the two lost souls to find back to their identities and remember, who they really are. Scarred and marked by the touch of hell, the two ratcatchers finally decide to leave the Nine Hells and return to the world of the living, again taking up their mission to safe the Brightwater Sisters in the process. Broken and with the last bits of hopes, they still have remaining, they start to travel through the Realms of Hell, making some strange new and even old allies, meeting long forgotten foes from their past and allmighty enemies of unspeakable power. This odyssey seems to be impossible, but the two ratcatchers know, that the world of the living needs them and their true purpose is not yet fulfilled. But even when they return, they will not be the same anymore. But should the impossible happen and the souls leave the dreaded realms, they finally might be strong enough for what is about to come at the dawn of a new age.
Protagonists
Current Protagonists
Alexasar "Alec" Dayne
(Thoralian Human, Cleric, Retribution Domain)Alexasar "Alec" Dayne is a human knight and champion of the goddess Erzaria, who lived most of his life on the remote Boreas Island, in the far north, near the border of the Kingdom of Aurun. Since a young age he got introduced into the philosophy of "The Wardens of the North", which he adapted for himself. He is a former warpriest, who believed for a long time, to be a champion of Temporus, but this was just a scheme of the god of tyranny, Bane, which finally got revealed to him. The experience to get manipulated by greater forces, inspired him to fight injustice in all forms, also fighting cruelty and tyranny with all he can, becoming a protector to the ordinary people, which can't protect themselves against the allmighty power of the dark forces of the world. He is also part of the noble House Dayne, originating from the continent of Dûadia and was a long time supposed to be the last one of his bloodline in Aurunia.
He is a swordsman, which originally promised his late friend Selina Dùrel, to become the best swordsman in the world, so his honor and name will reach her in the High Heavens . After he nearly experienced the loss of all of his comrades, he starts to realize, that all titles are meaningless, if there is nothing, you can protect with it and when you have nothing, you are fighting for. With this new understanding, he finally changed his goals and gives the oath, to become a true knight, bringing honor to his fallen house to retain the promise of a glorious name and so being able to protect his comrades. Later he becomes the first leader of the newly founded group called The Ashenblades and leads the fellowship on their way to glory. With the help of his name and the name of the group itself he hopes to create a refuge for all, who are special and outcasts of society, but who are also ready, to use their special talents and abilities to build a better future for the generations to come.
Kolgar Thoradin
(Shield Dwarf, Barbarian, Path of the Iron Warrior)Kolgar Thoradin is a grim dwarf, originating from Morandins Mountains and part of Clan Thoradin, which believed a long time, to be obliged to Clan Valorhearth and being Gold Dwarves. He is also part of the infamous elite unit "The Ironbreakers". His family are the protectors of the Throneforger in this generation, until a new king is to be crowned, but his father, Mordin Thoradin, vanished with the legendary hammer and so Clan Thoradin has fallen from grace and became social outcasts and blamed for the loss of the artifact. No longer able to hold the burden of this shame, Kolgar sets on a journey to find his father and bring back the Throneforger to his people. After a long quest Kolgar was able to find his father, just to find out, he no longer has the hammer, as it got stolen from him a while ago. Mordin Thoradin also revealed to Kolgar, that Clan Thoradin never was Gold, but Shield Dwarves, but due to an old misunderstanding had not known about this. With this information his whole world got shattered and all of his loyalties and oaths suddenly seemed meaningless to him. He continues his mission to find the legendary artifact, but he has no idea, that when he finally gets it, he'll have the key of the future of all of dwarfenkind in his hands, just because of a simple question, he has to answer himself: Which clans and families have his loyalty?
There are two things, that are important to Kolgar Thoradin: fighting and alcohol. With both of them together he becomes an unstoppable force of prowess and endurance and is nearly invincible. His carelessness and his folly often enough brought him into trouble in the past and so he got manipulated by the Leviathan to forge a pact with the creature, from which he could free himself with a lot of personal pain. After a confrontation with the Iron Dragon Venrys, where Kolgar sacrificied himself to save his friends, he got brought back as the "First of the Iron Dwarves". Since that moment he can utilize the power of iron in battle, which makes him an even stronger foe, as he is hard as steel.
Cale O'Lear
(Thoralian Human, Ranger, Archetyp of the Horizonwalker)Cale O'Lear is a human Ranger, which is infamous for his cheekiness and carelessness, especially towards women. He is an formidable tracker and able to navigate through every forest completely silent. He lived most of his life in the small town of Thornhold, alongside his older brother Dean O'Lear and protected his homeland as part of the "Wardens of Thornhold". When his brother got killed by a gigantic Griffon, he swore vengeance against the creature and started to hunt her and finally, with the help of the goddess Arthemia, he was able to achieve his goal.
He has a mystical connection to nature itself, so strong, that he is able to speak the old language of the woods, Druidic, without being a Druid himself. Later he falls in love with the Moon Elf Druid Adyra Mooncairn, but when she falls into the darkness, he swears to safe her and bring her back into the light. While on an attack at the temple of Arthemia in Phandorra, Cale vanished without a trace and is believed to be dead by his comrades for a long time, until he reappeared months later in Redhaven. It turned out, he has some special abilities and is able to switch between the different planes of existence at will and finally, during his time away, he achieved some control over this power through the guidance of a mysterious archmage. After his return he rejoins his friends in their quest and becomes part of The Ashenblades again, now stronger then ever before, but there are still some strange mysteries surrounding the Ranger, because no one, not even himself knows about the origin of his mysterious powers and who they might be originating from.
Varen Cresthill
(Ivailan Human, Paladin, Oath of Vengeance)Varen Cresthill is a human Paladin, who got trained most of his life as part of the "Order of the Righteous Gauntlet", which formed him into a weapon against all powers of evil and dark in the world. Horrible events in his youth got him to swear the oath of vengeance, which got accepted by the goddess Nemeia, so he can punish all evil deeds and bring justice to the world. Varen is very righteous and honest and he is the embodiment of knighthood and heroism, which makes him the moral compass of the group. But Varen is not a blind loyalist to his beliefs, but judging all deeds differently. Origin or ancestry means nothing to him and so he was the only one of his order to believe the ratcatchers, when they arrive at the Castle of Righteousness at the first place to bring a warning about The Red Horde. He was the driving force to recruit his order for the fight against the Orcs. When the war against the The Forces of Orcus started, he also was a mighty ally and became one of the most important members of The Ashenblades. He lives the ideals of the group to the fully to this day.
While on the journey Varen falls in love for the succubus Lytaria Samaelis, which traveled with The Ashenblades a short while and so he got into a conflict between his faith and his feelings. He didn't believed, that Lytaria is an evil being and so he promised to protect her. When he was unable to fulfill this promise, he decided, that he has to go into the depths of The Nine Hells to bring back his love. This brings him into another moral dilemma, since he knows through his faith, that his actions are wrong, but his feelings tell him, it's right. While traveling with his comrades, Varen has to grow as a person and a hero and he needs to question his own faith to find out, that dogmatic teachings can be a way to lead him on a good path, but should never be the ultimate truth for his life and define, who he really is as a person.
Juno Sariel
(Aasimar/Solar, Fighter, Archetyp of the Battlemaster)Juno Sariel is a mighty battlemaster, which belongs to the rare species of the Aasimar. As a child she watched her father die because of her origin, which traumatized her and leads the young girl on a martial way, which scarred her deeply. Later on she got trained by a weaponmaster from the far east, which was able to save her from herself, but when he fell into the darkness, Juno joined the Overlord's Army and later became part of his Aurunian Royal Guard. For a long time she hoped to find out, who she really is, find her mother and bring peace to her troubled master, which gets controlled by a mysterious curse. Juno often looks innocent, but with her mighty sword "Remorse" she is a nearly unbeatable force in battle.
Later on she got ordered to serve at The Korraj, which brings her into leaving The Ashenblades for a while. She rejoins the group, when they go on the mission to bring the daugther of The Overlord into the Empire of Noraxus. At this point she had lost one of her arms in a battle against an unknown enemy from the Kingdom of Sargus near the border of the realm. While on travel with her friends again she finds out, that the archangel Cyana is her mother and she can't be contacted by her, because of the cosmic order. While on the journey Juno's life got in great danger, when her wound from losing an arm got infected and she's endangered to die. Her friends brought her to Niiringard and with the help of the High Magic of the Elves she was able to get healed. She also got contacted by the Solars and is made a celestial herself to join them in the battle against the upcoming Demon Lords. For that call, she has to leave her friends once more, but promised, to be forever a part of The Ashenblades and fight side by side with them again, when the final battles of the Age of Conquest begin.
Former Protagonists
Vaira Brightwater †
(Ivailan Human, Wizard, School of Evocation)Vaira Brightwater was a young wizard and novice of the Winterhold Academy and she also was the youngest daugther of the Brightwater Family. She's the younger sister of the famous archmage Keira Brightwater and she strived her whole life to be as powerful and influential like her sister. To achieve this goal, she was about to learn everything she can and trained hard to improve herself. She was very talented, but also very naive about the dangers of the world and so she got killed at the Battle of the Ashes through the dark magic of Vora'thul. This event burdened the relationship between her sister Keira Brightwater and Alexasar Dayne, which both blamed themselves for her death. Since Vaira's death, Keira does everything to try to bring her back from the dead, even if that means, to get into dangerous spells and risk her own life, which could seal her own fate forever.
Zedaria Vandree †
(Dark Elf, Wizard, School of Bladesong)Zedaria Vandree was a novice of the arcane arts, which learned the ways of magic from her master Jalynt Miliskeera and studied the secret lore of the elven bladesong. She originated from a noble house and was destined to one day become the ruler of the city Eryndlyn, a destiny, she never liked herself. In opposition to most of the other drow she was kind, warmhearted and friendly. Her dream was to travel the upper world, have her own adventures and find her lost sister, which got captured years prior. When The Ashenblades arrived at her master's place, she used this opportunity to her advantage and helped them, so she could become part of their group and finally got the chance to fulfill the dreams.. With The Ashenblades she soon found some loyal friends. But only a short time later, when a mighty Balor attacked the temple of Arthemia in Phandorra, she got cruelly killed, trying to support the temple's defenders. Especially Alexasar Dayne, as leader of The Ashenblades, sees since that the need to find a way to bring Zedaria back to life, because her personal story is not finished yet.
Nixiranna Roselight
(Sun Elf, Bard, College of Valor)Nixiranna Roselight was a bright and lively Sun Elf, in the eyes of her own people young and unexperienced. She's nearly always in a good mood and has the dream, to improve the world, with the help of the fine arts, so everyone can have a smile on their faces and live a good life. With the help of her harp she controls her magic and weaves it into her music, which she uses to support her allies and protect her friends. For a long time she was the owner of a tavern in Phandorra, after she got into a conflict with her own father and fell into disgrace. So she met The Ashenblades, when they reached her tavern and stayed there for a while, with her being the only one in Phandorra to accept ratcatchers as guests. Later, one of Bane's Champions arrived in disguise and accused her of treason. The ratcatchers she helped before, now helped her and safed her from an unlikely death. Thereupon Nixiranna became part of The Ashenblades to help the living in their fight against the The Forces of Orcus. After the victory of the living she returns to Phandorra together with her father and her people to make some new beginning. Later The Ashenblades learn, she reopened her tavern in Phandorra together with the strong warrior Eònmir Valanodel, with whom she got romantically involved. She's still a part of The Ashenblades to this day, but her adventuring days are over and she just gives them other type of support, if necessary.
Garmùl Silvertarn †
(Gold Dwarf, Fighter, Archetyp of the Champion)A foreign legionnaire and a sellsword, which traveled the world to earn money, working for everyone, who payed him well and to defeat some dangerous foes. With his mighty crossbow "Bertha", which is nearly the same size as he is, he was up to fight every challenge, he got confronted with. He got hired by The Overlord himself, to accompany The Ashenblades on their way to Ravenholm and help them to meet Lady Serena. He's a grumpy, but proud Dwarf and so he soon developes a very complicated relationship with Kolgar Thoradin, whom he despises for the shame of his clan to loose the Throneforger.
In secret he also hopes to find some traces of the legendary artifact himself, so he could bring it back to his people. He steadfast believes in the superiority of the dwarven people and lives out a lot of the chliches. For that he was good at fighting, but maybe even better in eating and especially drinking. While fighting Orwindsorax, Garmùl followed his comrades into the mountain fortress of the infernal Dragon in an attempt to safe the party members, that got caught and are about to be sacrificed. After the successful rescue, when The Ashenblades tried to escape from the overwhelming odds of their enemies, he safed them all and sacrificed his life, when he helped them to escape over the walls of the fortress and stayed behind to make sure, they all reach the other side. In the process he got caught by a troop of Half-Dragons and Kobolds and got killed. His death was truly heroic and so, in the last moments of his life, he achieved all the fame and recognition he always wanted to have. So it's to believe, he had arrived at the halls of Morandin and got accepted there as the hero he was.
Elora Revenmar
(Half-Elf, Fighter, Archetyp of the Eldritch Knight)Elora Revenmar was a mysterious warrior and Half-Elf, originating from the Duchy of Ravenholm and born there in the city of Revendria as daughter of the legendary elven smith Daith Revenmar. From early on she showed some talent in the use of the blade and magic at the same time. To protect her from the Vampires and to make sure, she did not garner their attraction, her father forbade her the study of the arcane arts, but the naive Elora did not believe that her father just wanted to protect her, but instead thought he wanted to hold back her talents. When she got into a fight with her father about that, she took up the last blade he had forged: The Sword of Denithria. She killed her own father with it, controlled by the might of the blade and after it, left the duchy and never returned. She became a ratcatcher, traveling the world and using her skills to survive. When she finally killed a group of adventurers she had met before and befriended and the darkness inside herself became even stronger, she got into isolation and avoided any contact to other people in the process, believing, she's a monster and can't control her actions.
Finally she got hired by The Overlord to lead The Ashenblades back to the Duchy of Ravenholm and she accepted the quest, because she hoped to confront her inner darkness there and find out the truth about herself. Finally it's revealed, that it's the Sword of Denithria, that controls her, no inner darkness herself and she got overtaken by the might of the blade. Fully controlled she made a deal with the necromancer Alastaire Bonewright, which planned to destroy the cosmic order of life and death to bring back his dark master, Orcus. With the help of The Ashenblades she finally got rid of the dark blade and made peace with her long dead father, but her sanity didn't take all the losses and guilt easy and after the long time, she got controlled by the blade, it withdrew from reality as a means to protect itself. She's now a broken woman, nothing more then a shell of her former self, but The Ashenblades brought her back to Dawnlight into the temple of Selûne. They hope, Elora can recover there and find her way back into the light, with the help of the goddess to rejoin her comrades and fight side by side with The Ashenblades again.
Trivia
Popcultural References
- In the second season, it's known at some point, that the marching Army of the Dead will arrive at the Kingdom of Aurun with the beginning of the winter. From that point on different characters speak out the famous words and catchphrase "Winter is coming", when they want to tell, how less of a time they have to prepare or as a warning for what is coming. This catchphrase is well known from the popular novels "A song of Ice and Fire" and the HBO Series "Game of Thrones".
- In the season finale of the second season, when the Ashenblades and the soldiers of the Overlord's Army have some last evening at the tavern before the deadly battle against the Army of the Dead the bard Nixiranna sings the song "Age of Aggression" well known from the soundtrack of the videogame "The Elder Scrolls V: Skyrim".
- It's common sense in the chronicle, that after great battles, while having a good time in a tavern or in special situations the Ashenblades sings together as comrades and friends to deepen their bonds. This songs are mostly composed of medieval folk rock or shanty. Examples for that are from the popular groups "Santiano", "D'Artagnan", "Versengold" and many more.
Crossover
There are no crossovers yet between this chronicle and others of the same universe.Behind the Scenes
- The actual played chronicle of "The Age of Conquest: Fall of the Gods" is the second incarnation of the story. The first draft had a bad start and got cancelled shortly after the beginning, but certain elements of it still existed to this day and got included into the lore of the world. So was Varen Cresthill formerly a rival to one of the player characters and supposed to be an oppenent. In theory this rivalry still exists to this day and the other Paladin, Varen was in conflict with, still is part of his backstory. It's also the fault of the first group of ratcatchers, that Lady Serena got Arcturus, the Sword of Stars, because they unknowingly helped her to free it from it's seal and got the duchess to take it from them.
- Formerly the chronicle just had the name "The Age of Conquest". Since there was a second chronicle in the same universe, which also had that name, it later got's the subtitle "Fall of the Gods" to separate it from the other chronicle and make sure, they are both part of a shared universe.
- Together with the chronicle "The Age of Conquest: The Calamity of Dragons" this is the beginning of the shared universe of Arceiron and one of the first two campaigns played in it.
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