Arda
A land forged by war, galvanized by peace
Arda is the home plane of the heroes of our campaign, Shadows over Arda (Return to Drake the Magic Dragon). It is part of a larger system of nearby and closely-related planes known as the Dragon's Domain. Unlike much of the rest of the Dragon's Domain, Arda is one of few planes not directly under the Shadow's control. In this campaign, Arda is also synonymous with the Prime Material Plane.
Green fields on Arda; near High Peak, Rian, Eastern Continent
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History
Arda is a plane with a long and complex history of both glorious creation and terrible destruction. Divine sources relate the story of Arda's creation and the germination of life on the plane to its mortal followers on the plane. It is one of few planes in the Dragon's Domain that isn't under the control of the Shadow, a powerful extraplanar being that previously lived beyond the spheres of the world, also known as the Transitive Plane.
The story of Arda begins in a time before time itself, in a time that can only be speculated on by planar scholars. From the void, did numerous powerful extraplanar beings take form, ushered on by an unknown creator. Soon after their creation, did these beings began to vie for supremacy in the Transitive Plane. Four such powerful beings, each of which had mastery of the elements of Fire, Earth, Water and Air made an alliance and began to work together to forge a new plane from the general nothingness of the Transitive Plane. The Primordial Lords, as they would come to be called, each gave a part of their power to instill it into the land. The Primordial Earth gave a part of itself and became the soil and mountains, the Primordial Water gave and became the oceans, the Primordial Air instilled the atmosphere with its breath, and the Primordial Fire looked upon the plane as the shining sun above.
The Primordials had created a plane, but the land was devoid of life apart from the rumbling of volcanoes or the crashes of waves. From here, a new extraplanar being came onto the developing Arda - the Heavens. It is unclear whether the deities of the Heavens are actually one such singular being or many such comparatively weak beings that harmonized with each other to act as one. Regardless, the Heavens came to Arda, and saw the fertile soil, the gentle winds, winding rivers, and nurturing sun above. They too, gave a part of themselves as a gift to the new land - life. The Heavens sowed grass and trees, the beasts of the field, and the fish of the sea. Arda teemed with life, and seemingly all were happy with creation.
As the Heavens continued to create more developed life, they created a new form of life - the elves. A rift was growing between the Heavens and the Primordials. Neither the beasts of the field nor the creatures of the sea could shape the land created and curated by the Primordials, until the arrival of the elves. The elves, with burgeoning intelligence, began to shape and bend the wood and earth of Arda to make their homes and fires to light their camps and warm their bodies. The last straw for the Primordials was the creation of the dwarves, who carved and delved deep into the earth to extract the glittering treasures of the land.
From this point on, The Primordials believed the creation of intelligent peoples onto Arda would be its undoing, so it felt it needed to balance the creations of the Heavens with life instilled by Primordial powers, creating the orcs by the Firelord entrancing the elves and the duergar from the Primordial Earth converting the dwarves. So too did they create the dragons, who roamed the lands of northern Arda. The four peoples came to blows in an event known as the First Primordial War, which the elves and dwarves won.
The Heavens continued to create life in the face of the Primordials objections, creating the gnomes and halfings. Again did the Primordials adapt them into the svir and kobolds, and another war broke out. This time, the Primordials, more desperate to restore balance, called on an even greater power. They called another being similar to themselves, the extraplanar Shadow. Together, the Primordial peoples called the Children of the Primordials pushed back the Heavens created peoples, the Children of the Heavens. In a terrible and bloody conflict, the Children of the Heavens were pushed back to a few strongholds throughout Arda.
The last great interaction that would shape Arda would be an event called the Last of the Primordial Wars, the final showdown between the embattled Children of the Heavens against the joint forces of the Children of the Primordials and Shadow followers. In this epic war did the Heavens and the Primordials come down to do battle themselves, with the Shadow and its followers fleeing to the southern edge of the Eastern Continent. Ultimately, the Primordials came to realize the wars meant to bring balance caused far greater destruction than what the burgeoning peoples of Arda could ever do. In a final sacrifice of the deity of the Heavens, Mendos, did the last life created by the Heavens come upon Arda, humans. They were named as "Men" in honor of the deity, Mendos. The Primordials and the Heavens called a truce to choose to foster life throughout Arda rather than destroy each other.
The Shadow, however, had other plans. The goals of the Shadow remained the same - to grow more powerful and consume all life in the multiverse. The reforged alliance between the Heavens and the Primordials presented a roadblock, but the Shadow remained as tenacious as ever. The Shadow was eventually driven off Arda, but swore revenge upon their people and deities which would have long lasting effects to this day...
About
Arda is a diverse landscape that was forged by the Primordials but shaped by the life supplanted by the Heavens. It has nearly every kind of landscape from arid deserts to deep and ancient oceans to verdant forests. The land of Arda is divided into three known continents - the Eastern Continent, the Western Continent, and the Golden Lands. Between these, there are four known oceans - the Golden Sea, the Dragon Sea, the Ice Floes, and the Amaranthine Sea. From these territories are fourteen distinct nations, each with their own unique cultures and peoples. Both the four Primordial Lords and the Heavens are worshiped throughout the plane, and even the inhabitants of Arda have not explored all that the land has had to offer.
Even centuries after it's departure, the Shadow continues to plague Arda, sending its minions in countless efforts to disrupt the plane and drive fear into the hearts of its people. Fortunately, new generations of heroes have risen in the face of adversity, and Arda has remained free from the Shadow's dominion. Yet, with each passing year, the Shadow and its extraplanar servants grow more powerful, and cast a pallor over the staunch defenders of one of last free planes.
Trivia
- Arda is named after the formal name of Middle Earth in Tolkien's Lord of the Rings.
See Also
A part of
Continents of Arda
Oceans of Arda
Quick Reference
Type
Dimensional plane
Plane: Arda
Government: Dependent on nation
National Language: Dependent on nation
Ancestry: Dependent on nation
Religion: Dependent on nation
General Alignment: True Neutral
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