DIFFERENCES FROM THE FANTASY NORM
A very brief list of several elements that differ from the norm within fantasy fiction. This is a continual work in progress and is in no way properly organized or curated. Good luck!
What makes us different?
1. Elves (Vala'Suun) were summoned from out of space and time, from another dimension, and put to slavery (essentially) by the Ulta Breen and the Ulta Ryla. Most Solti have silver-white hair and dark eyes. They keep their rooms pearly white in order to “train” their skin to keep ivory hues.
2. In the absence of the Gods (post Sundering), the elves have elevated themselves and have begun answering the prayers of the righteous.
3. Though reasonably upset at their situation (not being able to return to their home dimension), elves still aren’t quite “good” (but not quite “evil” either). They simply didn’t want what they’ve inherited on this world.
4. Elves have true names by which they can be indentured into servitude. They never share these names, and sometimes don’t even know it themselves.
5. Goblins also come from the same dimension and were shackled by the Ulta as well.
6. Could the Ulta have “changed” or mutated the elves and goblinoids some? Taking away their innate ability to bridge dimensions?
7. When we join the story, the gods are just beginning to “come back.” In that they are manifesting as dreams to particular members of the faith. The Arch Cardinal of the Church of Zenithal is deposed because he is not granted these dreams, and is caught faking them. He is replaced by the youngest Arch Cardinal ever. A young, former farm boy, from the outer edge of Rocha, named Berlane Emerol.
Of course, this is not his actual birth name. He was originally “Joth of Cantofarm.” He has killed all those who knew of his origin, including his parents. Cantofarm is no more.
7a. Joth joined up with an ambitious bandit lord, on the advice of Faldrighel. He used the bandits to raise the lands around him, while he cultivated his “gifts” and “miracles.” His cover story is that he was a missionary sent to inform the peasants of the coming of the Zenithal. And that where he walked, his enemies followed. When the bandit king and his men entered Jomor at Berlane’s invitation, he staged a “great play” in capturing and atoning the bandits for their crimes. The last of those who knew of his origins died with the bandit king and his men.
8. Arch Cardinal (or Arch Pontiff) Berlane Emerol seeks to reclaim power in Wyeth, and as such may perhaps back the claim of the usurper queen, Essendra Halbion. How he reconciles her devotion to Faldrighel is not certain. In reality, Berlane is not receiving “visions and visitations” from the Zenithal, but rather Faldrighel itself.
9. Faldrighel is an outer being, which gains in power much as the “gods.” It followed Celene to Gothenya, but was destroyed prior to the crash (and is possibly the cause of the crash). Thought dead, it need be destroyed in its entirety. The God Skull floats in orbit around our world. It is thought to be a moon, but is in actuality much closer and is the “god head.” The Boorka astronomers have figured this out.
10. So what’s Krytuss’ deal? He was once a lesser god, who now sees a window to power. He is being mentored (as such) by the God Head of Faldrighel, who in turn sees the lesser god as his puppet. Unfortunately, Krytuss is trapped within the ice of the Demon Isles, though his mind is active. In fact more active than that of the other gods, who only commune unconsciously.
11. Clarent Wyeth, for all his flaws, sees through the deception of the Arch Pontiff. He “knows a political schemer” when he sees one.
12. The Pontiff has his Pontifex. A council of six religious leaders, none of whom have actually had visions of the Zenithal, but who are devoutly loyal to the Pontiff. It is said that at least one amongst their numbers, Chora Bluun, is a blood mage who never left Hariel Majour.
13. The Vander is an all female brigade of knights tasked with protecting the city of Storm Reach (maybe?).
What makes us unique?
1. The gods are mortal, from an advanced civilization across the stars.
2. The greatest wonder of the world is known to be the home of the gods.
3. This home of the gods is actually a space vessel.
4. Man caused the retreat (or death) of the gods. They are architects of their own loss.
5. Magic is draining and destructive to life. It robs the natural world of resources, often at the direct detriment to the caster.
6. The world is infused with a form of magical energy that emanated from the holy mountain. It has the ability to reproduce and is sentient. It reproduces in the bodies of men. Incubates within them. It’s attracted to them. Some have learned to harness this (now) innate mana, becoming spell casters.
6a. Magic causes physical damage to either the caster, or (through transference) the natural world surrounding them. Some folk (mostly dwarves) have managed to bypass this through the consumption of base materials (many inedible to humans) which they use to fuel their magic.
6b. Magic adheres to the laws of conservation of matter and thermodynamics.
7. The gods “talk” to man through this mana. Through their dreams. Dreams are the word of the gods. The gospel. The scriptures. The Holy Writ. The First Litany. The Prime Invocation.
8. The race of “baddies,” the Isagorn, are currently petitioning to become part of the allied governments that comprise the free lands.
9. The kingdom has renounced the church since the Sundering. At least in an official sense regarding their access to power over the people.
1. Elves are chameleons.
2. Demons are servants of the gods. They can also develop from a recessive gene in man. Demons manifest… that’s how they reproduce. They seed themselves within pregnant women, even if both parent are human. They “interrupt” the reproductive cycle to impose their own DNA upon the child.
They were only able to get away with this after the Sundering, for their reproduction was previously forbidden by the gods.
3. Ships are given disparaging names to appease the gods. Other things may also follow this maxim.
4. Elves were sent as servitors to prepare the way for the native races of Gothenya to accept their new deities. They brought along with them the secret of magic and miracles through worship. They taught the sympathetic magic, the magic of the “The Benevolence,” whereas others taught Mortiferous Arcana…
5. The Isagorn once sided with demon kind before they decided to separate themselves from their appointed roles. They proved to have a mind of their own. But initially, they - being little inclined towards the use and manipulation of magic - taught humans of summoning magics, the ability to conjure the demons who would then teach man the mortiferous way. The Isagorn have fought to remove the stigma of their past for many years now, to little avail. They are petitioning for inclusion within the Freemantle beyond the direct territories of the kingdom of Wyeth.
6. Humans are the predominant species of the lands, and they reproduce at an “alarming” rate. Elves, because of their slow metabolisms, reproduce at a much reduced rate. All the servitor races spread at a rate much lower than humanity.
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