Ortheos

The Land of Ortheos   From the deep jungles of Valantis to the green fields of Arkenna, many nations lie within the continent of Ortheos, a single continent in the world of Eshar.   What lies beyond Ortheos few can guess, or dare to even dream, for explorers are only ever met by a vast uncaring ocean and lands of extraordinary danger. As far as it's people are concerned Ortheos is a jewel of civilization in a savage world, even when their own savagery threatens to tear it apart. The continent of Ortheos measures more than thirteen hundred miles from east to west and twenty hundred from north to south. It includes scorching hot deserts, deep bewildering forests, unscalable icy mountains and golden fertile fields.   Though every corner plays host to a nation much of the continent lies abandoned, left to be claimed by anyone with the power to keep them. Fell magic, deadly monsters and cruel rulers are all threats that you face when travelling this vast land. Even well travelled roads may fall prey to a monster or bandit attack, and nowhere is safe from the wars that continue to rage for the empty throne of the Emperor.   The People Ortheos   is home to hundreds of intelligent races, ranging from the teeming kingdoms of humankind to the dark lairs of terrible creatures that may only number a score. The people are just as varied as the land is, ranging from beautiful to vile in equal measure.   The great story of Ortheos is it’s miraculous survival during the days of the Divine Wars, when gods walked the world and did battle with one another. From the ashes of this conflict the Empire of Avandyr rose spearheaded by a legendary human to bring the continents people and nations together under one rule, so that they would never again suffer a war as terrible as the ones that came before.   The Empire's expansion tamed much of the wildlands, absorbing races that would bow to it and driving out all others. Ancient caves of forgotten races and the hunting grounds of ogres and monsters have all been pushed aside and claimed by the march of civilization.   But peace is always just out of reach in Ortheos, and with the murder of the last Emperor almost three hundred years ago the continent has plunged into decades of war. Some look to rebuild the Empire and its dream of peace, while others consider it a failure and seek to make what gains they can in these troubled lands. Will the Empire ever be rebuilt? Or is Ortheos doomed to an eternity of struggle and war? Was the dream of peace just that? A dream?   The Civilized Folk   Of the many races of Ortheos, only about a dozen are considered ‘civilized’. Humans are one of the more numerous races, building their sprawling kingdoms and nations wherever they can. To the older races humanity is an upstart race, taking advantage of their part in the formation of the Empire to expand their hold on the continent. For the Elves and Dwarfs, who are said to be some of the very first mortals to walk the world, find themselves faced with a crossroad. Now is the time for them to choose, to attempt to make a resurgence of their race or begin a great and sad decline.   Closer to the wilds than they have ever been to civilization the gnome and halfling races have fallen back into their old ways, growing closer to nature as the once great kingdoms of the land tear each other apart. But for those of their kind that have chosen to stay the course have found themselves in unique and often rich positions, sometimes proving a better fit to cities then even their human creators.   Stranger races exist in this land too, integrated into current nations by their inclusion in the Empire so long ago. The Orthalin's , though normally enclosed in their homes are known to venture out sometimes, in pursuits of fame and gold. The Dawngar, a race born for war, are now one of the old Empire's greatest and most loyal workers.   The Helian, a race of scholarly giants that have proven to be great mages and clever councillors to kings and courts. The noble Hyvarian, a race that believe to be the peak of human evolution, obsessed with status and power.   There are more races across the land of Ortheos, but not all swear to the old ways of the Empire, like the strange merfolk who look to the shores to expand their underwater kingdoms, or the hidden serpent people that even now plot to enslave nations to make their own Empire.   Savages and Monsters   Against the shattered Empire and it’s various Kingdoms stand a great many enemies. Foremost amongst them are the savage peoples- goblins, beastmen and ogres and all their kin. These wild and cruel races build their homes in abandoned territories, claiming forgotten fortresses and building their own where they can. They are also one of the only people that would dare live in the tombs of the dead gods, risking insanity and mutation from the lingering miasma that lies within them. Breeding and training powerful warriors these creatures regularly burst forth from their strongholds to slaughter villages and towns that lie in their path.   But Ortheos is home to much more malevolent forces as well, gathered just below the surface to plot and scheme the downfall of the broken Empire. Marshalling dark and forbidden powers the creatures of these hidden places wage an endless war of their own upon one another, in pursuit for total domination and destruction.   But even these threats pale in comparison to the power of creatures born from Gods and the Divine Wars.   The nine immortal dragons, who are always reborn when they die, growing up to spread death and destruction upon the land. The dead yet powerful juggernauts, that even now spread their mad influence where they fell. More of these creatures exist still, sealed and undiscovered, waiting for their chance to continue a war that has long since ended.   Heroes and Villains   As a land divided Ortheos has room for all manner of virtue and vice. The constant conflicts of the continent give way for those with the ambition and power to make their mark upon the world, praised as saviors or cursed as destroyers.   But the world is not crystal clear, and neither is it's justice. War is a pursuit of power and prosperity, labels of good and evil have little place amongst the Hundred Kingdoms. When good people are willing to commit atrocities, and villains wish to pursue peaceful resolutions, who can say to hold the moral right in such a world?