Welcome to Pretheya!
Hello, and welcome to the setting of Pretheya! The continent of Pretheya is a place where magic systems are created out of human belief; men and women are pitted against each other based on what side their ancestors were on in a great war, individuals known as the Seifren are granted reality-bending powers and use them to seek answers to the greatest questions of life, and gods are created against their own will.
The most important aspect of the setting is by far its history. The world of Pretheya is one that took a long time to become the way it is in the present, and the majority of articles are dedicated to covering events from the setting's history. The following is a brief summarisation of that history, which you can read to get a taste of what this setting is all about.
Setting Primer
In the Beginning
The world of Pretheya is inhabited by a number of sapient species; the most prominent of these being humans (the Tveirfotr) and their offshoot species, the Thousandforms. Others include the Ofirar and constituent races of the All'Gwerin, and of course: The great Wyrms, the Ormr and the Fyrstbairn, who were the first and second race to ever walk the earth, respectively. Life upon Pretheya was first created by the Ormr and later the Fyrstbairn, and they served as the shepherds of humanity for over a millennia, before the onset of the War; an earth-shattering conflict between the Wyrms and the Leskeln. The War saw the Wyrms laid low and cast from their role as custodians of the planet, with more than half of their number dying in the initial battle, and the rest fleeing Pretheya to other continents.
The Age of the Grannrormrlen
In the years following the end of the War, humanity came to be ruled by the last of the Ormr to remain in Pretheya, a warmongering individual by the name of Forfir. His rule saw the creation of the greatest empire in the continent's history: The Grannrormrlen. More like an army with a state than a true country, it existed to provide soldiers and armaments for Forfir to use against the Leskeln. The age of the Grannr lasted for nearly a millennia, and saw millions of humans sacrificed to prolong a war that had begun almost before the creation of their species. As the war dragged on for centuries, the forces of the Grannr gradually pushed further and further into the Leskeln's homeland of Ethlarnashem. Finally, as the Wyrm Lord's forces lay siege to the northernmost Holdtree of the Leskeln, it seemed as if victory now lay in the palm of Forfir's hand. But before he could grasp it, he was betrayed and murdered by his closest subordinate; the paladin Lyri of Grestvyt.
The Band of the Phoenix
Elsewhere, in the years prior to the Wyrm Lord's death, an unlikely group of misfits had formed, lead by a man who would come to be known as Lihwen the Hero. This group of Cullers owed their allegiance to the Grannr, and consisted of Lihwen, a rogue by the name of Tengere, an esoterikos called Vardaran, a brave warrior called Darlack, and a Speaker from the far-away land of Alicyth, known later as Isalendar the Huntress. Together they would eventually travel to the salt wastes of Zemet, where they would meet a phoenix by the name of Rukhmar; an immortal being that constantly burned with the heat of a volcano, and who would rise from the ashes whenever slain. With their combined skills, they helped to rescue her from the clutches of a people known as the Ashborn, who had spent the last two decades hunting her.
Flamesfall
Some years later, when Lyri of Grestvyt began to march south with the intent of invading the Grannrormrlen through the Kingdom of Pasdjit, it was Lihwen and his comrades - now known as the Band of the Phoenix - who stood in her way. With Rukhmar's aid, they succeeded in repelling the mad paladin's invasion, saving the continent from what many believe would have been certain doom. Their victory was not without sacrifice, however; for Lihwen and two other members of the Band were killed in the battle. Rukhmar took her leave of Pasdjit shortly afterwards and flew south-west, and has not been seen since. This event would come to be known as Flamesfall, and would mark the year 0 of a new calendar to be founded a short time later.
A little over a century later, a new religion would be created out of a synthesis of that practised by the Pasdjitan people and the Ashborn. Brought about as a result of the events of the Battle of Pasdjit, the new Shahru faith worshipped only one deity: Rukhmar the Firebird. In the centuries that followed, the Rukhmarite faith would spread to every corner of the Pretheyan world, and came to be the state religion of the vast majority of the continent, driving out all other belief systems as it went.
Getting Started
At present, many critical lore articles are missing which would serve to explain concepts such as the Law of Mortality or the Conformity Systems. As such, until I get around to producing those, you'll have to attempt to infer information about topics from context clues in the article(s) they are mentioned in.
Due to the above, there is currently no proper order of articles to read to get yourself situated in Pretheya. As such, you are free to browse through the World Codex (opened by a button located at the top left of the header bar on every page) and pick any article that suits your fancy! Alternatively, I have included a list below of some of the most new-reader-friendly articles that showcase the themes of Pretheya, and don't require much knowledge of the lore to enjoy:
Additionally, as you make your way through the world of Pretheya, it may be helpful to have the
Glossary open in another tab: You can use it to easily search for any words or terms that you're unfamiliar with, and view concise definitions of them, rather than having to read through entire articles.
Comments