The Capital Isle
The central nation of Asar is the The Capital Isle, a land with a history of blood and conflict. Though the area was mostly untamed, the land was native to a small number of minor races such as Kobolds, Goblinoids, Firbolg, Goliaths to name a few. The Isle was also home to two major tribes of Orcs, the Der' Gerath Orcs and the Al' Chizel Orcs. When compared to the small communities of the other races, the two tribes were both in control of vast areas of land with the Al' Chizel Orcs claiming almost the entire eastern side of the Isle for themselves. Each race rarely interacted with others, and when they did, conflict was the likely cause.
That all changed when the first of the significant races began to settle the land. The Humans, Elves & Dwarves who had lived on the smaller islands surrounding The Capital Isle, were drawn towards this new land and began to colonise the previously unsettled realm. For years the new Settler Races fought for control over land and power, but they quickly realised that the real threat was in the south. The Al' Chizel Orcs were enraged by these settlers claiming their land so attacked, beginning The Founding War. The war lasted years and was won only by the combined efforts of the Settler Races as well as the help of the Der' Gerath Orcs, who realised that siding with the settlers was the most efficient way of joining this 'new world'. This new alliance was lead by Davodir Proudmourn, a man now a legend amongst Humans for bringing together the people and leading the charge against the Al' Chizel Orcs. His heroism was not overlooked as after the war had ended; he was named the first High King of The Capital Isle. It is said that his blood has run through the veins of every monarch since. For siding with the settlers, the Der' Gerath Orcs was given the cruel nickname of Half Orc by their kin. A name which has lasted throughout the ages but has lost its cruel connotations.
After the war was over numerous new settlements were founded across The Capital Isle, including the frozen citadel of Frostspire, the Dwarven stronghold of Vorndunir and the magnificent centre of the Isle, Vaross. Though the majority of the Humans and Dwarves began to colonise the mainland, many of the Elves moved to the The White Coast and made it their dominant home. They build the elven capital of Ellron and founded several surrounding settlements as well. They were joined by a small group of Dwarves who founded the great Fort Dathamir inside of the Midnight Peaks. As well as this, The Royal Keep was constructed to act as home to the Proudmourn family. After Davodir Proudmourn passed away, the title transferred to his eldest child, Rheinvar Proudmourn and thus the Proudmourn dynasty began, surviving even to this day. For roughly a century the people of the Isle expanded, building new settlements, creating new guilds, establishing trade routes but everything changed with the discovery of the legendary material Aetherium. Believed to have been discovered by the Dwarves of Keldarth, Aetherium is the most versatile substance known to man in both magical and mechanical terms. Once created, Aetherium allowed The Capital Isle to enter its Golden age. Vast amounts of pseudo-magical creations allowed for greater control over magical energy and thus greater control of the land. One of the most influential creations to come from the Golden age was Aetherium Cores. These cores were raw Aetherium that had been forged into a specially designed Illerium casing and bound together with magic to fulfil specific roles. Famous Cores include 'The Heart of Mystra' which powers the arcane citadel of The Eye, 'Chillbane' which guards Frostspire against the horrors of the Glacial Cauldron and the mythical 'Aether Core' which was said to power the fabled city of Aetheria. The golden age saw The Capital Isle grow and prosper, but the coming of Nero and the over half-century-long 'Dark War' almost brought the Isle to its knees.
Nero was one of the ancient elemental Sentinels who were believed to have used their power to form The Capital Isle, at a significant cost to themselves, aeons ago. The Sentinel of fire was enraged that mortals had dared to make his domain home so used his power to open gateways to the The Abyss and led hordes of demonic soldiers into the Isle. Upon their arrival the dark forces enslaved many of the inhabitants of the land, bending them to their will, turning them into half-demon puppets. After nearly 20 years, one being was able to break the bond between him and his demonic ruler, Morthos Kairon. Kairon was able to keep the strength and power of his demonic half but retain the mind of his human half. With this power, he freed thousands of the enslaved and turned the tides of war in humanities favour. While Kairon worked to free the people the legions of the The Abyss had taken from him, the Dwarves of Keldarth used the last of their Aetherium to forge the legendary World Breaker Armour hoping they could win the war in one swift strike. Though they were able to form the Armour, Nero caught wind of what they were doing and sent several armies to destroy Keldarth and bring the The World Breaker Armour to him. It's not clear what happened at Keldarth, all that is known is that the city was demolished along with most of Nero's forces. Despite this, the The World Breaker Armour survived, albeit with the gauntlets missing.
Morthos Kairon wasn't the only one fighting against Nero. With nowhere else to turn, humanity turned to the gods for guidance. One god's teachings inspired many to follow in his instructions and fight back. That god was Tempus, the god of war. With Tempus' guidance and lessons on conflict, humanity banded together to form a proper military operating under his banner. With Nero's troops weakened by the loss at Keldarth and the formation of Tempus' legion, along with the people's high morale after Kairon's mass liberation, the people decided to go on the offensive. Slowly they were able to push the Legions of the The Abyss back, and at the battle of Northgrove, Kairon destroyed Nero, closing the gateways to the The Abyss. With his final victory Kairon was able to find peace and through his valorous actions, ascended to godhood. Though Kairon had saved thousands from a life of servitude, the people he had saved still kept the appearance and traits of their demonic masters, though with a greatly diminished taste for chaos. Over time the demonic qualities declined significantly, giving rise to a new race, Tieflings.
The Capital Isle, almost broken by The Dark War, spent the next few decades rebuilding. Though most of the damage was repairable, Keldarth was beyond saving. The loss of Keldarth also meant the secret of Aetherium forging was also lost. Now the only Aetherium left are remnants from before the Dark War. It also led to High Queen Mirella Proudmourn forming a new Royal Army in case of any future incident. The Followers of Tempus remained and grew massively following the destruction of Nero . They expanded to develop their own military, independent to the that of the Royal Army, to fight as holy warriors if ever required. Once the realm had recovered, the Capital isle entered into a new age of peace and prosperity that lasted nearly a millennia.
An unlikely adversary almost shattered this peace — The Immortal Empire of the eastern continent Pirànjù. Despite hosting trade to the Isle for decades, the dynasty saw The Capital Isle as the biggest threat to their reign. Spys for the Isle reported that the regime was making moves to invade The Capital Isle, take control of their trade throughout Asar and add it to their ever-expanding, empire. As a result, the people of the Isle prepared for invasion. The The Royal Army planned to defend key cities, and Tempus' Legion had gathered a force together to take the fight across the sea straight to the empire itself. The The Followers of Tempus never got the chance to leave as an even more significant threat to the Isle had occurred on their very land.
The Convergance. An apocalyptic event that, even to this day, no one is certain of the cause. It is widely believed that the The Material Plane and the demi-plane of the The Shadowfell overlapped, causing the horrors of the dark realm to pour through. Similar to the dark war, the legions of the The Shadowfell were also led by one of the Elemental Sentinels. The Sentinel in question was Umbrinus, the lord of shadow. He had somehow managed to gain possession of one of the missing gauntlets of The World Breaker Armour. Using the shadow gem that powered him, Umbrinus was able to utilise total control of the gauntlet. With this power, he and his legions would have brought ruin to the Isle. However, the armies of the mainland were already expecting a war, so were prepared when the forces of evil arrived. It was this preparation that lead to the The Convergance ending so swiftly when compared to the Dark War. For the The Followers of Tempus, this was the first meaningful conflict in over a thousand years. Under the command of the champion of the steel fang, Simiro; the angel of death, infamous for his unmatched skill in battle and mastery of strategy, the followers thrived. However, the Convergance ended up costing the followers considerably. A massive gateway had opened south of Highville, and a joint force of both Royal Army and Tempus soldiers moved to intercede. Among the followers' forces were Simiro, his second in command and protégé Tarin Newguard as well as the champion of the broken sword Heliel Cadwell.
The battle was more like a slaughter, tens of thousands of soldiers died trying to hold off the forces of the Shadowfell, among the dead was Tarin. Heliel Cadwell was able to use Divine Intervention to close the gateway, but the damage had already been done. The battleground gained the new name of 'The Marrow Field'. The bones of the dead mixed with the dirt, causing grass and trees all around to wither and die.
Upon seeing the carnage at The Marrow Field , Simiro gathered a small group of his best fighters and entered the The Shadowfell to try to end the The Convergance permanently. Not long after Simiro left, all the gateways to the realm of shadow closed, though neither the angel of death or his allies returned.
Though the The Convergance had ended, many lingering effects remained. Remnant undead, aberrations and friends still wander The Capital Isle, but one of the main problems is Iquor. A residual substance that appears to be almost sentient, Iquor attacks living organisms, warping them into twisted versions of their natural state. This has created mutated versions of creatures, caused people to have horrifically twisted limbs and can there have even been cases of Iquor taking over the afflicted creature's sentience. However, residual threats from the The Convergance weren't the only problem. After seeing the destruction brought to capital isle from conflict, High King Nervack Proudmourn pushed a peace treaty with the Immortal Empire. The agreement would allow the dynasty to establish new trade routes through the Isle and have an embassy within Protectors Enclave in Vaross. Though the empire was very eager to agree to the terms, the Followers of Tempus were not so pleased. After getting a taste for battle, the children of the god of war wanted to continue their conquest and finish the fight they were preparing for seven years ago. Furious at the king for pushing peace, a small group assassinated one of the visiting diplomats hoping to reignite the war between the two nations. The plan was almost successful with the dynasty readying troops to get vengeance for their fallen representative. However, King Nervack acted quickly and was able to reinforce his stance of peace and punish the Followers of Tempus in one move. Nervack outlawed all public warship of Tempus, as well as the complete disarmament of Tempus' Legion. To emphasise his point, the High King threatened to use military force on all remaining members if they didn't disband within the month. Despite initial outcry from the followers, eventually, they grudgingly complied.
Since the ban of Tempus warship, the realm has once again entered an era of relative peace. Trade between the continents is at an all-time high, and the eastern empire is now considered a crucial ally to the Isle. The damage from the The Convergance may have been repaired, but there has been a rise in banditry, monster sightings and dark magic. All this makes the capital Ilse a stable yet dangerous place to live, and for those with the right skills it can also be very lucrative As for the God of War and his followers, they lie in wait for a time when the realm needs them, hungry for the chance to fight again.
Maps
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Map of the Capital Isle
Alternative Name(s)
The Isle of Blood
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Continent
Location under
Owner/Ruler
Owning Organization
Related Myths
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