Anthis is a world that I have dabbled in since college, but never quite got around to working it. I have started to put together some notes. See what you think.
Anthis World Notes
History
Honestly, I
don’t have a ton of the world history fleshed out. That will come as the
campaign continues and will depend a lot on what, if anything, people are
interested in knowing.
What I do
know is that some time ago, the known world was ruled by a great elven empire
called the Kelanve (kel-EN-veh) Council.
The Council ruled over all the races of Anthis and its cities were
centers of art, science and sorcery. What was not known by most was that the
Chief Councilor was also the Steward of Anthis who guarded the world from the
predations of the Shadow that lurked just out of sight of common men. This
battle raged constantly with shadows periodically escaping and killing or
possessing mortals before being brought down by agents of the Council.
The leader of
what is now known as the Final Council, Iane (EE-ain), believed he had a way to
seal the gates to Shadow forever. He planned to use powerful sorcery to draw
the gates into him and then exile himself inside an impenetrable prison of
light called the Infinity Mirror. This plan would have worked if not for the
fact that Iane’s most trusted assistant on the Council, Eaday (EE-uh-day), had
been possessed and was lying in wait for the perfect moment to betray her
master. When Iane drew the Shadow Gates into him, Eaday ran him through with
the Black Key (an ebony sword partially made from the stuff of Shadow). His
murder caused the gates to open allowing Shadow to spill into the world
unchecked.
Shadow filled
the world with beasts, tore open the land and stirred the seas. In a single
moment, the greatest empire ever seen was swept from the earth along with a
thousand years of its works. Cities were buried, sunken or transformed into
dark and twisted images of themselves. Millions perished and for hundreds of
years, Anthis was without light.
Ultimately,
the Twelve Lanterns were born (how?) and defeated Shadow, partly by casting it
back through the Shadow Gate and partly by consuming it.
The current
campaign is only a 20-25 generations after the defeat of Shadow and the world
is still recovering.
Shadow
Shadow is an
incarnation of the forces that seek to corrupt and destroy man and his
civilization.
The first of
these forces come from beyond – inscrutable, alien creatures that lurk in the
darkness waiting for the right moment to snatch us and carry us away to
infinite torment. These are the demons of Anthis who were bound behind the
Shadow Gate, but let loose upon the world through Eaday’s treachery. These
malevolent creatures watch Anthis, probing the barriers between their world and
our own. When they find or create a breach, they spill into the world, killing
or corrupting everything in their path.
These
creatures can only manifest in true darkness. Fortunately, the gods protect the
world: the Twins guard the daytime sky, Cancri lights the nighttime, Ulder
guards the sea and Mondain holds vigil underground.
The second of
these forces come from within – the voices that whisper to us and play on our
darkest urges. Antheans believe that everyone who survived Iane’s death and all
of their descendants are touched by Shadow. The darkness that drives men to
insanity and evil lurks in everyone and that only the light of the soul keeps
it in check.
How Antheans Treat the Dead
When someone
dies, the soul leaves the body, but the Shadow remains. For that reason, proper
treatment of the dead is very important to all the races of Anthis. Almost all
cultures of the world burn, bury, or sink their dead, thus consigning them to
the sky, earth or sea and their respective gods. When corpses cannot be
properly disposed of, special rituals exist to ensure that the Shadow is purged
or at least contained. For instance, Priests of Brul have a responsibility to
consecrate the sites of large battles and followers of Tathae will often do the
same for cities suffering a plague.
The Elves and Immortality
In exchange
for their stewardship of the world, the Old Gods granted their favorite
children immortality. This is one of the factors that led to the dominance of
elven science and culture – elven scholars and artists had hundreds of years to
learn their craft.
Even though
elves did not suffer the physical ravages of age, they did tire as they got
older. Often, elves that had seen several hundred years, especially those with
children, would voluntarily die, going into a repose from which they never
woke.
However,
elves found that they were uniquely affected by the taint Shadow placed on the
world. Every year after Shadow had been contained, the elves have suffered
ever-decreasing birth rates. Nowadays, elf births are so rare that they are
almost unheard of, and the rare birth is a cause for celebration across the
elven world.
Because of
this crisis, elves have stopped voluntarily ending their lives. Most elves
alive now have been alive for many centuries. The problem is that they are
still fatiguing and are doing so at an accelerated rate. Most elves tire of
life after a mere 100 years now and many of those that go much longer than that
go mad.
Fortunately,
an elven scholar named Bezier developed a technique by which an elf can wipe a
portion of his memories, allowing him to live an extended life while
maintaining his sanity. Nearly all of the elf’s skills are lost, as are some of
his memories, but his basic identity is left intact.
There are
rumors that Bezier’s process could be used to totally wipe a mind clean,
leaving the subject with no memory at all, but this has never been done.
The Dwarven Tragedy
Before the
coming of Shadow, the dwarves ruled over a huge, underground empire that
consisted of six holds (three in Anta and three in Enva), each ruled by a
descendent of the ancient Dwarven Kings. The holds stretched for hundreds of
miles in every direction and in them the dwarves mined and built stone cities
to rival those of the overworld races.
When Shadow
came to Anthis, the expanses of dark tunnels provided a gateway to a seething
mass of ravenous creatures. For many years, the dwarves mounted a spirited
defense of their homes, but the forces of darkness were relentless. Over
three-fourths of the dwarven population was killed and four of the six holds
were overrun. The other two holds survived, but only by collapsing most of
their tunnels and sealing their people into vaults, or sending them as refugees
to the overworld.
Today, the
Two Holds are rebuilding and reclaiming as many of their lost tunnels as
possible. The boldest of the dwarves are planning to re-enter the Lost Holds
and acquire the treasures of the lost dwarven civilizations. Of course, it is
very likely that some very old and hungry demons dwell in those tunnels that
have been dark and undisturbed for so many years.
