The World of Ferox - the Untamed Lands
Brief
The Lands of Ferox are based on my Dungeons and Dragons campaigns, and with each new campaign I run, we travel to a new continent. As we are on our third campaign, I have only detailed three continents so far, because each new campaign takes into account the effects the previous party has on the world.
The information listed here is the same as I have detailed for the campaigns, so while we may shift around in time, you will see there are huge consistencies in the world from the games to the books. Many of the names of races are different, some being of my own creation.
Ancient History
Alysia
There was a period of time, in which Orcus walked the material plane. No one is sure how long, as many records were destroyed and many lives lost. Eventually, he was sealed back into his plane of hell, by a group known as The Knights of the End. Thus, the world began to rebuild and called their new timeline 'After Rebirth' (AR)
Because of this, most cities began again as a multicultural conglomerate. Some rose up in the ruins of other cities, usually either Dwarven or Elvish, as their ingenuity and magics had helped prevent the total collapse of their cities, but they were no longer Dwarven or Elven cities. While culture still exists specific to all the races, each country, and sometimes each city, has its own traditions and customs which everyone who heralds from those lands adheres to.
History
Alysia has always been a fractured continent. The Eastern half is home to the country of Nailsan, in which each city is its own keeper. There is some trade between towns, but little kinship.
Bisecting the continent vertically is a line of mountains so treacherous, that few ever attempt to cross its deadly paths.
The East is mostly populated by lush jungles, and is native to the savage raptarians and the ritualistic nagai.
What few, more peaceful, humanoids still live there, do so under constant threat of pain and sacrifice to their strange over lords.
Recent Events
The church of Savaras, the new god of magic and keeper of the weave, rose up in Osmea. An Inquisition was created and set out across the Teal Expanse to reach Nailson. Their holy mission: to retrieve an item of great importance that had been stolen from its sacred temple and to bring the perpetrator to justice.​ They are led by Adovar, a charismatic and brutal leader who wields his loyal men with an iron fist. While searching for this artifact, he has also been going from city to city and either gaining the allegiance of its rulers or else replacing them with more pliable rulers.
In truth, the Inquisition was being controlled by a creature called Kyuss, a long-thought-dead priest to Orcus. Kyuss was responsible for Occus' original rise in 209 BR (Before Rebirth) In that time, a group called the Knights of the End rose up and sealed Orcus away after a 200 year reign of death and destruction.
Now, the country of Nailsan and it's people are doing what they can to survive, as armies march across the land, and strange magics seem to sweep out and ensnare the unsuspecting. All the people of Nailsan can do is hope for a miracle.
Osmea
History
Due to the Inquisition's conscription, many of the able-bodied men were taken from their homes in Osmea to fight and die overseas, and the nation found itself on the brink of collapse. Its sole ruler was slain, and chaos ensued. Without regular patrols, monsters began creeping back out from the darkness and assaulting the walls of the cities that had been safe for so long. Bands of mercenaries found new work in helping merchants get safely from one city to another, as life rebuilt itself. New defenses were erected to push back any attacks on the cities, though the roads between them were still dangerous for any who traveled.
Without a singular authority, cities looked to their local lord to take charge, and now each city became self-governed. They traded well with each other, but with the lands outside their walls becoming more and more dangerous, people began to grow concerned about the lives they would lead.
With the Inquisition being responsible for all this, and them being from the church of Savarras, many magic users found themselves in a less friendly world. The whole concept of magic was a bad taste in the mouths of all, and mages soon became somewhat ostracized from society. Those that could see the signs early, fled to Vebux or Erisand. Those that couldn't eventually found themselves at the mercy of the Venardi - a militia worshiping Kathess, the god of purifying flames.​
This group made it their mission to track down all mages and magical items they could. The people they deported, and many were solved into slavery to the cruel lands of Soprihum where blood mages ruled supreme in the grey landscape. The items were thrown into an undying abyss known as The Ravenous Void, a crevasse on the western edge of Osmea. While the Venardi had a presence everywhere, they were much greater in number in the north, where they ruled with the most authority.
Recent Events - 618 AR
Over the years, the cities have settled into more of a routine for the new life that they all lead. The scars from the Inquisitions warpath are still there to be seen, but people are painting over them as best they can.
​City life is safe for the most part, with only a few monster attacks a month, though traveling between cities is still a dangerous voyage. Various monster-hunting and mercenary groups have become incredibly rich over the years.
​Mages are still watched for, and in some places, the Venardi are seen as on par with the local guards. Any practitioner of magic is arrested. Only those with divinity behind them are allowed to use their arcane abilities and even then, they are watched carefully.
Life is still tough outside of the walls, with a vicious orc horde now rising up. A name whispers through the lands, Galtrax, and he promises a short life against those who oppose him.
Vebux
History
In the year 257AR, the four nations that had formed in the years after Ocus' defeat, began a great war in order to see who would become the sole ruler of the entire country of Vebux, with the others being crushed and dissolved. The greatest of those battles took place in the central section of the land, where the mountain range known as the Thestawa Mountains had dominated the landscape longer than time could account for.
The first battle began at the end of the year 258AR , in the month of Alturiak (the 11th month), and raged on until 305AR (45 years) when, with a singular spell, the great wizard Zernon shattered the largest of the mountains, Mount Quarlani. The spell and debris radiated out, causing the majority of the mountain range to shatter and change. What chunks of stone remained, levitated in the air, kept aloft by magics unknown to all save Exaria (The Goddess of Magic) herself. The mountain range was thereby renamed to The Drift Mountains, though Mount Quarlani, shattered though it was, remained the largest chunk and still carried its own title.
With this attack, the area finally became too unstable for the war to continue, and the three nations that remained withdrew, choosing to settle the matter through peaceful negations instead.
In the year 618AR, Galtracks forces lay siege to the city of Okenhiem in Osmea, seemingly intent on taking the city, and the technologies that had developed within. His forces, though not Galtrak himself, were ultimately defeated by a group known as The Champions of Okenhiem, who disappeared into a magical portal, and were not heard from again. There are many who say that the once thought-dead Mistress of Magic Exaria was with them and created that portal.
Recent Events - 622 AR
The year is now 622AR, and is still marked, for now, as the Era of Unrest. Tensions are rising between the three nations that reign in Vebux; Borveil, Cimanak, and Phania.
A militant faction in Osmea known as the Venardi, deported many magicians from their shores, and one of the closest ports available was the city of Valenroux in Borveil. Valenroux has always been a Thaumocracy, where the strongest and most capable mage rules. With a new wave of mages flooding the city, magical technologies have progressed considerably, creating a huge wealth boon for the people of Borveil. However, it is now becoming overpopulated, and many mages are finding it difficult to find work. This has led to more than a few taking up less legal means of employment.
Their reluctance to share these technologies has sparked the ire of the other nations. The feudalist nation of Cimanak, whose history is steeped in tradition, sees these magical advances as a threat to their security, despite having their own great weapon. The people of Cimanak are capable of becoming great wielders of the elements, known as Lancers, and make up a good portion of their armies, and are generally more powerful than any lancer found elsewhere. However, due to the current administration's choices, they are struggling with various trade embargoes with other continents, and now that the leader of their nation has fallen ill, there is a great question as to who will take over, and how they will solve this issue.
Meanwhile, the dictatorship of Phania is putting out a call to find great heroes to swell up their own ranks. Phanian's are deeply religious, and throughout their history, they have had a great number of seers, oracles, and other religious icons. They are a great conduit for the will of their gods and wear this fact proudly. On top of this, due to their people's natural constitution, they have begun experimenting with bodily augmentations, a new science that has arrived from the far reaches of the Astral Sea. This is causing great concern with the other nations, worried about what unholy creatures may be created from this union of metal and man. The majority of the Phanian people live in impoverished conditions, akin to slaves, and there are whispers of rebellions uprising, only to be quickly silenced.
The central area of Vebux itself is a desolate no-mans land known as the Sorcerous Wastes. Here, what little plant life grows is twisted and warped, and the beasts and creatures that survive there are malicious entities. Many a villainous mage or death-bent warrior has ventured into this land of perils, seeking either to further their own malevolent goal or seek a domain to hold over.
And if the treacherous landscape wasn’t dire enough, there is also The Smog. A mist-like weather pattern, which can spring out of nowhere. It battles across the wastes, altering anything not already warped by the hostile land, infecting it with a sickness for which there are few cures. Those who venture here would do well to say their farewells before doing so.