A Fantasy RP
“History is a wheel, for the nature of man is fundamentally unchanging. What has happened before will perforce happen again…”
The Siege of Ancelstierre - 3E-1238 - 3E-1288
In the darkest moments of the 3rd Era, life as we know it came under threat. The Dark Prince, Vlad Van Drak, had led his Vampyric Ascendancy on a three century conquest of the known world. Empires were destroyed. Cities were razed. Elves, Dwarves and men were slaughtered in their thousands. As undead hordes poured out in every direction across Minern, only three civilisations were spared.
The Elves of Alainasta had largely retreated to their ancient island homeland long before the undead came to threaten them, the beautiful jewel-cities and outposts that remained on the mainland were raided by Vlad’s minions. Thanks to Elven magics and the power of the Dragon Lords, these cities were saved from total destruction. By and large the Elves escaped the horrors of the third age. They enjoy a cultural renaissance under the watchful gaze of King Orion Nasalain.
The Kingdom of Garniem was also spared, its mysterious mountain-dwelling population, neither man nor beast, having withdrawn from the world at the beginning of the 3rd Era. Safely shutting themselves off behind the Great Gate. Before the Vampyric Ascendancy changed the face of Minern few knew of the true nature of the people of Garniem. Now thanks to Vlad those that still remember are even rarer.
Then there is Golgotha, a monolith among nations, but that was not always the case. At the height of his power Vlad Van Drak had all but wiped the human Empire of the face of the map, only Ancelstierre remained defiant. The 50 Year Siege of Ancelstierre saw many moments that looked to tip the scales in favour of the Dark Prince, but a generation of Golgothans grew up in the literal shadow of death. They developed new technologies, strategies and tactics; guerrilla warfare, gunpowder and new automations meant that by the end of the siege, the Vampires were fighting a very different enemy to those they had previously faced.
It was at Ancelsierre where Vlad Van Drak finally fell. Killed in single combat as his undead legions stormed the walls; it is said that as unlife left him, the sun emerged from the darkened skies above the city for the first time in thirty years. His army crumbled where it stood, his remaining Vampires set upon by new-fangled artillery. The technology used to defeat them would lead to Golgotha becoming the hegemon in this new 4th Era.
The Vampyric Ascendancy did not recover from that defeat and as the heirs to Vlad’s throne took to scheming and infighting, their many enemies reclaimed their lands and took a sweet revenge on the undead, purging the Vampires from society. Now only a scattered few remain, determined to one day restore the undead empire.
Tomorrow marks the 150th Anniversary of Vlad’s defeat. Life in those surviving realms goes on. Even in other parts of the world, new Empires, Kingdoms and Duchies have sprung up, the lesser travelled lands of the Dwarves and Wood Elves are flourishing and mortal men even rule in Carvania, the land that spawned the Ascendancy. Though Golgotha remains a militaristic society, feuding with the lesser Kingdoms of man and the Dwarven realms to their North-West, even they have been blessed with an era of relative peace. The odd Goblin Horde or Undead War Party occasionally marches in from the East but on the whole Minern is prosperous.
The question is, will it last?
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This is a fantasy RP for the nations of Latica, the factions in which have been agreed collaboratively. It is closed, but if you read on, are a semi-skilled RPer and think you'd like to contribute please send one of us a telegram. This thread will not be used for OOC posts.
As an aside this RP may contain some themes that could be considered adult in nature, including mild sexual references, violence and gore. Please go away if such themes might offend you.
The factions:
- The Vampyric Ascendancy - Cheye
- The Second United Empire of Golgotha - Greater Latica
- The Elves of Alainasta - Pageon
- The Kingdom of Garniem - Sarrin
- The Kingdom of Teustengrund - Charlegmagna
- The Greenskin Horde - Revlona
- More to come perhaps?
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A map of Minern: