RACES/FACTIONS of the GHAUR CAMPAIGN

[Squeaks]

I'll open threads for each faction of the Ghaur campaign. Previously I'd just mashed out a load of stuff, attempting to describe a setting that was a long time in the making, and it's not easily possible or trackable. SO, for the Ghaur campaign, I will make threads for the following factions, then we can look at them a little more successfully/succinctly.

WHAT ARE THE ILDIRI?

The Ildiri, often referred to as 'Sea' or 'High', 'The Fairest' Elves, are one of the elven races that began awakening from the conception of the Dragon's Egg in physical matter - so, when the planet/world was at it's youngest, the elves, as they originally were, came into being.

The Ildiri are the Elves with domain over Water - the lifeblood of the world. They had the broadest task of all elves, as there was water inland, in lakes, pools, waterfalls, streams, rivers - all kinds of water bodies, still and flowing. There was also shoreline water, deep ocean water, and, weirdly, the water in the atmosphere - the vapours of the dragon's breathing.

WHAT DO THEY LOOK LIKE?

The Ildiri, as with all elves, have two forms; a 'natural' one and a 'Glamour' form; a form designed to appear how others would be more comfortable seeing them. This is kind of like a translator for languages, in that it allows them to meet with other races in similar form and the two can then find immediate common ground.

Their natural form is a simple humanoid, yet long limbed and lithe, graceful, swift, calming. They seem as though they are made of very dense liquid - there is a 'skin' but it is not utterly opaque. Beneath this skin are the bones, which are formed of coral, and the organs, which are formed of vegetation - to filter their fluids are sponges and there are 'seaweed' type substances acting as other organs - they do not follow a human pattern oif organs, but have their own, but they approximate in the same way.

Their eyes are ever changing, yet stunning; like liquid pools that change from blue to lilac to sea greens....many colours that shine at their perfect hue and luminosity. This form is not weak; it is rather strong, but physically, they probably aren't as strong as humans in some ways, but are far swifter, more dextrous and have remarkably agile minds.

In their protective form, they appear as human in form, but often with white, blue or very pale skin. Their eyes shine and follow similar colours to their other form. The darker skinned areas are usually colder in appearance; so you get icy blues where there were sea blues etc. They seem solid, opaque, comfortabl looking to the eye, and intensely captivating. They are the most beautiful of all creatures on the Dragon to most that view them.

ILDIRI COLOURS/MAGIC

The Ildiri are Ley channellers, which means they collect the brain impulses (Ley) of the Dragon and form it into magic, which they use part of, returning all that is taken to the flow of serotonin fed nerve pulses that cascade around the ley-lines. They are 'positive' magic 'users'.

Their primary colours are White, Blue and Mercury - so Life/Healing/Peace, The Waters and the Air/SPeed etc.

I can waffle about that later, but there are threads on magic in this forum...have a peek at anything there is.

HISTORY OF THEIR RACE from their perspective

will fill in later

SOCIETY

Later

MILITARY

The Ildiri have one of the most sophisticated cultures and societies there is, and their military is similar. They maintain a standing army. Those who fight in most situations are 'regular' troops - they spend their lives training and are constantly mobilised. Only in the worst of situations would they call on any kind of 'reserve' forces, as these are the people that are crafters, farmers...the lifeblood of the realm, and it is the duty of the army to protect them.

They are not an expansionist culture, but they fight for 'what is right and correct', for moral reasons, and they fight to rpotect the Dragon they look after. This more than all - the entire species would die to see the Dragon safe.

AT this time, the army is organised around two main figures; the Heron King, and his Eldest male Heir; the Prince of Swans. There are other military groups, but they hold specific functions. The Prince is with the main army in the field, whilst the garrison forces are under the Heron King. The Prince maintains his Swan Knights and the mainstay of active forces, but some units remain uniquely the King's, such as the Heroncrest Myrmidons.

Note: We will be using a much smaller pool of units for each nation in the Ghaur campaign. There will be at most half of the Ildiri army's units present, but part of this is the evolution of the military in the 1332 years between the two campaigns. There will be ways in the campaign to unlock or create new types of troops for many factions.

Back later to do a bit more...

PLEASE do say if there is an aspect that isn't covered for the factions that I can add in, as then it'll help make this useful to you. Cooking...anything

[Squeaks]

WHAT ARE THE KHEZDRULI?

The Khezdruli, often referred to as Dwarves, or the Unfinished, or, more viciously 'The Imperfect', are one of the first races that began awakening from the conception of the Dragon's Egg in physical matter - so, when the planet/world was at it's youngest, the elves, as they originally were, came into being, then were followed by the Dwarves

Nobody is really absolutely sure on their purpose, but the Celesti found an anomaly developing INSIDE the body of the largest avatar on the planet in the early days - an entire mountain range was his form, as he curled around a massive bowl of water in a continent known as 'Xefeyr' to the Celesti. They went into it's body and retrieved these 'things', simply out of curiosity, and borught them screaming into life; a painful process by all accounts which seems to be justified, in some sense, by the rather high pain threshold the Khezdruli exhibit. The problem with what the Celesti did was that the new creatures were technically 'born early', and therefore incomplete, or not totally grown; they may have been a developing elf or could have been anything - the world as it stands shall never know in all probability. WHat's important is that the Dwarves show a specific failing that they term the 'Hunger'. This 'illness' dominates their lives to a degree, and caused a war between the elves in their entirety and the Dwarves, early on in their existance.

This alone should determins some of their stubborn nature: The elves geenrally agree there were around 300 Khezdruli when first brought to the light; one record say 'three hundredds and two of the embyonic creatures were broguht to light', but the Dwarves steadfastly argue that is was 303, and have done for thousands of years. When asked to produce evidence, they just say 'our records are our own', and mumble 'you wouldn't understand them anyway'.

WHAT DO THEY LOOK LIKE?

The Khezdruli are seldom, if ever, seen above ground without their armour or other ablative clothing on. Their natural form is a simple humanoid, yet short, stocky, immensely strong. Their skin is the colour of powdered rock, yet is lighter, fed by the blow that flows under the skin. Their skin is roughger than a humans, but not scasled or ridged like lizard-skin. Many feel that they are unnatractive, but not repulsive in any way. Their eyes are normal sized, but slightly more round, orb-like than a human's almond shaped eyes. Their vision in daylight has never been good, but their night-vision is excellent, and zero-light vision is perfect; some concur that their zero-light vision is sim ilar to a bat's, others that it just senses space and emptiness like we would a breeze and fills those areas that have something in them as 'non-empty'. As ever, the Khezdruli refuse discussion on any aspect of their physicality, even under torture. They have naturally thick hair, and it grows well underground, so many grow bushy mops of hair, some have beards, but some are just naturally hairless, like the Onnair.

Dwarves bleed, they die, they age, they wither, but their birthing methods are the exceptional thing; they are, for want of a better word, 'made' by their parents. As said before, the Khezdruli were 'incomplete' as a species.

KHEZDRULI MILITARY: The Dwarven military is a caste based system, but there is a high social mobility amongst the Dwarves; they take the aptitude of the young and grow it in the direction it was meant to be grown. A Mushroom herdsgnome manager can see his son become a mighty warrior, or his daughter an unsurpassed craftswoman, but once in those castes, they stay, and society is ordered around these strict castes. Dwarves love order and they live based on this simple fact.

The military are highly prized, but now operate in two directions - 'Ancestral' units and the newer 'Oathbound' units, dating from the Treaty of Azraghaal in the dwarf-elf war. There are many of the former and fewer of the latter, but they are specialised in differing areas. The Oathbound troops rely LESS on Ley technology and more on skill and mobility, but the older units have massively powerful armour, enhanced by ley crystals, and they use this to deadly effect. Of course, the Oathbound units are supplemented by Gnomes more, because they are a newer invention and viewed with distaste by some of the old castes. Tghis seems odd, considering their own rejection of ley, but it represents foward-thinking so is embraced.

The Dwarves have their own honour system. The Ancestral Guard are primarily used to defend outside the gates to prepare the inner troops for defence; they may all die, but this is a great honour. Death in war is not viewed the same as men and elves. It is a true wonder to be ALE to give your lives for the race, and they are so heavily armoured that they usually hold the enemy up enough, considering the tight spaces, to allow the defence to organise beofre they are wiped out, and they gain much by doing this. Fighting to the Death is viewed as the greatest of aspirations, not something to be feared.


Sorry this is incomplete, but I'm squirreling away tons of information at the moment, and just felt bad that you're not getting to see any So I'm building this at the same tiem.

[Wizenhimerman]

Nice background info Mistress! Cant wait to read and see more! hopefully i can stay active this time.lol

[David93]

Very intresting, egar to learn more

[Squeaks]

Updated with dwarven military stuff

[Squeaks]

WHAT ARE THE SELEDIRI?

The Selediri, simply addressed as their true name, are one of the elven races that began awakening from the conception of the Dragon's Egg in physical matter - so, when the planet/world was at it's youngest, the elves, as they originally were, came into being. The Seledir were said to have been the hardest to awaken, but, once awake, the hardest to keep under control.

The Selediri are the Elves with domain over the dry places, the places where heat brings others to their knees - the most difficult charge of all - to keep healthy something that, of it's very nature, fights against this. They are thoughtto be cold blooded, as they often sun themselves, basking in the heat, behaving in similar kin tot he lizards and creatures of the places they oversee.

WHAT DO THEY LOOK LIKE?

The Selediri, as with all elves, have two forms; a 'natural' one and a 'Glamour' form; a form designed to appear how others would be more comfortable seeing them, as it would never have suited for the caretakers of the world to appear ferocious or fearsome in any form. This is kind of like a translator for languages, in that it allows them to meet with other races in similar form and the two can then find immediate common ground.

Their natural form is a simple humanoid, but they appear to be jumpy, almost nervous, brimful of energy that will scarcely rest. They seem as though they are made of very dense liquid - there is a 'skin' but it is not utterly opaque. Beneath this skin are the bones, which are formed of an incredibly tough but hollow rock growth, and the organs, which are formed of vegetation - to filter their fluids are strange red and orange growths and there are Pumice type substances acting as other organs - they do not follow a human pattern oif organs, but have their own - they approximate in the same way, if not in the same number and position.

Their eyes are piercing, yet stunning; like endlessly churning liquid pools that change from shade to shade of the colours of fire....many colours that shine at their perfect hue and luminosity. This form is not weak; it is rather strong, but physically, they probably aren't as strong as humans in some ways, but are blindingly quick, a blur when at full speed, dashing between positions at speed. Like lizards, they are capable of incredible movement speed, are incredibly strong and their minds are strange to most, filled with spiritual questions, for they are the most curious of all races. However, much like lizards, they tire quickly, and, like all that are detrimentally curious, they get bored of all things, save one - the spiritual art of combat. The Selediri are, without doubt, the most skilled artists of war that could ever have been conceived; yet they are most notably flawed.

In their protective form, they appear as human in form, with completely normal skin tones - a form they call 'blooded'. Their eyes shine and follow similar colours to their other form. The darker skinned areas are usually deeper shades of fire in appearance; so you get find their darker skin areas are deep reds and theri hair is often blonde or a very burnt sienna colour. They seem solid, opaque, comfortable looking to the eye, and intensely captivating; where the Ildiri are a thing of unnatural beauty, the Selediri are a thing of alien wonders. Their charisma is legendary, as their nature is to laugh and play tricks, but they have a darker side; one of the deepest anger, but this is brought to the surface only in extreme circumstance - most of the time they just sulk if offended.

SELEDIRI COLOURS/MAGIC

The Ildiri are Ley channellers, which means they collect the brain impulses (Ley) of the Dragon and form it into magic, which they use part of, returning all that is taken to the flow of serotonin fed nerve pulses that cascade around the ley-lines. They are 'positive' magic 'users'.

Their primary colours are Red, Orange and Yellow- so raw emotion, Fire/ Warmth and light and cascading illumination of mind.

I can waffle about that later, but there are threads on magic in this forum...have a peek at anything there is.

HISTORY OF THEIR RACE from their perspective

will fill in later

SOCIETY

The Selediri live in vast floating cities - pyramids made of Sunstone, that store the ley of the SUn in order to give this energy off when channelled; they use this to build their pyramid cities, and their people live inside the hollow structures.

There are stages to the life of a Seledir. These often form either periods of hibernation or deep spiritual illumination. The males and females follow different paths, but they pass through the doors of several cults (they have a wide choice of progression), which send them on pilgrimages, teach skills and ask of them many services. As they acheiev their takss, they move onwards. At the end of adolescence, they begin to fall into the martial cults, and the training in the art of 'beautiful death' begins.

Those that have fought the Selediri remember them well, if they survived. They leap like salmon and their sword blows are perfect and deadly, seeking out weak places with precision, the blades carving through mail with ease. Their curved blades are made for the 'draw cut', which opens a foe up with a single slice. No one forgets them. Only the warriors of CHo Tetsu follow anything near this path, and others are driven by base emotion rather the worship of a skill itself.

MILITARY

The Selediri have one of the most sophisticated cultures and societies there is, and their military is unusual. They maintain a standing army, but it is carefully organised, each section being held under a Dragon Blood noble, in a vaguely feudal fashion. Those who fight in most situations are 'regular' troops - they spend their lives training and are constantly mobilised. Only in the worst of situations would they call on any kind of 'reserve' forces, as these are the people that are crafters, farmers...the lifeblood of the realm, and it is the duty of the army to protect them.

They are not an expansionist culture, but they fight for 'what is right and correct', for moral reasons, and they fight to rpotect the Dragon they look after. This more than all - the entire species would die to see the Dragon safe. The Selediri will be apt to fight an entire war over the death of a rare creature in their deserts as much as for greater things. They are like children in their emotional responses, and tend towards swift, reflexive reactions rather than deep thought.

The Dragonbloods are the perfect warriors, and they tend to control and organise the armies, but they are not always present. This usually leads to an srgument about who will lead - none of them will actually want to, so the argument is about who can manage to avoid leadership; however, there is a spiritual hierarchy that will often decide it in the end - or a simple game will decide the fate of the army's generalship. Possibly the main weakness of the military is the disparity in warrior orders, and the fact that the majority of fighting units are apt to do whatever they want, tearing through the foe with such swiftness that they tend to win anyway. Of course, the main weakness of the people as a whole is the cycle of hibernation and wakefulness. It means that many of their best are asleep at any one time, leading to certain difficulties.

[Squeaks]

I foudn this....I couldn't read it all, as I don't have the time, but it's old and may contain errors...written in 2002.

It is THE HISTORY ACCORDING TO THE ILDIRI....I have the Selediri and Lindiri, Dwarves; all of them!

WHEN the spirits of the ancestors descended from the moon, the waters took their spirits and wrapped the seas and rivers about them, until the spirit and water were one. The new-born emulated the life in the seas around them, and grew the organs necessary for true life. Yet in the waters they stayed, often venturing up the paths of tears into the heart of the bound realm.

In the waters nothing is permanent, and our people grew weary of the constant shift; they had given themselves form, yet could not achieve anything lasting. They began to wonder at what lay beyond the place where water recedes, and what the sadness hid from their view, which they began to understand, was distorted.

So, the first began to take time on the banks of rivers, and talk to the creatures that came to sniff and discover this alien invader. Eventually, they fell in love with what they found, and tales were passed back through generations, and more began to venture from the waters, until some left to start new lives amongst the permanence beyond the waves.

Many stayed. We still do not know what became of them, but must assume they, too left, or perhaps receded into the deeps and live on in hiding in a world that we no longer truly understand, for we have learnt the need for breath, and the need for sustenance, but we also understand the need for blood, emotion, and, yes, even war.

First we met the Lindiri, the Elves of the Wild, creatures quixotic, almost mad, talking in a frenzy, fast and untamed, their movements flickering with undue haste and a disregard for the energies lost. We thought of them as children, but children who cared for the land around them in a parental, yet innocent way.

Some were ugly, some little more than that which they cared for, but to what it was to see a misshapen hulk with a tiny bird twittering on it’s finger, tears running from it’s slit-like eyes as it was overcome in it’s care for the small life it held in it’s thrall. That was something we could not ignore. So we taught them speech, we taught them to communicate in ways other than the chemicals they smelt, the chemicals that mark emotional change, and we taught them not to kill, even for food. For us, we had never eaten meat.

All things must return to the earth it came from, they knew that, but we had always felt that forced return was never a way open to us. With them we grew plants, our waters nourished deserts and their care was beyond anything in out knowledge of the land. Waters were turned and forests grown, beasts took their homes in what had scarcely held life at all, and the Dragon’s dreams were placid.

Our appearances had been limited, but, under the rays of the sun, in the deserts we reclaimed, we met the Selideri, the Elves of the Sun. The tale has it that we found one, warming itself on the rocks we sought to flourish. The difference between us was immediately obvious, just as in the Lindiri.

The Sun Elves were consumers of life, as we saw it, and we were to turn our backs on them. The Wild wanted to drive them away, but then we saw the growth that came after fire, the rebirth of health after the death of decay. Fire made the old turn into new. It gave life; yes, it took life, but what occurred afterwards was breathtaking, like the sun rising on a new day.

Then, under a month of nights, followed by a day where the sun died, the Celidiri came amongst us. They were of obvious beauty and were wise. They took our speech and improved upon it; they took our views and made much clear. Each had it’s place, and it was wrong to judge them for that. After all, we all gave back what we took, and all lived in harmony. They also showed the power of the Ley.

Around the body of the Earth, the Ley runs, like water through streams and rivulets, the Ley courses. Unlike our waters, Ley is constant, and never perpetuates, never replaces itself. It is there, and that is that. Through the Celidiri we learnt to tap this power, to form it into our wishes, and to release it back to it’s nest under the skin of the world.

With it we fulfilled our desire; we created permanence. Cities were built, the stones cut by Ley Magery, and we filled those cities with gardens, built by Lindiri talent. Waters coursed between roads and the beasts entered to sit by watersides, to enter our homes, safe in the knowledge that no harm would befall them.

For untold years, we built and replaced, took Ley, used it, then sent it back. Then came the terrible evolution, the stealer of Ley, the defiler of the earth. The Khezdruli.

Ignorant of their violence, the Khezdruli broke from the stone, and brought with them the plagues that ravaged our numbers. The Plague, we call it, but it was merely despair that killed so many. Others don’t remember, but we do. The ‘Dwarves’. They burrowed, stole the metals and elements from their resting places, and fashioned things, tools, playthings that should have never been made. Nothing was returned. They just stole and thieved, and the fools burnt when burning was unnecessary, their smelting left rivers choked with oils and slag, and they cared nothing in their ignorance.

It was us who suffered the worst. Long had we thought that killing was an aberration, but, with despair killing us slowly, we turned to this method, and marched to war with the Dwarves. From their numbers, hosts of the other keepers followed, and war was made under the mountains.

Ley weapons pulsed through the channels they had made, and those you call wizards threw blasting energies that tore further at the Dragon’s flesh. Thousands died, others were maimed, but still the Dwarves dug. Maybe more so, fashioning weapons that could fight our use of Ley, their fear of us driving them to further exertion.

In the end, we achieved little. The battlefields littered the lands, animals that had fought with us lay dead, forest wept for their slaughtered brothers, even rivers cried bubbling tears at the Ildiri dead, washed down into the seas.

Then the dwarves sent one of their number, and agreed to a truce. They would delve only where necessary, and we would leave them to do this. No longer would they hoard the massive quantities of treasures of the earth, not to the degree they had, but we knew them, we knew they would not completely overcome their nature, but, what choice did we have? Too many had died, and we faced a compromise or years of endless death and slaughter. SO we agreed to end the war. But, in it’s wake, worse was to come.

From the empty Dwarf Halls they came, streaming forth, the infected. Terrors of the night without stars, they killed for no reason. None. And we were forced to destroy them all. But the earth never recovered. Those Dwarf Halls were blocked in, filled with healing waters, and sealed by the very dwarves who made the wounds in the first place.

*

Even our eldest do not remember exactly how the parasites arrived, how the *humans* arrived. Were they a plague, a challenge, or just a wasting disease? Whatever the answer, the question no longer matters. One fact remains. They are here and will destroy the world.

The humans, we do not even have a name beyond that of their first grunt…’ooman’. Yes, the humans – they ‘formed’ from something. We don’t know what. Yes, we treated them well. We taught them to speak, eat, their numbers. We taught it all. If we hadn’t, maybe they’d still be like animals, and maybe it’s our fault that the world has parasites.

The human spread like an illness, but weren’t as terrible and as ignorant as the Dwarves, neither were they as violent. But now? Well, we taught them to fight, too, in the wars against the Ghaur.

After the humans came, we argued, the elves, and the Celestials argued hard against helping the humans. The wild saw them as an animal that had the capacity to talk, and wanted to harbour that, the Sun Dragons taught them fire, and we, we wanted to fulfil our dreams.

The argument was so fierce that it almost split us, almost spilt elven blood, but, in the end, the Celiri just turned away and left. They left, and haven’t been seen since. The wisest turned their backs, and some of the beauty left the world that sad night. We still search, but no sign exists, no tell-tale that something great has marked it’s passage through the world’s earth.

[Squeaks]

Hmm. I grabbed the Selediri historical viewpoint, but it's not as good as I would want. (DO see the Ildiri one in the post previous to this)

The thing I did with these documents was to make sure they were solely from THAT faction's views, which meant that they would support some of each others' tales, and vary wildly in others - usually due to conflicts and a need to believe in a version that suited them - so you get anomalies and, with the federation, HUGE differences and outright lies.

Here is the Selediri, but I may want to rewrite this completely...not sure. You CAN all help me here with your views and comments. If something doesn't seem right etc, tell me, or ask about it. Of course, I have cut out anything that comes from or after the Ghaurchlai war, which may make it slightly disjointed...

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HISTORY OF THE SELIDIRI

Under the Rays of the Sun, we were born, their light giving us life, and we came from the sands to lie upon the rocks and bathe in it’s glory. Warming our bodies upon the rocks, we stayed for an age amongst the dunes, and our bodies were made stronger, for we were born cold and weak, and we needed the Sun to strengthen ourselves. Yes, and we needed the Ley, the lifeblood, to give us intellect, which we were not born with, our cold blood becoming warm, like that of the animals of the woods and hills. But we knew little of this, until the day the Celesti came.

They appeared among us, and a light shone from them, a different light from Ours, but we recognised it’s glory all the same. The ones that stayed, they taught us to speak, and think, and, yes, to wonder and revel in life, to love and to give back to the land what we took as food.

We talked to the plants and beasts, and we knew of all things that life was the greatest gift, for we were alive, and we had true joy at what had been our gift. Our responsibility was to the force of existence.

They taught us of many things, and of the Ley, which we took from the land every waking day, and gave back during each cold and lonely night. Our blood cooled at night, and we learnt to make fabrics, to weave and make clothes to warm us at night, and we created fire-stones, stones that were infused with Ley, to glow with heat in the dark of night, giving light and warmth...greater versions of these heated our halls and caves.

The Ley was a wonder, and the best among us learnt to manipulate it, and we built dwellings of sand, dwellings which became white sand towns, then cities, and we were taken to see the others, the Lindiri, so close in some ways, so distant in others, and the aloof, yet learned Ildiri, born of the Moon, our only true friend during the long nights.

We taught our friends of our ways, learned of theirs, debated, argued and laughed together under the hallowed bodies of Sun, Moon and Stars, and in the Twilight times we speared the fogs to see the Lindiri and their animals.

Our diets changed, and we grew taller, but never as tall as the Ildiri or Celesti, similar more to the Lindiri in stature, but our blood was cold, theirs warm, and we talked to the other beasts of cold blood, and learnt their ways of life and existence.

As time passed, our people began their pilgrimages, at first to learn all that we could of our brothers, then, slowly, to begin education in every area and to learn of the memories of the lowliest avatar, to tend to the barren places and to develop our culture.

One of our pilgrim bands came upon an anomaly in the deepest desert; a stone that floated during the day and settled at night. This evoked curiosity beyond anything we had ever know, and we studied the stone for days, eventually assisting the latent Ley that it was found to be storing during the daylight hours. With small changes, a Channeller named Elentis managed to get the stone to float conistently, but still required the daylight sun to do so. With further acceleration, other tricks could be observed, and a month of such work gave a thorought knowledge.

What truly surprised Elentis was that a search for more of this stone, which he named Sun Stone, revealed a massive concentration of the rock beneath where he stood. It was said to have stretched for miles in every direction, and he began an excavation. During this period, we built new cities from this stone, and these vast pyramids floated above the earth. Huge ramps could be extracted or collapsed, and they remained safe; more so than ever we could have dreamed. It was during this time an accord was struck with the Madashirii Avatars, whose home was buried in the very veins of the Sun Stone. We expanded our knowledge of such things, and great treatiesd were made between the Selediri and the many avatars of the barrens and deserts.

Time seemed to stand endlessly, a vast and uncounted truth in our world, yet we began to take measure of it, as the difference between day and night meant so much more to us than any others. Over the years, we learned to defend ourselves, as there were things that were alive that needed to be averted from our homes, and things that would damage our works, many of which had no knowledge of what they did. SO we began to learn to fight, and we spread this to the others, but we excelled, and it became such a joy that it went to the heart of our being - it was the first truly spiritual pursuit for us, seemingly endless. Variants of methods and weapons were created, and we began to use Ley to aygment our abilities, again passing such knowlkedge to our brothers, who in the main seemed ambivalent, whereas our very souls sang of it.

Then came the Khezdruli, and many of the Celesti left to teach them. They were fascinated by the stones that grew in our lands, and often stole them from their resting place, but we forgave them; they were children at the time, and knew no better. We thought they would grow away from such behaviour, but we didn’t know what was to come: the War with the Dwarves.

AT first we refused to believe all the Ildiri told us, but then we saw the Holts they had built, what they did to the rivers and seas, and we marched to the aid of those that wished to go to war. The Ildiri and Lindir argued much, but the Celesti stayed away from this course of action, until they learned of the Dwarves' mining of the very nervoius sytem of the Dragon; THEN they went to war with a vengeance. We feared the dark places, but this simply intensified our need to test ourselves. In the early days our very presence was enough to drive off some of the Unfinished.

It was mindless, a slaughter of thousands, and we won many small victories, yet the final victory seemed far away, and many times we questioned what we were doing. We saw how even the Celesti were in fury, and we owed them much, so we stayed fighting. In a way, we never understood the War, but we fought hard for our kin.

The Khezdruli invented their killing weapons, and the war became harder. We were never truly numerous, and we saw the deaths of many of our folk, men and women, but we stayed and our support to the cause of war grew. There was the Council, the day when the Dwarf Azraghaal came to us and argued a defence against our actions. We voted to end the war, as did the Lindiri, and the Council was tied. Then the Ildiri relented, but the Celesti never did.

We went back to our old ways, and we grew again, but then the folly of the humans arose, and we saw the Celesti turn their backs on us, but we wanted so badly to teach these new animals the ways of harmony and peace, to make up for the decline of the Dwarves into ignorance. Our faith deepened as we knew more of these humans, and we took groups of them, teaching them to live in the deserts. In the main, these remained deferential to what we had, and they never scourged the lands of the Dragon's Bounty - rather they showed a keen respect, which they still do exhibit, but we have seen what humans do to other places, and we simply await the summons to war in much the same way as we had been pulled into the annihilation of the Dwarves.

We trained the humans, and, to us, it was a good thing to do. When the Ghaur came, we had an ally in these Humans....only time would tell what role they may have paid

[ArtoriusRex]

Just when I thought your world couldn't get any cooler you come up with cold-blooded elves that have hot tempers. Not sure if I'd want to run into either kind of elf- the Selediri sound tempermental, and the Ildiri seem to think that they screwed up the world by helping humans become civilized. I'd rather pick the Selediri though- they seem easy to get along with.

[Squeaks]

Really? I was told yesterday that most think my elves are a cliche as such, which is fair enough, so I'm a little surprised you like them

The elves were meant to be the main/only UTTERLY positive force in the world really, and I've stuck to that - their views are kind of pre-programmed to respond the way they do, but their creation didn't look ahead and see dwarves or humans, so they're kind of out of their depth with them and have had to form their own opinions of the matter without guidance. DOes this make sense? They are there to ensure the dragon is well and hatches, but no one figured that other things could come and mess the Dragon up, so the elves have had to improvise their responses to them, whilst their natures are to look after the new 'races', this has not worked out so well really, so they're struggling to understand HOW they can cope with their existance.

The Dwarves they decided to perform surgery on, the humans they tried to teach the 'right' way of things because they were guilty over the killing of lots of dwarves, so hoped they'd get it right with them.....and it hasn't gone 100% well

I'll try to do another update on the Ghaur races tonight. Prob will do the Han DInen as they're not in the main campaign as such. That alone makes them of interest I think.

[ArtoriusRex]

*Shrugs* I like new things. Plus, in my opinion, whoever says that your stuff is cliche obviously hasn't read your lore. I understand the elves, white blood cell type individuals who don't know how to deal with potentially symbiotic new 'viruses'. This is very different than the typical High Fantasy elf as they are usually very wise, and know every angle. These elves are more, hmm... organic, and dare I say they are child-like in how they deal with other races. Story is everything- your elves can look like clones of Legolas for all I care, but so long as the lore behind them is different, then that can make everything new and exciting.

[Squeaks]

*Shrugs* I like new things. Plus, in my opinion, whoever says that your stuff is cliche obviously hasn't read your lore.

Thanks Rexy! I must say I tried damned hard to make every aspect of Dragonborn what I could....you've hit the nail on the head btw with what the elves are

Part of the reason they're called Ildiri AND named High ELves was because I was unsure that if they were simply called Ildiri, they'd be too weird, plus I love elves anyway, in much the same fashion as I love satyrs and fauns, minotaurs and giants - they're all familiar ideas, but, with DB I wanted a different way of telling them; their creation and the reaosns for such have meaning, and are justifiable as such, and that was my aim - to be able to justify my world and the story when asked, rather than just say 'Well, they're elves...' I don't mean this arrogantly, I just wanted to make something cool, that drew ME in and fired my imagination more and more as I worked on it, and sent new ideas and little bits spinning off to new heights.

I understand the elves, white blood cell type individuals who don't know how to deal with potentially symbiotic new 'viruses'.

Well, there you have it. Yes, the Dragon HAS a body, and instead of working from the inside, the organisms work on the outside of it's body. I remember seeing sharks with little fish eating parasites from them and that sort of stuff...ants 'milking' aphids...all of the things I found cool when little, and it fired Dragonborn more and more - to get an idea that works in our world's terms is great, and you can use it to inspire more and they can make more sense of each other.

The Rhysthari lizards are the healers of the World - they are the organisms that stop 'infections' or damage and prevent it from spreading - the elves help repair the damage after it is caused, and to keep everything healthy, calling in the Lizards when something is beyond them etc.

The humans are parasites, the Dwarf are an illness/infection - this was the basis; Naugiri were born (as another tyype of elf) as a symbiotic predatior - they hunted and destroyed parasites. There is tons more, but these were the few discoveries that fuelled my imagination more and more.

But that was simply the beginning; after that came much more that gave it something extra every time. Avatars were my favourite thing about it for a LONG time, as you could anything with them. Frankly, I read the idea that each piece of terrain could have it's own 'little god' to care for it in several odd stories when I was tiny, and that stayed with me; but the fact that they are that and more - the larger ones actually can be a mountain or something, even a couple of mountains was cool, and then I thought it'd be cool if the Avatars were all part of the Dragon's imagination and dreams, come to life due to the power of Him, AND that they represented aspects of his personality...I enjoyed that lots.

There was another biggie when I had to think about the awakening of the Dragon - the way I thought you could justify him being asleep and waking up to break the egg and flap off to mate....I thought about polar bears somehow and then realised you could have the north pole where his head was, and that underneath it, his brain was in 'stasis', cooled down by the ice - when this heated up (global warming, time, the heat of the Mother (the sun) growing over time etc etc) then the ice would no longer be there, and he'd awake....I thought that would be good for SO many reasons.

ANyway, I'm talking rubbish, so I'll shut up, but a great deal of thought went into coming up with a plausible story in a weird way....obviously it's fantasy, so not so plausible, but it still makes sense if you think about it, within the bounds of the setting.

This is very different than the typical High Fantasy elf as they are usually very wise, and know every angle. These elves are more, hmm... organic, and dare I say they are child-like in how they deal with other races.

Very much on the ball there. The ELves are the teachers, but who taught them? Well, they used instinct and the Celesti were sent, but they still don't know everything, and there's no one to ask, so, yes, they are STILL like children, they don't know a great deal, and the elves, like children, have no ARTIFICE - they tend not to lie (it doesn't occur to MOST of them) and they are very naive until proven wrong for being so, trusting, afraid, nervous; all sorts, with the emotional range of children, swapping from one end to the other VERY quickly, but the Ildiri are more static (water), the Selediri are quick to react, either way, but do not hold grudges, and the Plant-like Lindiri bear grudges BIG TIME, but they are very very slow to anger....thsi slowness was then boosted with the addition of ANimists, as THEY retained animal instincts, so presented a problem to the Lindiri elves that made them.

Story is everything- your elves can look like clones of Legolas for all I care, but so long as the lore behind them is different, then that can make everything new and exciting.

THANK YOU!!!!

I think the units are probably partly as odd as most things I get involved in. The ACTUAL main reason I started this mod was down to the fact that I find it almost impossible to do models to other peoples' specifications. They canb tell me that they want a certain thing til they're blue, but I just get an idea in my head for what that unit SHOULD look like and it all becomes VERY hard. I mean, I hate evil guys, and I have never been good at them, but because they're MY bad guys, I have no real issues in making them. I can do this as I want and not get told off Plus, if I do this, then I can help other peeps and possibly do more of what they want.

I don't need to work from drawings and stuff, as it all pops into my head and stays there, which is probably why I'm not a great modeller.....I don't do it from a neutral point of view - it's all creativity and emotion, not a simple and perfect thing that someone else has filled out for you - I have done units for one faction and stopped halfway as I realised they'd be much better for a different faction if changed in the way I just thought of - which normally involves a complete change of direction.

It's all very confusing, but it's cool, and people who make posts like this are a majorly breathtaking boost to what's being done here. So thanks

[Squeaks]

WHAT ARE THE HAN DINEN?

The Han Dinen are a human sub-culture, based around the south of the Western Continent. They exist in a rough chieftainship, with a high chieftain elected from the chiefs, and, on occasion, a War Raven is called to power, to defend the peoples of the Han Dinen from an outside threat so dire that it takes a hero to accomplish it. The Han Dinen are a slightly shorter spectrum of humanity, broader of shoulder, often with black or dark brown hair. They may have a seemingly 'rough' existence and culturew, but it is a culture that bears inspection, for there is much to learn from it. The weak are regarded as important, and to defend them and care for them is the suty of first family, then greater family, passing to Tribe, then Nation. They bear great respect for their ancestors, as quoted in memory, but do not give them anything other than a temporal being - they do not worship them as some cultures have done, and do; they do not honour them spiritually - they simply take note of wehat wisdom has been said through the ages, and they often carry names and sub-names from their predecessors a s a badge of respect for them and FROM them.

Often chieftainship of a TRibe will pass down through family inheritance, but there are occassions where a tribal leadership has been simply struck from records, simply known as name cursed, that no one will wear again. Other families within a tribe will adopt the remnants of a family that has become accursed, with no accusation being levelled at the family members who remain non-accursed themselves. Blame for any crime rests solely with those committing the act, not with those associated with the criminals through blood or friendship. In some ways, this is a far more advanced way of looking at crime and the delination of pariahs than simply fearing anything involved with them personally and discarding it, whether it be physical or a part of society, such as family.

The Tribes of the Han Dinen are arranged in a seemingly bizarre fashion. They are given certain territories as their 'owned' lands, then there are crossed territories where thye meet and trade and hunt - 'no man's land' as such. Movemtn through these areas in completely non-restricted, and oiften warriors from nearby clans act as guards for those travelling namelessly as much as for their own. Despite their tribal nature, they have remarkably clear vision concerning the wider society,m which is where their brilliance truly shines.

As with many family driven cultures, they believe marriage and bondship to be vital, and the crossing of names when marrying (or 'lifebonding') is usual, to create a new family with both names of the precededing ones. Such a ineage can be traced fairly easily, and inter-breeding is seemingly not an average occurnance - and is prohibited by law. Their Law is highly regarded, and is far more fair and reliant than most. Law books are kept; huge volumes that are kept in a cnetre of learning deep in their territory, which will be discussed along side their religious beliefs. Law to them is not a matter of money and escapism, it is a certainty, absolute and inviolate, although some religious mechanisms exist to overturn many laws, but not all.

The mention of religion brings us to the vital role of women in their culture and the advanced way by which they regard the world due to this. An unbonded child is not a thing to be abhorred. However, it will either enter the Ravenshrier as a boy infant or be taken to the Mountains of the Moon, more specifically to the Mirror Yawn, or the fortified crater where the Mirror of SOuls can be found. The Ravenshrier are an eremitic order that train their sons to be fine warrior-shamans, whose main oath is to uphold true Justice and to offer healing and sage advice to the communities they visit. They are conceived to be 'sorcerors', in a positive pattern, and it is true that they posses 'powers' of a preternatural kind. They have been seen incombat wielding Ley-based powers which stun, confuse and damage their foes, as well as evidence of 'powers of darkness' involved with the dead and entropy, although these are wielded with reverence for their possible misuse and a heavily philosophised pretext for their use. Opposite the Ravenshrier are the Lunicines, a cenobitic order of female warriors, whose entire society is female; all male children when they breed with 'outsiders' are sent to the Ravenshrier, whilst all female children are kept within the society . The Lunicines, or Moonslain (as some refer to them due to their enforced chastity, absolved on certain religious occassions), are a stable yet internalised society. They exist only to protect the SOul Mirror and therefore the entry to the world of gods and the dead, that lies within the Moon. These women are usually blonde amongst a race of dark haired people, but some attribute this to the constant presence of the Soul Mirror (notably old Lunes often have completely white hair, although this can occur in the more devout at even the age of early teens); whatever the cause, the caste of Lunes is one of devout obedience and a particularly sterile society, with their teachings guarded and wisely bound so.

The warriors of the Lunes are gifted formational fighters. They wield long hafted crescent axes and fight in a form of plated mail. This in itself draws questions, as the Ha Dinen themselves have only the competance to make chain and ring mail armours, and rely heavily on them and leathers for protection. It is considered wrong to use fur as an armour, but fine to use as a clothing. Dominating spiritual influences within the tribes are the animal sects, which use the patterns and behaviour of differing animals to form a dictate that educates the people and acts as a form of worship amongst many. The Moon features strongly - there is evidnence of worship of the full, half and black moons, but the Lunecines worship the Crescent moon. There are certainly said to be sects of bird worshipping clans within the deep mountains ,a and some spout tales of them riding great ravens, which are greeted with interest or disdain, depending on your audience.

Death features strongly and is not a fear, but a quiet embrace, and they give fear itself a deference, almost deifying it, using the term Nightfoil for fear, as it links to a parastic plant strangles the life from trees in remote places. Fear is not regarded as anything but a foe to be overcome. In battle, they often use Ravenshrier to 'cast aside the embrace of the Nightfouil' in a semi-religious fashion.

One thing to remember; the Han Dinen are not barbarians. They do not run in supersticious fear or delight in things that cannot be explained as if sent by a greater power. They are remarkably knowledgeable about emotion, religion, and philosophy of life. They have an interesting and diverse society, and it works. Their warriors canm hide anywhere in their home territories and possibly beyond, and their tactics in battle are no simpleton's delight. There are secrets in the mountains, most of wehich they know, and there are allies, things of war, things of nightmare that call them friends. SOme desribe the Han Dinen as 'a fountain of woe' to fall on those who provoke them, and most of the few scholars to have attended them are quite audibly jealous of their society and their simple yet eloquent view of life.

WHAT DO THEY LOOK LIKE?

The Han Dinen men and women are short, squat and tend towards darker pink to leathery skin tones, simply due to a harshness of life that makes of them incredibly tough people. Their eyes are grey in the main, almost devoid of colour, and their stare is grim to those who don't know them well. They are called ravens, wolves, all sorts of names by others, and one is 'the Murder' of Han Dinen, after the nature of carrion birds.

Thje women of the fortified monastery above the SOul Mirror lake are blonde, taller by a good half foot than their cousins, and they are noticably paler, tending towards an almost alabaster skin in the most devout and learned.

HAN DINEN COLOURS/MAGIC

They do use magic, but it is unique. Will fill you in soon.

HISTORY OF THEIR RACE from their perspective

will fill in later

MILITARY

Later again (sorry)

[Squeaks]

Just before bed I'll bung in here the rosters of a faction or two

ILDIRI

HANDELLAN LANCERS

The Handellan Lancers are a typical demonstration the Ildiri fighting method. They are a medium cavalry unit, designed to harry flanks or chase down fleeing enemies, but they can just as easily stand toe to toe with mounted foes, with highly tailored training. As with all Ildiri troops, they are professional, 'Regular' cavalry and are armed an armoured with Ildiri-made mail and lances, bearing swords of Sea Steel for their light weight and sharp edge. This is a tightly knit unit, and they all adore their horses, beyond the way in which can do so; this and their brotherhood lends them a reason to fight, and they are very good at keeping each other alive. Proud and motivated, they shimmer amongst the Ildiri battle lines, and their presence on the field of battle is a great support for those around them.

ILDIRI MEDIUM SPEAR AND BOW

The Ildiri army is the epitome of a civilised professional soldiery. They hold a unfirom presence on the battlefield and their serried ranks are disciplined and effective in attack and defence. The warrior caste is one of the few transient classes, in that any member of society can join the ranks of the military, but, in general they follow a traditional approach to recruitment, as with most things. The Ildiri are a meritocratic monarchy, if such a thing can exist, and there is always room for change, but, once in the military, you are bound to a full length's service unless discharged for compassionate or emegency reasons.

Wielding spear and shield, the Ildiri footman is skilled, but they are slightly weaker than humans physically, but they partially adapt to this with the Sea Steel they use for meatls, which weighs very little.

OR

Wielding Bow and sword, the Ildiri archer is skilled, but they are slightly weaker than humans physically.

WHITE COURT GUARD

The White COurt Guard are of the Elite of their army, usually tasked with the defence of the royal line or with the guarding of tactically important sites. They are heavy foot troops who are arranged in serried ransk, their use of long blade and tower shield adopting a fighting style that wins battles, reducing the unit's casualties heavily. Of all Ildiri foot troops, they are the highest order, and on the battlefield they are sight that fills their foes with fear. They adopt a mostly defensive stance, but when they do attack, it is with blistering speed and unequalled fury. They fight to the death, never running, and they are one of the deadliest groups of soldiers in the Ghaurchlai wars.

HERONCREST MYRMIDONS

All armies need shock troops; troops that can shatter enemy lines, splintering their defences and plans alike. The Myrmidons are not the heaviest of troops, but they are so utterly relentlerss that enemies just fold in themsel;ves, breaking their own lines. They are trained to move ever forwards, to hack through all obstacles and to sing thei battle joy whilst doing so, their lilting voices carrying notes of fearsome beauty. The axes they wield are of an age past, made by Celesti smiths for the Dwarf war, and they are savage weapons. They hit like hammers with little effort and they can break stone with each strike - their edge never dulls, and they are attributed with 'helping' the wielder fight with added skill.

AVATARS OF WATERS BOUND

There are treaties between many of the elven races and Avatars that live in their lands. These stretch bacvk thousands of years, maybe even tens of thousands, and are made of adamant chains - unbreakable indeed. Most noteworthy to the Ildiri are the Waters Bound; hundreds of water spirits that assume similar form to fight for their friends, often encasing and drowning their foes, or simply hitting them with the force of a tidal wave. They stand ten feet tall in the main, and assume a human form; that of a drowned woman. Eerie and frightening, theuir cries are shrill - those of dying sea creatures and the call of siren winds. Many have run from them, and it is very hard to actually kill them, many weapons simply not penetrating the heavy waters; but die they can, and do - each death is felt by all, and it simply drives those left with ever increasing fury.

SWAN KNIGHTS

COmpanions of the heir apparent - the firstborn male of the Heron King, they grew up with him, and have often been his friends since his eariest years. They are schooled together, train together and see the world through naive honour and chivalry. Despite their social acste, they would protect the lowliest from any trauma or suffering, and, when they ride through a village, the whole population cries with adulation. These elves are seen as the epitomy of Ildiri society and philosophy, and they bear this and other burdens of hope with honour and belief. War to them is necessary, but when needed, they fight with a strange sadness mingled with joy, for they are keeping their people safe, but feel a certain sadness that they have to do this at all. They are a wondrous sight in the field, and their banners and penants rise above all else, their long lances dipping, striking and their standards ripple in the wind, ever clean, made of some ablative fabric. They are called Knights of White Fire sometimes, as their fury is a terrible thing, but it is not dark in it's burning intent.

TEARS OF ITHIL - Unlockable unit during the campaign

[Squeaks]

THE PRINCIPALITY OF STEEL (THE 'PAWN SAINTS')

The Pricipality of STeel is an odd faction. In the SOuth, the majority of the kingdom's populace live, sequestered in great stone towns and cities, living under a Feudal obligatory society, their fates entwined with those of the lords that rule them, some for the better, some for the worse; as with all societies like this, there are lords who are benevolent and those who are tyrannic, and the people suffer or bask in the rule of their lords. In the grand Chequered City, the Prince and his court reside, an aloof presence, yet a comforting one, for people know their care lies ultimately in a Prince chosen by the Trueblade - the main CUlt of the Principality, geared towards war and honour, but it is the honour that people respect and rely on. There have been cases in the past where lords who go too far have been stripped of their position and sometimes even hanged for their depredations. In such cases, their title is passed to the nearest relative, who generally behaves for some time after this.

SOme hundreds of years ago, when the Principality was first settled, the lords were shown a game by the people of CHo Tetsu, who were more advanced in their culture; Tlass. It was a game where strategy of war was played out on a board, where a King (or the Cho Tetsu equivalent - the Emperor) commands troops in the field, represented by knights, footmen (Pawns) and martial troops of various religions. There were archers, cavalry and footmen, and this complex game was played without any random elements, thus was considered the height of intelllect and a test of honour, as the player could win by sacrifiing his lower soldiersd in horrifiic ways, or he could try a million different way of tireless methods to win.

The Chequered City began it's evolution, and of the kingdom itself, when this game became more and more important. The Princes built a huge chequered board for games of Tlass, which they referred to as 'The Game of Saints', and used real people to reprersent pieces, sometimes ordering the to fight with wooden weapons to take away the random edge, and even to end disputes between noble houses. They slowly expanded this, and soon 6 borads of marble were constructed, and the military became constructed around this pattern. It gave their lords bloodless tactical experience in 'war', and they proved this in battles in the north, against the bordered states in the east, and against CHo Tetsu as it probed the coastal defences and blooded it's men against the Prince's armies.

The Chequered city began to grow, and became a mighty Capital, fit for Kings. As they had taken the Trueblade as their 'King', man could not ascend above the title Prince, but he, and then nobles themselves, were considered to have been 'ordained' by their god, fortifying their positions in society; the new introduction of militant 'Bishops' and their Episcapalian Horse Troops, after the fashion of Tlass made this complete, and their society ceased developing further, as it seemed 'perfect'. Each noble House had it's own armed forces, and could call on it's peasant serviotors to join their armies as 'Pawns', like in their games. There were internal conflicts between houses, and they were largely overlooked, unless they seemed to be detrimental to the realm - usually squabbling over hamlets and resources, or names and bastard children with a potential 'claim' to a House, supported in arms by another House.

About a hundred years ago, the Princes turned their eyes north - CHo Tetsu had not invaded for some thirty years and they grew tired on minor conflicts; nothing would satisfy the realm than expansion, or just war for the sake of it, and they laid claim to the northern heaths, which turned into mired lands and deep Moors. The Prince of that time, Katalas 'Ironheart', led a fully levied army of twenty thousand men north and demanded the oath of fealty from his subjects amongst the Heath and Moor Clans. Hoping for war, he got his wish, but not in the form it came upon him. The Clans gathered their forces, hundreds of small family cl;usters and small settlements sending their men to fight, and a larger host than expected faced the Prince. What came next was what marked the conflict further, for the beasts and creaturesd of the north came to their aid of their brethren. Strange Fennweyr Druids brought an army of oddities with them. These creatures were called 'Mythics', and they came in their hundreds - fauns, Satyrs, Firs, Ettins of the heaths, talking beasts of unnatural size and worse came to stand with their allies, and the war took a sour turn for the Prince.

The Battle of Sedgewyg was fought early in the day, soon after dawn bathed the fields in blood. The Prince's forces attacked the lines of their foes, and the Household Knights smashed through the centre in wedges, driving through them and out of the other side, but were fallen upon by the bests, the Mythics, and withdrew after suffering heavy casualties. However, this valiant action almost won the day, as the Tower Knights and Pawn Levies followed up to punish the Clansmen, who fought virtually unarmoured. Had they been the main enemy, they would have been slaughtered, but they fought ferociously, and their allies drove into the Tower Knights, even as the Bishops' Horse showered with bolts from their deadly crossbow, only to ride away when the foe threatened them and shoot again. The day was considered a draw, but both sides had suffered terribly. It was at the end, when both forces withdrew from exhaustion, that the other Mythics arrived. Great Gryphions drooped fromthe skies, and bands of stranger creatures arrived. These were of greater intellect than the Clansmens' allies, and believed in higher prupose, so they chose to fight for the Prince.

On the second day of battle, these creatures made the difference. Gryphons bore the Prince and his favoured knights to battle, and their charge was devastating. In three hours, they broke the clans, who turned and fled north, harassed and slaughtered by the Prince's cavalry and new allies. Three days later, the Clans sent a group to parley, and they agreed to a basic fealty, upon which they would send men to aid the Prince and pay tithes to him for perpuity. The treaty was uneasy at best, but the Prince had won, and gained allies; the Gryphons decided to stay and they became a Royal Guard unit, cherished deeply by their Prince.


MUCH more to follow

[ArtoriusRex]

Yes! Elves that break the final Tolkien stereotype- that of super-strength! Finally, an elf that is for once weaker than humans.

Tlass sounds fascinating- lethal living chess. Do you have any rules for it drafted up somewhere?

And why are the women above the Soul Mirror different than the rest of the Han Dinen?

[Squeaks]

Yes! Elves that break the final Tolkien stereotype- that of super-strength! Finally, an elf that is for once weaker than humans.

If we had any faction with no lesser qualities or weaknesses, then it just wouldn't work, but, also, there are the Naugiri (orcies) that are pretty strong (you'll LOVE them; they're the weirdest bunch I ever created, and one of the coolest)....each faction or race fits it's role on the dragon's body - elves don't NEED to be physically strong in their role - they're carers, not supreme beings (well, the Celesti were pretty good all round I suppose), and they're not there directly to annihilate threats. In the Elf-Dwarf wars they didn't 'win' exactly, especially after the Dwarves start throwing stuff back at them big-time; the war ended more because it was lunacy and the elves managed to reach an agreement with a non-suicidal dwarf.

I think Tolkien got elves spot on for his needs - reading about the Noldor in the SIlmarillion was wonderful, but they have to suit the setting, not be there just because they 'have' to be.

Tlass sounds fascinating- lethal living chess. Do you have any rules for it drafted up somewhere?

Are you going to get all your friends and neighbours and kill them all? If so, then it'd be something to see...

There IS a board version of it, played by 'poor people' and children play a non lethal live variant, but, yes, I have rules. Of course - I tend to be awfully painful on the details of what I do...it's horrendous really; I find little scraps as I go through stacks of rubbish that show notes of all sorts of things that I have forgotten, and, of course, there are slightly conflicting versions of some events and things too, which I'm hoping won't creep in here.

I'll be putting a timeline in some time soon btw, from conception to the 'modern' age at the start of the full campaign.

Uhm, I might try to get the rules to Tlass and put it up here. WOuld be strange if people made and played it. Really strange. Not the bludgeoning each other to death bit - that would be bad.....

And why are the women above the Soul Mirror different than the rest of the Han Dinen?

Blimey. Very direct questions - very nice to answer.

Well, this is a long and difficult one, potentially.

Right. I'll explain the mirror better first.

There is the Crater that the mirror is hidden in. That has it's entire edge fortified. STarirs lead down, cut into the rock, to the bottom of the visible crater. People then proceed through caverns that are designed to confuse and are coated with what they call 'moth-dust'; it glows and falls in silver clouds, giving light to the tunnels, but is essentially an evolutionary compound (like radiation is for usslowly affect those that are touched by it. Their constant exposure to this is PART of it, as it marks the joining of physical and spiritual (note: there is an entry to the moon in the east, and the siftway to the Darkpool, in the SUn Kingdom/Rebels' lands, but that's a different story).

The SOul Mirror is in fact a lake, which floats above the floor of it's cavern, upside down basically - it is deepest and clings to the ceiling. The waters are silvery, and are the spring that creates the Farstream - the river that winds through the lands of the dead (and that bears the souls of the dead into that realm, to be fished out of the water by whatever wants them). To enter the realm, you must turn things upside down (like celts burying trees upside down in their beliefs), so must jump UP into the water. Now, the water does roil and drips into the cavern at a slow rate. This does have an effect. It turns hair and skin pale and silvery, as it is dragging the person into the realm of the dead, so slowly is turning them into spirits, which gives them odd abilities, but also cuts their lives short.

So you have these active effects of the supernatural, but you also have a lineal effect too. One of the first of the people charged with this task was trained by Clelesti (or Silthandael), to better undertake it. The history there is that the Celesti sort of split when they left the last meeting of the elves; after the assault on a Celesti Lord by a Lindiri animist, the SIlthandael DID leave properly, travelling to another continent entirely, but the Celesti that simply went off in a huff settled in the west and built their new cities, preparing for whatever came next. The SIlthandael prepared some things as best they could, whilst the others just sulked.

So the beginning lineage of the women who stay here is that of a tribe that were blonde of hair, whilst the other tribes they travelled with were darker - women and men. However, they had already interbred and were forming some form of nation - the Celesti just tested the people to choose the best suited and it was the Blonde women. SO, despite intermixing, the bloodline is kept fairly straight, as the women are only impregnated during religious events, AND the scientific response would say that the racial progenitor had a gene that was more 'successful' (dominant) than the genes of the darker haired people.

So, although there HAVE been darker haired women, even they tend to change due to the environment, whilst most are blonde due to genetics (and, to a degree, eugenics too), and also have the spiritual powers that effect them. All in all, they don't really have much chance of not being that way. It's not that there's huge attribution of them being superior - there isn't - but they do feel like a 'special' sect due to this. They don't treat anyone else differently, but it binds them strongly together.

I haven't got a clue as to whether this answered it properly, but that's what's there for that question

Out of interest, I made a decision a while back about the Ilien, Rose of War faction - the one with the woman who has turned against the Federation (nasty Federation!). I thought, well, they have an Elohim unit, so it would be wuite cool if the SIlthandael returned from the other continent to aid her fight for what is 'correct'. SO I'm working on writing that in somehow.

ANyway, before I bore the hell out of everyone, that should be it! Byesie bye..

[ArtoriusRex]

Don't worry- if I do create a real game of Tlass I would outrule killing, or maiming, or injury of any kind- it just sounds like a fun thing to do. Playing the game yourself, or playing as a piece. There would have to be a great degree of trust between pieces and player as- if I'm understanding this correctly -instead of one piece simply removing the other from play they'd have to fight over it. There is a level of richness and texture to it that makes it seem quite real.

Can't wait for info on Ilien and the Naugiri.

So if I'm understanding this correctly the Celesti moved a tribe of Han Dinen, or at least the women, to the Soul Mirror, who happened to be blonde, and because of their isolation, while the rest of their gene base was absorbed, they survived, that and the Soul Mirror has a tendency to transform its guardians into a similar appearance to its original keepers- those ancestral Han Dinen -anyways? Fascinating stuff- a gate to the world of the dead through water that floats in a silvery pool that slowly kills its guardians while giving them extraordinary appearance and power.

Are there still Celesti on the dragon? It would be cool to think that there are, and if there are, what are they doing there? Are they hanging around to see what happens, or do they have some kind of plan?

And the Lindiri are starting to sound quite fascinating- what is with their obsession of making things sentient races? You have said that they are very plant-like, holding grudges for ages, but being slow to anger. Out of curiosity what is the typical lifespan for an elf? There's just so much about your world I want to know about- flora, fauna, races, history, culture -everything. The last world that sucked me in like this was Nirn, of TES lore, and before that it was Westeros- but you seem to have a mythos here which is something alien and new, and the complexity of it is astounding. The alien beauty of the dragon is quite wonderful to behold, and you can be sure that once this mod is released, I will be visiting time and again.

One last question- do the races on the Dragon have a name for it? Or is it always called the Dragon? Does its mother, the sun of this planet, have a name? And is the transference of ley between sun and planet, mother and child, like a flow of nutrients through an umbilical cord? You mentioned the Selediri were able to tap into this, and that is how their cities fly- by using a stone which absorbs this ley and uses it to fuel its effects.

[Squeaks]

Don't worry- if I do create a real game of Tlass I would outrule killing, or maiming, or injury of any kind- it just sounds like a fun thing to do.

Awwwwwwwwwwww. Think of empty your neighbourhood would be after a few games.....

Playing the game yourself, or playing as a piece. There would have to be a great degree of trust between pieces and player as- if I'm understanding this correctly -instead of one piece simply removing the other from play they'd have to fight over it.

Well, one feature of the game is that a higher piece (knight etc) may sacrifice Pawns that are next to them to make them stronger in their attack or defence - so you get a situation where the pawns are being slaughtered, just like in 'real life'. There are support mechanisms of other types too, but this is the naughtiest. The Princes gave the game a kind of random element in that pieces fight etc, but CHo Tetsu simply have the 'taken' piece fall on their sword in shame rather than perform any fight.

There is a level of richness and texture to it that makes it seem quite real.

Well, that's good to hear

Can't wait for info on Ilien and the Naugiri.

Well, there's an amount of Ilien stuff, but I might bung some of both in the Lore thread, as it doesn't concern the Ghaur Campaign....so watch for something there very soon.

So if I'm understanding this correctly the Celesti moved a tribe of Han Dinen, or at least the women, to the Soul Mirror,

Yes; it was the SIlthandael, which I'll cover in a sec.

who happened to be blonde, and because of their isolation, while the rest of their gene base was absorbed, they survived, that and the Soul Mirror has a tendency to transform its guardians into a similar appearance to its original keepers- those ancestral Han Dinen -anyways?

Uh, almost completely right. The change in them also is kind of remniscent of the Celesti too - the Celesti are silver or golden skinned generally in true form; the women here seem to be transformed towards the silver lineage, but that's not exactrly a proven thing. The women who venture into the tunnels more, are given more exposure to the evolving factor, and they become more odd than the others, but, yes, the environment has a huge effect on their staying 'the same' as their predcessors. The women didn't just 'happen' to be blonde though - there were many tribes of humans at that time, and they spread in a completely disorganised fashion, so you get what seems to be a random mixture of peeps that has now developed into proper cultures, and the women here have descended in a more distinct form than others (aided HEAVILY by their conditions of life)...whether the 'blonde' gene is stronger than the others may be a factor.

Fascinating stuff- a gate to the world of the dead through water that floats in a silvery pool that slowly kills its guardians while giving them extraordinary appearance and power.

Heh. I suppose that about hits it on the head, yes. One by-product of their duties and stuff is that they are highly prized in the world of the gods and the dead, and often end up fished out of the Farstream (the river) by their respective Powers, and are given high status in their Eidolon armies.

Are there still Celesti on the dragon?

Yes. They are the SIlthandael, and live on another continent...if I can find the damned map, I'll show you quickly. It's big, varied and quite full of mysteries, but it is where the Naugiri (Orcs) came from, before they moved their lands to smash into the north east Empire (DUinir).

It would be cool to think that there are, and if there are, what are they doing there? Are they hanging around to see what happens, or do they have some kind of plan?

Well, they do have lots to do over there, yes. That area ties up a lot of loose ends in the stories of the Elves and many others. For instance, thsi is where the Deep Water Ildiri went, amongst other things.

The Silthandael are very likely to return to these continents, to aid Ilien, as her purity shines liek a beacon to them, so, as the Main Campaign continues, the SIlthandael will start showing up for her faction.

They're also there for many other reasons. They abandoned the west continent because they felt differently to the Celesti who stayed and became nasty, partly because they did not want to end up in internal conflict, but also because something puled them there.

And the Lindiri are starting to sound quite fascinating- what is with their obsession of making things sentient races?

Their idea with this was fairly simple; they thought that, since they had been awoken and mentored themselves, they would do the same with the beasts, mostly so they could represent themselves with equality and grace, asnd to make them 'herders' of their species, but they didn't think about them retaining their nature, so the more ferocious ones remained so at times, although they generally fight their own nature to some extent. They sit in counsel with these creatures and treat them as equals, but it was never as perfect as they would have liked. The Lindiri spend a fair amount of time sorting out asrguments and differences, as much as actually ahieving anything, but their creations are very much worthwhile.

The method they used was the sap of the God Tree (one of the most ancient Avatars), which acted I suppose a bit like stem cells, and evolved them in ways the Lindiri used 'surgical' (small and precise) ley to aid them in.

WHen they tried this with plants, it went horribly wrong, so they had to destroy them. Incidentally, it also went wrong with rats, and the serpents took it upon themselves to drink the sap of the God Tree, evolving without the Lindiris' aid...which is where the power of the SYthys CUlt in Ashapur comes from.

You have said that they are very plant-like, holding grudges for ages, but being slow to anger. Out of curiosity what is the typical lifespan for an elf?

Selediri live the longest, as they hibernate (which is seen as a spiritual contemplation by them). Ildiri tend to be next, then Lindiri. Celesti are, to all intents and pueposes 'immortal'.

So Selediri tend to live around 400 years, but a quarter is spent in hibernation.

Ildiri live for about 250-ish, but often will follow the patterns of their environment too...the Deep Sea Ildiri live longer, are stronger etc.

Lindiri are the shortest, but this is because they 'root' into a kind of torpor, becoming part of their forests. No mention of whether they can come out of this exists. They live perhaps 120-140 years, but they never naturally disappear completely; they become Weirden Woods; these are trees and stuff that can move and fight etc, amongst many other things, growing still, but they retain no memory of their past. It takes up to 1000 years of 'rooting' for them to transform into this state, during which time, they grow. The oldest Weiren Trees are MASSIVE.

There's just so much about your world I want to know about- flora, fauna, races, history, culture -everything. The last world that sucked me in like this was Nirn, of TES lore, and before that it was Westeros- but you seem to have a mythos here which is something alien and new, and the complexity of it is astounding. The alien beauty of the dragon is quite wonderful to behold, and you can be sure that once this mod is released, I will be visiting time and again.

Well, that's great to hear! I'm glad that you're excited by it, and it's very nice to be asked about it. I'll quite happily answer whatever you wish to know. It IS quite complex, but also simple in many ways.

One last question- do the races on the Dragon have a name for it? Or is it always called the Dragon?

Yes, they do. I'd have to look it up - I know I've posted it here, but I'll have to find the paper it's written on and about. The humans tend to call it 'the Dragon' only, save for the Void Knights. ELves have a name, Dwarves tend to refer to it as the Wyrm.

Does its mother, the sun of this planet, have a name? And is the transference of ley between sun and planet, mother and child, like a flow of nutrients through an umbilical cord?

She does, but only the Celesti and Selediri use that. She is known as the SUn or the Mother Sun by most.

The Dragon is more like a lizard egg, but inside out; hence it's vulnerability. In the centre is the area that aids it's growth and existance, but the SUn keeps it warm and it's rays also aid it in it's evolution to a young Celestial Dragon. Incidentally, this Dragon is male; which are rarer than females, and more of a traget to the CThonae.

You mentioned the Selediri were able to tap into this, and that is how their cities fly- by using a stone which absorbs this ley and uses it to fuel its effects.

Ah right. The Dragon's brain sends signals around it's body, to nerves etc. The elves tap into this energy, Ley, and utilise it - ALL elves use it. The dwarves began to mine directly from the nerves themselves, in solid crystalline form, which is what prompted the war between them. SO you kind of have ley-lines where the ley travels along a direct route from nerve to nerve, and the nerve clusters too. Rhysthari lizards are able to prompt the Ley Crystal to regenerate and regrow - that's a fair part of their existence. Thus, the treaty between elves and dwarves (amongst other things) deals with keeping their ley mining to a level that can be coped with and healed.

SO the elves use ley as a weapon; both missiles and artillery (and, of course, 'normal' magic), but return their useage to the earth, so don't drain the Dragon permanently of what they take.

The difference in the sun stones is that they tap into the SUn's Ley, not the dragon's, so it makes their cities fly without taxing the Dragon. They can't move, they just hover. There's another example of this that CAN move btw.

Hope this all makes sense!! Thanks for the interest - it's great

[ArtoriusRex]

Thanks for the replies. The Celesti sound fascinating. Two questions- what are Deep Sea Ildiri and how are they different from regular Ildiri and what is Sea Steel? It is mentioned a few times in the Ildiri unit descriptions. Thanks again.