# The Darkened Sky

##### A Necromancer Raises an army of the Dead. Demons and Devils take their fight to the Material Plane. Fae and Faeries are stealing children. All while day becomes night and the Inhabitants of Telmunde fall into eternal night

\page# Telmunde

Welcome traveller, adventure awaits in this land. From the bustling city of *Elondas* to the quiet villages of the *Brighthearth*, there are many people in need of assistance, with some treasure that will make its way to you should you succeed. ### The History of Telmunde
There are almost as many theories on exactly how Telmunde formed and became a world as there are races within it. The major religious orders agree that the Primordials created Telmunde in the first age, until the Ascension, wherein the Challengers ascended to Godhood and declared war on their brethren. The first age is remembered only by the most ancient of Dragons, and a few divine beings that existed at that time, those that remain have long since isolated themselves and are almost less accessible that the gods themselves. What is known about the First Age is as follows: The Primordials created the world, and populated it, first with small animals, and some magical creatures. These creations amused the gods for some time. But after this was done, one of the gods created Dragons from the everlasting fires, another calling the elves forth from the most ancient of trees. Other races were present in the first age, although their exact natures is harder to determine. Dragonborn appeared at some point, appearing to be the progeny of humans and dragons. The first races began to wield magics, taking after their gods, humans and elves learning and discovering more and more, beyond the divine magic bestowed upon the believers of the various gods. Some gods began to see these discoveries as unnatural, as a corruption. Whilst the Elven and Human mages discovered even more powerful magics, these gods began to see them as a reason to destroy the life on Telmunde and restart creation, and making this new creation simple, without the complexity of the ‘dangerous’ races. The Elves and Humans were on the brink of war, as their races became more and more adept with magics, their differing ideologies placed their races at cross purposes. The Humans saw elves as haughty, cold, and unwilling to acknowledge how far humans had come. Elves saw humans as naïve, eager to jump into realms they have no business meddling in. As these two races began to scuffle, the magics they used had a terrible effect on Telmunde. The continents were shifted, entire species of creatures died out. The practice of Halfling hunting began as warriors needed every ounce of luck they could muster, even if it came from another source. This war escalated for years, until a reason for peace was found, two Archmagi, an Elf and a Human, found the secret to ascension, and promised to share it with both races. This confluence of events set the stage for a war of unimaginable scale. The Gods had not been turning a blind eye to the destruction of their creation. May intervened at various points in the war between Elves and Humans, defending either side as their whim took them. Some Gods even tricked entire battalions, promising support before switching sides at the last minute and destroying armies in the process. Gods, Archmagi, Clerics, Paladins, and the followers of these would-be gods then began fighting between themselves. But it was too late, the Archmagi became the Challengers. The Ascension Wars raged for decades, with gods from both sides being felled. To end the war, the unimaginable was done. Almost every powerful magic user of the first Age came together to perform a ritual that bound the gods to the Astral Planes, effectively ending the war, and the reign of the divine influence. Beyond these accounts, the various disagreements ensue, which gods are actually Primordials, which were Challengers that now forcibly co-exist with their similarly exiled brethren. Whichever base belief you subscribe to, it is plain to see that after the gods were bound, their influence over the world of Telmunde significantly fell. This ended ### The Continents
The largest continent of *Telmunde* is *Vellonde* and is inhabited by a hugely diverse population. Humans, Elves, Dwarves, and Dragonborn live side by side in harmonious function. *Vellonde* is ruled from *Elondas*, the capital city of the Kingdom of Perondil. It is the heart of commerce and trade with the other continents, being the largest city with a huge port. The other known landmasses of *Telmunde* are divided into two further continents, *Harlassa* and *Merindaal*. *Harlassa* is a cold place, referred to as *"The Frozen North"*. Its tough permafrost environment is inhabited mostly by Humans, with the occasional group of hardy Dwarves and Gnomes. *Merindaal* Is by far the warmest climate, inhabited mostly by Dragonborn. Whilst temperate, the dangers of this continent come from the creatures that live there. The heat brings forth Dragons and Salamanders, roving bands of Orcs and the Giants that live in the mountainous regions make travelling the terrain more deadly than any other part of the world There are several sets of islands separated by seas collectively known as the *Sirotheli Islands* which are inhabited almost exclusively by Elves. \page ### Major Races
#### Elves The Elves on Telmunde are ruled by the Telmundair Council, a meritocratic group of eleven Elves that decides all rules of law that their race lives by. The Council has existed since the original Elven city of *Perondalia* was established in *Vellonde*, before the Elves retreated to the *Sirotheli Isles* after the Humans began settling in Telmunde. The laws of the Council are followed anywhere the Elves find themselves, which caused some issues in the early years of Telmunde’s history, as the other major races struggled to maintain rule of Elves as they answered to the Council above all else. Fractious relations between Elves and Humans almost descended to war Less welcoming than the other races, save the Dwarves, Elves have a reputation of rudeness towards all, especially Humans. This is due to the rapid expansion of Humans onto what had *always* been elven territory. There are some Elves however that have left the Elven Islands to explore the world and learn more of its inhabitants. These are the Elves that can be found in *Elondas* and beyond, some there as diplomats and traders, others there to leave the stiff strictures of live on the Islands. #### Humans
The most flexible of all the races, Humans in *Telmunde* live in almost every geography. The youngest of the major races, they have quickly made a place for themselves in each of the continents, and are in general welcoming to those who wish to live among them. Only the humans in Harlassa are innately suspicious of newcomers, though even they can be won over. Whilst the political centre of humans can be found in the Kingdom of Perondil, humans are far too spread to be ruled from there centrally, instead each region in *Vellonde* is controlled by a Lord or Lady and they report to the King when necessary. Those outside of *Vellonde* are generally left alone, and that is where those who wish to escape the law go. Pirates and thieves do a great trade in *Merindaal*, and those who are brave enough run the black market in *Elondas*.

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PART 1 | Background

#### Dwarves The Dwarves are the toughest race, found almost exclusively in the Mountains of *Merindaal*, save a lone adventurer, these Dwarves have carved their own city in which the majority of their population live. The Dwarves keep to themselves and dislike interacting with any of the other races, except to trade their weapons and armour, which is the finest in the world. Those who visit to make their purchases are met with open hostility and then guarded watchfulness until they depart, and none will see the carved city of legend. Little is known about them except of their exquisite craftsmanship. This secretiveness has lead to many legends circulating about their race, most of which are obviously false, though many choose to believe the fanciful tales of cities made of gold and encrusted in gems, and halls filled with diamonds as big as dragons. It is the dream of many an adventurer to see these hallowed halls, although, as far as anyone alive remembers, no one of any race other than Dwarf has entered there and lived. #### Dragonborn
The Dragonborn of Telmunde find their homes deep in the deserts of *Merindaal*. They are a well travelled people, with many groups of traders coming and going, seeking the unique treasures that their climate produces. The rest of the Dragonborn typically find their trade as sellswords or mercenaries. This gives them a tough reputation that they do nothing to disperse. #### Gnomes
Gnomes are a race seen throughout Telmunde, mainly in larger cities. They are responsible for most works of engineering. Their tinkering leading to many valuable inventions if vast fields, working with Humans has brought a great swath of new inventions and kinds of invention. Because of this, Gnomish cities are some of the most technologically advanced. What other races accomplish by magic, Gnomes can accomplish with a well trained technical knowledge. When both magic and engineering are combined, feats of engineering that would not be possible alone, become a reality. While their prowess in their field is well known, there are lesser known facets of their peoples, many Gnomes prefer to dwell in forests and live their lives with a deep connection to nature. Being able to communicate with small animals naturally, there are several Druidic communities that live their lives far from their tinkering brethren.

\page #### Halflings
The rarest of all the major races, but not for natural reasons, halflings have a sad history, their kind almost being wiped out by other races hunting them and using their luck. These practices have been outlawed, and allowed the halfling race to flourish more than they ever have before. Though because of this they are incredibly secretive and are not often found outside of their own cities and towns. These hidden places are not generally visited by races other than Halflings and the occasional Gnome or other smaller race.

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PART 1 | Races