Caeldon
Introduction
Caeldon is the name of my world, my setting. It ranges from primordial times of creation and battles between gods to modern fantasy and even past that into full fledged sci-fantasy.
The Origins of Caeldon lie within the many characters I've created, a lot of them sharing a similar setting which eventually condensed into the idea of just taking all those ideas and writing them into a proper setting. Caeldon is what I call 'realistic fantasy' which means at times it can be rather dark and unpleasant for the people living there, but there are still warm and whimsical moments. another reason for its creation is to make it easier for people to join in and play in the same 'setting'/ canon.
The World
Caeldon is very similar to our own world in many aspects, similar size, large oceans, numerous continents of different sizes. The big, important difference is that Caeldon is a world ripe with magic, gods, demi gods, angels, demons, all kinds of different species and creatures. With those differences the best way to draw parallels throughout the ages is to look at the level of technology that works without magic. The time period during which the tabletop takes place and most of my high fantasy characters play in is, or will later be known as “The Age of Heroes”, most closely resembling medieval times up until and including the Renaissance, which in Caeldon is the dawn of the “Age of Enlightenment” a time of great wars and peril that brought vast strides in technology, but let’s just go into a more complete overview.
Age of Creation
The world and the gods are shaped and created by a mysterious race of Titans. A large conflicts between Gods and Titans brings about the end of Titans and Fall of Atlantica. Leviathans, evil behemoths created by the Gods to defeat the Titans cause enormous destruction and are put down by the gods themselves. Their blood and flesh buried in the ground alongside the Titan creators saturates the planet with magic, both ‘good’ and ‘bad’.
Age of Gods
During the Age of Gods a lot of different species are created by the gods, some in their image, in a humanoid shape, at first things are peaceful, but the gods eventually start competing with each other, sending their creations to war to find out which was best. Unchecked the gods also ‘created’ a number of demi gods, who often rose to lead the god’s creations. The first magic users start appearing with an innate talent that unlike the powers of the priest did not draw on the powers of the gods. A number of different species fill the planet, born from the flora and fauna in close proximity to the corpses of the Leviathans and Titans. The Titanborn often with an intricate connection to nature, such as fairies, spirit beings and dryads, the creatures spawned from the Leviathans were eldritch horrors, creatures of darkness and nightmares. After centuries of war and conflict, the gods started to become weary of the constant fighting, some of them had fallen in the wars, a lot of their beloved creations as well, so they decided to remove themselves, creating their own little pocket universe where they could observe, but not take direct influence, the still have worshippers, but they no longer appeared in their physical manifestations. Priests can still draw on their power and they are still able bestow blessings on their creations, but overall the various species of dwarves, humans, elves, orcs, goblins and whatnot were now without direct leadership.
Age of Strife
The time following the departure of the Gods would become known as the Age of Strife. Without the leadership of the gods, the alliances the gods had formed between them amongst themselves and their creations. Where there had been no question about leadership before there was now conflict, especially among the more wild races like the Orcs, Ogres, Goblins and such. The elves created a great empire, ruling over much of the world before a great schism ended that great Empire, respectively splitting up into Wood-, High-, and Darkelves, some of the dark elves following an even darker path (probably because of close proximity to the corpse of a leviathan, the wood elves similarly influenced by the remains of the Titans).Humans split up into numerous smaller territories, governed by warlords and similar local authorities that would eventually declare themselves nobility, some even kings. The other, wild races had more difficulty accepting and following a single leader, Orcs could often be found in nomadic tribes, goblins in dirty holes.
There were countless species and subspecies, most of them created by the gods, some spawned from demi gods (naga, centaurs, arachnids etc.). Seeing the chaos and the rise of some powerful mages and demi-gods that started experimenting with the very essence of being, souls, the gods created angels, meant to shepherd and guide the various species in their struggles, it did however not take long before some of the angels learned about the not-so-noble behaviour of the gods and the struggle with the Titans, which lead to them refusing the guidance of the gods and some going on an even darker path, some perhaps due to the influence of the dark Leviathan magic, doing the very thing they were meant to guard against, gathering and devouring souls, using them to increase their own power in a heated conflict with the ones still dedicated to guarding the souls, the angels.
Age of Heroes
With the world finally settling in some kind of order and peace after the departure of the gods, the time for heroes had come, brave adventurers, charismatic Leaders, cunning Generals, ruthless Emperors making their name known throughout the land. Guilds, religious organizations, cults, sprang up all over the place and for the first time, out of necessity technology started advancing from the basic weapons and tools used in previous ages alchemists and engineers cropping up all over the place to discover metal working and other related crafts, Of course none of those would even come close to replacing magic, which was still the prevelent solution to most problems. Of course with the departure of the gods, magic was becoming more scarce, yes, there were witches, warlocks, and such that could perform more or less simple rituals by drawing on the underlying magic currents of the world, and magic items are not uncommon, either created by using special material, which could be metal mined close to the remains of a Leviathan or Titan or later enchanted. Asides from those drawing on the magical fields there are those with an innate gift for magic, which seems to be hereditary and can often be traced back to ancient times when one or another ancestor was gifted by a god or came in direct contact with magic in some other way, some claim there are ancient rituals that can bestow those powers onto someone, but those are long forgotten or forbidden.
Most mages are part of guilds, to study together and share knowledge, each guild guarding its secrets with fierce pride, and there are some mages who prefer to study is solitude, their own tower usually with a few apprentices and other servants. There is little to no oversight for those mages and they are often regarded with suspicion, even though they usually have an arrangement with the local authority, be that a noble or the mayor of a nearby city, to let them operate freely. There are even some mage lords that have their own patch of land, and while some powerful mages and especially the guilds certainly have the power to overthrow the local authority, most of them prefer to focus on their studies rather than politics.
The most powerful mages are known as sorcerers, reclusive powerful mages that have mastered the craft to such a degree that calling them mages doesn't come close to describing the power they hold. They're very secretive and keep each other in check while closely monitoring the guilds and stray mages.
Age of Enlightenment
Magic has always been an integral part of life in Caeldon, science was always a secondary concern, only getting more prominent and respected over the past two centuries, there simply weren’t enough people capable of using magic among the populace and people were looking for other ways to simplify their lives, more and more magic was replaced with machinery, technology, some species always had a knack for it and the rest of the world quickly caught on. In short an industrial revolution took place, and while magic was still part of many people’s daily lives, the wide gap between mages and those who could afford their services and common people started to close.
In the wake of this industrial revolution came a shift in society, of course people weren’t going to stop believing in magic and the gods when there was proof of both, but resentment grew in some, claiming magic had held back development and was utilized to keep the common folk down, what followed were movements that would overthrow kings, sometimes by force, at other times the nobles surrendered their powers willingly, especially after seeing how brutally some of their fellow nobles met their end. Of course some were able to protect themselves with magic, but revolution was sweeping the land and irrevocably changing it. Probably for the better.
Modern Caeldon
Modern Caeldon is the time that most closely resembles our current world, witches and warlocks that use the underlying magic fields are still around but most of their magic has become obsolete thanks to advancements in medicine and science, magic is still a part of life and the guilds are still present, but they're slowly opening up, becoming less protective of their secrets. There are still about the same number of people with an innate talent for magic, but a lot of the bloodlines have watered down so much that powerful mages are far and few in between, there's still exceptions to the talent being passed on by blood, but overall it is safe to say that the number of mages has not grown proportionate to the overall population and where in the time of strife there was maybe 1 in 100 people with magical talent, that number has declined to perhaps 1 in 100.000. Most species are treated as equals and there's all kinds of demis and folk with mixed blood of various species. There are those who still set high store by pure bloodlines, calling everyone else 'tainted' , they exist within almost every species, some fear that they will loose their cultural idendity if they give in the great churning melting pot brought on by globalization and there have been conflicts similar to the World Wars, but a lot of people look to the stars, wondering what became of the gods, and how their world came about and if there's more out there.
Angels, Demons, Souls
Souls in Caeldon hold power, a power different, but not completely unlike that used for magic that stems from the Titans and Leviathans. Every living thing has a soul, humanoids, animals, even plants. The similarities to magic have resulted in some artificial creations mimicing life, such as necromantic creatures, golems or magic imps summoned by crafty spellcasters, most of the time their magic fades with the caster's death, which is the key difference to souls.
They linger even after the physical form perishes, allowing for priests to channel godly magic to sometimes ressurect people.
Souls do not linger forever though, they usually disappate their energy disappearing. The energy a soul holds varies greatly depending on the person in question. Some souls are inherently more powerful others, usually those souls belong to people who leave their mark on the world one way or another. Souls also accumilate power as the person or creature learns, gathers memories, experiences emotions both good and bad, which usually leads to old souls being more powerful, of course the effect goes both ways, as people start losing themselves, either by old age or breaking their spirit, extreme experience like that can reduce a soul's power.
Some souls that linger can manifest themselves as ghosts, it's not a common everyday phenomenom, but particularly with powerful souls, people who've met sudden, violent deaths or have unfinished business are most commonly seen manifesting as ghosts. They have various powers, ranging from possesion to moving objects and taking a ghostly, physical appearance. Most commonly those spirits are visible at night or in the light of the moon, magic users have a much easier time spotting and conversing with ghosts because of the similar energies of souls and respectively ghosts.
With the depature of the gods at the end of the Age of Gods they left behind Angels in their stead. Powerful creatures with great affinity for magic, knowledge and the ability to see souls. They were meant to guard Caeldon's people against the use of soul magics. Why? The monsters they had created, the Leviathans, beings of malice and evil had the ability to devour souls, make them part of themselves, which played a huge role in turning them into the abominations they were. It was what horrified and shocked the Titans into taking action against the gods.
Devouring a soul, taking it and adding it to your own is an act so vile and contrary to all of nature is more than simply taking a sip of water, during the act the soul is cracked open to take in the new soul, not only that, but the souls often fight for dominance, and even if the victims soul is victorious (which does not happen often, they're usually much too confused to put up a real fight), the new merged soul is damaged, and as more and more souls are absorbed, the crackes widen, spread, more appear and the inherent energy starts seeping out, leaving a hollow space that demands to be filled, creating a viscious circle until there's nothing left but a terrible hunger that can never be truly sated. Those cracks not only affect the owner of said soul but all living things around them, sensing the wrongness they instinctively recoil and pull away from the damaged soul, this is very subtle at first, and some learn to surpress this side effect, but not many know about the delicate and terrible cost of this act in the first place.
There is of course another way to 'deal' with lingering souls other than leaving them to slowly disperse, reducing the risk and temptation offered by soul magic. Especially with more powerful souls the Titans, gods and later on the angels help souls to 'move on' dispersing them safely and to the benefit of the soul. There even is a benefit to the one doing the dispersing, they're usually able to soak up some of the residual energy, given willingly that can safely be absorbed. This creates the opposite effect of the revulsion that devouring a soul invokes, a natural trust, warmth and familiarity are the trademark signs of one dedicating themselves to this task.
Left in charge of this task the angels fulfilled their duties, but with all of them capable of magic in a greater or lesser extend some started to use dangerous, destructive spells slowly falling to the corruption of the Leviathans. In due time they became the first demons, ready and willing to devour souls to increase their own power while still in possession of all the inherent abilities of angels, most prominent among them the ability to consciously retain their soul energy even if their body is destroyed, the ability to posses and control the creatures of Caeldon, and ultimately to reincarnate. Not enough with that, demons also started teaching Caeldon's people, usually powerful and skilled mages their ways, to take souls and their other abilites
to bolster their ranks since the angels naturally try to squash the heretics with all their might, sometimes assisted by Paladins and Priests who, while not aware of the whole picture, have a keen sense of souls and the like, either because of guidance by their god or an innately 'bright' soul and an affinity for the Titan magics.
To finish of it's necessary to emphasize the huge difference in power that souls hold, the souls of a thousands nameless people can in total not be as 'powerful' as that of a Conqueror, a great hero or other significant being.
That should about cover the history of Caeldon, or what is necessary to know, for any questions … just ask.
Characters, Organisations and Gods
Characters:
Ysenja Scribe in the Holy Order of Paladins, located in Angamar
Catleyna Powerful sorceress with a love for luxury
Nephene Easy going Avian courier
Iaira Centaur from the Visceria Plains
Iskra Modern crazy Caeldon citizen
Jelenka Snek.
Galahandra Priestess of the Church of Dawn
Julianne_
Rimble Goblin in service of the Holy Order
Lady_Gwenyvere Princess from a small Kingdom
Zulaykha Acolyte/Cultist of the God of the Deep
Zullie, the White Witch
Deluna
Organizations:
Holy Order of Paladins:
Oftentimes just referred to as the Holy Order, they are the most renown and famous Paladin order on Aicus, their Temple Fortress is near the southernmost part of the Greystone Mountains, but they have other holdings throughout the continent and are present in almost all of the greater cities. They are a strict, sometimes even stubborn institution that fights evil wherever it’s necessary similar to priests and clerics, they draw power from the gods, but have not dedicated themselves to one god in particular, some speculations points towards the angels having a hand in the order’s work, but that is unconfirmed and the topic of many a heated discussions among the top brass.
The Wicked White Witches:
The legends do not speak fondly of the wicked, white witches. Said to reside within the great woods of Celeb'eryn. Where they guard the great silver oaks. Said to have great magical abilities, though the truth to this remains uncertain.
Centaur Tribes:
The Centaurs are not one faction as such, they are scattered in tribes all throughout the continents, more dominant in regions such as the Visceria Plains and Karecau Hills, less so on the Howling Plateau, they will trade with other species, but it is wise to approach with caution, they do not see other species as equal and have no hesitation when it comes to hunting them for food.
The Church of Dawn
Religious Organization dedicated to the godess 'Penny' an ambiguous godess of trade. While benevolent in general, they firmly believe in the exchange of goods and services. They have grown rich and powerful because of those exchanges and their willingness to bestow blessings and offer their services even to people with questionable morals.
Gods:
Sataya: Godess of Love
Penny: Godess of Trade