Avaleen is a world of epic adventure, ravaged by wars and rich with arcane and non-arcane invention. A planet slightly larger than ours, orbiting a sun closer to the center of the galaxy than any life has a business to be. Avaleen is a bristling, vibrant world filled with stories, conflict, love, hate, gods, monsters, and everything in between. There are heroes whose deeds stem from love, justice, and honor, whose motivations lie with morals, ethics or just plain gold. Villains roam, cloaked in shadows, listening to the whispers of cruel gods, twisted conspiracies and fighting for their own love, glory, power, and riches.

This is a world of ancient power, mysticism, and strife, shaped by primordial forces and influenced by an otherworldly pantheon of gods. It is a land where time, space, and fate are intertwined, and the echoes of the past can be felt in every corner of the world. Avaleen is a world of high fantasy, where mortals, gods, and primal creatures exist in a delicate balance. One that is constantly challenged by the will of both divine and natural forces.

Avaleen is a world created by Maria Jones as a way to connect a myriad of stories, poems, and books who all share a common thread, a common lore at their core. This book is for Game Masters who wish to run fantasy roleplaying game campaigns set in the world of Avaleen. The game mechanics align with the "fifth edition rules", but this book includes enough lore to form the foundation for a game using the rules of any fantasy RPG.

Lands of Avaleen

The name Avaleen stems from the elven denizens in the ancient city of Ghor Minthra who called the world Ala Ve Maris - the World of Stars and Waters. Throughout the years as language developed and evolved it became known as Avaleen.

Avaleen has three moons, four continents and two poles, encompassing several nations, independent city-states, and wandering tribes. All of which are home to diverse peoples who view the world in ways influenced by their cultures, history, and the lands which they call home.

Later on in this book there are chapters that will delve deeper into each of the continents.

Oliria

Nestled in the south is a medium-sized continent that seems pretty common, but is anything but. It borders the Araxi Whites to the south, the Emerald Sea to the west, and the vast expanse of the Morimyr Ocean to the north and east. A landbridge to the northeast connects Oliria to the smaller and wilder continent of Ala. Filled with splendor and wonder, Oliria has everything:, savannahs to the north, jungles to the west, deep forests and mountains. There are also the cursed remains of a once beautiful country and the majestic Bordon Mountains that hold back the deathly tundras of the Araxi Whites to the south.

Despite this, or perhaps because of it, Oliria is a hub of arcane discoveries, old universities, and scientific advancements. It is not uncommon to find sentient automatons here, those fantastic remnants of golden ages past.

The most prominent countries and nations here are The Akati Empire which includes the cursed land of Moraveil. The independent Barthen Islands lies off the coast to the west. The largest country is the Kingdom of Couralis. Other nations include the independent city-state Silvermarrow, as well as Dashia and the mystic country of Lumindor, a land of radiating luminous light and enchanting beauty.

Khorun

In the north of Avaleen is the large and broken continent of Khorun. A place that has seen many worldaltering conflicts and natural disasters. It is a rough place where fire mountains compete with deserts, ocean-wide lakes and polar might. Khorun is run by a loose federation called the Onyx Council.

The countries who have representatives on this council are Sangora, Kilmoru, the island nation Eprea, the empire of Lossorach and the dwarven nations of Sorvagur and Drozag. There are independent states too that keep to themselves like Ozudren and the Xhortan Sands. North of Sangora lies the former Kingdom of Illeva, now the Wastelands as the ground is forever scarred by the Sundering and the Shadow Wars.

Varu

Varu is an island nation located in the Morimyr Ocean. Because it is on the trade route between Oliria and Khorun, it is known for its illustrious trade and common piracy. It is fully independent and watched over by the Omored Court. Varu consists of 6 large islands, created by underwater volcanoes long ago. There is still an active volcano in the southeast, on the ever-expanding island of Treitha. Varu also has over 1 550 medium to small to minuscule islands scattered throughout. 800 of them are clustered to the north of Inner Varu in the Darkmerrow Archipelago, known for its nomadic tribes of merrows and merfolk.

The Araxi Whites

The Araxi Whites cover the south pole of Avaleen. Unforgiving tundras and massive glaciers are held back by the Bordon Mountains. This place that rocks between perpetual light and perpetual darkness hosts many secrets and creatures. Here are dragons, tiny venomous mice-hybrids, sabertoothed giants, and abyssal beings that crawl up from the depths of the vast, empty city of Zion. This city of ice was once populated by deep gnomes, orcs, and dwarves and thrived on the riches of the mines. But greed pushed mining far too deep and the cracks brought ash creatures, undead hordes, and imps. The lower levels are still drenched in cursed miasma and the city is mostly abandoned, left to its grim fate. The surface of the Araxi Whites hosts roaming tribes of goliaths constantly at war over the scattered resources. Sometimes these natives and monsters cross the Bordon Mountains into Oliria, wreaking havoc on the local population. The range itself is massive. Snowcrested peaks jutting out of the landscape. With a four day trek across at minimum, these mountains trap people just as it does storms. From certain viewpoints in southern Oliria, one can spot the tundras and glaciers on the other side. An ominous sight for those not of adventurous heart.

Ala

Small and wild, Ala is a subtropical continent northeast of Oliria. This is the continent favored by the goddess Pala as well as the source of the legend of The Wanderer. The Joron Expedition set out from Farstead, bringing one Tyrion Fulmark with them. A gnomish bard once part of a legendary troupe of adventurers. Countries in Ala include Almithara whose scattered remains can be found all over the world. In Ala you also find Advalur, and Ianven among others.

What's in this book?

Chapter 1 is an introduction to Avaleen, her lands and her history. It describes certain fundamental details about the world, such as the calendar, the planes and the cosmos. Finally, this chapter details the creation myth of Avaleen as well as an overview of the current state of society. Brewing tensions that Game Masters can use to plot their own campaigns.

Chapter 2 describes the allegiances non-player characters (NPCs) and player characters may have to deepen their connection to the world. Their allegiances may be to guilds, or governments, or to gods. These divine beings are a heavy influence, especially through their mortal followers and occasionally supernatural messengers like celestials or fiends.

Chapter 3 provides a detailed look at all regions and cities in Oliria, their relationships, points of interest, people who reside there and story hooks and quests that heroic adventurers might undertake there.

Chapter 4 is the Khorunian Times which does much the same for the vast, northern continent of Khorun where the Sundering took place.

Chapter 5 delves into the eclectic island nation of Varu located in the middle of the Morimyr Ocean. Home to pirates and the Omored Court, players can find many quests and treasures here.

Chapter 6 goes deeper into the history and region of the Araxi Whites, the southern, haunted pole of Avaleen.

Chapter 7 dives into the wild continent of Ala and its quirks and rejections of a modern age.

Chapter 8 contains new options that players can use to build their characters, including descriptions of different ancestries, new subclasses, backgrounds, and feats, and a handful of optional rules for the whole table.

Chapter 9 contains advice to help Game Masters craft their Avaleen Adventure to create exciting and compelling campaigns, and magic items that you can give your players as treasure during their perilous adventures. It also details additional rules to the arcana and science, which may differ from other fifth edition campaigns and worlds.

Chapter 10 presents game statistics for monsters and NPCs that you can use to challenge your characters, or aid them in a pinch. Some of them you might be familiar with from the books, like Elder Elmira Delid and her daughter Alana Kalar.

Calendar, Time, and the Cosmos

The world of Avaleen is a planet with regular seasons and a wide variety of climates, ranging from frigid ice caps and tundras, to vast, arid deserts, temperate forests, sweltering jungles, wind-swept plains, and storm-tossed oceans. It orbits a singular sun and is orbited in turn by three moons. The ancient people of Avaleen told time by these celestial bodies, and the dwarves of Zion created what became the universal calendar based on the orbit of Luna, the largest moon.

Calendar

Creating a calendar is a messy process even in the best of circumstances. First you have a bunch of locals agreeing on a satsifactory way of keeping time. Then these locals meet other locals through trade and other connections and decide to merge their calendars for ease of communication. Then suddenly you have an ancient race or two from other planes of existence busting down the door of your world and wave their calendar in your face, urging you to adopt it. And just like that there are dozens of simultaneous ways to tell time from time that often just linger on because of tradition rather than logic.

Naturally, this was rather frustrating for everyone involved as the different socities of Avaleen had more and more to do with each other and so the rulers of the most influental countries sat down to hammer out a middle ground. This middle ground became the calendar in use today based on the dwarven calendar of Zion. It is divided into 13 months with 35 days each and is based on the waning and waxing of Luna as seen from Zion in the southern hemisphere. This makes Wadar, Galvan, Aere, and Cye the summer months in the south and the winter months in the north.

You don't need to bother with the Avaleen Calendar in your homegame, as it is intentionally quite different from our own. It is perfectly reasonable for you to use our familiar, simple, nice seven-days a week, thirty-days a month, and twelve-month year. You may even use our names for days and months because when an NPC tells the party to meet them at noon on "Emberday, Esenar 17th," they're basically saying to meet them on "Wednesday, September 17th." However, using this unfamiliar calendar may help to immerse your players in the fantasy world of Avaleen.

The Lunar Calendar

The weekdays are called: Seren, Amodei, Emberday, Jaderin, Farcho, Lunarday and Dragoden.

There are holidays across Avaleen that are celebrated universally, but as they occur locally which differs across the globe:

• Highsummer which marks the longest day of the year. This Solstice lasts 5 days and it's generally celebrated with faires, markets, various worships, and parties. Local variations may occur.
• Midwinter which makes the longest night of the year. The Solstice lasts 7 days. Local variations may occur due to geographical location, but this is usually considered a cozy holiday one celebrates with family and friends.
• Amartis's Approach celebrates the arrival of the third moon in the sky. These festivities last at least a week every eight months. Much mythology is connected with this holiday.
• Harvest's Rise and Harvest's End signifies that year's beginning and end of harvest. The occasion is marked by big celebrations, festivals, markets and various artisan's faires.

Counting Years

In Avaleen, the years were counted by way of ages. The current age was marked by the fateful, cataclysmic event known as the Second Sundering when Agartha was pulled from the Faerie Realm and Japhaia from the Shade Realm into the Material Plane. After centuries locked in battle, the akati and the illevan finally sat down for diplomatic talks to end the Shadow Wars and thus the Accords were struck. This book describes the world of Avaleen in the year 1138 CE, when only 138 years have passed in peace and tensions once again start brewing. Or perhaps, had never died down.

Luna, Gio, and Amartis

Three moons circle this world. Gio with its reddness is always present in the sky with its faint dust rings. It's close enough to almost always be full as seen from the surface, though it is more or less clear.

Luna is an angry blue pearl that flashes now and then when in either full or black mode. To be born under these flashes is considered good fortune and those children are often celebrated. However, if that is an arcana-sensitive child, they can come to be chaotic sorcerers, feared and revered in equal measure.

The third moon, Amartis, wasn't discovered until much later, as its massive orbit only makes it appear in the sky every eight months. Its arrival is celebrated, though much is yet to be discovered about her. Amartis erratic and unexplained behaviour to sometimes not shine at night or not appear at all in the night sky has given fuel to many myths and stories about a haunting phenomenon.

Planes

This book concerns itself mostly with the world of Avaleen, but eventually high-level adventurers might find themselves travelling away from the Material Plane where Avaleen exists to other planes of existence. The planes surrounding Avaleen are similar to those described in the fifth edition lore. Here follows a brief description of the planes that mighty or unlucky adventurers might find themselves on. These planes go by many poetic and fanciful names.

Material Plane

The Material Plane is a land where the natural laws work as we expect them to. It is a balance of flora and fauna and of the elements. Avaleen is but one of many worlds on the Material Plane, though very few happen upon this secret throughout the eons. Much less devised a way to travel between the material worlds.

Elemental Planes

In the beginning Avaleen was created by the Primordial Titans. Great beings of elemental power. Some theorize that the elemental planes were created by that which was thrust from the world in its creational chaos. Others claim it is the realms to which the Titans fled during the Primordial War with the Pantheon of Avaleen. Whichever is true, or likely, there are rifts that can be found between these planes and the material one on Avaleen. The largest and most volatile are guarded and tended to by four secret civilizations whose identity remains unknown.

Faerie, Shade, and Ether

Parallell to Avaleen are odd reflections of it. The Faerie Realm is a wild, untamed reflection filled with lush beauty and ferocity, inhabited by fey folk and home to the Akati elves before the Sundering.

The Shade Realm is a dark, gritty version inhabited by shadows, demons and the dark and sinister. It was the Illevan elves homestead before the Sundering.

The Ether is a cloudy film that envelops the world, inhabited by strange spirits and predators that target those who would dare trespass into their in-between realm.

Astral Plane

The planes before were those that buttressed the material world of Avaleen. What follows now are the planes that are separated from the material realm by the Cosmic Sea.

The Cosmic Sea is a vast, astral ocean of shimmering starlight and ethereal currents, where the very essence of reality seems to dissolve into the infinite. Once, travelers crafted intricate vessels to navigate this boundless expanse, braving its treacherous waves to reach distant realms.

Now, spells like planar shift allows these methods to be bypassed. But it is not a place of serene beauty alone. Forgotten demi-gods and monstrous, ancient creatures drift through its depths, hunting those who venture too far or stray from the currents. The Astral Sea is a place where time and space lose all meaning, and only the bold or desperate seek to traverse its mysterious waters, guided by the stars or driven by a hunger for forbidden knowledge.

Outer Planes

Beyond the Cosmic Sea lie the realms that belong to the deities of Avaleen. After the Primordial War, the Primary Deities of Avaleen imprisoned the Fallen in prison planes, and retired to planes of their own creation after the Age of Celestials. In time these planes were shaped by the power of the deities in their own image, resulting in natural laws not functioning quite as one native to the material world might expect. While measures have been taken to keep the divine from interfering too much with the material realm - mortals who possess the power to travel between the planes can pass freely into these outer planes, like the Hells, the Abyss, Tsioraocht, the Maelstrom and more.

Nyxora - the Realm Beyond

Nyxora is a boundless expanse where the very essence of reality fractures and twists into forms unrecognizable to mortal minds. Here, the laws of physics crumble, time loops in impossible patterns, and space folds in on itself, creating a place of infinite paradoxes. The horizon is a shifting, undulating void where gravity is a distant memory and the very nature of existence flickers like a broken dream. In this alien landscape, consciousness itself becomes malleable, and the mind can no longer cling to its sense of self.

Here, unspeakable entities drift through the vastness—beings beyond comprehension, made of thought and shadow, whose very presence warps the fabric of understanding. To enter Nyxora is to step into a realm where reason dissolves, and the boundaries between reality and nightmare blur into one endless, ever-changing tapestry. Few return from its depths, and those who do carry with them only fragments of a truth too vast to ever fully grasp.

Pocket Planes

Created by arcanists, these demiplanes are unnatural but mostly stable and provide a different kind of reality than the vast infinite planes hitherto mentioned. Powerful magic can create finite pockets of extraplanar realities, catering to the whims of the creator. These float like bubbles in the Astral Plane and can vary greatly in size.

Beyond the sky, beyond the sea
A world of realms in infinity
Where light and shadow intertwine
And stars above in silence shine.

Round Avaleen, the planes unfold
A tapestry of truth untold
Material is firm, the heart of home
Where mortals walk, and destinies roam

Faerie gleams with vibrant hues
A world where dreams and wonder fuse
Timeless whispers, ballads call
In courts of fey, where shadows fall

Shades with sorrow's breath
A realm of dusk, a place of death
Its heavy air, its muted cries
A world that waits beneath the skies

The Cosmic Sea with currents vast
Where stars are born and futures pass
A boundless void where time breaks free
And monsters roam through endless sea

And far below, the frozen wastes
In Tsioraocht, the goddess waits
Her icy breath brings endless night
A land where death and frost unify

The Elements, raw and pure
Fire, air, earth, and water's lure
Each plane a force, a living power
Shaping worlds with every hour

And far beyond, where none can tread
Lie realms of thought and dreams unsaid
Nyxora, where reason breaks
And fragile minds are all that shakes

Avaleen, a web unspun
Where all these threads are wrapped as one
A world of light, a world of shade
Where every journey's path is laid

— Isadora Grilvor, Collection of Hymns

A History of Avaleen

The Seed stirred, not from hunger, but from boredom. It longed for a place to rest its pulse, a place to cradle its unfulfilled hunger. So it reached into the Quiet Void and found the Forgotten Thread, and with one violent stretch of its hand, the Thread snapped -- and in that sound, the stars were born.

— The Fifth Houris Scroll

Where did Avaleen come from? That is a question shrouded in mystery throughout time and civilization. It is a question that everyone has pondered in some way at some point, from the most exalted, well-travelled hero to the simplest farmhand who has never set foot outside their village. Everyone has their own ideas about where the world comes from. And while the thoughts are many, they all have some things in common. As they are all born from jumbled misunderstands of ancient myths told orally from bard to bard, from father to daughter, filtered into religious rewritings of history that favor the teachings of a given deity.

But Avaleen is known for having created folk who can do the impossible - like speaking the full and accurate truth of Avaleen and her lands. The following account of the Myth of Avaleen is a joint effort of the foremost scholars at A'triyes Academy in Oliria and the global seekers of knowledge from the Dusk Order. It was unearthed through diligent investigations by scholars who sifted through crumbling scrolls and forgotten tombs, piecing together fragments of ancient lore.

These revelations, long buried beneath layers of dust and time, spoke of a world born not of divine purpose, but from an ancient, fractured, curious will. The details are often debated, and the question of why still remains. Those who hunger for purpose are called to adventure into the unknown places of the world.

Myth of Avaleen

Before the history of this world can be explored, its context must be established. The world of Avaleen is home to four major continents, two poles, dozens of nations, and an untold number of hidden civilizations within wondrous wilderness.

Each nation, from the most powerful to the smallest nomadic clan, has its own version of where its story began. Different cultures have creations myths that eventually in one way or another converge with history. But while some have merit, others do not. There is no definitive answer to our question, save asking the deities themselves. And we are won't to do that.

Even so, in this report, we are fairly confident to have outlined the most accurate account of our world's humble inception based on findings, fragments, and ancient texts from across the world.

The Stirring

In the beginning, there was only Nothing. Then, from the depths of the endlessness, something stirred. A ripple in the Nothingness. It was not a spark, nor a flame, but the first stirring of thought, will, and desire. Nothing became the Primordial Void, an endless expanse of nothingness, silent and still. It was neither empty nor full, neither dark nor light. It simply was. A vast ocean of potential where time, matter, and form had not yet come into existence.

From this Void, the Titans emerged. The Titans were neither gods nor mortals, but something older, far more ancient. Their bodies were composed of the raw elements of the world—stone, fire, water, air, and the very fabric of reality. They were the architects of existence, and their wills shaped the cosmos. The Titans were vast, their forms impossible to comprehend, their minds complex beyond mortal understanding. They were the first stirrings of creation itself.

The first Titan was Aroth, the Titan of Time and Space. He stretched the fabric of the Void, pulling it apart, and from the space between, he birthed the first stars—great cosmic flames that filled the endless abyss. He shaped the passage of time, creating the cycle of day and night, seasons, and the ticking of existence itself.

Then came Ishthara, born of the void’s silent pull, its stillness and emptiness. Ishthara’s touch gave shape to the world, pulling together fragments of matter and binding them in the first mountains and valleys and crust. What mineral she discarded she crunched into a ball and threw away. This became Gio - Avaleen's first moon.

Following Ishthara came Varaak, the Titan of Fire and Flame, who wove the first volcanoes and set the earth ablaze with heat and energy. From his touch, the sun was born. Its eternal flame igniting the world with light and warmth, and the first cradle of life potential.

Then came Olthra, the Titan of Water and Flow, who shaped the oceans, rivers, and lakes. With Olthra’s touch, the second cradle of life began to pulse and grow in the primordial waters. Where Ishthara had carved, Olthra filled, bringing motion to the world and setting the tides in motion. The world began to spin and darkness and light chased each other across the new lands and seas.

The last of the Titans to emerge was Rhyssar, the Titan of Air and Winds. Rhyssar blew through the world, stirring the skies, creating the winds and the storms. His breath was both one of aid and one of unbridled destruction.

The newborn world turned, and the eons passed. The Titans each shaped their domains and began to experiment with the world they had created, testing the forces of nature. Ishthara, the Titan of Earth, breathed life into the soil, giving it the ability to grow. Vast, petrified forests sprang up where the winds of Rhyssar and the water of Olthra met. Rivers carved through mountains, and seas stretched out across the world. Where Isthtara's touch fell, plants began to bloom. Thus the first spark of life in a world was shaped, though the world was still empty and silent.

Varaak, the Titan of Fire, tested the limits of his power. With some bursts of flame, he ignited the land, creating spark and growth. From this creatures of fire were born. Small, and fleeting, but full of energy. Oltara, the Titan of Water saw this and began to shape creates of water in the deep seas, imbuing them with the power to live and thrive in the aquatic world they had created. Rhyssar, with his winds, gave breath to the skies. Creates of air took form, able to soar and drift on the currents that filled Avaleen's newly formed atmosphere. Aroth saw this and guided the stars, weaving constellations into the night sky, marking the heavens with patterns that only the wise could decipher.

The First Sundering

Together, these Primordial Titans crafted Avaleen. A world of unimaginable beauty and boundless potential. But as they shaped the land, a great rift began to form between them. The Titans were beings of such power that they began to disagree on what should become of the world they had created. Aroth, the Titan of Time, sought to preserve the balance of order and cycles. Isthara, the Titan of Matter, wanted the world to be a place of pure creation and stability. Olthran, the Titan of Life, wished to give the world untamed freedom and chaos, while Rhyssar, the Titan of Wind, longed to see the world in constant motion, ever-changing and evolving.

The world, once full of harmony, began to fracture as the Titans’ ambitions clashed. Their once united effort splintered, and Avaleen grew chaotic. A beautiful, untamed world where life flourished, but conflict stirred beneath the surface.

As the Titans quarreled, their battles and disagreements caused great upheaval across Avaleen. Cataclysmic storms, volcanic eruptions, and floods ravaged the lands. The Titans realized that their conflict would destroy the world they had created if it continued.

Despite the creation of life, the Titans could not escape their inherent nature: their power was too great. As the world grew, so did their reach and influence, until their very presence began to warp the fabric of reality itself. The raw, unchecked power of the Titans tore at the world, pulling the fabric of existence in different directions.

Amid this chaos, a group of deities descended upon Avaleen. These gods were not born from the Titans' own creation, but rather from distant realms beyond the fabric of the world. Forces that existed outside the laws of Avaleen itself. Their arrival was sudden and incomprehensible to the Titans, for these gods hailed from planes and dimensions that existed beyond even the understanding of the ancient behemoths. Still, the gods were welcomed and a fragile peace once again embraced the world as the first mortal races emerged.

But a thousand years, two, three, more, is a long time and the Titans grew obsessed with their creations, seeking control over domains that were never meant to be controlled or theirs to control. How and why the cataclysmic eon-lasting Primordial War broke out between the Titans and the Gods is a secret shrouded from mortal eyes. We only know that it happened. And that this war led to the First Sundering. A great cataclysm that shattered the Titan's power and fragmented their once unified forms.

The earth trembled, the seas roared, the forests fell, and the winds screamed as the wills of the Titans and the Gods collided and tore at Avaleen's surface. The Sundering did not kill the Titans, but it scattered them across the world. Their forms broken and disjointed. Some became mountain ranges, volcanoes, rivers, and forests of a lesser, more verdant shape - their physical forms forever intertwined with the land. Others remained as dormant forces, influencing the world from beneath the surface and beyond the Veil. Shaping the cycles of time and the forces of nature that govern Avaleen today.

The Legacy of the Titans

From the wreckage of the battle, new life emerged. The world, shaped by the elemental forces of the Titans, began to thrive with sentient life as the new gods began their rile. The first beasts and mortals grew from the soil of Avaleen, worshipping the land, the elements, and the very forces that shaped their world. They were the descendants of the Titan's creations, inheriting their raw power and their deep connection to the earth. The gods saw them and rejoiced.

Though the Titans are no longer seen as living, breathing beings, their influence continues to reverberate throughout the world. Its seasons, lands, tides, all of these are reminders of the Titans' presence once upon a primordial time. And though the gods may now rule, the legacy of the Titans, with their power of the raw elements, remains the guiding force in the world. It is, after all, because of them the elemental planes exist as each Titan tried to funnel some part of their power away from the fragile surface of Avaleen.

The Age of Celestials

Avaleen's history is shaped by the ebb and flow of power, ambition, and discovery. The Age of Celestials marked Avaleen’s transformation from a world of untamed primal forces to one of divine order and mortal ascension. This era began in the wake of the Primordial War. When the war ended, the Titans’ colossal forms crumbled into Avaleen’s geography. Mountains of their bones, rivers of their ichor, and forests became nourished by their fading power. In their place rose the Celestials, a pantheon of inscrutable gods from beyond the stars. Unlike the Titans, who embodied raw, natural forces, the Celestials were creatures of logic and ambition, and their arrival marked a new chapter in Avaleen’s history.

When the battlefield of Avaleen lay in ruin, torn apart by the elemental fury of the Primordial Titans and the relentless might of the new Pantheon led by Ignis, there was a vacuum of power that hungered to be filled. The conflict had not merely been one for power but of ideology too. Chaos and primal freedom versus structure and divine order. When the Titans fell, their defeat marked the end of their dominion over Avaleen, but it also unmasked a betrayal that would forever alter the celestial pantheon.

Among the ranks of the gods, a faction had turned against their kin in secret. These celestials, lured by the Titans’ unbridled power or perhaps seduced by their vision of a free and untamed Avaleen, had allied with the Primordials, wielding divine strength to bolster their chaotic cause. For centuries, their betrayal fractured the pantheon, leaving the gods to wage war not only against the titans but against their own. When the Titans at last were vanquished, the surviving gods turned their wrath upon the traitors. Though victorious, the gods knew that slaying their kin outright would destabilize the fabric of reality itself, for the now-called Fallen were bound to the cosmic laws they represented. Instead, Ignis devised a punishment far more enduring and cruel: an eternal banishment.

Though locked away in their prison plane, the Fallen were not silent. Their prisons exists at the fringes of the Cosmic Sea, their influence slipping through the cracks of the mortal and divine realms. From their exile, the Fallen send whispers into Avaleen, corrupting mortal hearts and sowing discord. Their power is diminished but far from extinguished, and their influence continues to shape Avaleen’s history.

Cultists and warlocks, drawn to the promise of forbidden power, seek out the Fallen’s whispers, becoming their mortal instruments. Artifacts of the Fallen, imbued with fragments of their divine essence, occasionally resurface, their corrupting influence stirring chaos wherever they appear.

But that is today, and this is then. The remaining deities reshaped Avaleen not as architects of life-force but as stewards of structure and purpose. They brought order to chaos, enforcing laws of nature that had once been fluid under the Titans’ rule. But it was not without strife. Kingdoms and empires clashing over resources, beliefs, and territories. The gods themselves not unified, and though they worked together to maintain balance, their differing ideologies sometimes caused rifts that rippled through the world.

Yet it is an indisputable fact that the mortal races began to flourish under the protection and guidance of the deities. Elves took on roles as scholars and mystics, uncovering the ancient secrets of Avaleen, preserving yesterday for tomorrow. Dwarves became master craftsmen and builders, using their knowledge to construct cities and fortresses. Humans, versatile and adaptable, began to spread across the continents, founding empires and kingdoms while gnomes advanced in arts of invention and alchemy, and giants, though diminished, remained as powerful stewards of the land.

During this time, the celestials physically walked among the mortals, their radiant forms inspiring awe and reverence. They shared knowledge of arcane arts, the construction of great works, and the secrets of the stars. Yet their presence also brought fear. The celestials were not all so kind, nor were they cruel. They were inscrutable, their motivations as unknowable as the forces they embodied. They simply were according to their nature and schisms began to form between the celestials and the mortals.

Some gods viewed mortals as fragile and fleeting, needing careful guidance. Others saw them as tools, their lives woven into grand cosmic designs. Others wanted to control them, while yet others wanted let them evolve on their own accords. This divide would eventually lead to the deities leaving the material plane altogether.

But even though the gods retreated to their distant planes, their influence lingers and is ever-present. Apparitions and visions of divine beings guide or haunt mortals, and the Celestial Age became marked by their cryptic prophecies and selective interventions. The mortal races — elves, dwarves, humans, gnomes, noma, and others — flourish in this divine shadow, but they have begun to claim their own destiny, delving into the secrets of the Titans and the gods alike.

In summary: While Avaleen prospered in many ways in this Age, it was also a world of tension. The rise of arcane invention challenges the authority of the gods, while the Fallen Gods sow discord among nations. Hidden in forgotten ruins, artifacts of the Titans and Celestials alike hold powers that could tip the balance of the age. Avaleen, forged by Titans and ruled by gods, now stands on the cusp of an era defined by mortal ambition and cosmic reckoning.

Age of Arcanists

The Rise of the Arcane Arts as the gods retired was truly a time of marvels, when the people of Avaleen turned away from divine oversight and embraced their own boundless potential. It was an age of discover and creation, where magic became as ubiquitous as the air itself. No longer bound by the laws of nature alone, Avaleen flourished under the mastery of arcane arts. The leylines - veins of magical energy coursing through the world - were tapped and harnessed, empowering mortals to reshape their reality without aid from the gods.

It was during this time that the Portals, a massive and intricate network of teleportation circles, sigils, and anchors spanning the ancient races' three main realms: Faerie, the Material Plane, and Shade Realm were built. This vast system of travel knit Avaleen together in ways previously unimagined.

Two major cities stood as the pinnacles of this age: Agartha in the Faerie Realm, the "Shining Labyrinth," and Japhaia in the Shade Realm, the "Crimson Spire." Scholars flocked to Agartha, delving into the mysteries of the cosmos. Japhaia, in contrast, was a bastion of daring experimentation, where arcane and magitech blended to reshape the world. Their wonders were unparalleled: enchanted skyships that sailed the winds, planar gates that connected worlds, and automatons that toiled tirelessly to build an age of prosperity.

Yet, with great heights come great perils. The twin cities became overzealous in their mastery of planar energies. Their experiments fractured the delicate balance of the Veil, threatening the fabric of Avaleen itself. When their interdimensional anchors failed, Agartha and Japhaia came crashing back into the Material Plane in an event remembered as The Second Sundering. The cities’ fall unleashed waves of arcane devastation, rupturing the leylines and destabilizing magic across the world. The once beautiful continent of Toura, where Ghor Minthra had resided was no more. A scattering of strange islands in the sea. Spells failed, constructs crumbled, and vast regions became zones of wild, unpredictable magic, or dead zones where no magic could function at all.

Despite the devastation, Avaleen's people endured. The alliances forged in the Age of Arcanists held strong, and new heroes rose to fight back. Though the Veil was out of reach and the arcane arts were no longer as reliable as they once were, mortals adapted to their changed world. In the ruins of Agartha and Japhaia, they found fragments of the knowledge that had once defined their golden age. The leylines, though chaotic, still pulsed with potential, offering both opportunities and dangers to those bold enough to explore them.

The Age of Arcanists is remembered as a time of boundless ambition and unparalleled progress. It was a time when mortals proved that they could shape their own destinies, free from divine interference. Yet it also serves as a cautionary tale, a reminder that even the most wondrous achievements can crumble under the weight of unchecked hubris. The people of Avaleen now walk forward with the scars of their past and the hope of a future yet to be written.

The Second Sundering

The Second Sundering was the cataclysmic crescendo of the Shadow Wars, a bitter conflict between the akati fey elves and the illevan shadow drow that spanned generations but had not touched Avaleen much until that day.

At the heart of their strife lay the Portals. The akati, planar wanderers and wielders of raw, untamed magic, believed the Portals should remain free and under Ayursha's control as she was the goddess that had granted them the Veil. The illevan, masters of precision, engineering and arcane refinement, sought to control and regulate the Portals, claiming their governance as creators would ensure safety and progress. This fundamental disagreement festered into a war fueled by hubris, ambition, and the whispered manipulations of unseen forces.

The conflict escalated as both sides unleashed devastating magics, culminating in experiments so reckless they shattered the very fabric of reality. Their hubris led to disaster. Drawn inexorably to the same point on the material plane, the ancient and arcane-rich city of Ghor Minthra, Japhaia and Agartha collided in a cataclysmic event that sent shockwaves across all planes of existence.

The Sundering, as it came to be known, obliterated Ghor Minthra, leaving its ruins buried beneath the debris of the fallen cities. The leylines, once the lifeblood of Avaleen’s magic, fractured and writhed uncontrollably. Vast tracts of land were scarred, some rendered barren and lifeless while others became wild zones of volatile magic. The Portals themselves, once the coveted prize of the war, were destabilized, their magic unpredictable and dangerous. Yet some still function, even if their function is rudimentary at best.

In the aftermath of centuries of reignited war, the devastation forced the warring factions to confront the consequences of their ambition. The Accords were forged, a fragile peace that served more as a means to stave off further mutual destruction than a genuine resolution of their differences. The akati and the illevan pledged cooperation, yet their distrust ran deep.

For a brief time, the world knew a semblance of calm. Nature reclaimed the ruins of Ghor Minthra, its spires entangled with vines and moss, its arcane crystals dimmed beneath centuries of overgrowth. Yet the scars of the Sundering remained, both in the land and in the hearts of those who had survived. The Sundering stands as a grim testament to the cost of unchecked power and unyielding pride. Despite a tenuous peace, it also left Avaleen fractured in more ways than one. The Shadow Wars ended not with victory, but with loss shared by all, leaving the akati and illevan to navigate a future shadowed by the weight of their past.