The Deep South

A generation has passed since the Old Colonies fell to the Dark Horde. The Orc came out of the Broken Coast in such numbers,and with such a terrible force, that not even the most apocalyptic of prophets could foresee it. The colonies were swept away in a little over a year, and it would take more than twenty years before the Erian kingdoms attempted to reclaim what had been lost. This attempt failed, and now any hope of bringing light to the Dark Continent is slim.

Villains: The Court of Stars

Watchtower on the Broken Coast

In this post I will sum up what is known about the other major faction of evil in the world of Argos. As with the previous Villains-post, no new information will be presented, but I will try to put things in context.


The concept behind the Court of Stars is Dark Empire/Ancient Evil, and as such, its ranks will include a wide range of villainous archetypes and characters, ranging from (to quote G. Galan's player) the Queen of Shit herself, down to the rank-and-file of its legions of terror.


The Court of Stars has roots back to the very early days of the Book of Worlds.

The Lost Regiment,

and the Third Great War of Argos.


Storyteller's note: The following article was published in the Committee of Correspondence's printsheet 'The Correspondent', in Octavum YE 1021.

Correspondents,

I have studied one of the greatest mysteries of our time, that of the Lost Regiment. Following, I will display the facts as I see them.

During the Corillian War, the Parlamental Army of Pendrell destroyed the Narbonnian supported Macharite uprising. The Pendrellians also crossed the border into Narbonne and conquered a number of contested provinces. Though pourly equipped and incompetently led by their king, Mad Phillyp, Narbonne managed to drag out the war for almost two years of fighting -- mostly by draining the coffers by employing a large numbers of mercenaries.

In the first year of the war, in the Enlightened Scythian Empire, in the Dutchy of Manbach, the first son of baron von Roeder, Friedric, sets out to assemble a regiment of rifled firelocks and take to war. War is considered a step in an Alamanian gentlemans education, and since this was a quiet year in the Empire, the regiment was rented to the Narbonnian Crown.

When the rifles marched out of Roederburg late that year, Oberst Friedric von Roeder was 21 years of age, had a sub-magisterium from the University of Marburg in statesmanship, and had served two years in the Emperor's Dragoons. He had also read the finest tacticians, classical and modern. His second was Otto von Swartmark, the oldest son of the first of the baron's bannermen. The two men had been inseparable since they were boys.

The Regiment, though unblooded, was a fine formation; armed with rifles forged by-, and a gun battery crewed by, the prestigious Masonic Guild of Marburg. The men, 1/3 recruits, 1/3 veterans, and 1/3 convicts had been drilling since late summer.

The mercenaries reached the Narbonnian city of Lielle a week before Nightfall and reported to the Duke of Crèvesse, commander of the army being assembled there for a spring campaign.

When Lord Samuel led ten Parliamental Regiments accross the River Erenbaé two days before Nightfall, Crèvesse's forces were caught in a disarray. Only von Roeder's Regiment managed to slow the Pendrellians down. Marching as soon as the reports came in, and going through the night, the regiment took up possition early the following morning astride the only usable road, two leagues North-West of Lielle. The whole day the Alamanian riflemen held back an enemy that only grew stronger by the hour, until they withdrew from the battlefield in honour under cover of darkness on the eve of Nightfall.

The Regiment was never seen again.

That summer, two gentlemen claiming to be Friedric von Roeder and Otto von Swarmark, purchased passage on a Waymar-trader returning from Freeport to Ipwyth. From there they travelled overland to Crondor where they contacted the Imperial Ambassador to Pendrell. Here they both forswore their blood and birth, shamed by the loss of their entire command.

Not three years later, the Royal Houses of Eria answer a summon by Friedric Roeder to the Altar of the Covenant on Corregidor in the Waymar Archipelago. He had the backing of the Seven Onkels of Wezell, as well as that of the Draccian Wolf Lords. The former in the shape of coins and ships, the latter with a pledge of knights and infantry. Here he was named Marshal of the Assembled Host of Man, and today the Reconquest of the Colonies is close upon us.

This is as far as facts will take us, fellow correspondents. From here we must rely on myth and rumor.

I have heard from one who have spoken with Swartmark. He told of the Lost Regiment passing an old mill after having withdrawn. Here the Oberst and himself met a tall and gaunt gentleman and refused his offer. After they left the mill, the entire column got lost in the darkness and a heavy fog.

When light broke the following day, the regiment found itself in a strange land where Death was revered as a god [Stygia]. Again the tall and gaunt gntleman approached the Oberst and his second. Again he was rejected. That night he came again, and he was turned down.

When the sun rose the following morning, only von Roeder and von Swartmark were left in their camp. Every single one of the soldiers had disappeared.

Swartmark then told of encountering a vast army of Black Bloods when the pair attempted to cross the Dark Continent on foot. He also spoke briefly about men with machines advising the Orc. According again to my report of Swartmark's words, the two gentlemen negotiated a passage with these men, from the deep of the Dark Continent to Freeport, in a flying ship. From this point we again have facts.

The elements of the Legend of the Lost Regiment are hard to believe, example: the transportation of a thousand men from Narbonne to Stygia without any trace. Yet the facts we know support the unbelievable, example: Friedric Roeder has been named Marshal by the Erian kings.

We share the time we have been given with great powers and legacies of ages past; I have presented you with the facts as I see them. The facts say that the Third Age is ending, and that the Great War is soon upon us.


Yours in honesty,


Correspondent CIV

The last two chapters

Due to administrative fluctuations this entry will contain two chapters.

Starting exactly where the previous ended, with the Hellghast defeated and Prince Aegil and several of his Enæïd severely wounded.

Since time was short (the Glencaellyn Rifles would have to assault the halfway-fort come daylight, regardless of the actions of the Company), the Enæïd were left to tend to their wounds while the magicians advanced.

They reached the fort about half an hour before sunrise, and established communications with van Zaar, riding with the Rifles. Captain Galan mapped the area through scrying, and together with M'narcel/Drake, he set up a covering possition as close to the walls as they could get without being spotted. The task of breaching the fort fell on Banzel.

While the Company argued the plan, the captain became aware of a party of four humans loading a motorcar in the middle of the Orog garrison. One of the boxes caught his attention, a led chest, some four foot long, and one foot wide and deep. The humans were all dressed in identical clothes, kakhis, and one of them had the telltale mechanical monocle of the cyclops (last time the company encountered on of those was on the Waymar Islands).

Banzel wanted to take them out before they could escape, but this was vetoed by Galan and van Zaar.

After Banzel linked up with the two hundred men of the breaching detail things proceeded quickly. Under cannister-fire from the battery on the walls, and targeted by snipers the two hundred yards up to the gate was a deadly dash. Galan and M'narcel did their best to pick off officers and snipers, and Banzel reached the gate with about hundred men. Here he quickly tore down the gates and the rifles stormed into the courtyard.

The last suprize the defenders had in store were two glass orbs. The captain managed to break one on the ramparts with a precise shot, but the second reached the ground. When the orbs broke, they let out great clouds of pestilence and death, engulfing both the ramparts and the gatehouse - thus cutting Banzel and his men off from inforcements from outside.

Even with the Orogs on the walls trapped in the green gaseous cloud, the two hundred in the courtyard would surely be more than a match for the surviving attackers. This is when M'narcel walked into the Shaderealm. Here he was called out by name by something that shouldn't exist. Still, he pressed on, and found a Windling willing to serve. He led the spirit back to the physical realm and sent it charging through the poison gas, thus dispersing it enough to allow the Glencaellyn Rifles to take the halfway-fort.

A few hour after the fort fell, again accompanied by the Prince, the Company set out after the motorcar, mounted on Windlings.

They passed their prey shortly after midday, and set up an ambush in a grove of palmtrees. Banzel magically prepared a pit of quicksand big enough to make sure the vehicle were stopped, then he dug himself a bunker and went into possition with the Hellghast's rifle. The rest of the party also went to ground, with varying degrees of success.

After a while the motorcar came around the bend. M'narcel, sharpening his scythes, having concealed himself next to a young palmtree by the side of the road, were spotted by the fat cyclops right before the motorcar hit the quicksand. Banzel killed the driver, and the Prince, springing forth from his hiding-place, killed the two in the back.

The Company had decided to take the cyclops alive, but the Prince quickly found that to be easier said than done. As soon as he had managed to get a good hold of the obese man with the mechanical monocle, the cyclop started heave and cough, like something was stuck in his throat - actually, more like he was attempting to disgorge his intestines. When something looking like the man's asophagus, only with a vicious eyeless head, with a mouth crammed with needle-like teeth, came forth from the man's gaping mouth, the Company switched to Plan B. Four magicians and an Exalted poured all their might into the creature that seemed to shed the flesh of its host, killing it before it could come into play.

End chapter/new chapter

After the successful ambush, the Company initiated one of their trademark discussions. For someone who have never witnessed this, it is a little hard to fully explain; van Zaar will usually make a lengthy statement on the real or percieved relevance of the matter at hand in conjunction to some metaphysical theory and/or phenomenon. Galan will listen and attempt to apply this to the situation at hand. Banzel, always with an eye on the practical will propose ways to deal with the situation, often involving guns or explosives. M'narcel typically says little, in stead he waits until he is asked for help (something that typically involves summonig of something*). Aegil seldom speaks during these council-sessions, but he sometime raises questions of a definite important nature. These talks usually lasts until one or more of the Company is too intoxicated (more often than not van Zaar) to continue, or, as in this case, until events interrupt.

This time they were interrupted by the sound of horses. As it happens, it was the enemy; two dozen Blood Legion cavalry were coming up the road from Victoria, and they were close.

At this point in the story, the heroes have become a war-cabal. And now, almost taken by suprize by the forces of darkness, they quickly sprang into action. They rapidly entered into the hive-mind Galan created, and all of them were ready within seconds. Discression is, they say, the better part of valour, and here the Cabal went for retreat.

Banzel was designated as the operator of the transportation-machine captured from the four Outsiders, and while the rest provided covering fire, he managed to negotiate with the engine, enough to make it obey. At great speed, and in a storm of lead, they withdrew, leaving a handful of Blood Legion soldiers dead in the dust.

During the previous council-session, they had decided that since they were now in close proximity to the site where Franko da Cola broke the seal, they would go on a pilgrimage to that place. So now they rode the machine South, through the halfway-fort, and further to Muhwal, the center of the Host of Man. Here they rested for the night.

While here, Banzel managed to create more fuel for the engine, and the rest withdrew to their quarters. Galan was visited by Octavian (a very close relationship seems to be forming between the two magicians), and in the dialogue that followed, the remainding members of the Cabal were roused from their sleep.

Octavian could give some information about the mysterious lead chest, and Galan, reading the journal of the leader of the Outsiders' expedition, Professor Schmitt, could furnish the matter further. The item, reffered to as Artifact Ypsilon 071, or alternately, Deicide, had apparently been hidden by the Inconnu. Why or when, no one could shed more light on.

The following morning (or, more accurately, a little before noon), the Company set out for their goal, located in, or close by, the city of Assari. Incidentally, this city, the next major one South of Muhwal, were set for attack by the Host this day. Travelling southward, they passed recent battlegrounds, and several units moving to join the siege and assault.

Only in the early evening did they reach their destination, and by then, the lines had been drawn up. Ten thousand Erian infantry, Mujahed and Wolf Lords were busy building fortifications and setting up siege possitions. With the city sealed off, the Company had to rely on magic to point the way.

The chronomancer van Zaar searched the streams of time, and found the memory of da Cola's visit, a generation earlier. He saw the first attack of the Orc on the Old Colonies, and the citrus grove da Cola and his compannions headed to when they escaped the Horde. Banzel sought out a trio of ravens who led the Company to the grove.

Here they decided to open the portal. Actually, they decided to let Galan call upon the powers that lay beyond -- something that annoyed M'narcel no end, after all, wasn't such matters his domain? After some negotiation, they opted for a different approach. Armed with the name of the Second Dragon, M'narcel led them through the portal and deep into Argos' Umbra.

Finally they reached the remote and ancient Drachenau, or Dragon's Reach. Three times the worlock called the dragon's name before it came. Faced with such an ancient power, the toungues of the magicians quickly froze, and none of them seemed able to take any action. Not until the Prince of the Enæïdùn stepped forward did the dragon speak; three times he may be called.

And so, with the dragon returned to its watch, the chapter ended.

*Ref. the Scutino-incident, the Drowned Man, as well as a few other, somewhat unfortunate episodes.

Storyteller's note: Before the last session, I had no idea as to what would happen. The players did set their own course, and it took them off the map, as it were. I really enjoy those chapters, all seat of pants gaming, and I believe I might go for one more of those next time. We'll see.

Anyway, now they are somewhat lost in the deeper reaches of the Spirit World. How they are to get out should be interesting, I think ;)

Featured Artist: Kerem Beyit

This Turkish artist is amongst my favorites, and his dragons are especially neat. I've used his work on this site before, and I will most likely do so again. I had to ponder which of his pictures to use in this post, and the choice fell on these.

~ The Warrior ~

Orcs are cool. Simple as that. And Kerem's Orcs are some cool customers. Same as with his dragons, he manages to make them easily recognizable, while still presenting a unique character.

~ Devour ~

I recommend having a boo at his portfolio, or at his web site.

Dark Arts of the Orc

Artist: Yigit Koroglu

In deep caves and primordial darkness the keepers of the ancient secrets weave their black arts; in longing of that which is lost and forgotten they stand between that which is and that which must not be. Theirs is the sorrow and the fear, theirs is the forlorn hope. Theirs are the words too dark to speak.

~Ungehaurige Culten IV

Storyteller's note: The Orc does not have the ability to do real magic. Nevertheless, the shamans of the Black Blood possess secrets of dark and terrible rituals. The most noteworthy example is the soultheft performed on the Hermetic Adeptus Andreas in YE 998. The soul of Andreas was cut from his chest, and sowed into the flesh of Franko da Cola. This is also what prompted the Ordo Hermetica to sentence da Cola to Gilgul, or Death of the Soul. The sentence was never carried out.

The dark arts of the Orc are classified as Hedge Magic, and relies heavily on channeling.

The Gift of Industry

Storyteller's note: The following article was published in the Committee of Correspondence's printsheet 'The Correspondent', in Octavum YE 1021

The Committee of Correspondence is a secret network of scholars and free thinkers that spans most of Eria. There are cells in many cities and universities. They communicate through a complex and clandestine network of couriers, and a printsheet that is published four times a year. Both the Temple and the Cabal have declared the Committee subversive and dangerous.


The topics discussed in The Correspondent cover a wide field, from philosophy, through metaphysics, to magical theory. In the past there has been articles on the nature of Ascencion, on the origin of magic, on the Cult of Shaitani, and on the rise of the Younger Gods.

There will most likely be posts of other articles from The Correspondent in the future.

~o~

Esteemed fellow correspondents,


As per Your request I have looked into the Rise of the Orc on the Dark Continent.


One of the greatest betrayals of Man in the Third Age was the Gift of Industry to the Orc. In the following I will attempt to shed some light on this dark deed.


Little is known about the man who did this horrible thing, but he is reliably believed to have been an Outsider. Two names are known for him, both are monikers, Futurist and Rogue Navigator. I have, however, recently discovered what might be a name closer to the core: Major Rigby.


We know that sometime after the Great Storm that hit Cora on 21st Dodecium in YE 999, Franko da Cola met this Outsider. Where he came from, and for what errand, is not known.


At this time, da Cola served the Orc Ghurandakh as his vizier, and aided in the unification of the tribes. However, even a unified Orc could not have accomplished what came to pass without aid, for the race is a primitive one, and the weapons of Man would have defeated the horde.


How the Gift was given is not known, but what is known is that for three years before the Occupation, the Orc built factories. From what I have been able to ascertain, these factories where primitive compared to even the most decrepit Erian mill-works. Still, it enabled the Orc to produce firearms on a scale big enough to field large numbers of muskets, and a considerable amount of heavier ordnance.


Hereunder I must add that the Orc was also supplied with a large number of rifles of good quality from an unknown source. Yet again what little evidence there is points towards da Cola.


Less know than industry is the second gift. It is not often spoken of, but I am certain that the Outsider, who served as the Chief of Staff to the Kahn of the Black Blood during the years leading up to the Occupation, also gave the Orc advanced strategy. When the Dark Horde crossed the desert, it was as an organized army. The warriors were deployed in regiments, and its weapons were used with intent and design.


One point needs clarification: the nature of gifts such as these. It is vital to understand the metaphysical mechanisms at work here. The following factors apply. First, Magic has awakened. Second, the Orc is a creature with a singular ability, namely that of forming a horde (each individual will become nothing but a part of the greater unit, akin to a hive or a flock of birds). Lastly, the Gifts were more than knowledge; they were doctrines, and they were the secret of understanding how to apply the doctrines. Understand that the society of the Orc is no more advanced today than it was a hundred years ago.


From what I have learned through my research, I have come to two conclusions.


We, Man, are guilty of a mistake of epic proportions in not exterminating the Black Blood after the First World War. The scourge of the Orc is truly the sins of the fathers come to be visited upon us, their children. This time we have no choice but Genocide.


The second conclusion is that we must be cautious in our dealings with the Outsiders. They are agents of their own agendas, and we cannot allow ourselves to become dependent upon them. Argos and the fate of Man depends upon it.


Your humble servant,


Correspondent XIII

The Orc

When Darkness was defeated in the First Great War, the Orc was hunted by both Elf and Man. The Black Blood was all but vanquished, and driven deep into the wild regions of Argos.

On the Broken Coast of the Dark Continent, small tribes survived deep in the fjords, valleys and mountains. These lands were harsh, and Man had no use for them, so the Orc was left alone for most of the Second and Third Age.

Now, the Orc is not a particularly advanced race. Its society is dominated by the warrior, and martial prowress, strngth and cunning are the only respected qualities. The tribes are split into warbands, each no larger than the leader manages to rule through force and intimidation.

Truebloods
The society of the Orc is male dominated, and females are regarded as property. The strongest warriors mate with those females he chooses, and the weaker ones have no chance to procreate unless they manage to rape or steal a female from another tribe.

The Orc's physiology demands meat. In fact, they need meat to retain their strength and their wits. A Black Blood who can't eat meat regularly will grow docile and dim. This has led to two classes of Orc. The workers, who eat swills and vegetables, are smaller and more decrepit than the carnivorous warriors.

As a point of interest it could be mentioned that before the occupation of the Colonies, there were Orc slaves kept by human entrepeneurs. This was technically illegal, as even vegetated Black Bloods could be dangerous. The most dominant drive of the Orc is the hunger for flesh.

It is said that the only thing the Orc craves more than Man-flesh is Elf. It is known that a Black Blood, even if vegetated, can enter a feeding frenzy if it were to get hold of meat. This can also spread throughout the group, leading to a violent attack on any human in the vicinity.

This feeding frenzy is also a part of the aftermath of most Orc attacks, as the warriors will ravage and feed on the defeated enemy.

Pit Born
The Orc does not possess magic as such, but it is known that there are shamans amongst them that know certain dark rituals. The breeding-pits are an example of this.

Before the Rise of the Orc, Pit Born were seen as champions. On the few known occations where they were spawned, they were let loose on the enemy. Simple minded, with only rage, violence and hunger in their heads, they were seen as the embodiment of the anger of the Black Blood.

After the Awakening of Magic, the gift of Industry, the Rise of the Orc, and the Coming of the Darkness, the Orc has developed the Pits. Deep in the Fallen Star Mountains, in dark caves, vast pits spawn hundreds of Pit Born Orc each day. Shamans and tenders cut hungry warriors from their leathery wombs, the tar-like primal slime dripping from their muscular bodies. Then they are marched off to the Black Horde, or given to servants of the Deep as guards.

The Pit Born have no other function than murder and war.

Half-Orc
Luckily, there are extremely few examples of such a blasphemous offspring of Man and Orc. Most women who get ravaged by a Black Blood will die from it, either during the conception, or during the pregnancy. No human is known to have survived giving birth to a Half-Orc, and should the offspring survive, it should be killed immediately.

See also: Dark Arts

Storyteller's note: I am looking for pictures of orcs that matches with how they look inside my head, but since I lost the one I felt gave them the justice they deserve, I haven't found it (or a new one) yet. Stay tuned...

Edit: Problem solved

[Artist: Nicholas Collings]

Timeline of Argos

As drawn by the good Doctor Hieronimus el Rei Misterio, professor emeritus of Universidad Santandres, medicus, alchemist, astrologer, scholar extraordinaire, magician and formerly physician to his Exalted & Most Enlightened Majesty, King Carlos Pedreo XI of Aragorn.

~o~

First Age (Dawn of Man)*

• The Dark Star falls upon Argos - the coming of the Exarch
• Darkness comes to the world
• The Fall of House Hedhrindal (Elf), and the Rise of the Black Blood (ref.: the Lament of the Orc)
• The First Great War, wherein follows the Awakening of Man, the Darkness is defeated, and the Black Wyrm (Nefrangap, Troy, Ahriman) is defeated and imprisoned by Arkon (St Marcus, Huntsman)

Second Age (Mythic Age)*

• The First City of Man is built in the land of Enokia
• The Orc is vanquished by the armies of Man
• The Eriandu tribe settles in Eria after defeating the Orc Horde of Nifsunfall
• The War of the Silver Lance is fought between the Eriandu and the House Valedil (Elf)
• The Rise of the Cults - the tribes of Man falls to religious worship
• The Wars of the Priests are fought amongst Man, the gods unleash the Great Mortality - several of the great tribes succumb, the Eriadu amongst them.
• The city of the Erdangars fall, ending the centuries long Angarlaw imposed on the Old Kingdoms of the North (Bolgen)
  

App. 500 BC (Before the Covenant)

• The Scythian Empire defeats the deity Xuul in the Godslayer War
• The death of the goddess Ruinn by the hands of (Prince Aegir of) the Enæïdùn triggers the Second Great War(?); Elf strikes at Man - weakened by the anger of the gods; Man goes to war against Elf and gods
• The Scythii unify the Western Tribes under the Imperial banner - the lands of Eria is cleansed of gods and Elf

The last century of the Second Age

• The Second Age ends with the end of the Great War, and the Covenant of Waymar

Third Age (Age of Reason)


YE 2 - 5
Lord Solar Agenmar Macharius of the Penderii leaves the Imperium and the Temple of Man Supreme, founding the Cabal of Pure Thought and the Kingdom of Pendrell. He is followed by the Livonii and the Wezellians.


YE 33
The Ordo Hermetica leaves the Dominion of Reason.


YE 213
The Skythian Empire collapses after Aragon declares its independence. The last Emperor, Agustyn IV of the House Adiadin, is killed by Istvan Palladinus of House Elderell, First King of Aragorn, thus ending the Imperial Line.


YE 213 - 257
Wars of Succession. The Great Houses of the Skythian Empire battle for the Iron Throne, ripping the Imperium apart. There are twelve emperors during these years.


YE 251
Wildemar Erenson is crowned as King of the Narbonii.


YE 262
The Ruhan tribe leaves the Imperial Remnant


YE 272 - 307
The Corinthian peninsula is factionalized. Cities and noble houses form independent states.


YE 311
King Ragmar II Hakenmark of the Ruhani defeats Hodrinus the Black Duke in the battle of the Temple Gates. The Enlightened City is declared a sovereign realm.


YE 399
King Thedrich Blacksleeves of the Alemani tribe conquers the three tribes of the Merenmarch and declares himself Emperor of Man.


YE 409
Emperor Thedrich I crosses the Elfswall and sacks the Enlightened City, occupying northern Corinth.


YE 421
Thedrich is defeated in the Battle of Cortona by the combined army of the Corinthian city-states and the Kingdom of Ruhan. Shortly after, the Enlightened City is freed.


YE 477
The High Masons of the Alemanii join the Cabal of Pure Thought.


YE 555
The colony of Victoria is founded by Aragorn on the Northern Shores of the Dark Continent.


YE 632 - 639
The Surge. Black Blood warbands attack Livonia and northern Pendrell.


YE 743
The Dukes of the Kingdom of Alemani elect Helmand Alfgarde as the first Emperor of the Enlightened Scythian Empire.


YE 959
Dr. John Locker's Tropospheric Gondola completes the first scientific flight of man in Pendrell.


YE 971
Franko da Cola is born in the village of Scutino in the Principality of Andron.


YE 995
The Crypt is opened. Magic awakens.


YE 997
The St Revan's Day Plot. A scheme to kill King Arthor XIII of Pendrell is thwarted by the Second Witness (Sir William Blackstaff, the Blackstaff).


YE 998 - 1022
The Reign of Reason. The Ministerium assumes full control over the Cabal of Pure Thought, and a period of persecution towards freethinkers and Awakened follows. This is brought to an end with the Elven Scourge and the Pendrellian Civil War.


YE 1000
The Orc is given Industry by an Outsider known as the Futurist or the Rogue Navigator (the Emmisary?).


YE 1002
The Black Horde of the Orc, led by Urgal Kahn Ghurandakh, conquers the colony of Victoria. The Barrier is broken by Franko da Cola.


YE 1003
The Living Prophet of the Hannuman Caliphate is slain by the Grishnak Gahalar. Aziz becomes the new prophet.


YE 1005
The last city of Man on the Northern Shores fall to the Orc.


YE 1008
The first cult of Shaitani is tried by the Ordo Manus Nigrum in Lavarre in Aragorn.


YE 1009
Frank da Cola reveals himself as Shaitani to an Argonaut in Freeport. He speaks of the Olympos and the end of the world.


YE 1011
Franko da Cola strikes at the Ministerium and the High Temple of Man, killing scores in both attacks.


The Black Horde turns south, crossing the Charred Plains and attacking the Empire of Stygia.


YE 1012
Truth until Paradox, by Franko da Cola, is published in Andron. It is blacklisted by the Temple the same year, and shortly after placed under a print-ban by the Ministerium.


YE 1015 - 1017
The Corillian War. The King of Narbonne, 'Mad' Phillyp, backs the Free Macharites of Corillia against the Ministerium. Pendrell declares war, and defeats Narbonne in the Battle of Crezen.


YE 1016
Aziz turns away from the Grishnak Gahalar. The War of Fate begins.


The Lost Regiment vanishes.


The Process of Enlightenment is started by the Temple of Man Supreme. The Ordo Manus Nigrum is given 'supreme discretion in all matters heretical and all acts of enmity against Man.'


YE 1017
Emperor Constantinius Ada of the Enlightened Skythian Empire is named Protector of the Temple of Man by Arch Primarch Inocens XI.


YE 1019
Friedrich Roeder, formerly margrave von Roeder and commander of thevLost Regiment, (somehow) manages to convince the Kings of Eria to raise the Host of Man.


YE 1020
A horde of Nightmares is unleashed on the followers of Grishnak Gahalar. Some are granted access to the prime material plane of Argos.


The good ship Pius starts her journey.


YE 1021
Grishnak's Legions of Light is defeated by Aziz's Mujahed and an army of Nightmares under Morfeus himself in the Battle of the White Tower. Aziz is slain by Grishnak, who is in turn slain by Morfeus.


The Counsil of Awakened Viziers declare that Aziz is the True Caliph, and rules the Caliphate in his stead.


The Host of Man musters on the island of Cora and invades the occupied Colonies. The host is cut off from the Lands of Man when their bridgehead on Cora falls to the Black Ships.


The Wezellian Syndicate strikes the Lex Arcanum from the Laws of the Realm, in effect making magic legal.


YE 1022
Pendrell declare war on all witches and magicians, and invades Wezell on the first day of the year.


The Five Forts are burned by a Great Dragon. The Great Hunt of the Frost Elves descends on Pendrell, this is known as the Elven Scourge.


King Arthor XIII of Pendrell falls on his own sword. Duke Rowar Garwellyn of Ayre claims the Oaken Throne. Civil war breaks out.


The host of Man is brought from the Dark Continent by a miracle of Arkon.


King Rowar II of Pendrell is crowned (20 Primium) and crosses the River Ayre, defeating the Parliamentarian Force in the Battle of Sander Bridge.


The First Arcane Congress meets in the Wezellian town of Ghoerwald (1 Tertium). The Concord is signed (21 Sextum).


The Enlightened Alliance is formed by Wezell, Livonia, Maravia, Pendrell and the Ordo Hermetica.


The Temple of Man Supreme calls for a War of Enlightenment on the Arcane Congress and the Enlightened Alliance.


Alliance forces cross into the Enlightened Skythian Empire (13 Septium).


The First and Second Battle of Geminon Field (22 Septium). The Flood army under Samil Raga is defeated by a small force of Kengellians and Wezellians, led by the deity Geminon and the Pius Cabal.


The Great Explosion of Rederhafen.






* The exact dates of the events of the First and Second Age are uncertain, I have therefore elected not to list these.


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Storyteller's note: This is perhaps the most comprehensive outline of the history of Argos as of yet. Any errors or mistakes belong to the good Doctor Misterio.

Mythology I

"Take heed, Mariner! the Host of Man is at the Crossroads; Fate is in the balance, prophecies converge; Dark Gifts come at great price."   

-The Black Staff of Argos

The mythos of the Book of Worlds is one part quilted tapestry, one part hodgepodge, and three parts larceny. As with a lot the setting, it consists in great part of bits and pieces borrowed or outright stolen from literature, movies, games or RL. Some elements are transplanted more or less on root from where they originated, some have been cut from their host and grafted on the new stem. For good reasons, I will not lay it all out here, rather, I will give you the two-copper-tour, and the thought behind it all.


First off, I'll let you in on the Genesis. Not the metaphysical in-game one, but how it all has come into life (as it were). As mentioned, the setting was born with an act betrayal and the swearing of fealty to a dragon. After this, the stories that made the Book came from a couple of years of mostly one-on-one play. The character was Franko da Cola, and the chronicle was that of his fall, and ultimately, his ascension. For most of this, it was actually somewhat of a paradox to me, as the game was one of imminent gehenna, of the end of the world. My world. My baby. Franko, I must say, is a fundamentally sick puppy.

Each session seemed to make the End of the World more certain, more imminent. He was the one who served the dragon in its first vulnerable years; he was the one who aided the Orc in the first wars where the tribes of the Black Bloods were united into a vast Horde. He was the one who broke the Seal of Argos, sundering the barrier that kept Outsiders from crossing into the world. He also partook in rituals too dark and sinister to put in text, he called upon the powers of the Dark, and he even stole the soul of a fellow Man. Oh, and he went into one of the Hells and freed an imprisoned demon, then he brought him back to Argos and let him loose. All of this by his own free will. A right fine customer, this Franko.



The Myth of Man

"Man, the most serene of creatures, rose from the very dust of Creation by his own will.

"From the darkness between the stars, the Exarch came, floating through the eons. When the Great Enemy fell into the world in the First Age, it brought the Darkness. Elf and gods stood against it, but only when Man arose, taming the fire of the gods, and thus claiming his place as the rightful master of Creation, the First World War was won. The Orc, the servant of the Deep, were vanquished, and Argos was cleansed.

"The Elf and the gods, once, when Man was still unawakened, his guardian, grew jealous of his prowess, and forgot the ancient bond of blood forged in combat with the Ancient Foe. In the Second Age they turned against Man, and made war upon him. Thus the Second World War was thrust upon him. Man, besieged on all sides, turned to himself and found Reason. This, the very force of Creation, strengthened his mind and purified his soul. Against the traitors, Man stood victorious."

-The Book of the World

This is the core of the mythos. It tells about the coming of the Exarch, the great wars, and the rise of man. The Exarch, the Great Enemy, the Deep, the Darkness, etc. are all names of the same entity. Among friends (and out of game) it is often referred to as Cthulhu. Some have even been known to chant "ÏA, ÏA, FTAGN!" in a more or less composed manner. Old squid-face has been adopted, and now lies dormant on the bottom of the ocean, dreaming that "even death may die". Sounds familiar? After some of Franko's less glorious adventures, cults worshipping the Drowned Man can now be found hiding in most ports of any respectable size. Their rites often involve drowning a man to hear the gospel of the Deep.

The Gods
In the last great war man killed his gods, all but a few. Now the Younger Gods are taking the scene. The first was the very same bugger who set all of this in motion, the very same Monsir da Cola. He actually became three gods. There is Shaitani, the Drowned Man, there is Al Azwad, the Black Man (son of Man, not born by woman), and finally, there is Morfeus, Lord of Dreams, Prince of Nightmares and the Path of Thorns. Now, worship of gods, or even recognizing their existence, is blasphemy, and an act of enmity against Man, according to the Temple and the Cabal, but there are now growing cults to all these three, not only Shaitani. There are other gods as well. Aziz, the Last Prophet, Servant of Man is one. He died in the final battle against Grishnak, the Light of Creation. Grishnak was slain here, before the broken White Tower of Fate, by Morfeus.


As it happens, Aziz was once the manservant of Franko, while Grishnak were the very same demon he freed and brought home.


The last of the Younger Gods, so far anyway, is Agaron, the Warlord. Interestingly enough, this one is not affiliated with any player of mine, except for the fact that a PC, an Orc actually, were killed when he transcended.


There is one Older God known to be around as well. In the deep south of the Dark Continent, the Stygian Empire still worship Dís, the Ferryman, God of Death. This one is quite important, as the myth will have it that he is the one who guards the tomb of the Exarch. So there might be something it the rhyme about death dying anyway.



The Hierarchy of Creation

When the Pantocrator lit the first light of Creation, he set the Daeva to guard it. Of these, many have fallen, or disappeared in the vastness of the Multiverse. Then He created the Eldren, and he set them to guide the Younger Races. Of the Younger, we know of Elf, the first of them, and Man. The Pantocrator, or the Architect, has vanished, and in His stead the Eldren assumed the responsibility of guarding the Creation. Many of them grew arrogant and prideful, and styled themselves Masters of the Multiverse. Only one of the Eldren Ships is known by name: the Olympos.



The Great Plot

Magic is awoken; the Black Bloods (or the Orc, if you will) has united under the Great Khan Ghurandakh and conquered the colonies on the Dark Continent. They have marched south, and are at war with the Stygian Empire. The gods are returning to Argos, and outsiders now walk hidden among Man. The Temple and the Cabal are coming down hard on heretics, blasphemers and Enemies of Man. Amidst all of this, a combined army, 'the Host of Man' have been assembled to reclaim the lost colonies. The Deep is stirring in its cold grave, and the Olympos is coming.



Behind the scenes

I will return to several of these issues in due time, but this is the promised tour of the mythos. As for the thought behind it all, well… The Book is the product of interaction between players, and between players and Storyteller. I try to provide enough bullshit to create a good framework for the spinning of nice, long yarns. If a player has an idea that is better than mine, I try to swallow my pride and toss my original plan on the scrap heap, or present a compromise. The incorporation of Cthulhu is one such example. I had thought to make the Deep something nasty and evil, but in play it ended up with a more or less direct transplant. Besides, there is no shame in copying the work of a true master.


Next: I might go for the Temple and the Cabal, or something else entirely.