đź‘‘ The Age of Mortals: Kingdoms, Legends & The Sundering
I. The First Great Kingdoms
In the wake of the Weavers' withdrawal, the power vacuum was violently filled by those who could seize it. These foundational kingdoms defined the new world order, categorized by their allegiance or their rejection of the vanished divine forces.
1. The Celestial Successors – Empires of the Divine Legacy
These kingdoms were founded by bloodlines that sought to preserve the divine law of the absent Celestial Lords. They ruled through strict order, prophecy, and faith.
* The Empire of the Eternal Crown: A vast kingdom where rulers were chosen by divine prophecy, wielding the authority of the Celestial Lords.
* The Radiant Dominion: A coalition of holy orders, warrior-monks, and saint-kings who maintained the Celestial Codes of honor and law.
* The Ivory Theocracy: A kingdom where high priests and diviners held absolute power, claiming to be the only interpreters of the absent gods' will.
2. The Infernal Warlords – The Strong Rule Alone
Empires forged by ambition and might, adhering to the Infernal doctrine that only the strong deserve power, often seeking dark blessings and forbidden strength.
* The Ashen Conquerors: A ruthless dynasty of warlords who ruled by sheer strength, believing conquest to be the only legitimate form of governance.
* The Bloodforged Legions: A militant order that sought the lost secrets of the Infernal Realm, imbuing soldiers with demonic strength through dark rituals.
* The Blackened Throne: A kingdom ruled by the Dark Monarch, who claimed to have used forbidden power to surpass the gods themselves.
3. The Unshackled Realms – The Defiers of Fate
Civilizations that consciously rejected both Celestial and Infernal rule, fighting for freedom from all divine control.
* The Free Cities of the Weavers' Ruin: Cities built atop the ruins of a lost Weaver citadel, thriving on trade, knowledge, and defiance of prophecy.
* The Nomadic Clans of the Shattered Plains: Tribes who followed the Unwritten Law, refusing to bow to any king or god.
* The Hidden Kingdoms of the Forsaken: Secretive enclaves that sought to revive the power of the Weavers, even if it risked breaking reality further.
II. The Rise of Mortal Legends & The War of Crowns
As kingdoms solidified, figures of impossible power—the Sovereign and Minister Tiers of mortals—rose to prominence, proving that strength was no longer a divine monopoly.
* The Godslayer-King: A warlord who claimed to have slain a fallen god, wielding its residual power to build an empire.
* The Undying Sorcerer: A mage who uncovered the lost secrets of the Weavers, gaining power far beyond mortal comprehension.
* The Forsaken Prophet: A visionary who declared war on all divine rule, leading a widespread revolution against both Celestial and Infernal influence.
* The Blade-Saint: A warrior who mastered the Sacred Arts, becoming undefeated in a thousand duels.
* The Shadow Monarch: A ruler who built an empire from the shadows, controlling kings and queens without ever taking the throne.
The War of Crowns – The Struggle for Dominion
The inevitable conflict between these expanding powers became known as The War of Crowns—a continuous, three-way struggle that shaped the geography and politics of the Mortal Realm:
* The Celestial Heirs sought to restore divine law and order.
* The Infernal Warlords fought for power and conquest.
* The Unshackled fought for total freedom, rejecting all forms of divine or supernatural rule.
The outcome of this unending war will determine the ultimate, Unwritten Fate of the Mortal Realm.
III. The Age of Relics & Forbidden Knowledge
In this era, legendary artifacts became the new centers of power, often deciding the outcome of wars and the fate of kings.
The Nature of Legendary Artifacts
| Type | Origin & Power | Key Artifact Examples |
|---|---|---|
| The Divine Relics | Created by the Celestial Lords and Infernal Overlords. Infused with fragments of divine will (Order or Chaos). | The Crown of Eternal Rule (grants divine ruling authority), The Infernal Gauntlet (devours souls), The Saint's Tear (purifies, but consumes life force). |
| The Weaver's Relics | Remnants of the Weavers' lost power, capable of reshaping reality itself. Not bound to any god. | The Loom of Fate (rewrites destiny), The Worldforger's Anvil (allows mortals to forge artifacts), The Shattered Key (unlocks the Weavers' lost realm). |
| The Mortal Relics | Created by mortal hands through sheer will, alchemy, or sorcery, often imbued with Godslayer potential. | The Blade of the Godslayer (forged from a fallen god's bones), The Sealed Grimoire (contains maddening forbidden magic), The Shadow Cloak (allows movement in the space between light and dark). |
Legendary Weapons & Artifacts by Faction
| Faction | Relic of Order/Law | Relic of Dominance/Defiance |
|---|---|---|
| Celestial Kingdoms | The Sunforged Blade (pure light), The Crown of Radiance (divine wisdom). | The Eternal Aegis (blocks all unholy attacks), The Hymnstone (guides the faithful). |
| Infernal Kingdoms | The Abyssfang (drinks souls), The Crown of the Black Sun (turns rulers into demon-kings). | The Chains of Malice (binds celestial beings), The Tome of Forbidden Names (enslaves demons). |
| Fallen Kingdoms | The Twin Blades of Dawn & Dusk (rejects both divine/infernal), The Mask of the Forsaken (shifts angelic/demonic form). | The Fallen Banner (unites exiles, making them unstoppable), The Heart of the Rift (unstable divine/infernal energy). |
| Unshackled Realms | The Iron Crown (symbolizes rejection of gods), The Codex of Man (rivals divine wisdom). | The Silent Blade (slain celestial and infernal champions), The Stone of the Free (grants resistance to divine/demonic influence). |
| The Weavers' Domain | The Spider's Loom (rewrites fate), The Whispering Gourd (vessel of forgotten secrets). | The Serpent's Fang (dagger that can kill gods), The Mask of Many Faces (imitates divine beings). |
IV. The Sundering of Fate – The Breaking of Reality
The catalyst for all these events, the Sundering, was the moment the Weave of Fate was torn, unraveling the very fabric of existence.
> "And on that day, the threads of destiny frayed. What was written was erased, and what was erased was rewritten. No god, no mortal, no Weaver could stop it."
The Three Great Consequences
* The Death of Destiny: Prophecy is unreliable; the Forsaken Prophet's last vision simply vanished. Fate lost its grip, forcing gods and mortals into an unpredictable world.
* The Collapse of the Divine Order: Gods were weakened and their influence limited to their most devout followers. Some were forced to walk the mortal realm, becoming vulnerable. The Rise of the Unshackled—mortals who dared challenge the weakened gods—began.
* The Fracturing of Reality: The world itself became unstable. Time is unreliable, Rifts opened between realms, and Artifacts of impossible power (fragments of the broken Weave) began to manifest.
Theories Behind the Catastrophe
No one knows the true cause, giving rise to terrifying theories:
* The Weaver's Last Thread: A final, forbidden pattern woven by a disappearing Weaver, overloading the Weave and destroying it.
* The Godslayer's Sin: A mortal wielded The Unmaking Blade (crafted from a dead god's bones) to strike at the heart of the divine order, severing fate itself.
* The Forsaken's Rebellion: The Sundering was not an accident, but the ultimate act of free will against divine control.
The world remains Unwritten. Power is no longer earned—it is taken, stolen, or accidentally inherited, promising endless possibility and eternal danger.