Creative Exercise: The Sovereign Dominion of Eyros

ironregime said:

Only is hushed whispers is the rumor spread that beneath Wraith’s Steeple, the highest of the Kelnar Mountains, lies the labyrinthine halls of Alkshalnjar, forgotten city-state of the dwarves. The Jagged Eye—among other groups—has spent much effort in locating entrances to this fabled land, though whether they have had success is not known.

(Every fantasy world needs a forgotten lost city of the dwarves. ;-)
ironregime

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The Masks are fully mature and free of all oaths in reverie. Many younger Elves have been raised as servants of Eyros, and remain mostly loyal even in reverie.

The Imperial Mask Kaillo was snarling in reverie for several weeks before he tripped down the stairs and seemingly died. His body has been moved to a crypt, and is to be prepared for its final resting. In actuality, his unconscious mind has managed to hold him back from death, and project itself as an ethereal spirit fully able to use its magic. The spirit of Kaillo is divided in his labors to prevent his body from being destroyed and working to free the minds of his fellows.

Contribution

Khorod said:

The Masks are fully mature and free of all oaths in reverie. Many younger Elves have been raised as servants of Eyros, and remain mostly loyal even in reverie.

The Imperial Mask Kaillo was snarling in reverie for several weeks before he tripped down the stairs and seemingly died. His body has been moved to a crypt, and is to be prepared for its final resting. In actuality, his unconscious mind has managed to hold him back from death, and project itself as an ethereal spirit fully able to use its magic. The spirit of Kaillo is divided in his labors to prevent his body from being destroyed and working to free the minds of his fellows.

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Although very rare, Dragons on Eyros have a large advantage over dragons on other worlds - they are immortal (as in, they don't die of natural causes, not that they cannot be killed). After becoming great wurms they tend to become more contemplative and scheming, and begin measuring their age in millenia instead of pairs of centuries. Their endless life-spans lead dragons to hatch grand schemes that take thousands of years to come to fruition.


*I hadn't realized dragons were mortal in standard D&D This fits with our two dragons, Alsixnivis, and the one who may have set up Vildaxaranthus.

Abisashi said:

Although very rare, Dragons on Eyros have a large advantage over dragons on other worlds - they are immortal (as in, they don't die of natural causes, not that they cannot be killed). After becoming great wurms they tend to become more contemplative and scheming, and begin measuring their age in millenia instead of pairs of centuries. Their endless life-spans lead dragons to hatch grand schemes that take thousands of years to come to fruition.


*I hadn't realized dragons were mortal in standard D&D This fits with our two dragons, Alsixnivis, and the one who may have set up Vildaxaranthus.

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Yeah, typical D&D dragons are mortal (one thing that really reminded me of this was back when Ed Greenwood did a Wyrms of the North article in Dragon that gave personalities to different dragons, and the great wyrms were all shown as either possessing some unnatural means of keeping themselves fit or else slowly atrophying unto death). Fortunately, the Draconomicon Dragon Ascendant prestige class fits Eyrian dragons dead-on (Its immortal, it gets an Aura, etc), so we do have a precedent for immortal dragons as well.

To the west of Eyros, somewhere in the ocean/sea, is a large island surrounded by a permanent wall/dome of fog. Nobody who enters has ever come out, so who, or what, lives here is a complete mystery. Some speculate that it is a prison for a powerful essence/demon, while others thing it is a long lost realm that can only be entered only on a certain day or time, or with a very specific artifact. Maybe it is part of a long lost prophecy, or just a freak accident of nature.

Each Pillar maintains several ancient artifacts, usually personal belongings of ancient family members of note. During the ages, they have developed some small amount of power (worship bestows power, after all) on their own, but their primary importance is simply to establish lineage for the family.

domino said:

Each Pillar maintains several ancient artifacts, usually personal belongings of ancient family members of note. During the ages, they have developed some small amount of power (worship bestows power, after all) on their own, but their primary importance is simply to establish lineage for the family.

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Contribution:

Kaillo has found that in his spirit form he can innately sense other incorporeal sentiences such as himself. This has caused him to become aware of three entities: First, he has discovered the presence of the sleeping Ramu within Alivia's emerald necklace. Kaillo sees Ramu as a tiny, wispy male orc child curled up inside of the emerald in a fetal position. Second, he has noticed the sad, quiet ghost of Jesyra Rhaldas Dal-Malarn, a former Uncrowned Grand Monarch (she lived in the time before Agathon when the pureblooded Pillars switched off ruling, and thus by necessity the Human rulers would require an orc High Seneschal to wear the crown for them), who died from poison in a tragic incident involving betrayed love. Jesyra's ghost appears as a translucent, hauntingly beautiful young woman with downcast eyes, whose hair is constantly stirred by an ethereal zephyr, even indoors where there is no wind. Finally, Kaillo has come into contact with Death's Caress, a powerful Dread Wraith who has several unique abilities, including the power to shift her vague, wispy shape into a human semblance and, more dangerously, the Rejuvenation ability more common to ghosts. She was sealed away within the crypts by the Patriae Sicarii in 1875 EY when they discovered that she could not be permanently defeated by normal means. The Mask's sentience has been searching for a means to allow the wraith to break free, on the condition that she not kill any of his people, figuring that the ensuing army of spawn would at least be a nasty distraction for the Praes Thanatos, leaving him free to work towards his own ends. Of course, if freed, Death's Caress has no intention of honouring her agreement with the elven spirit.

The nation of Iryppia exists only as a psychic construct. A sort of fantasy virtual reality. Iryppian citizens may hold dual nationality, dividing their time between Iryppia and the real world, or they may exist wholly within the psychic enclave.

Doug McCrae said:

The nation of Iryppia exists only as a psychic construct. A sort of fantasy virtual reality. Iryppian citizens may hold dual nationality, dividing their time between Iryppia and the real world, or they may exist wholly within the psychic enclave.

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The ancient spell that extended the lives of the Elves was directly tied to the ritually established borders of their nation. Those ancient borders currently include 95% of the current nation of Eyros, and more besides. If a Mask leaves the confines of this range, they will slowly break free from the effects of the magic- aging and maturing normally.

Certain areas along the borders are known to degrade the bonds of the Guardian Masks, and so the Masks do not stand at the actual borders. This creates several zones most prone to foreign invasion.

Since this property of the Masking effect is not publicly known nor realized by the Pillars, any new expansion of the borders would slowly and surprisingly free the Guardian Masks.

EDIT: This secret can now be spread. I suggest few know of it, but that is for someone else to decide.

Fitting it in with the implied facts

Khorod said:

The ancient spell that extended the lives of the Elves was directly tied to the ritually established borders of their nation. Those ancient borders currently include 95% of the current nation of Eyros, and more besides. If a Mask leaves the confines of this range, they will slowly break free from the effects of the magic- aging and maturing normally.

Certain areas along the borders are known to degrade the bonds of the Guardian Masks, and so the Masks do not stand at the actual borders. This creates several zones most prone to foreign invasion.

Since this property of the Masking effect is not realized, any new expansion of the borders would slowly free the Guardian Masks.

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This seems in conflict Thanatos's deep knowledge of the oaths, though he's quite possibly the only one who knows. Perhaps he has directed the emperor to not expand the borders any further? I don't think he wants the masks released.

Well, since deep knowledge is not complete knowledge, it does not necessarily contradict.

However, let it be known that it is not contradicting me if someone decides to make a contribution to the effect that someone does know- I think there's potential there. I'll edit my post accordingly.