It all began with the Titans
From what even the most astute Isuldorian scholar can tell, the founders of Skellbrieg were not of mortal blood. Indeed, the continent did not even exist during Primordial Earth. It came into being once the Titans descended from the heavens, and marked their point of landing with a massive upheaval of volcanic rock and eventually hardened into the humungous landmass humanity now knows as the Eighth Continent. To seal off their secrets to the rest of Earth, the Titans devised the construction of the Edge of the World - the monolithic barrier that separates Skellbrieg from modern civilization - as well as its various guardians and sentinels. Furthermore, in order to better defend these artifacts, they gathered every monster from land, sea, and sky and confined them within the imposing barricade. Though some of these beasts may lurk out periodically, they cannot survive for long considering the enormous disparity in food supply.
The Titans went to work constructing their empire upon Skellbrieg, but were constantly at war with their insane nemeses from the Dark Horde, demonic creatures that worshiped the Titans' mortal foes: the Eight Gods of Ancient Chaos. To stave off the Dark Horde from plundering the Neanderthalic tribes still in their infancy, the Titans concentrated this conflict inside of Skellbrieg, masking the other parts of the world with their magic. A war that continues to this day nearly tore Skellbrieg apart, if not for the efforts of Borgrim Hellhammer, whose monumental strength sealed the Dark Horde within various parts of Skellbrieg, parts now referred to in hushed whispers as Wombs of Evil.
With the Dark Horde momentarily halted, Borgrim passed into legend and the Titans left Earth. Whether they visited to confine the Dark Horde's interests primarily to Skellbrieg or to prepare Earth for a larger invasion, none can say. But their remains and the ruins of their once-dominant empire laid strewn across the surface of the Eighth Continent, forever entombed in colossal vaults locked by magic and defended by terrifying monsters.
---
The Titans were not forgotten, however, as the Exiled still remained on Earth. They were those tainted by the Dark Horde, and whose lives would be sacrificed for the better of the universe by fighting the Dark Horde until they died, or else be irreversibly transformed into the slaves of Chaos. They founded multiple empires and united tribes, clans, and nomadic villages under their banners. With such power at their disposal, the Exiled began to hunt down the remnants of the Dark Horde that still infested the lands of Skellbrieg. But this crusade soon turned into a massacre.
Without the full military strength of the Titans, the Exiled were merely kings leading sheep into battle. The Wombs of Evil tasted their first droplets of human blood when Jotun Miremorg campaigned in the foreboding Frigid South. Rather than see those he gained the trust of die a painful death, he encased them in ice and sacrificed himself to the Dark Horde, becoming the Many-Antlered King of Boflheim in the process. He would forever live with the guilt, as the power coursing through his veins did not heed his orders. Instead, it commanded him to build the Hailfist Battlements and draw the Frost Giants out of hiding, for he was their new lord and master. Despite his bitter tears, the cold winds of the south still froze his heart.
---
Similar battles across Skellbrieg were also waged during this period of intense bloodshed and confusion.
The Exiled who would become the icon of the Isuldorian church, Vogna the Wanderer, instilled a temporary peace within Midland. She managed to purge most of the Wombs of Evil across this landscape, but at the cost of her life. As a final payment of respect, Vogna's body was lifted by her consorts and buried where she slew the great demon Azzaloth. Her blood purified the land and the Isuldorian empire was born. Their future capital city of Phalas Ilgor would be conceived upon the very same ground, and with an entire district belonging to the priesthood as dedication to Vogna's sacrifice. Even today, demon hunters carry icons of Vogna as well as her sword into battle, confident that she is protecting them from beyond the grave.
---
Meanwhile, the campaigns in the Great East as well as the Black Jungle to the west were not as easily won.
Dragga the Skullsmasher, infamous among the Exiled for his blunt style and brutish nature, happened upon a curious relic of the Dark Horde while investigating the Black Jungle. It had crashed within the dense foliage, creating a massive crater in the process, and he called it The Worldscar, but its function did not stutter for a single instant. The legions of the Dark Horde were marshaling at the other side of this portal, renewing their efforts for another assault on Skellbrieg. Dragga, for better or worse, invaded first.
The portal pulled him and his armies into the hell-blasted wastes of Fargate, where the Dark Horde made their presence absolute and terrifying. Demonic citadels were raised everywhere, and at the expense of slave labor in the forms of Orc and Thrae hands. Dragga had a new purpose, in addition to destroying the Dark Horde once and for all. By his hand, these slaves would be set free. But the extent of the horrors inflicted upon them by the Dark Horde were yet to be discovered.
Upon his first war to free the Thrae, he discovered that fully half of them were mutated by the powers of Chaos. These were typically magic users and shamans who tied themselves both to the elements and to the eldritch energies surrounding their homes. As well as a slow, degenerating insanity, these mutants also suffered similar defects in their offspring, who often died after leaving the womb. Dragga tracked the source of their sorrows to the Scourge crystals, which were used to keep the Thrae from escaping Dark Horde custody. He smashed them apart, one by one, facing countless trials along the way, but he raised his bloody fist to the sky and proclaimed the Thrae as part of his burgeoning coalition of races.
The Orcs, however, were less than delighted to hear that the Thrae were being freed along with them. For centuries before the Dark Horde's emergence into the Fargate, the Orcs and Thrae were mortal enemies. The Orcs even went so far as to drink from goblets of demon blood to gain more power with which to destroy the Thrae. This turned their skin and the skin of their children a dark green, forever marking them as slaves to their mortal foes. However, those who did not drink of the demon blood were also slowly turning to madness against the endless, teeming masses of demonic invaders. The Orcs were primed for an explosion of civil conflict as warlords fought and squabbled over who should have the right to rule. Dragga settled this by traveling to each of the warlords' holds. Knowing the Orcs respected strength, he challenged each of them to a duel and bested them all in single combat within a day. Again, his bloodied fist rose to the sky and Dragga promised the Orcs would be free.
But the demon legions were not content on remaining idle while this happened.
Deep within the massive floating fortress, Burning Island, Doom Lord Kalgoth the Truthslayer began his plans to rid the Fargate of Dragga and plunge not only the Orcs and Thrae into suffering and servitude, but all of Skellbrieg as well. Kalgoth marched against Dragga while the latter had prepared for a siege mission. Using the inferno cannons mounted on his fortress, Kalgoth started a bombardment that shook the western half of Fargate into the Cracked Spheres, rendering them little more than fragments of land drifting away into nothingness. Dragga, in his last moments, ordered his armies to retreat to The Worldscar, buying them time to escape with his own life. In the process, he managed to slice apart Kalgoth's face, giving him one final insult as his slave races slipped from his grasp. Along with Dragga's death, The Worldscar temporarily closed due to the massive output of the Titan's death throes. But the Dark Horde continued to slip through into Skellbrieg using the Wombs of Evil. The Orcs and the Thrae, leaderless, agreed to go their separate ways, with the Orcs following the strength and honor Dragga practiced in battle and the Thrae worshiping the Light he left behind.
---
While the agonizing pain of Jotun Miremorg and the heraldic victories of Vogna and Dragga were changing Skellbrieg, a gigantic upheaval of power had started in the Great East. For generations, the deserts and mountain holds were ruled by giants, but they ultimately answered to the Gakken, who were descendents of the original Titans. The Gakken desired to rebuild the empire of their ancestors by any means necessary, which coincided with the presence and prestige of the giants.
The Gakken were not connected to the Wombs of Evil. They were inherently powerful and crushed any giant who defied them. This did not stop the giants from contacting the Dark Horde, and they did so without hesitation. The first giant king who fell under the allure of the demonic powers was Ganishka Saul the Thirteenth, and he became powerful enough to the extent of controlling the weather around his palace. He fought the Gakken for forty days and forty nights without rest or reprieve, proving once and for all that the giants were not to be trifled with.
Other giant kings followed his example and sold their souls to various demon lords in exchange for awesome powers. The Gakken were forced into hibernation while the Great East became little more than a playground for the Dark Horde and its infamous leaders.
The human kingdom of Rhushan came under attack during this time period, as it always defied the God-Kings and God-Queens of the giant holds. But, Ganishka Saul decided that this refusal to obey would be dealt with on a level unforeseen in Skellbrieg history. He gathered his mightiest shamans and together, they lifted Ganishka Saul into the air and he became one with the elements, melting into a giant cloud of pure energy. His divine fury rained down upon the cities of the Rhushan for seven days, plaguing them with a variety of horrendous diseases, famines, and even the deaths of every firstborn child in each household. Rather than suffer continued disaster, the king of the Rhushan agreed that his empire would forever be a buffer nation and territory of the giants. He then committed suicide to complete this pact with Ganishka Saul, who rules over the Great East to this day.
---
But even in absolute darkness, the tides of war always change hands. Hei Long, the Black Prince, and fabled True King of Rhushan, appeared one day in the northern tribes of Panden. This occurrence coincided with the fall of the Mugol Emperor Shing Wu, whose tyrannical hold over the Panden had ended by Hei Long's hands.
Hei Long had fled his palace following his father's suicide, knowing that Ganishka Saul would target noble families until he killed the heir to the Rhushan throne. Hei Long refused to allow Ganishka Saul the pleasure and faked his own suicide before climbing the Dragonmaw Barricade into Xiong Mao.
Hei Long gained his reputation as the Black Prince because of the twin dragons implanted into his body, dragons whose blood had been drawn from a Womb of Evil in order to give them - and, by association, Hei Long - eternal life. This was done at the behest of Hei Long's father, Cao Long, who wanted above all things to save his prematurely born son. Hei Long managed to understand the dragons and became their unofficial triplet after many years listening to them and learning how to control their immense power. Soon, he became just as strong as they were, but not enough to challenge Ganishka Saul yet.
Therefore, he undertook a pilgrimage to the mysterious land of Xiong Mao in order to learn from the Panden and their ancient mastery of Kung Fu (touched upon in Legend of Thunder).
---
Basically just hype for Skellbrieg and a future series of Raid-like RPGs where the assembled teams can delve into the lore and secrets of Skellbrieg while getting loot and fighting monsters, demons, and various bosses, mini-bosses, and other beasts :D
Log in to comment