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Author Topic: Edited: Lore of Su'kean - Update - Isle of Four Monarchs (short story removed)  (Read 892 times)

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Offline Myen'Tal

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Good morning, afternoon, evening, and night to everyone! Inspired by others who are creating their own lore for Age of Sigmar, I've decided to jump in and start creating my own. Here is the first portion, there'll likely be one or two more portions.

Realm of Magic: Hysh

Sub-Continent: Su’kean, The Dominion of One Hundred Crowns


The Sub-continent of Su’kean is a verdant jewel hidden behind the Veil of Splendor, a wall of illusionary magic that shields the lands from much of the endless legions of chaos. Wreathed in islands, the sub-continent is a great ring of land without a hollowed center. Favored by many of the rare varieties of aelves that had survived the world that was, a handful of small enclaves were built in the highest reaches of this lands gargantuan mountains.

In the Age of Myth, the Sylvaneth of Clan Mu’guraen took root in the fey woods of the south and built a verdant kingdom so grand in splendor that aelves from across realms naturally came to settle and bask in the wisdom of their many glories. Following the migration of aelves, entire Duradin Clans and human civilizations built their kingdoms in the surrounding lands, until nearly all of Su’kean was dominated with the glories of civilization.

In the Age of Chaos, Archaon dispatched the Four Great Despoilers, champions of Chaos Undivided, to tear down the newly established Dominion of One Hundred Crowns. At their command, millions of blood-thirsty raiders invaded Su’kean from every perceivable direction.

Tyrion and Teclis, the Aelven Gods of Light, countered the reaving hordes in a series of naval conflicts that saw entire warbands of the Everchosen sunken beneath the waves. After each success however, the Arch-Enemy’s forces only continued to swell. As the Hedonites of Slaanesh continued to drive their own invasions deeper into Hysh, Tyrion and Teclis were eventually forced to surrender Su’kean to its fate.

Yet, in the Dominion of One Hundred Crowns, defiance still blazed red hot.
Desperate for victory, but far from defeat, the Idoneth of the hidden Ondaric Enclaves invited the war leaders, counselors, and nobles of the major Aelven races to the Isle of Four Monarchs: The Sylvaneth, Daughters of Khaine, the Aelves of the Free Cities, and the Deepkin themselves.
After several months of strenuous negotiations, the Elder Alliance was formed.

On the battlefield, legions of the She-Who-Thirsts clashed upon mighty bulwarks of Sylvaneth warriors, the roots of their wyldwoods sprouting from the earth entangle, impale, and drag their deep beneath the bloodied soil. The Daughters of Khaine thrust themselves into the vulnerable points of the enemy like the fatal strike of a knife through the heart. The Idoneth of the Ondaric Enclaves struck from the skies themselves, cleaving the heads from many a writhing serpent that saw entire legions collapse in on themselves. Meanwhile, the Free Cities cosigned countless millions to sudden death with their magical and physical artillery bombardments and provided countless regiments to bolster the cities of the other races, save the Idoneth.

Such was the magnificence of their victories, that the Dark Gods themselves spat at them in spite, and cosigned the realm of Su’kean to several years of destruction by storm of dark magic. The armies of Order and Chaos alike were torn asunder, as was the land itself and the many glittering cities it housed. Millions of souls were stolen from the living and into the waiting clutches of the Dark Gods.

Within the span of a handful of years, the Dominion of One Hundred Crowns, had become a shadow of its former self, hollowed and decrepit in equal measure.

Then the skies shifted into the cobalt and brilliant white hues of great celestial storms and the
Stormcast Descended…

Hundreds of years have passed, but many of the Free Cities have been reestablished. The Aelven enclaves and their kingdoms have arisen from the ashes like the Phoenixes housed in their temples. The Stormcast, entranced by the splendor of this rebuilt kingdom, even as the last foe was routed and ran down from Undivided hordes, deigned to remain and swear fealty to the Dominion of One Hundred Crowns.

Geography: Rooted deep in the Southern hills and wyldwood forests of Southern Su’kean, the Sylvaneth lands of the Phoenix Kingdoms spread across entirety of the Shores of Solace from one end of Su’kean to the other. Mighty forested mountains dominate the landscape and eclipse windswept glades and arable valleys beneath their all-consuming shadows. Vast rivers cut between these gargantuan, forested mountains, where entire trade fleets can maneuver freely to deliver goods to and from Sylvaneth lands.

The further south one travels, the feyer and wilder these lands become, until nothing but the Autumn Veil, an endless stretch of Wyldwoods, covers everything until one meets the Enlightened Sea in the far South. Here, hidden wars are executed as the Sylvaneth constantly battle to curb the myriad evils that plague this forest.

Settled in the heart of Su’kean, countless Free Cities and Aelven enclaves have taken root in the Everblaze Basin. What lies here is a nigh impregnable bastion comprised of nearly every race within the Grand Alliance of Order. Thriving Republics, enlightened monarchies, and mercantile nations form what is known as the Everblaze Kingdoms, the soul and inner core of Su’kean itself.

Hidden Idoneth city-states in the eastern Evening Archipelago boast such numbers and splendor that many rival kingdoms have been forced to recognize the legitimacy of the recently formed Ondaric Enclaves. None dare venture here willingly, for while the Evening Archipelago is a place of serenity and beauty, the Idoneth have such an entrenched presence on these islands that little more than grand armies could persuade them to leave.

Windswept glades, pleasant forests, and granite mountains dominate the Isles of the eastern archipelagos. Once beautiful lands claimed by the Sylvaneth, the Clans that once dwelled here voluntarily surrendered their homes for the Ondaric Enclaves in the honor of the Elder Alliance during the Age of Chaos. While many of the life trees lie dormant on these islands, scores of lesser Idoneth enclaves and fortresses have been erected in the Quelled Sea that houses the islands, never too far from the shoreline.

In the Western regions of Su’kean, many of the Aelven races and more disparate elements of the Everblaze Basin set out to create their own kingdoms along the grand Kraken Straits. An arid region compared with the verdant lands of the rest of Su’kean, the Kraken Straits also proved nigh infinitely wealthy in precious minerals and oils. Over the course of several centuries, eight grand merchant cities were founded and prospering in this dangerous land.

Above the merchant city-states, the floating mountains of the Sky Peaks became the Headquarters and spiritual home of the Daughters of Khaine Ish’na Temple. These serenely beautiful lands in time became a reflection of the Ish’na Temples religious beliefs, who found solace in the serenity of death, in all of its forms. Interlinked by lesser realmgates, the Daughters of Khaine effortlessly raised a number of self-sustaining Grand Temples as their numbers continue to burgeon.

Notable Kingdoms:

Idoneth of the Ondaric Enclaves

Isle of Four Monarchs – Ruled from the seat of power at Thurannor, Theronhall, the Monsoon of Mourning, guides the Ondaric Enclaves with a parental hand toward unity and prosperity.

The Evening Archipelago – An island chain dotted with great Idoneth fortresses hidden just beneath the shores of these enigmatic islands.

Mathlann’s Vigil
– A great island where many councils of the Ondaric gather to discuss the future of the enclaves. Upon this island, diplomats and envoys from foreign kingdoms are oft invited in both times of war and peace to secure rare and invaluable trade and non-aggression pacts with the ferocious deepkin raiders.

Sylvaneth of the Mu’guraen Clan

Mt. of the Sapphire Star – A massive, forested mountain that rivals the valleys hidden beneath its shadow. Upon the exterior, scores of lesser enclaves cluster around the Trees of Life in an intricate network similar to the city-town-village structure of many of the other races. Hidden in the heart of the great hill, however, lies the Enclave of Silver Moon, hearth and home to the Mu’guraen. Countless thousands of soul pods are sown and grown in the heart of the hollowed mountain, ever bolstering the formidable might of the Silver Moon Houses.

Eyries of the Solstices – A great gate of living forestation crafted from Allarielle’s own hand; the Eyrie of the Solstices is famous for the Hysihan labyrinths entangled in the sprawling growths of the Sylvaneth. Aelven scholars from every race send their children to these labyrinths to learn more of the sylvaneth race and the other aelves that inhabit the Hyish realm. Furthermore, in times of warfare, the Sylvaneth have bolstered the Eyrie of Solstices with the grandest armies until she is all but impregnable, only ever breached during the age of Chaos, after an alliance of Slaanesh and Tzeenthian daemons split the mighty gate asunder with the opening of a great rift that consumed entirety of the Silverwood Lances, a force of sixty thousand sylvaneth that comprised all of Clan Runali, and countless youths of the Aelven race into the clutches of Tzeentch.

Eternal woods of the Autumnal – A great sprawl of awakened wyldwoods that stretch from one end of the Su’kean sub-continent and stretch further south across every inch of land until it meets the Enlightened Sea. Here, brave Sylvaneth constantly clash with myriad horrors and ancient enemies that seek a foothold in the lands of Clan Mu’guraen.

Entire Legions of Nurgle, including that of Thorax Gore-Eye and his one hundred thousand strong, the Fecund Flood, was shattered and hunted down to the last corrupted soul by swarming hordes of the Mu’guraen Spite-Revenant Outcasts. Here, the God-Seekers of Slaanesh had attempted to tread, but found their chariots and mounts entangled by the cunning of the living forests and dragged deep beneath the forest soil. Civilizations of Greenskins and Beasts of Chaos seem to thrive in this hostile land and their numbers must be constantly thinned lest they threaten inner Su’kean. A task best left to Outcast Queen Nashena, who rallies innumerable outcasts armies to beset her forces from all sides with constant warfare.

Daughters of Khaine – Temple of Ish’na

Blood Halls of the Hallowed Murder – Erected in the brief years of peace after the age of chaos, the Ish’na founded their temple at the height of the Sky Peaks. A series of floating mountains connected together by a chain of lesser realmgates, the tranquil serenity of these verdant lands has lost none of their beauty. For the Sisters of Hallowed Murder find solace in the tranquility of death, no matter its forms. Sweeping meadows and arable valleys tended by the slaves of the Doomfire Warlock caste intermingle with gushing rivers of crimson that flow ceaselessly from the Blood Halls.

The Kraken Straits – Once home to several Free Cities that prospered on the shores of the Kraken Straits, these Cities are free no longer. In the War of One Thousand Venomed Cuts, the Ish’na Temple succeeded in silently mass-poisoning the City of Amkalur through the aid of the scourge runners, who tainted the sources of the River Quel that ran through the city with countless tons of skaven engineered chemical weapons. Amkalur, the Morning Gate, surrendered before the Ish’na hordes on the eve of the following sunrise.

The Ish’na proclaimed themselves overlords of Amkalur and the Kraken Straits, and marched to war with their newfound vassals. Of the Aelven races that dwelled in Amkalur, enslavement dwindled the numbers of their male populaces, while many female youths were given over to bolster the Blood Halls numbers. Of the humans and duradin shackled to endure for their families, marched ahead of the main Ish’na forces before the walls of the remaining six Free Cities.

Whilist the legions of Amkalur waged war in several sieges, the Scourge Runners labored relentlessly to compromise the defenses of each city in tandem. The Ish’na utilized hidden subterranean caverns, hollowed passages, and abandoned mines to infiltrate the Kraken Straits and unleash havoc behind the walls of the Free Cities. For three years, the armies of Amkalur were ground down into dust and barely holding on to protect their own walls, which now became besieged in turn. With some measure of relief gained, the Free Cities fought to exterminate the Ish’na behind their walls.

Undeterred, the Ish’na called upon their allies in the Ondaric enclave, who valued the Ish’na Temple’s steady supply of souls too much to deny their request. In the final year of the War of One Thousand Venomed Cuts, Eidolons of Mathlann surged from the Kraken Straits and flooded entire city districts with the great tsunamis they hurled into their midst. Entire regiments and knightly orders perished beneath the debris-laden waves, alongside civilians without count. Phalanxes of Eels and Namarti, combined with the frenzied might of the Ish’na, hewed through whoever survived long enough to fight.

Millions of sacrifices and souls were stolen from the Kraken Straits’ Bastions of Order, and divided amongst the victorious Aelves. No living soul remained after the massacre, either well-having fled or having met one of the disastrous fates that awaited so many of their kinsmen.
The Daughters of Khaine rebuilt the Seven Cities as Several Temple Fortresses to serve as their own bastions of Order for Aelves who would call themselves allies of the Daughters of Khaine...

To Be Continued...
« Last Edit: October 6, 2019, 11:45:12 AM by Myen'Tal »
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Offline Myen'Tal

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Re: Su'kean - The Dominion of One Hundred Crowns
« Reply #1 on: September 6, 2019, 12:25:10 AM »
Will replace with more lore at somepoint ;D:
« Last Edit: October 6, 2019, 08:32:19 AM by Myen'Tal »
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Offline Myen'Tal

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NOTE: Did some editing to make some of the sentences flow better in general. Corrected some grammar mistakes as well, etc.

Should read much better now!

Isle of Four Monarchs –

Leviathan’s Maw

Beneath the serene cyan waters of the Whirl-Snare Gulf, erected in the midst of the Everrain Reefs that stretch for miles across the tempestuous waters, lies the Conclave of the Elder Kings. A lavish palace-fortress built from the magically enriched coral of the Everrain, molded into the form of crystalline battlements and razor shell walls. A ‘Fortress of the Deep, a Palace of the Noble Thought’.

The outer districts of the Conclave consist of the Namarti slave barracks and manors, known as the Leviathan’s Maw. Countless thousands of the subservient class of the Idoneth dwell in isolation, surrounded by labyrinthine walls of the Conclave’s outer defenses. Patrols range far and wide from the Maw, whether to cull ferocious predators of the deep or to ambush foes that stray too close to the shores of the Four Monarch’s Isle.

Within the dimly lit halls of the Leviathan’s Maw, thousands of Namarti Thralls and Reavers practice their sacred rites and martial arts. The few Isharann that oversee their slave populace observe the excruciating process of branding the Namarti as slaves and their indoctrination process. Those Namarti not of strength enough to wield blade or bow toil in the industries that dominate the leviathan’s maw. But those with the courage, cunning, and strength of body and mind embark upon a perilous journey in the defense of their enclave.

Though lowly slaves among the scholars of the Isharann and the martial nobility of the Akhelian Houses, even one Namarti is worth ten warriors of the lesser races. Though expendable, any Akhelian King would preserve even a dozen Namarti if it were possible, but maximize their imminent loss in the harvested blood of the foe if no other choice is available.

The Namarti of Leviathan’s Maw undergo a rigorous training process that may last until approximately half of their inferior lifespans. It is a willing sacrifice that they make, for without the Narmti Thralls or their Reaver Scouts, not even the Akhelian Houses would be able to gather the souls needed to continue their prospering society, and prolong the lives of the Namarti themselves.

Heart of Mathlann

Maintaining vigil over the shadowy depths of the Leviathan’s Maw, the Heart of Mathlann rises ever into the sapphire waters of the Whirl-Snare Gulf. Lavish palaces of silk laden and jewel encrusted choral walls, draped with the fabric of one hundred banners of the Akhelian Houses that dwell in the Heart of Mathlann billow in the shifting waters of the Gulf.

The rarity of foes who have gazed upon the Heart of Mathlann have often underestimated the battle-hardened raiders that dwell within it’s splendorous halls. For the Akhelians of the Ondaric Enclave may not be as spartan as their enigmatic kin, but their merciless and bloodied legacy speaks much of their myriad glories.

A score of sieges have been laid upon the Heart of Mathlann over the course of her history. The Idoneth speak of daemonic horrors and devious, hideous ratmen rampaging through the lower ties of the grand fortresses time and again. They slay, gnash, and carve a path from the lower holds until they spill out into the courtyards and plazas of the higher spheres. It is here where the Akhelians have always mustered, mounted on the backs of their sea beasts, and where they descend upon the foe from seemingly nowhere to hew, hack, and tear apart their enemies without mercy.

As the foe is pressed back into the lower holds by the Akhelian Houses, so do the Namarti swarm up from the Leviathan’s Maw to entrap the foe and deny them any quarter.

The Ondaric Akhelians undergo gruesome blood rites as soon as they come of age to join the vaunted ranks of the Akhelians. On the eve of their first century of age, adolescents of the Ondaric Idoneth reflect upon the lessons of stoic repression and self-control taught in their method of disciplined combat. They reflect, then participate in hidden gladiatorial combats against their most experienced Namarti Thralls and Reavers. Paired into teams of either two or three, the adolescents must survive wave after wave of the finest Namarti Warriors to have ever served the conclave, until either one side or the other is slain to the last.

A daunting task for any warrior, but a would-be Akhelian’s first century is oft more than a match in age and experience than the most fortunate and graceful Namarti.

The adolescents that survive are inducted into the ranks of the Akhelian Houses as trainees. These youths are denied the honor of owning their own ferocious beast of the undersea, but instead man the weapon platforms that often rest in the harnesses fixated upon these enslaved creatures. In these roles, trainees may spend anywhere from one to a handful of centuries until their role is perfected to such precision and grace, that their veteran crew may recommend them to their king for promotion as a fully inducted Akhelian.

But such a role is oft hazardous that many trainees perish upon the battlefield before such glories can be earned.

The Ondaric Akhelians continue their blood rites over the span of their one thousand year lives. As each century passes, another bout of arena combat is initiated for each Akhelian. The Namarti formations escalate in size, strategy, and tactics, as do the Akhelian groups, until entire live-battles are played out till their gruesome end.

Such vicious practices remind the Akhelians that the Idoneth are no strangers to loss, conflict, and agony. Inured are they to the pain of loss, regret, and defeat. There is only the battle, and the number of souls stolen from their raids that they can carry back into their undersea fortresses.

Such is the terror that precedes the Ondaric raids, that many civilizations have offered tithes of their citizens rather than face complete annihilation and soul theft. Many armies, when faced with the surge of the ether sea from the Enlightened Sea, simply turn their backs and march off the battlefield, leaving their loved ones to a fate worse than death.

And when the foe musters the courage enough to stand their ground, then blood waters the earth enough that it comes spilling back into the sea. For the Ondaric Akhelians will fight on till their mounts are broken beneath them, and they are forced to pit their strength face to face with the enemy.

In victory or defeat, Ondaric will prosper, and the Akehlians shall die in its defense.

The Crystalline Pinnacle

As the Heart of Mathlann oversees the toiling Namarti in Leviathan’s Maw, the Crystalline Pinnacle dominates everything within sight of it. A grand fortress at the heart of the fortress-palaces of the Conclave of the Elder Kings, the Crystalline Pinnacle is dominated by monuments dedicated to the Akhelian Kings who have served and perished in the Enclave’s defense. Scrawled scripture of every Akhelian soul to perish in the fires of war adorn every hallowed choral wall. Open obsidian stairways climb up glittering spires bedecked in numberless banners until they reach the Throne Hall at the very peak of the Pinnacle.

The scholars and most able-minded warriors of the Isharann and Akhelian Houses rarely occupy the Crystalline Pinnacle, but merely congregate once every several decades to discuss the next series of raids, or the enclave’s defense in case of war.

Only the High King of the Ondaric and his chosen court dwell in these vaunted, lonely halls of shadow and somber memories of the fallen. It is ever a reminder to those who rule of the Deepkin’s curse and the sacrifices that all Idoneth must be willing to make, even their leaders.

King Theronhall rules all of the Ondaric Enclaves from the Crystalline Pinnacle at its heart. From the Evening Archipelago in the west, and Mathlann’s Vigil in the east.

Known as the Monsoon of Mourning, Theronhall has become infamous for the wide-spread panic and sorrow of his far-reaching raids upon the surface. Entire cities have succumbed to the eternal slumber of the soul raids, civilizations have been washed away into the tide of his forces upon the ether sea. Many a noble king has met their end on the end of his blade in honorable combat.
Though for all of his skill, Theronhall would have certainly been punished for his life of cruelty and merciless slaughter by horrors unimaginable and terrifying, were it not for Fendriach’s lance.

Unlike the vast majority of the Idoneth’s rulers, Theronhall has claimed sons in an unusually utilitarian society.

His adopted sons, Fendriach and Elion’draich, have earned nothing but renown in all that they strive to achieve for themselves.

Cast from his fingers, Fendriach slew the Greater Daemon of Slaanesh with a well-placed bolt of bio voltaic energy that shattered Xsha’s left eye and penetrated her skull on the eve of her triumph over Theronhall at the Battle of the Shredding Rapids.

After such a feat, many of Theronhall’s most trusted Akhelians called for Fendriach to be named heir to his throne. Theronhall, oft said to pity Fendriach’s act of valor, adopted him as his son and nicknamed him the Benighted Prince. For Theronhall to name Fendriach his air, in doing he would inherit a kingdom under siege and under threat of being annihilated by the great enemy. If Theronhall perished on the field, then Fendriach would stand no chance of leading the enclaves.
 
Ellion’draich would rise soon after Fendriach, House Arkrailian’s most veteran and long-lived warrior, known for his somberness and steadfast nature both off and on the battlefield.

 Known beforehand as Banishment's Blade, not for slaying daemons or besting other foes, not even for his talent of surviving for so long. Elion’draich was a terror among the Akhelian ranks for being an immaculate duelist who tolerated no insults, betrayals, or deceit from rivals who sought to dethrone him. Even would-be rivals who had never heard or spoken his name, would glimpse his shadow in the twilight of their own houses, and they would know fate had come for them for some reason or another.

By the time Theronall had adopted him as a son, and indirectly solving the myriad of blood-feuds and murders that haunted Elion’draich’s career and those that still lived due to their keen avoidance, Elion’draich had scores of kills to his names and countless trophies.


« Last Edit: October 6, 2019, 11:44:55 AM by Myen'Tal »
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