Tag: Andyllion

#Lore24 – Entry #122 – Muckenmyre Month #1 – Shipwrecked off the Dragon Isles

From the journal of Takara, Slave Inquisitor of the Stellae Illustris.

I have little memory of the Dragon Isles; we really weren’t there that long, just a few foggy images of rocky islands in the distance.  I was there to assist the Emperor’s Inquisition as they tracked the remnants of a group tied to the Res’Teringal rebellion, the last of those who would dare oppose his rightful rule, driven from their hiding place after several months of searching.  The remnant rebels had taken up with a pirate fleet, hoping to flee the emperor’s grasp, perhaps to live long enough to mount another attempt to buck the control of the Empire.  Once our chase fleet had caught up with them, they made straight for the Dragon Isles.  We knew they were bound for Cypress Isle at the tip of the island chain, but they were desperate. 

They turned toward the inner islands. 

They brought the storms…the Dragons’ Fury.

These storms were…like nothing I had ever witnessed in my life.  No storm within the many regions of the Empire that I have traversed in my two centuries of life were anything close to the fury that came from those islands, rolling down from the skies to the north like a gray and black wall of roiling death.  Our fleet was doomed the moment Inquisitor Dama decided to follow the pirates closer in.  I don’t know if they made it out; we lost sight of them within moments as the seas began to surge, lightning struck all about, and hail slammed into us.  The thunder…it really was like the roar of dragons.  That is the only way I can describe it…what else could sound so terrifying, even to someone like me, than a roar from a legendary dragon?

We tried to turn away, but it was far too late for us.  Our decision to follow the rebels toward the inner islands had sealed our doom.  Our ships were shattered in minutes.  I had already made my peace with my death, to whatever fate my soul would face.  My life had been nothing but suffering, either inflicted upon me, or with myself inflicting it upon others.  It was all for the Emperor of course, may He live forever, and I certainly would change nothing that I had done in his name…but to die so quickly…I certainly could never have imagined such a…merciful end.  It was not an ending for someone who had been responsible for causing so much pain to others, especially those of my own kind.  Most of my brother and sister slaves certainly did not deserve what I did to them, but I am a loyal slave to my great Emperor, and it is his will that I channeled; I was his vessel, his voice to those who could not understand it.

I felt the cold of the virulent sea, felt the electric charge in the air and water from the lightning as I was tossed around, felt my bones break from the impact of the hailstones, from my body slamming into the broken hull as it was tossed from one massive wave to the next.  Somehow I became entangled with the rigging or some netting, became stuck fast to a portion of one of the broken ships.  In my last moments of consciousness, I was certain that I would be sinking below the waves, would become one with the sweet, cold, void that lay below.

My expectations were perhaps too high.

My hopes for death were premature.

For I am still here.

#Lore24 – Entry #61 – Fantasy Month #1 – Andyllion

 

From the journal of Angeliqua “Goldeneyes” Cartacustos:

 

Felaria continues to insist upon testing my knowledge, and so I will write, once more, upon the topic she has chosen for this day.  I am not entirely certain as to why she insists upon me keeping such a personal record recalled from my own mind when we have access to the entirety of the Imperial Archives, but so be it; I am but the apprentice and she the wizened Head Archivist, after all.  Mother knows best, as they say.

For today she has chosen…Andyllion, the world upon which we all live.  I’m not exactly sure where to start with the topic, considering it’s literally a world of possibility.  The entirety of it surely hasn’t been explored, and more of it has been lost to time and calamity than we can possibly know.  As far as known facts…the world hosts a pair of moons, Mika and Elara, a yearly length of three-hundred-seventy-five days, and a daily length of twenty-five hours.  There are at least seven known continents, Ashun, Emoris, Mizunko, Saenaphia, and Yastryka, plus the frozen north and south polar regions that have been almost entirely unexplored. Dozens of smaller island groups serve as a loose connecting tissue between them, and vast uncharted seas lie beyond those.

Should I begin detailing the flora and fauna found amongst the various continents?  Or perhaps some details of the kingdoms as well as their people?  Shall I describe the civilized races, or perhaps the more savage ones inhabiting the wildlands?  Or perhaps the civilizations we know to be long collapsed and their ruins left to crumble, forgotten and inhabited by monsters and abominations?  Or perhaps I should detail the cataclysm that nearly destroyed it some two-thousand years ago?  Simply naming the world as a topic!  Surely, she could have made it something more specific!  One could literally write volumes on Andyllion; volumes have been written on Andyllion in fact, and I’ve read most of them!

Oh, praise the gods and the Great Dragon Emperor himself!  An arcanist seeks knowledge, and the other archivists are otherwise occupied!  Felaria’s pages will have to wait until they have been served; I shall hope that they are particularly unskilled at performing their own research and require the rest of the day digging through the archives, for I must serve the people, after all!

 

 

LORE24 ENTRY #31 – Holy Order of Rashnikova

Category – Organization

Founded during the Age of Legends to combat both a resurgence in demonic activity and an upsurge of undead and other supernatural threats, this holy order was originally founded by the paladin Melisande no’Synstralia de’Rashnikova of Arcavarlon, upon the planet Andyllion, originally under the divine guidance of the goddess Lashana and her drive to punish evil in all its forms.  The Holy Order has survived to modern times and has since opened its doors to those of other faiths who have dedicated themselves to combating supernatural evil.

Though not a prerequisite, nearly all of the Order’s membership possess divine or natural magic abilities, divided mostly between the clergy and the paladins, with the paladins being the ones most often sent to the frontlines to deal with the threats, while the clergy handle healing, more complex rites of exorcism, and research.  In the current times, the most common threat the Order faces are the undead, though lycanthropes and other evil shapechangers and similar spirits are not entirely uncommon.  On rare occasions a true demon has been encountered, requiring a much more significant response to deal with.

Though a relatively small group, they are backed by multiple organizations and individuals across known space.  As such, the Order has access to some of the best craftsmen, mystics, and technology available to perform their holy exterminations, with its members possessing some of the most highly enchanted arms and armor available, including their customized Fenrir assault rifles, now something of an iconic weapon.  Trained in all forms of combat, not just firearms (because some creatures simply won’t die until their heads are removed with a silver blade or a stake to the heart), many of their members come from related backgrounds, such as mercenary or military groups, often with a particular incident they managed to survive driving them onto their new path as a holy slayer.  

 

LORE24 ENTRY #29 – The Badaxe Clan

Category – Cultural / Organization

Historically, the Badaxe clan originated upon the world of Andyllion, forged through many generations to be the strongest and most prosperous of orcish clans, eventually earning the honor of serving the High Emperor himself as his most loyal and trusted soldiers and bodyguards.  This was further bolstered through strong leadership within the clan and their embrace of ancient Aerian combat training methods.  Even after they cut ties with the Empire, the clan remained strong, and became a unifying force for the orcish people of Andyllion, especially during the Age of Legends when their clan chief, Mantok Badaxe, ascended to godhood.

In modern times, the Badaxe Clan has evolved into something much different.  Though the descendants of the original clan still exist and control their own nation on Andyllion, they have continued evolving with the times.  Today, many know the Badaxe Clan as an elite private military company, now open to any of orcish blood from any world, and still holding its members to strict training based upon the old ways, adapted to modern weapons, technology, and tactics.  The Badaxe Clan mercenaries pride themselves on their ferocity, endurance, and adaptability, and are often seen as rivals to even the aerians, and while both are fiercely competitive, the rivalry between orc and aerian is mostly friendly…as much as a rivalry based upon combat can be.

Organizations across known space employ Badaxe Clan mercenaries for the most dangerous operations or to protect their high value targets, assuming they can afford the premium rates the clan demands for their expertise.  Even DSM is known to employ several units of Badaxe Clan members, with some working directly for Rivalle Volcari herself, even though the company has long been elf-dominated and the enmity between elf and orc is still not entirely extinguished.  Though members of the Badaxe Clan are trained to always put the job first and foremost, the strong sense of honor that is imparted to them have resulted in a few incidents over the years in which the work they were brought on to perform was deemed far too distasteful for even them, and they turned against those who hired them, echoing what happened when the great Mantok Badaxe himself led the clan against the High Emperor on Andyllion.