Posted on September 23, 2023 in Steel-Realms
The historical record of Mog Creoch contains little in the way of a lot of direct actions on its part. It is mostly a record of its followers and sects.
Information Sources: Mundane Reference | Associated Phenomenology Only | Specific Lore
Much like Djerduth, it is venerated as a death “god”, personifying all aspects of death, with purpose.
The unreasoning worm Mog Creoch is much easier to trade for power, and the “followers” of it are rarely more than those seeking personal power from a source that generally could care less the type of individual that serves them, as long as the outcome is headless bodies, sundered corpses, spilled blood, the smell of rotting flesh and food for worms. These things are pleasing to it.
This fact is only known by the druids of the land, and only realized after a long period of thought, study, and melding with the land. Though all work to defeat the evil lords in the north, the druids seek reconciliation – they have no wish to see the spirit loose all its power with the casting down of the winter host. Death run amok, random and without reason would be a nightmare worse than the host itself. Or, death unknown to the living in which the natural cycle is broken in favor of life only.
Posted on September 14, 2023 in Steel-Realms
Steel Realms Timeline Event; recorded knowledge.
The Legend of Nyms Bazaar Never ending wondrous items and spectacular creatures
“The Wander All, Wonder-All” – Nym’s Bazaar is a legendary traveling market which brings wondrous items, spectacular creatures, and trade goods from far away exotic places (some say not of this world!). No one know where the bazaar may turn up – sometimes it finds its way to large cities, other times to small villages. The most skillful of the faithful and magi can barely get a glimmer of where it will appear next.
It is said to roam all places of the world, places few have ever seen. It does not always appear each year, and sometimes appears in more than one place – it is said that it even has been in 2 places at once! It always seems able to find enough room no matter the size of the place it rolls into, and many speak of walking great distances and coming out only a few blocks from where they started. Its wares range from the mundane to the exotic, the rare to the impossible – slaves, magic items, strange beasts of burden, potions, elixirs, and all manners of performers and foods.
Posted on September 14, 2023 in Steel-Realms
Steel Realms Timeline Event; recorded knowledge > The Sundering/Bale Times
CY 5000 (4919-5000) Bale Times marked by Bale Fire and The Bale Wall
These dark times dubbed “Bale Times” by sages and scribes, which nearly brought about the end of the burgeoning post dominion empires in the west culminated in a cataclysmic event called The Sundering – a recorded event from in CY 5000 in the Steel Realms. It is the culmination of events starting in 4919, when Sun Stealer brought forth the Bale Fire and began a war in the south which would devastate the whole southland empire and coastlands of Ustermaya. All told it is estimated that millions of lives perished in the sacrifice to stop the gods of darkness from consuming the lands of light.
The horde of demons and many tens of thousands of other creatures (mostly loyal citizens of House Horunz – The Green Watchers of Synedcia) defending against them were engulfed in an instant.
The Decimation of the Synedcian and Yvaldeysean (Sea-King) Empire: In order to stop the horde of rampaging demons, the Cosheus Abyssal was opened, along the lines of the great southern cities of House Horunz of Synedcia – The Green Watchers. All the settlements of the Sea Kings along the western coast were brought to ruin – cities either crumbled, were rendered defenseless. It would take hundreds of years before the small Kingdom of Gwinn was even declared from the ashes of the empire.
Dragons in Bale Times: The dragons of the Dragon Caves are roused from their dream of ages and for a hundred years they take to the skies, raining fire and destroying settlements in their anger. They focus on the capital cities of the kingdoms and fiefs of men, elves, and Ducateon, wreaking havoc in culture, communication, commerce, and generally exacting a high toll on the lands of light AND darkness (though little is know what happened in the Fallen East at this time). Alliances fell, borders shifted and wars were all to common as the High King was unable to bring any semblance of order. Revolt and uprisings were common.
The Merchant City Ideal: What was to become The Merchant Cities managed to make many gains, establishing new settlements and making new territorial claims and expanding through alliances. The weakness of their neighbors was the genesis for their power, and to the present some incorporate a dragon as a symbol of their house or clan as an acknowledgement to the havoc wrought by them against their former masters of the Sea-Kings.
Unknown in Many Places: In many places across The West, the anniversary is marked with ceremony of some sort – festivals in some places, a dirge in others. Only in the far south, beyond the Nakrian Empire, is the event virtually unnoticed and unrecorded. The Impli peninsula suffered a massive tsunami, but little else is remembered by dwellers there.
The Sundering was the end of 2 empires, and the start of the circumstances which saw the rise of many new powers. It also broke the power of the Dark Lords, and bore witness to the extent that their enemies would go in order to stop them. It gave rise to a more cautious Orrish presence, and even allowed for schisms within the Dark Church. Eventually, the smaller powers which arose from the remnants were easier for the High King to rebuild the idea of The West with – there was far less challenge to the office in the long term.
It is thought the magics that fueled the stopping of the Bale Times (The Sundering) drew upon the power of a God Storm to rival that which was present in The Crossing (The Coming of The Blood of Saemon).
Posted on September 14, 2023 in Steel-Realms
Change Storm/Chaos Storm are strange storms of magnetism and lightning form, as big as a hurricane. God’s breath (white/a fog of dead silence), ice (dark green) and fire (light blue) arc out in all directions from a center, or ‘eye’. These are thought to occur on places where death and destruction occurred on a massive scale, or the anger and animosity of several gods clashed and their will’s fought through the manifestation of the storm. They give birth to all manner of foul and strange creatures; These run amok in any random direction, threatening all who come into their path until they are killed. These “storms” appear without warning. This can happen every day, sometimes multiple times when large elements of Primaeth are present. Such old areas were cleansed as part of a larger effort, no new ones have happened since the Godspeak Accord. Sometimes though, leftover elements, soaked deep in the earth, will trigger a new, minor storm. The manifestation of these was initially believed to be the source of “The Shattering” until events clearly differentiated them.
Effects: These are whispered about, few have lived to witness what they are capable of. One of the names they are given is “Change Storm” because it produces changes on creatures they touch. Odd limbs, a merging of animal and humanoid, and horrid features can be afflicted on those caught in them. Sometimes orrish priests tie up goblins and expose them to a storm in the hopes that they will gain some feature and or power that they can use… most go insane though. The healing and recovery of of the effects is often under the auspices of Reclamation of the Wyld project.
A lesser powered and shorter version of these are thought to be caused by a drop or more of god’s blood or Primaeth spilled upon the ground over which they form. The greatest God Storm was in The Valley of Sighs, when the Blood of Saemon crossed into the world of The Steel Realms/Helca and the gods fought and a million souls died. Never has there been a storm like that since.
It is thought the magics that fueled the stopping of the Bale Times (The Sundering) drew upon the power of a God Storm to rival that which was present in The Crossing (The Coming of The Blood of Saemon).
Posted on September 14, 2023 in Steel-Realms
Also called the “Blasted Plateau” much of the ruins here were scoured by Balefire. There are still many smaller God/Change Storms that appear here irregularly.