thomas.berubeg
Wandering the World
The Dreaming:
The Dreaming was the period of beginnings, when the world emerged from the froth of creation before splitting into two reflections. On one side was the mortal world, mundane but much more solid than the spirit world. On the the other was the spirit world, eternal, chaotic, and brighter in many ways than the mortal world. From one to the other flowed the Great River. In those days, the boundaries between the worlds was softer and travel between the two was easy. In fact, many had no knowledge that there were two world. Humanity and the five spirit families co-existed peacefully, and many would not have known that the world was in fact two. For uncounted millennia this peace existed, humanity prospered and nations and empires rose and fell. but beneath the surface, an insidious threat grew.
The Nightmare:
Since the beginning of time, the Spirits of Essence had ruled benevolently over the denizens of the spirit world, administering the chaos as much as it could be, and keeping the peace between often discordant spirits. Over time, however, the Great Spirits of Essence grew jealous of the powers of the other spirits, and began to believe that all power should reside within the dominion of Essence. This imbalance triggered a great war. Many great spirits were destroyed or subverted, their light lost from the world forever, and for a while, Essence ruled unchallenged. Man and spirit were enslaved, their very being changed and warped to reflect the unfathomable whims of their masters. But hope was not lost. Many spirits of the other families survived the purges, and many humans rebelled against their demonic masters. An alliance was forged and war, known as the waking, was waged. The Earth was scarred and many humans were physically changed by their alliance, gaining a closer affinity to a spirit family. Eventually, though, the war was won, the Great Spirits of Essence expelled from creation itself and their powers split amongst the remaining families. Perhaps the biggest scar of the war, however, was the sundering of the spirit world from the mortal world. Though travel between the two was still possible, difficult rituals and complex pacts were required, as opposed to the easy travel of the past.
This is all the legendary past. The shattered world is slowly pulling itself back together, the disunited tribes of man and spiritkin clawing themselves up from the abyss amidst the shattered ruins of a mostly forgotten world.
Applying:
Forging The Dawn takes place a few generations after The Waking shattered the world and broke the people of the earth. Already, memory of the war has turned into legend, and the husks of the great cities are ascribed to ancient gods and not the works of men. In only a few more generations, the only ones who will know of the old world will be the shamans who still commune with the beings on the other side.
As such, while I intend to accept as many players as I feel I can handle at any one time, there will be an application process wherein I hope that players can work together and with me to create cultures that fit the feel I hope to accomplish within the setting. Ultimately, I hope that we can work together to create a cohesive and interesting universe.
To apply, simply fill out the below as completely as possible:
Culture name: The name by which your people know themselves.
Race: What race. Please chose one of the six provided (I would be willing to let players create their own races, but only if you can convince me of the need for your particular race.)
Location: Where on the map do your people live?
Society: What shape does your society take? how is it organized? how are they ruled?
Religion: What are the beliefs of your people? what religious codes do they follow
Economy: What is the basic economy of your people? (If they are a mountain people, what foods do they eat? etc)
Country names: Future names for polities that spring from your ancestral culture
Person Names: Given names
Place names: names for geographic features or areas on the map.
In your application please remember that, for all intents and purposes, the beginning of the NES is the beginning of history. You people might have a long and storied past, but that’s all fading into legend as the Waking shattered cultures, sundered peoples, and left most dead. This is essentially a magical-post apocalyptic world (one which may well recover, but for now, is still a broken world.)