Origin Story

Well hello there traveler, whatever brings you here, you can leave it at the door. Your troubles, your worries, and problems. Good, bad, it doesn't matter. Here we have three goals, have a good laugh, have a good time and make fond memories. 

Now, with that out of the way, let me share about the world we'll be living in for the next few moments. Our world is called Anatar. Our story takes place in Ankor, a large continent home to many fantastical and magical things, people, and locations. However, it was not always this way. In a time before the wars, it was ruled over by all kinds of creatures. The primarily species were the Garm, a wolf-human hybrid that prided themselves on their hospitality. And the Bastet, cat-like humans that were shrewd and calculating.

These two species, both divided into several factions, were at peace with one another for countless years. They were made to join forces when invaders came from across the sea. The invaders were giant humans known as elders. Their home continent of Akron was taken over by a militant faction of Xai-Hau (Zy-how), forcing many of the elders to flee to the elven homeland and Ankor. The elders did not come to Ankor seeking peace, though. They invaded the lands, killing and enslaving any in their path. Eventually, they took over all of Ankor and destroyed all the previous inhabitant's history to cement their victory.

The elder rule lasted for two thousand years, but eventually the Garm and Bastet came together again in a rebellion against the conquerors. They fought the elders with such ferocity that the elders vowed to never take up arms again. More trouble came at the end of the rebellion, when the Garm and Bastet had differing opinions on how to treat the elders. The Garm wanted to set things back the way they were and the Bastet wanted to enslave the elders. When the Bastet learned the Garm would let the elders be, they took to war with the Garm. The Garm won with overwhelming force and exiled the Bastet to a floating city prison now known as Felisport. The Garm, now tired of war, let the Bastet take control of Felisport, leaving them and the elders to their own devices. The elders were now free to do as they pleased and chose to devote themselves to preserving a history they tried to destroy.

At the beginning of our story, I mentioned magic, allow me go deeper. You see, magic is less of a gimmick in this world and more just a part of life. Magic influenced the development of technology as much as access to resources, or keen minds, or any other factor. It certainly had an effect during all the wars this land has seen. Rifles that magically manifest a bullet in the chamber. Supercomputers designed with time-warping calculations and cooled with ice magic. Perpetual motion machines powered by ethereal winds, physical limits overcome through enchantments, and what we know as “science fiction” is everyday life here, thanks to magic. While it's necessary to understand the importance of magic, and I could talk of it for days, we need to get back to the story. Once defeated, the elders shared that their homeland was taken over by an even more violent species known as Xai-Hau large, brutish, ape-like humans. Although, these creatures were small compared to the elders. The Xai-Hau were ruthless in their conquest, purging every last elder from their home.

While the Garm were recovering from the last war with the Bastet, humans began making landfall in the northern areas of Ankor as they ran from their elven masters. They came with tales of a distant land dominated by dragons and the elves that served them in cult fashion. The humans told of how they were once elders and enslaved by the dragon cults. The magic they were infused with caused them to shrink in size and the elves then forced them to become spellcasters to the dragons.

Soon after, the Orcs, on behalf of the elves, arrived in Ankor. They did not seek war, but rather, parlay with the Garm and humans. The orcs spun tall tales of the Drakin Orc legions that would invade Ankor if the humans did not return. The truth is, the orcs were sent as a distraction so the elves could ready their warband. However, upon seeing that the humans were free to be their own people the Orcs dropped the facade and instead, warned that the dragons and elves were coming for war, regardless. The Drakin Orcs were slaves to the elves, yet another species changed with magic to serve the dragons.

It was at this time the Dwarves revealed themselves. They had been hiding in the mountains in the northwestern area of Ankor. The Dwarves were biding their time until a more reasonable power came to be, because these unique creatures were made of rare metals, gemstones, and minerals and they feared they would be harvested as resources rather than treated as a people.

With the Garm, the Humans, and now the Dwarves, all taking up arms to defend Ankor from the dragons and elves, the war was bloody, but short. The elves used a phage that would come to be known as “The Crimson Siege”. It ended the war, though not as you would think.

The Crimson Siege did not work as the elves intended. Instead of killing their enemies, it imbued them with vampire powers and a need to consume blood. While the Dwarves were immune, those that were infected were initially treated as normal. Though, as the disease spread, and the need for blood became known, they were rounded up and exiled to the Wilderness. Several of the infected found their way to the the floating city of Felisport as it proved to be a better environment for them since the dome over the city protected them from the sunlight. As the newcomers grew in numbers, the vampires eventually overthrew the government and become the ruling faction of Felisport. When the reality of the limited blood supply became apparent, a harsh cast-system was created with the cattle feeding only the upper class. Becoming a vampire is now seen as an honor in the Felisport society.

The end of the war brought peace for nine thousand years. During this time, a discovery was made that would become known as “Palindrome Magic”.

This Palindrome Magic was a physical representation of all sentient beings and their emotions. It is the "Reflecting Veil”, a mirror image of our dimension made real. The discovery of Palindrome Magic was brought about when the whole of Ankor began hearing voices. These voices were an embodiment of an individual's emotions, fears, and ideas. The voices, Emissary as they were called, promised power to those who would listen and obey.

So began the age of the Pantheon. This age ushered in a time of hedonism and debauchery. Living Hands, those who succumbed to the will of their Emissary, were bereft of their individuality, losing their sense of self and identity, effectively becoming the living hand of their Emissary, and were known as false gods.

Most assumed the false gods to be immortal, due to their inability to be wounded during a fight. During a confrontation between a Living Hand and Xai-Hau, the Living Hand was defeated and killed. The Xai-Hau hero rose to power as he went on to kill every last false god. This purge would be known as the War of Hands and it ended on the elders homeland with a battle that shook the earth and destroyed the entire continent.

A thousand years later, elves invaded Ankor once more. Since elves can live years longer than any other species, these invaders were the children and grandchildren of the ones that first invaded Ankor. This war is significant because phoenixes arrived from the elven homeland to give aid to Ankor. They brought with them the guardians, human beings with feathered wings. This war lasted ten years and resulted in a peace treaty, but sadly most of the phoenixes and dragons were destroyed.

That’s where we are now. And now it's your turn to imagine the rest.