The Dying World of...
CEALLA
Secrets of the Gods
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The gods of Cealla, known as The Old Ones, have taken a hands-on role in the livelihood and protection of Cealla’s inhabitants. Himinn and Jorinn, as they are known are believed to be the creators of the known world, and are frequently depicted as all loving and vested caretakers of the world they have made. While the Old Ones are held in the highest seat of reverence, their appointed disciples, known as Valinn, are a different matter. The Valinn are immortal champions, empowered by the Old Ones, and revered for their flaws as well as their great deeds. Because of their mortal beginnings, many take solace in the idea of mortals being raised to higher station to protect and watch over them.
However since the disappearance of the Old Ones, rumors have spread... Some Valinn rule large kingdoms, vying for power while others are believed to have much stranger pass-times. To be mortal is to live and die, but what happens to timeless mortals with unfathomable power? The world is one of living demi-gods and long hidden secrets, where the strange hermit or the wise old crone could very well be a Valinn in disguise. Knowing this, it’s best to be careful who you make enemies with…
The Coming War
The harming of a Ceallan at the hands of another was, as the beginning of the world, nearly unthinkable. The Skol af Dreka and Old Ones abhorred violence, and much of the earliest chapters of the Sioferoi taught much on this. Unlike the world of our early ancestors, Cealla had guiding hands to warn of tribalism and people’s base urges, a fact that still shapes how many average Ceallans view both morality and the need for the Old Ones return. Even with this guidance however, the Skol af Dreka could not prevent the Long Night War. While the Alshari Technocracy saw themselves as taking control of a spiraling situation, the Long Night War is a dark bloodstain on Ceallan history, and many fear that the growing division amongst the Valinn is a sign that another war is upon the horizon.
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Many of the newer cities in the south and west formed the Vhidnam Pact, believing the Valinn have no right to rule solely because of their power. The Vhidnam Pact actively seeks to stand against their longstanding influence. Meanwhile, the Trans-Trachtian Alliance states their focus and growing militarization is in response to the growing threats that pour in from the Dying Lands to the east. It is impossible to deny that the Alliance's efforts have been vital in keeping the undead hordes known as Lifandour at bay, as well as the other dangerous monsters they bring with them. Both groups now justify this escalatory militarization, as tthis focus on defense has yielded more innovation in the last two centuries than in the prior three millennia. However as both groups contend with these growing threats, many common folk worry that these two groups will kill each other before the Lifandour ever have a chance to.
TÖFRATÆK RENAISSANCE
Unlike the world we know, much of the trial and error, pain and loss that was needed to progress society was avoided by the aid and direction of the Drekkans and the Old Ones. People were taught of sickness and how it spreads, they were given knowledge on growing crops, creating medicines, and the fundamentals of survival. Up until the disappearance of the Old Ones, both technology and magick were closely monitored and regulated by the Skol af Dreka following the Long Night War. The Old Ones warned the people of Cealla about the responsibility of both magick and technology, advising patience down to both the Drekkan and Valinn. This warning proved to be prophetic in many ways following the disappearance of the Old Ones, with many Sioferoi scholars agreeing that the largest mistake made by the Old Ones was restricting Cealla’s exposure and knowledge of both magick and technology.
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Judgements and opinions aside, with the disappearance of the Old Ones came the Age of Litri, also known as the Age of Töfratæk.By blending the years of knowledge pertaining to magick and interweaving it with their limited understanding of technology, the people of Cealla were able to make significant strides in travel, communication, and most unfortunately, war. Airships began to dominate the skylines of every major city thanks to the discovery of Litri, while Töfratæk devices such as Whisper Woods allowed for people to communicate across great distances. The need to contend with the growing threats from beyond the Dying Lands lead to the discovery of gunpowder, and by extension the creation of the Powdermen. All of this has made Cealla a world of conflicted identity; a place where an adventurer can go from aiding a small town with a Khunglio infestation, to fighting for their lives atop a high-speed litri-train amidst a robbery...