Ethesia

A world bound by blood, magic, and ancient oaths

The Accords were never meant to break, but something is waking beneath them. 

For five-hundred years, the races of Ethesia lived beneath the protection of an uneasy but hard-won peace.
The four clans of the race of men rule the Guildlands, and each clan is bound to the others by an ancient covenant. Beyond their borders live the Druids, the elusive Dur'i, and the remnants of a world shaped by a war so old that much of its history has faded into legend.

At the heart of that history stands Eternity's Gate. 

Long ago, the three races united against an enemy powerful and cunning enough to threaten all of Ethesia. They could not destroy him, so they built a prison instead, binding his captivity to the very oaths that bound their peoples together. 

The result was the Damascus Guild and the Accords. 

For generations, the system worked.

Until it didn't. 

THE FOUR CLANS

At the center of Ethesia are the four ruling clans of men: 

Windred, Dionnus, Farrow, and Sirrus.

Each clan seat possessed a dagger imbued with the seal of their house and the power to rule. The daggers were forged from offerings of the original clan chiefs and bound in blood and Eternity. They became the instruments of law and order in the Guildlands, for all four seals bind the will of the masses and those who lead them for as long as the Accords stand. 

CLAN WINDRED

The Wolf 

Clan Windred has a rich history of discovery and innovation. They established the school that would become the Sorcerer's Guild at Del-Irridan where all who wished to study the wonders of the natural world and the ways of Eternity could do so. 

What is considered their greatest legacy is the Iolatíre, the winged wolves. Forged through magic during the Great War as weapons for Clan Windred, they now serve as companions to the great house. The seal of Clan Windred bears the mark of the noble beasts. 

CLAN FARROW

The Dragon

Clan Farrow is a hearty people. They're as tough as the iron that they mine from the mountains and as shrewd as the beast that symbolizes this great clan. Their smiths keep the Guildlands well supplied with arms and tools for every trade.  Aside from metal, they have also export large quantities of wool, fabric, and even cheese from the herds of sheep that live in the Blue Mountains. 

Trade has made Clan Farrow the wealthiest in the Guildlands, but their humble lifestyle belies their amassed fortune. 

CLAN SIRRUS

The Phoenix 

Clan Sirrus are masters of the water. They are the boatwrights and fishermen who dare to take on rocky coastlines of the north and sail through the hazardous storms of the south seas. 

During the Great War, Sirrus was left in utter ruin, but they survived and rebuilt time and again. While not the most powerful or the wealthiest of the clans, they are survivors. 

CLAN DIONNUS

The Centaur

Clan Dionnus is the breadbasket of the Guildlands. They occupy the largest territory across the entire southern portion of the Ethesia from the banks of the Silver River to the Deadlands of the far east. Their rich farmland keeps the Guildlands fed in abundance. 

Dionnus is also home to the Temple of Oriah which sits nestled in the Calcare Mountains. This sanctuary for seers is the crown jewel of Dionnus who helped build the ancient structure for Oriah and her disciples. 

THE DAMASCUS GUILD

The four clans did not always live in peace. 

Long before the age of the Great War, the race of men was divided and fought for dominance of Ethesia. In their warmongering and infighting, they were betrayed and nearly destroyed by Derroth, The First Great Evil. To prevent their destruction, the chiefs forged a peace in iron, blood, and magic. It was a bond made out of necessity. Nothing else. They sacrificed their weapons and pieces of their armor to forge the four daggers, while their oaths of peace were sworn in their blood. 

The daggers became the symbols of leadership, but they were also something much more powerful. Their magic gave their bearers the knowledge, will, and strength to lead, while their seals made laws and oaths magically binding. 

The peace of Ethesia was no longer merely words on paper. 

It was magic. 

THE ACCORDS

The same day the Damascus Guild was formed and the daggers established, the three races joined together against their ancient enemy and created the Accords—their oaths of peace to one another. 

Together, these became the locks of Eternity's Gate, each tied to the oaths sworn between the peoples of Ethesia. The intention was simple: 

For centuries, the arrangement worked. 

The problem is that peace has a way of becoming invisible when people grow accustomed to it. 

ETERNITY'S GATE

Deep within the Dragon Spires lies Derroth's prison. 

The Gate is not simply a doorway. 

It is a lock. 

Four separate protections bind it shut, each representing a different piece of the ancient alliance. When one begins to fail, the others are placed under increasing strain until they too fail. 

Then one day, the impossible happens, and a lock begins to fail. 

The people of Ethesia are about to discover that their greatest strength was never the walls of their cities, the strength of their clans, or even the magic flowing through the world. 

It was their fellowship. 

And fellowship is a fragile thing.