Delve into a New World

Centuries ago, in the realm of Adratora, a passing celestial storm sent down a group of falling stars struck the soil and gave life to majestic beasts of elemental and terraforming power. Five grand dragons, honoring themselves the name Sovran Drakus, became creators of Adratora and progenitors of magic: Bryghir the Flame-Born, Rialeos the Frost-Wing, Xaemriel the Earth-Shaker, Viatheot the Stormcaller, and Qorvus the Dark Star. These ancient beings were gods and guardians of magic and the natural world, their presence shaping the very fabric of reality. Each of the Sovran breathed life into the elements that shaped the realm. Bryghir created the warmth and power of fire that aided the humans in cold, dark nights. He was celebrated for instilling strength and courage into the hearts of all living creatures. Rialeos shaped the snowcapped mountains that brought comfort and change to the seasons, allowing for new life to blossom and bloom. She was said to be cold and calculating in nature, making her feared and respected. Xaemriel’s very footsteps planted the seeds of trees and flowers while his breath gave life to the fauna of the wilds. It was believed that his ferocity gave life to noxious poisons that would defend the natural cycle against those who would harm it. Viatheot commanded the tempests and rains to nourish the drying lands and create mesmerizing natural forces. His very breath lit up the sky with lightning and his roars crafted the thunders of chaos. Qorvus, dark and mysterious as she was, proudly defended the cycles of darkness and night, using her breath to bring forth the stars and constellations of the realm while creating a haven beneath the earth for all her nocturnal creations.

Amid their creations, the Sovran Drakus sought to create beings of intelligence and spirit to serve as the realm’s custodians and aid in its growth. By combining the essences of their magic, the Sovran gave life to the mortal race of humans who thrived under their benevolent rule. At first, they were nothing but mere constructs walking the earth to discover their purpose. Over time, their forms began to mold and change into what the realm needed for essential growth. Males and females, each different in their own manifestations. They mated, grew, invented, and explored to give meaning and purpose in this magically infused existence. They crafted tools, weapons, walls, homes, and never stopped surprising their creators with their will and ingenuity.

As the ages progressed, the Sovran Drakus wanted to further initiate their influence in mortal progress. While the humans were inventive and clever, the Sovran wanted to create a new race of mortals that would act as delegates and reflections of their own will. A ritual took place atop the peaks of the Midgani Mountains, the highest point between the earth and heavens, requiring the collection of elemental essences from the Sovran and the properties of aetherite, a magically infused mineral within the very bones of the land. The next step of this ritual was for the Sovran to select the bravest and most suitable human volunteers to undergo a metamorphosis. Through this process, they would become the first of a new race of humanoids that would bridge humanity and dragonkin. Through an arduous process of elemental fusion and magical invocations, the intwining energies created a vortex of power that enveloped the human volunteers. The Sovran and human sorcerers that conducted the ritual bared witness to the physical shells that shifted into a new form. Two feet taller than the average human, scaled like dragons joined with spaces of humanoid skin, functional human hands and feet, both clawed, muscular stature, humanoid heads and faces with slightly flattened noses with slit noses, ridged eyebrows, spike-crested heads in place of hair. This new society came to be known as the Drakari. 

The first Drakari were tasked with populating new lands established by the shared borders in Adratora. Volkanth the Slayer established his people within the Kludoq Wastes, a dry land that sat beneath a great volcano where he would create his stronghold. Xanthus the Wise took his people to the snow-blanketed tundra of Guilraine, creating fortresses within the peaks. Vargith the Hidden taught her people the secrets of the wilderness within Wynber Wilds. Urthor the Sage laid claim to the sea-tossed shores of Halinach, teaching his people to master the seas and embrace the storms that ravish it. Travek the Fury used her wisdom and knowledge of the realm’s catacombs to establish Oczuth Keep with only one way in. A new age of progress was born as humans, animals, dragons and Drakari learned to cooperate, build, and coexist. 

However, the peace was shattered by a cataclysmic event that came to be known as the Sundering. A metaphysical rift tore through the fabric of reality, unleashing chaos, and devastation upon the world in the form of otherworldly beasts deemed the Enkidari. A dark twisted amalgamation of draconic and insectoid features, oily black carapaces dripping with the essence of their nightmarish realm, sinuous wings like that of a dragonfly, two thin arms with three clawed appendages on each arm, yellow orbs for eyes, and a jaw of needle-like teeth. Like an evil flood, these beasts swarmed and washed over the land, consuming blood, magic, and essences wherever they could find it. The humans and their defenses were weak against this onslaught. Each of the established tribes and kingdoms banded together to take on this threat with their aetherite weapons, magical practitioners, and sheer will to survive. The Drakari, despite their strengths and inherited magic, fared less than the humans as their people were drained of their magical essences that were used to strengthen the Enkidari. The Sovran Drakus were overwhelmed, overrun, and consumed by these creatures that targeted them first, their once-mighty forms torn asunder and scattered across the realms. When it seemed like the darkness would consume all Adratora, the Enkidari began to disappear without cause, leaving only loose swarms and scattered nests behind. 

Following the events of the Sundering, which became recognized as the Age of Reckoning, the humans of Adratora found themselves adrift in a world bereft of its protectors, along with the vast pool of magic they once revered and depended upon. The Drakari were left weakened and abandoned by the loss of their creators with barely a whisper of their magic and strength left. A rift formed and tore apart the once-allied humans and Drakari, both blaming the other for the decimation of their progenitors. Amidst the turmoil and secession, another war threatened to wage between the surviving peoples of the realm. Humans banded together to push the Drakari out of their proclaimed lands, taking advantage of their weakened state in the absence of magic. 

While the Drakari were under constant attack, the chieftains and leaders gave an order to regroup at the Midgani Mountains, the birthplace of their kin, to take a stand and establish their own division of the land. The Survivor’s War, as it came to be known, was short lived as both sides came to a stalemate, leaving each other to their own lands. The Drakari established clan strongholds within the mountains of their fallen gods, each chromatic clan laying claim to their territories and naming their new home Draenarea. Five clans paying homage to the Sovran Drakus have grown in numbers and strength and honoring the first of their blood and kin; the Volkanth of the volcanic Mount Kludoq, the Xanthus of the icy Guilraine Tundra, the Vargith in the wild forest of Wynber, the Urthor on the storm-coast isle of Halinach, and the Travek that retreated under the mountains to establish Oczuth Keep.

The humans of Adratora established a sentry line outside of the forest of Silverwood, which served as a natural wall between them and the Drakari. On their side of that barrier, the most ambitious and favored minds create a society run by lordships and follow the leadership of the figure they deem the hero of their kind, Ursibohr of Shaemore. A war hero in the hearts and minds of the human populace. He was reluctant to accept the position as High King of Vandralor, but eventually accepted. His reign was focused on repairing and rebuilding the lands to lead the future of humanity into a brighter and safer age. While the land was still healing from the Sundering, people began weaving stories of what brought them to such trying times, most of which placing blame on the Drakari for trying to overthrow their progenitors and ascend to godhood. Years later, Ursibohr passed away and became honored as a king and hero, as well as a man that ascended to godhood himself for his selfless acts in protecting humanity. He would be the first of a pantheon of merciful deities that would keep humanity’s faith strong and resilient.

In the modern history of Adratora, peace was nothing but a distant dream for those seeking it. Vandralor became split between the monarchy of Shaemore and the commonwealth of Delegar. Draenarea became fraught with tense rivalries and skirmishes that bled into the human lands. All the while, whispers began to spread of a coming darkness as foretold by ancient prophecies and whispered legends. 

The remaining nests of Enkidari had begun to stir from the depths of the earth, searching for something and devouring anything that gets in their way.