Flower Among Vermin

Prologue

History of the Realm

For eons, peace ruled over Oredasa and its two continents; Ta’Eel and Livare`. As time went by and the various races came into being, the human race soon came to grow greedy and aggressively territorial. Resources and precious metals were not enough to satiate them and they began to seek power from ancient and forbidden sources; from this chaos began the greatest civil war in humanity’s history.

For the first time since the world began, a single race, the humans, fought each other till near extinction. If it were not for the intervention of the elven races, the human race would have ceased to be. This intervention in the Human Wars drew the attention of the pale-haired and ebon-hued dark elves, known as the drow. The subterranean drow proposed a truce with their surface dwelling cousins as well as a suggestion; for the sake of the human race that they should be taken into captivity.

With great trepidation and debate, the surface elves agreed that the humans did need to be “tamed”, but not as slaves as implied by the drow, but as “slave-servants” instead. These “slave-servants” were given limited freedoms as the elves kept the human race in check to ensure the race’s survival. It was soon discovered that the drow were using their human slaves in terrifying and brutal experiments; resulting in strange and abominable hybrids and monstrosities.

This horrible treatment of human life was not welcomed by the elves. And so the truce was broken. War was waged upon the drow and their evil, wretched ways; the few that were of high moral fiber allied themselves with their surface dwelling cousins and wiped out the evil majority.

It was at this crucial point in time when a drow slave rose up and began to unify his fellow humans under the banner of rebellion against their elven overlords. This man soon came to be known Void, The Ebon King. He soon became known and feared through his barbarous actions and merciless mettle. As his force grew, so did his arcane and military might. Many humans soon sought him out bearing various gifts and offerings of magic, technology, arms and armor; stolen from their captors. They put their hope and dreams of freedom into this one man, Void, The Ebon King, and a great unification occurred.

The Ebon King soon began his campaign in earnest upon acquiring an ancient and terrible grimoire of unfathomable age. All of his most loyal and trusted followers were soon invited to enter into pacts and ancient rites from out of that book with him. Those who accepted were given wondrous and terrible power the likes of which the world had never before seen. It was time to exterminate their elven oppressors once and for all; it was genocide.

The battles were long and treacherous, and many lives were lost. However, soon after a great struggle, a mysterious group of warrior-magi arose to challenge Void’s might and to end his reign of tyranny and despair.

Their plan was to trick and lead Void to a specific location, at a specific time, within a specific place. Their lure worked and a great battle ensued; but much to their surprise, Void’s power was far too great…until the incantation to the ritual that the warrior-magi were casting was finished…and a great tear in reality opened up. When Void had become aware of the deception it was too late and he vowed that he would return to exact vengeance as great, monstrous tendrils and chitinous limbs surged fourth and engulfed him. The unfortunate armies that had helped to stage this coup looked on in horror as an eldritch evil came through; Llem-Edous, The Great Centipede.

The unexpected arrival of the great demon lord was followed by a great army of unimaginable horrors; which waged war against Void’s remaining forces of the living dead and the damned. This was the beginning of the Elder Wars.

The war raged on for half a century, fear, death, destruction and hopelessness became the norm for those poor inhabitants of Oredasa. However, something amazing happened during the 50th year of the war; a great unification of Humans, Elves, Drow, Dwarves, Gnomes, Halflings and Beast-folk all joined together, putting aside all other matters and focused all of their might and power into one grand army to beat back the Abyssal forces. During this time, several specialized organizations formed; the warriors of the Jade Circle, who were great and mighty warriors who took on the most dangerous of foes. The Elderkin Hunters, who devoted their efforts to stop, find, kill and slay any and all of the alien eldritch horrors and their cults. The Mystic Order, who specialized in the healing arts and divination. The Twilight Order, who specialized in stealth and subterfuge to infiltrate and eradicate enemy forces from the shadows. And finally The Sacred Alliance, Holy and Devout warriors imbued and anointed with righteous might who have pledged their allegiance to their great God, The King of the Divines.

Each of the organizations sent out their most renowned and elite troops to finally put an end to the reign of Llem-Edous and his cult of the Crimson Centipede. This final assault took a decade for these men and women of renown to accomplish. With the blessings, supernatural might, and ancient wisdom granted to them by the heavens; they were finally victorious in defeating Llem-Edous and his armies. But regrettably, he was unable to be completely destroyed, but with his power greatly diminished, he was successfully sealed away. For an eternity, they had hoped.

After the great and terrible Elder Wars, The scant few elves that survived these terrible ordeals, agreed to release all the remaining human servants and began to rebuild their lives and traditions.

This day is known in the annals of history as Freedom Day, and is proceeded by a weeklong celebration known as the Freedom Festival.

It has now been 26 centuries since then, and the whispers of ancient foes are on the wind. It may very well fall upon this generation to do as those who have come before them have done; to keep Oredasa and her inhabitants living in peace and harmony.

May the King of the Divines have mercy upon us all.