Realms of Helias

One hundred and six seven years ago, the forces of the Noctua Inquisition, led by the armies of the Shrine-Cities of Mizar and the Kingdom of Salos, invaded Helias central realms, in a blood soaked decade long conflict that lead to the death of hundreds of thousands and the purging of magik from most of the lands.

For generations the tensions between the religious orthodox and magik adepts had grown to unbearable proportions.
Persecutions directed at the magik touched or witchcrafters started to become widespread and reflected in many kingdoms stringent laws, that called on the common citizen and the believer to fight and be vigilant against the Maleficium.

Fury and fire swept the land in what some writers at the time described as "a sickness of the soul that descend upon Humankind", where brother turned on brother and neighbour killed neighbour. Where whole families could be sold into slavery just by the whispering if rumours. Others simply called the Noctua Inquisition a political tool used against the often more advanced kingdoms, where magik flourished and was part of the fabric of everyday life.
Others still defend that to leave magik to run amok would result in the destruction of the world.

At the battle of Murontomaga, the Sorcerer-King Torkaus, seeing the capital city of his kingdom sieged and with little hope to achieve victory against the Inquisition, killed his own family in sacrificial ritual to use their royal blood in his final spell.
No one knows the exact nature of what was unleashed that night, but everyone within the city died in one heartbeat. And the strange energy released that evening spread from the ruins of Murontomaga like a silent plague...

~~~

Empire of Salos - The largest military power of the Old World. Ruled with an iron fist by the Ursuzi House for centuries, from Orb. The realm's capital is the oldest continuously inhabited city in recorded history. The Knights of Salos were the driving force behind the martial success of the Noctua Inquisition across the Forsaken Lands and behind the eradication of most forms of Magik and its' associated worship in the continent. The Empire have declared the lands of Arcadia to be under its' Dominion and Ostiarium it's first major settlement in the New World.

Garrah - The key features of this realm are rugged coastal cliffs and its mountainous interior which offer incredible natural defences to its many clans against incursions by their more powerful neighbours to the North and to the East. Garrah is the most important mining and metallurgical region in Helias, its iron and blades highly prized across the realms. The clans of Garrah are fiercely independent and protective of their culture and lands.

Kingdom of Torja - For centuries the kingdom maintained a stranglehold across most commercial routes in the continent due to their large mercantile and naval fleets, which sailed unrivalled for as long as anyone can remember. It came as a big blow to the reputation and honour of the Kingdom that the Empire of Salos managed to cross the Sea of Storms before one of their vessels. The nation pumps and fuels the arteries of commerce in the Old World. They are the Empire's largest political and military rivals.

Mizar - The birthplace of all the Old World's major religions and dozens of minor ones, with a polytheistic and ritual tradition comprising numerous cults and sects. The five Shrine-Cities influence extends far and wide into everyday life, be you a commoner or a King. Mizar provided the ideological driving force behind the Noctua Inquisition and have banned Magik across the realms under the pain of death. "Do my prophets no harm and suffer not the witch to live."

Kru'll - Its dark and foreboding jungles hold and hide many secrets, treasures and dangers. Dozens of long forgotten nations are buried under its thick canopies of ever-growing trees. Scholars believe Kru'll was once the cradle of civilization, before some form of natural disaster forced Mankind to leave it behind and the jungle claimed it back. Only the brave or the fool dare venture the paths of this ancient and mysterious land. The few known cities that exist here are lawless and bound by no rule expect by the rule of the strong.