Those who are Dead

As said long ago, there were many in the world of Nalthos that believed that there were more than one realm....in fact it was proven when creatures of various nightmares have come.  Each one terrorized much of Naltha for many years to come. 

Yet, the majority of them were easily killed, Elves seemed to have the ability to control this issue, along with the great well that hidden in the great city of Aulou....

But due to a single human's arrogance, 'The Song of Destruction' had come and gone, and Aulou, as well as the great magical well was gone.  This seemed to have created a ripple in the realm, and closed off much of the world from all the other realms....But one.

A single tear was left where the ruined city once was, far too small for beasts of any other realm to appear..though one thing finally slipped into the world....and it was probably one of the most dangerous thing that could have.

Amongst the realms is the Netherworld, where all the dead go to and wait to be lead to the afterlife.  Many come to the realm to wait judgement, but there had to be things in that realm to give the judgement...

Though many never truly believed it, a being did get through.  None have truly seen the real thing, just his shadow, and yet the shadow of him is feared.  Upon his arrival, he sensed one of the greatest power sources...The Tattered Tower, the home of the late Alchemist.   Sensing great arcane energies within that Tower, the being used the magics....to move the Tower.  Now it was gone from where it once was....and placed at the center of where the 'Song of Destruction' took place.

Since the move of the Tower, a great duststorm has encircled it, hiding it from the world.  There the being....known as the 'Horned King', resides.  The dust storm is far too powerful for anyone to enter, and the ruins underneath is protected by some of the highest level beasts...undead Chimera and Golems that follow him....

To top it all off is that, whatever he is, he has the power of Necromancy..only his is far worse.  He is able to give life to the dead, but for him it's worse.  The beasts are stronger than the undead, their muscle regrown, and even enhanced, their bones are almost steel in strength, and their faces...it's like they're flesh was grown but with no muscles underneath, leaving twisted faces of the undead. 

The Horned King made thousands of these creatures, from the fallen of the 'Song of Destruction', and continues to use his power to grow more, for every fallen that his men slay, they bring them back to become one of them. 


The worse yet.  Many who have tried to enter the tower have failed due to the beasts within the ruins below.  But there are four known great heroes who have passed the ruins...and never returned...alive.  Four Heroes went in, and years later, the great armies of the dead are now being lead by four great Generals who appears remarkably like the fallen four.

With the four fallen heroes, and the undead horde behind their backs...it would be such so easy to destroy the world, yes?

Well, the answer would be yes..yet somehow he's straining, holding back from sending his forces fully out upon the world and cast a great genocide across the globe.  He only has ordered his soldiers to remain in the desert.  Only time will tell when he will strike.

Homunculus

 The Song of Destruction was one of the few poems that survived throughout the years, acting as a fairy tale as well as a warning of all the unnatural beasts and how they should never be a part of the world.

Although it was never stated, details slowly turned the facts when wizards and scholars alike agreed that the ‘four unaturals’ called the ‘sister’ and ‘brothers’ were in fact Homunculus.  Four in fact were known at the time, each created by one man alone. His true name was forever lost in time, yet children and adults alike will forever call him, ‘The Alchemist’.  Being a Sorcerer was his first trade, though many circles condemned him for some of the..things that he has done.  Again, it isn’t known what is true and what wasn’t, but it was truth that he was famous for summon demons to the world…

Example of The Alchemist

It seemed that the man that would become The Alchemist wanted what most humanity wanted:  Immortality.  But, he knew better than to make deals with devils, and instead started to dwell upon a fresh new science which soon became known as Alchemy.  As Alchemy focused a little more on elements of the earth and not as much with the Supernatural, the Alchemist wished to use this to help bring him such immortality.

His first actual creation within Alchemy was something that had been made years ago: A Chimera.  What was impressive to most sorcerers was how adept he quickly was in creating these creatures.  Although they were abominations at first sight, the Alchemist built each creature to adapt to the world around them. Some of the greater wizards even took a few of the chimera’s as pets.  But these were just simple creations…the Alchemist wanted more…

Example of Junk Golem

Then he built the Golems, in which another created years before but cut ties due to the unstable elements that they were made out of.  The Alchemist?  He figured the issues with the previous formula and created many powerful Golems that wizards were amazed with.  These powerful creatures were what made The Alchemist famous…in fact there was a record that he built his strongest Golem in front of the wizards that condemned him before their very eyes out of nothing but Junk.  This Junk Golem still exists today, as one of the strongest Golems of this time, and protects a small village of Homeridge to this day.

Yet…the Alchemist wanted more.

From all this, he wanted to create something far more powerful, far greater, something…that he could put his soul into instead of just putting it into a golem.  He pushed the boundaries, forced to go beyond what others would dare not go.  He used all five elements (Fire, Water, Earth, Wind, and Metal) and balanced each together.  There, he added his own magical touch and created…

…nothing at first.  Despite the fact that he used the right amount of elements with each other, he thought for sure he could create something.  For years he continued to perfect the magic and the elements, for sure he could create something far greater than an elemental…

Homunculus in Flask

…It was an accident, really, he wasn’t even sure which spell fell into the mix, but somehow it created what he was looking for…

…It awoke within minutes of its birth, and declared itself female, and named itself…Homunculus…

Example of Cheron

The Alchemist was not aware that it would react to him, in fact he thought it would have been a powerhouse without life, and yet, as it grew, it slowly became more aware of the world and took a human form.  In its own way, the Alchemist was insulting the gods by calling it…her Cheron, a mockery of Charon the boatman’s name. 

The thing that made that made the Alchemist proud was the fact that the creature was powerful.  It could easily control the elements if it wished, it can use a simplier form of magic without magical words or even a hand gesture, but it was immune to most attacks.  Swords can not harm it nor arrows.  Pure Elements could damage it lightly, and only Light or Dark Magic could truly harm them.  And…Cheron was omnipotent, she helped with the Alchemist’s formula, and even developed the ingredients for the second Homunculus.

But then Cheron started to look into her Master’s heart…as she showed him a few things he missed, she learned of his quest for immortality, and the next few truths.

With her, the Alchemist soon realized that he could show up each of the circles that abandoned him at the beginning, the kingdoms that forbade him, and even…conquer it all.

Cheron soon saw her ‘father’ as a Tyrant…and could not bear staying with him anymore. She fled, leaving him to half his work.  The Alchemist first thought that he didn’t need her, and soon started to producing other Homunculus, though the three that people know of now were not as successful.  He needed something more than the rest…but then he thought of it…he would set up his final Homunculus, using the energies of the magical well in the great elven city of Aulou…

Example of Ebeddon'

Though many don’t know the events of the ‘Song of Destruction’ a fifth, and powerful Homunculus became known, named Ebeddon.  About the time he was born, the Alchemist disappeared. 

So now, many are afraid and wary…be careful of the unnaturals, for they are far too powerful.  The Five could help bring the end of the world…

Yet, nobody ever knew the truth…there are Seven…

A Song of Destruction

A great light suddenly appeared in the night sky, so bright that every single living thing was blind for a few minutes, then it faded away.  But..when people went to investigate it, they soon found that the center of their entire world was nothing more than a massive desert.  Including the great Elvish City of Aulou, where a pillar of great magic stood.  For many weeks, people have no idea what happened, until one day, a man mysteriously appeared from the desert.  He was near death, bandaged from head to toe, his flesh was sun-dried with no ounce of water in him.

As he lay on his back, near death, he handed his nurse a single silk sheet..one the side of it was a poem...

"Under a twilight sky they came, with torches and fire and light. 

Orcs and Humans all alike, come to storm the city Aulou

The Armies clashed with the Elves, together their swords clashed so bright

But unknown to the armies three, the war was merely a ruse.

Three beings unnatural, three who don’t belong in this world

The war was false against Aulou, the three were driving it all.

Death in the brightest city came, to create a twisted whirl.

And lure their beloved Sister, and bring her to their Master

And then, by the moonlight night, the female beast they sought had come.

Her hair was long and seemed as fire, eyes as gold as the moonlight light

She came to protect the city, and repair what has been done.

To remove her three brothers, even if it meant their own doom.

Their they came one at a time, the first one was known for his might

He was the Master’s muscle, a great thug who could kill dragons

Yet he could not defeat her, she was far too fast for his sight

Her nails found their way to his head, soon enough he was no more.

The second came to face her, the one who brought forth fear and dread

His spirit claimed the orcs as his, sent them to the city to kill

His power makes all creatures insane, and to the city they tread.

Yet even through his power he fled, his sister subdued him

The last of the creatures she faced, the last of the brothers grim.

He can take many faces, and he can set the greatest lie.

His words sends Humans against Elves, his lies making  them dark and brim

Yet the sister did not find him, he hid from her at all turns.

 

Despite all the battle and blood, the fear and dread that the three made

A light appeared into the night, burning like hot fire in the sky.

Soon the light was no more, as was the city, people and blade

Leaving only a desert, forever bare of any life.

Our heroine, the person that came to save us has left.

To this day…the unnaturals will be forever enemies.

The stage has been set…"

It is unknown if the man from the desert was the poet himself, or found it and carried along with him…nor is it truly clear if the unnatural creatures that were seen were anything…but it became obvious when people realized that the woman with fiery red hair was the Homunculus Cheron, a great warrior and friend to the Elves. 

As time went on, this poem became known throughout the land.  It is heard far and wide and also because of this, most people deem the Homunculus, the four they knew of, to be enemies.  No one knows their names, nor who the three brothers were…but they all agree…all Homunculus are deemed unnatural and evil.

Nalthia, Land of the Gun and the Sword

It is said that each Realm is a sphere nestled gently upon one great spear, and that the only reason why some magics are similar between Realms is because of this.  One of the best theories made by the people is the fact that the higher the world is upon the great spear, the more technologically advance the world truly is.

If Naltha is amongst those spears, it would be just above the center, above the technology of just the sword but far too below the worlds that no longer need steel.

It is the rule of the Sword, and the Gun recently created amongst the world.  A World of Sorcery as well as Alchemy.....though due to the new technologies of the world, there are too many great flaws that come with it.

In came the gun, a weapon that's lethal against some but weak against others, and with it came the value of science, and the horrors that soon came with it.

For soon as technology took the world, so did the era of the Chimera, the Golem, and, through the life of a man that called himself 'the Great Alchemist', came the most horrible, unnatural creatures of all creation....Homunculus.

Four were known, and four helped destroy the world once, leaving it in ruins.  Now, a hundred years later, much of the world was rebuilt with a hatred for those who are Homunculus. 

The world was once a massive jungle with cities placed in it...though after the mess a hundred years ago, it now is more than that.  It carries Badlands in many areas, a massive desert where the elven capital city once stood, and even mountains where there wasn't before.  By the Homunculus, the world has become more than just a single jungle land....but many people would not say making the world diverse is acceptable.

Much of the known civilizations of this land are the great city/states, ruled by kings that hold alliances with each other as quickly as a snap of a finger.  Many City/States are human, though some Elven cities are known, a few Orc Encampments, and even a few Goblin Tunnels can be found.  The Great Deep has a few Drow Kingdoms as well.

The world remains chaotic...both with the threat of the Homunculus returning...as well as the races not being able to work together...

....Welcome to Naltha