Ages of Layonara

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The First Age of Layonara

Many many years ago Layonara came into existence through a slow process known as evolution. During those years many things happened that have gone undocumented, or if it was documented by some unknown race, that documentation is not known. We will begin when documentation is actually known to exist, when the first dragons arrived on the world.

The first dragons on Layonara were benevolent, how they got there or if they too were created is lost in the mists of time.

For about five hundred years they made the world livable. Then other dragons arrived or were created, these vied for power and control of the world. It is rumored that these dragons began to create races in order to reach their lofty goals and to defeat the benevolten ones.

It has never been verified that the dragons ever created races, but, nor can it be discounted. After another thousand years the dragon gods began actively becoming involved in this world, in the hopes of saving the dragons that followed them. It is a known fact that the dragon gods did create races to reach their goals and yet not become "directly involved" in the everyday "life" of Layonara.

After two thousand years the Dragons fought a large war, what is now only known as "The Dragon Wars". This war lasted for over one hundred years and involved nearly every race that existed on the world. By the end of the war some races ceased to exist, some races were split up, and all races were greatly diminished in population.
It was during this war that the elves and dwarves split into separate paths and the humans became the dominant race. You see, not only were the dragons at war, but also, other races were at war, sometimes with themselves but most of the time with other races. This all came about because all creatures believed in the cause of a particular type of dragon, possibly the one that created them in the first place, and they fought for what they thought was right.

Out of the smoke of the war came a young human general known by the name of Sinthar Bloodstone. He did not believe in the cause of any dragon but instead saw the dragons as the ones who brought all the death and destruction to the world. With that belief he formed his own army in the hopes of forcing both dragon sides to surrender. As time wore on he became very good with magic and battle tactics and it is said he never lost a battle. In time the dragons were forced to surrender to Sinthar and the world knew peace for a few hundred years.

However, when the war ended the dragons demanded as part of their surrender, that Sinthar be banished from the world, never to return. At his sentencing Sinthar killed many of the jury and then disappeared after swearing vengeance on the world. It was believed that this was just a story grown out of a legend until he did return some 2150 years later to seek his revenge, but that is another story, the one of the Third Age.

The Second Age of Layonara

The Second Age began when the humanoid gods began to take interest in Layonara and the dragon gods were driven out. It is rumored that the dragon gods were driven out by accident, but then who knows the ways of gods. It is also rumored that the dragon gods still have power on the world but are lying low biding their time.
It is now known that Sinthar Bloodstone began his attempt at coming back about ten years after being banished. Most certainly the Second Age did not revolve around this issue but it was definitely his return that caused the Second Age to end and the Third Age to begin.

During the Second Age there were many race wars being fought, most predominately those of the elves and dwarves. To think what these two races could have been had they not fought amongst themselves simply boggles the mind. For the most part these Race Wars are over but every once in a while skirmishes will brew and of course the hard feelings will be there for many more generations to come.

The elves are now split up into two distinctive groups, the dark elves and surface elves. The dark elves tend to live below the ground while the surface elves, of various sub-cultures, live above ground. The dark elves used to follow the evil dragons while the surface elves followed the benevolent ones. When the war ended their war began in earnest, it seems elves are not very tolerant even amongst themselves.

The dwarves are also split into sub-cultures but at least they are not openly hostile towards each other any longer. Sure the dwarves sometimes fight but then they are dwarves after all and that's what dwarves like to do.

During this Age the dragons retreated and were rarely seen but with the return of Sinthar they have retreated even more, what few that are left that is.

Sinthar was able to return after thousands of years through the use of portals that connected to some devices of vast power called Blood Wells. It seems that during his time on the world he had created a few of these wells to help in his battles against the dragons, bypassing use of the Al'Noth.

When he was banished he was able to communicate with one in control of such a Well. With this he corrupted those and they eventually fell under his limited control. With this limited control he influenced them to create a few more smaller versions, called Bloodpools and thus his power grew.

He was able to convince a few to willingly help his cause with the promise of knowledge, power and wealth. After hundreds of years he created enough power in three of the Wells that he was able to bring an army through from the Pits of Endless Strife. Unfortunately for him, he miscalculated somewhere and over half of his army was destroyed along with parts of the world being reshaped due the explosions. If his army had not been destroyed the world would have fallen within a few years. Even with only half of his army intact he was able to defeat a large continent and thus secure a stronghold and build his army anew.

The Third Age of Layonara

The Third Age started in the year 1341 when Sinthar Bloodstone returned from his banishment to the Pits of Endless Strife. He did not return alone as vast armies consisting of many a creature not seen on the face of the world before came with him, shouting his name on the winds. It did not take long for his forces or those of his generals to control all continents bar Mistone and Voltrex.

A call for aid went out across the lands and was answered by those that would be known as the Dragon Called. For just over sixty years the battle against Bloodstone, and his three main generals, Milara, Xandrial, and Drezneb raged.

When Blood fell by the actions of the Dragon Called in early 1402, much of the world had suffered through the chaos and destruction of the battle. Life was no longer as it was before Blood's return to the world.

Blood's defeat also involved the destruction of what is known as a Bloodwell, a fell source of power which Sinthar Bloodstone supposedly used to transport himself and his armies back to the world when he returned from his banishment. The destruction of the Bloodwell was like the eruption of a super volcano, spewing dirt and debris in to the atmosphere. The skies darkened, and the sun was hidden behind the clouds of dust.

The days and nights grew cold and the land became darker. The rain turned to snow in many locations and all across the world the temperature dropped noticeably. After several weeks the sky became thicker and darker with dust.

The sun was seen no more, the Dark Ages had begun.

Layonara entered a minor ice age, an ice age caused by the very heroes that saved the world from Bloodstone and ended the war. It was an ice age that would surely bring more death, uncertainty, and chaos to the world of Layonara. The ice caps started to grow in size while farming and raising livestock became more difficult. The once civilized citizens started to go hungry and began to do whatever they needed to do in order to support their families and survive.

The rulers of the land found their taxes were lacking, the livestock and crops grew scarcer and soldiers deserted their post in order to try and protect their families or move them to better places. Bandits rose and became quite common, nefarious organizations began to grow in power as the struggle for existence became more ruthless due to living in a harsh and cold environment. Old bloodlines started to see their chance to rise to prominence once again, and many officers from the various military structures vied for power in their given region of influence.

After the 61-year war against Blood and the victory of the Dragon Called, the world had paid a price. Two-thirds of the world had been destroyed or left in chaos; over 6 million lost their lives through the decades. Of all the lands, only Mistone and Voltrex remained fairly untouched. The continent of Dregar was mostly devoid of the conflict for the largest period of the war, except for a few invasion attempts which were repelled. However, since the passing of Karem Waylend, the last King of all Dregar, as well as the fall of Prantz to Lord Rael, a former General of Bloodstone, Dregar is not what it used to be.

Overall, there were now less than 8 million citizens in the world across all races, cultures and all lands as well as the non-surface dwelling creatures.

And yet, that is not all - Shortly after Blood fell, tales of dragons in flight were told. They were first dismissed as old wives' tales, as it was popular belief that nearly all dragons had been destroyed by Blood with only a handful remaining. However, when the town of Hurm was attacked by three dragons, even the most skeptical people had to admit that the dragons were back. The dragons must have been in hiding, and returned when the threat of Blood was gone. Some think the dragons had changed during this period, others felt they had not changed so much as the world had forgotten what dragons were like. Regardless of who is right, the fact that they had returned cannot be ignored, and nearly all agree that this does not bode well.

Dragons freely roamed the skies once more, and with the armies of the various lands weakened, the lands have little protection from these creatures.

At the end of 1420, a group of heroes, some of them old Dragon Called, managed to rid the world of the darkness that had covered it for nearly two decades, ever since the defeat of Sinthar Bloodstone.

The dragon sightings that have already been on the rise since the defeat of Blood, have become even more frequent, and many are now seeking them out. Some do this in the hopes of striking a deal with them in order to further their own designs, while others want to destroy them before their power becomes too great once more.
Light has returned to the world, but it is a world in turmoil, strife, and constant struggle as the dragons are not the only ones out for power. Realms both old and new vie for power causing an overall feeling of dread, uncertainty and loss of control.

Some of these new realms are intertwined with ancient history and long bloodlines, most are not, but old or new, all are vying for power, control, or the betterment of life for their citizens. Much of the settled lands are no longer considered safe, as during the ongoing struggles, brigands started to run the countryside, and evil creatures roam the lands unchecked. Life as a commoner has rarely been more difficult.

This is the state of the world at this moment, welcome to Layonara.