Old Vassos

Old Vassos in its current ruined state

Old Vassos map

Old Vassos is the partially remaining ruins of the once golden age city Great Vassos. Notable people from Old Vassos include Dior, Cleo Malachi, and Cleo Malachi Jr.

## History

### Great Vassos: "The Awe-Inspiring City"

Vassos was once a great city which had been erected by the God Vasiliás. It was his home kingdom, and some say it is the birth place of human life. In the days after The Ascendance, when the Gods left the mortals, people had become greedy and hungered for the vacant positions as leaders that Gods had left.

The mortals who re-founded Vassos in their own image wanted it to be a refuge from a world that at the end of the silver age was turning away from worship of the Gods and turning instead to petty politics and trade. However the new leaders of Vassos had their worst fears come to be when the city they reformed to escape the petty politics of the world consumed them and made Vassos a great city among this new age of people worshipping false powers.

The great city became a capital for sharing knowledge of the past and present, and great amounts of records were stored during this time within the chambers of Vassos' Grand Arcanum; for this reason during the silver age Great Vassos was referred to by many as "The City of Thought". The people of the Silver era were known to be meticulous in their record keeping, and so many silver age cities established arcanums filled with information of varying subjects, importance, and great power. The powers and secrets hidden in Arcanums is however usually fiercely protected and guarded by traps and other deterrents.

   the destruction of this great city came suddenly but not by surprise many years after the end of the silver era; during the 2,000 year war of mortals and Gods it had been obliterated. The mortals attacked the divine's army of champions ruthlessly, exterminating nearly all of them. The Orcish God of war, Ogladag, summoned all his celestial power and brought destruction down unto Vassos such as the world had never seen. This to the mortals was the embodiment of why they hated the Gods - the Gods had not bled for this cause. They had not warred or fought, instead they sent their great champions to defend them; and when they were all killed they sent plagues from above.

The city of Vassos was obliterated that night, the debris scattered all across the land. The main city, which still held a decently standing portion of the Great Arcanum was left there for the rest of the war.

### Old Vassos: "Refounding"

For 100 years after The Mallus the city was left an untouched ruin until a nomadic people who searched for order and unity in a world of madness and chaos happened upon it. While Ezekiel Malachi was exploring the ruins of the Grand Arcanum one day he had a fateful encounter with a trap which filled an airtight room with water unless he could solve a riddle. After this he was able to enter the Arcanums main room which was filled with all sorts of old knowledge and information on the world before.

After this discovery, the small tribe of about 225 people decided to remain in Old Vassos indefinitely while the seven wisest men were elected to search through the Arcanum and decipher the old texts. These seven sages formed a council of sages and would also advise the tribe on near all matters (save for questions about religion or tradition), but there was no system of government; these sages were not leaders. The people of Old Vassos lived in accordance with golden age society seeing all mortal creatures as equally important.

the founding members of the council included Ezekiel Malachi, Bias Priena, Thales Mitellius, Solon Atea, Chilon Atrapus, Periander Myus, and Sithartho Gatteo. The sages claimed a tall overgrown tower to confer and debate in, and periodically made ventures into the the Arcanum. The First Council was obsessed with knowledge of the Old Gods; they hardly moved past the main record room of the Arcanum in their time as sages. They were noted by Old Vassos for being calm and level-headed in chrisis. Although chrisis did not come often for Old Vassos they were occasionally threatened by things such as drought, food shortages, and sometimes even gnoll attacks. Through this all the sages advised and warned people, often leading people away from danger and back into the very precious balance that they desired.

However the sages ran into ideological differences once thy grew old and ill-tempered, often snapping at each other like dogs rather than solve problems. The worst of them was Ezekiel who after exploring deeper into the Arcanum for once with Periander was struck by some unspoken tragedy - and Periander perished. What happened in the Arcanum will perhaps forever be a mystery, as Ezekiel refused to speak about it and went to the grave holding that secret.

after losing Periander, Ezekiel went quite mad and the rest of the sages also were plagued with a new feeling: uncertainty. After this Solon left the sages to live as a recluse in the forest. Chilon also left the sages group and ended up becoming the tribes foremost teacher, and Thales joined him. Bias descended into the Arcanum, alone- seeking to find some Ancient power to bring back his friend Periander. Alas, old Bias was never seen again. As for Sithartho, he remained in the sage tower, living there still studying the old texts. In fact over the next nine years, after all the other sages had disbanded, many people would come to think that Sithhartho had died years prior.

### Old Vassos: "An Unclear Fate"

For three years Old Vassos was in a sorry state, without guidance from their wise men they did not prosper as much as they had in the past - Chilon and Thales helped when absolutely necessary but Ezekiel had gone mad and was being taken care of by his son, Cleobulus. Bias and Solon were never seen again and Sithartho was very privative. Cleobulus Malachi, son of Ezekiel Malachi saw this. He, taking after his fathers love for research, began to search for the wisest men of the 450ish people in the tribe.

He assembled a new group of members of which were Socrum Calliope, Ari Naaman, Soren Rolavo, Secor Havorum, Gorgias Nuovo, and Cleo's close friend Pittacus Conore. This group found Sithartho still in the sages tower and due to the immense amount of studying he had done the new sages were taught under him for three years to be sages, until Sithartho died.

For some time things returned to normal in Old Vassos, until Cleo's spirit eye incident; shortly after the old sage received a mysterious vision that foretold the destruction of Old Vassos. He took information regarding the eye and had one last conversation with Old Pittacus before taking his family and running blindy into the forest escaping Old Vassos - dooming it to an unknown fate.

## Layout

Old Vassos was a ginormous city, which consisted of hundreds of blocks. The central-most blocks were government record-keeping establishments such as The Arcanum, as well as universities and temples. Surrounding these blocks were the wealthier blocks - filled with spas and grand palaces, as well as lavish bathhouses and other fancy shit. Past the Wealthy Blocks were the market and specialty blocks - not only were common marketplaces here, but so were smiths, artisans, restaurants, and even medical professionals. The services of these market blocks ranged in price, and generally increased in price the closer they came to the Wealthy Blocks. On the outer skirts of the kingdom of Vassos were the middle and poor class. Most people had enough to be able to afford a decent home big enough for a small family.

Now, there remain only five blocks of Vassos left. Three blocks remain of Vassos' central district - one of which houses the Arcanum and the Sage's Tower. Another of these contains the remains of a Vasoan university, now used by Chilon as a school for children. Also on this grounds are the ruins of school houses, where students who came to study from great distances would live. These spaces are useful for housing many Vasoan citizens. The third block from Vassos' central district is one which contains old temples of many different gods, and from here Vasoans learned much of Old religion. Here in the temple district of Old Vassos, the Druid Circles rule on matters of faith.

The last two blocks of Old Vassos are remains from Vassos' wealthy district. Both of these contain the ruins of what were surely once magnificent palaces. Now they are ruins, which are filled with beds for Vaosans seeking shelter from the elements. In the better preserved block, there are more decent faithful people. In the more decayed block, there lies the closest thing Vassos has to a 'market.' Artisans of Old Vassos gather around the central ruins of a great fountain in shacks, offering their goods and services. Most of these transactions are done by way of barter, as Old Vasoans have no coinage.

Old Vassos is now entirely covered in plant growth and wild flora and fauna. Flowering vines cover most of the ruins, and many buildings that weren't destroyed by the mallus have been ripped apart by natures wrath - such as trees destroying foundations with their roots and destroying ceilings with their growth. However the people of Vassos depend on this plant life. Many of their foods and drinks are taken from trees that grown around the blocks. Further, the flowers on the vine undergo nyctinasty at night flowers react to the lack of sunshine. Unlike most nystinastic plants, the flowers on the vine close during sunlight and bud at night. The flowers' pistil and stamen glow faintly, reflecting off of the translucent blue and purple petals to shine a very dim light. Although one flower alone is not enough to see much more than the flower itself in darkness, due to the abundance of these flowers growing on the buildings of Old Vassos, they act as a sort of natural lighting to illuminate the tribe at night as a torch or lantern might do in a civilized town. What's more, these flowers are still dim enough that they cannot be noticed from a distance and they do not give off any smoke like a fire.

## Inhabitants

The inhabitants of Old Vassos have forever been humans. In the old days, pre-mallus, Vasiliás was said to have erected the great Kingdom of Vassos send forth the first humans to share it with him. As the ages crept by, Vassos saw many powerful leaders, great thinkers, and amazing artists. None of them survived the Mallus though, nor did their beautiful city.

After the original inhabitants of Vassos were extinguished, a large host of horrible creatures found a place within the decaying ruins of the city - giant insects and spiders infested the Arcanum, and wild animals infested the rest of the ruins. They made this place their home, as there were more than enough structures standing to allow some shelter from the harsh weather.

For one hundred years the ruins of Vassos lie forgotten as a refuge for wild animals until the wanderers from the Mycellian Stronghold happened to find the ruins. Half of the Mycellian Refugees stayed in the ruins, taking Ezekiel Malachi as their leader. The other half met their end at the hands of a war-band of gnolls.

The half that stayed, however, lived on to clear the ruins and settle into them. These people became known as the Vasoans, and their tribe came to revere the knowledge they found hidden deep within the city.

## Politics and Leadership

In the first days, it is believed that Vasilias himself ruled over Vassos. That he alone commanded its people and sat on its throne. However, after The Ascendance, Vasilias' throne remained empty for many years. It is said in the days nearing The Ascendance, Vasilias chose four human knights to rule over Vassos once he left. However a bloody civil war broke out, and three of the knights died. When the last survivng knight went to take the throne, he found it stolen by a group of Vasilian Priests. The Last Knight found that he had lost nearly all his support fighting the civil war, and the priests divine army was quickly able to kill the last knight. For many years after the Vasilian Priests ruled Vassos, at first trying to return to some gold age sensibilities, but eventually became corrupt just as many of these ancient kingdoms did.

However now, hundreds of years later, there are new citizens in these ruins. Old Vassos has no real leader, as the people are expected to create their own lives, as Vasilias had taught. The closest thing that Old Vassos had to leadership was their Sage Council or Druid Circles. The Council would offer guidance to their people in times of great difficulty - such as when their were food shortages or gnoll attacks. The Circles offered help in guidance in all matters of tradition, ritual, and faith. However as of late, The Druid Circles have been pushing for more control over Vassos, attempting to push out the Sage Council.

## Timeline

129 Post-Destruction, 9th Frostmoot - Ezekiel Malachi is born

141 P.D. 4th Rainmoot - Ezekiel Malachi, age 12, leaves the Mycellian Stronghold with The Wanderers

146 P.D. - Ezekiel becomes the leader of The Wanderers

158 P.D. 8th Firemoot - The Wanderers find the ruins of **Old Vassos**

170 P.D. 30th Leaffall - Ezekiel Malachi marries Meredith Malachi

173 P.D. 5th Frostmoot - Cleobulus Malachi is born

176 P.D. 23rd of Lowsun - Thessalys Psaros is born

193 P.D. 16th Firewane - Cleobulus moves out of his parents and owns his first home in The Old Mansion District

197 P.D. 25th Highsun - Cleobulus opens The Underground Arcanum

198 P.D. 9th Deepsnow - Cleobulus Malachi and Pittacus Myus find the mysterious Diogen Sinorpe in the wild

204 P.D. 3rd of Leaffall - Faidon Stamiadis is born to Yorgis Stamiadis and Antonina Stamiadis, Antonina dies in the process

206 P.D. 5th of Leaffall - Diogen falls ill with Bone-Rot. Cleobulus (age 33) and Pittacus spend the next five years researching a cure

208 P.D. 23rd of Redfall - Klar Drommer is born to Lars Drommer and Sifelda Drommer, Sifelda dies in the process

209 P.D. 8th of Highsun - Benedis Oneiro is born Benedis Psaros to Thessalys Psaros and Reylana Drifwin

211 P.D. 29th Highsun - Diogen dies

213 P.D. 5th Rainmoot - Ezekiel Malachi (age 83), discovers Cleobulus' (age 40) underground Arcanum, and burns it down.

220 P.D. 27th Fellnight - Ezekiel Malachi (age 90) and Cleobulus Malachi (age 47) involved in what is referred to as "The Arcanum Incident" - Ezekiel goes mad, Periander goes missing, and Bias disappears looking for him

221 P.D. - First Sage Council disbands

226 P.D. - Cleo decided to form a second council

228 P.D. - Cleobulus, age 55, discovers Sithartho in the top of The Sage Council Tower

231 P.D.

3rd of Lowsun - The Great Gnoll Attack of Old Vassos, Ezekiel dies, Sithartho dies, Lars Drommer dies, many die.

16th of Lowsun - The Vassoan Guard begins to enlist outside help

20th of Lowsun - The members of Squadron Omada are brought to Old Vassos and begin to train

7th of Leaffall - Squadron Omada completes training

16th of Leaffall - Memorial to commemorate dead Vassoans

18th of Leaffall - The Battle at Li Farms

30th of Leaffall - Squadron Omada departs from Old Vassos

6th of Fellnight - Battle of Barrett’s Plains; Klar “Dreamer” Drömmer dies

233 P.D. - Cleobulus, age 60, meets Dior

234 P.D. 7th of The Melting - Cleobulus, 61, marries Dior

236 P.D. 3rd of Firemoot - Alroy Malachi is born by the name Cleobulus Malachi Jr. - Cleo age 63

248 P.D. 10th Winterwane - Cleobulus Malachi (age 75), with his wife and son, leaves Old Vassos in search for Kilead

250 P.D. - The Seekers of the Forgotten are formed