Aand (world)

Aand is a world comprised mostly of small islands with several continents. Due to this, much of the world relies on sea trade and travel, which also means pirates have much to plunder. Pretty much any travel will require a ship. It is unknown how large Aand is since it has never been circumnavigated. In fact, All of the known land masses are in the southern hemisphere of Aand, although this is not known be pretty much any of it's denizens. Because of this, the equator is in the north section of the known map, making the northern areas hotter.

## Continents

### Narogand

Narogand is a long, skinny continent in the western section of Aand. It is the largest known continent on Aand It is comprised of 4 nations: Disolut, Wirall, Unregurd, and Duliber. These four nations used to constantly be at war but resolved conflict 100 years prior by agreeing to govern their territory independently, but anything that would affect the entire continent would be decided at a Congress of Kings. The city of Omna was built in the Council Mountains to be a neutral city where no king would hold more power than the others. Here they would meet once a year to settle disputes and make decisions. Due to the heavy influence Omna held (and the lack of direct governing), Omna grew to be the biggest city on the continent, taking in resources from the four nations. Narogand is made of mostly humans with other races sprinkled around.

### Cindarin

Cindarin is the largest continent in the eastern section of Aand. It is known for it's varied environments and the powerful nation (of the same name) that calls it home. The capitol, Cleviffe, lies on the Cleaved Cliffs, a large section of cliffs caused by a split between the continents of Cindarin and Ska'arin thousands of years ago. It is in an ideal fortified position, being covered by the Shield Mountains and Hanging Forest on one side and the cliffs on the other, but this also means it struggles to bring in enough trade so the wealth of the city is not high. When Cindarin and Ska'arin we're one continent, they were ruled by a single empire with it's capitol in Cleviffe (under a different name). After the split, the two have warred occasionally in an attempt to consolidate once again.The most recent war was instigated by Cindarin 5 years prior in an attempt to gain more wealth and resources due to it's dwindling supply from years of using all resources for war. Recently, a cease-fire was reached in Pax'el (the traditional place where peace treaties are signed), but neither side believes it will last. Cindarin is mostly high elves but also has dwarves and half-orcs. It also houses the largest community of dragonborn in it's northern territory.

### Ska'arin

Ska'arin is the second largest continent in the eastern section of Aand. It has fairly level ground other than the incline up to the Sundered Shore, the Ska'arian side of the split between Cindarin and Ska'arin. It's capital is in Sunsarin, on the other side of a vast plain that has seen many battles in the multiple wars between Cindarin and Ska'arin. Being a port town, Sunsarin has much more wealth than the capitol of Cindarin and uses that to pay for better soldiers and weaponry and ally themselves with other nations in the area. In the current war, Ska'arin had to ally itself with LeLain, the continent and nation to it's west, as Cindarin had amassed to large a navy depleting all of it's resources for the most recent war. Ska'arin used this alliance to force Cindarin into a cease fire mere weeks before Sunsarin likely would've fallen. Sunsarin is made of high elves, half-elves, and gnomes.

### LeLain

LeLain is the smallest continent in the eastern section of Aand and often the "third wheel" in the wars between Cindarin and Ska'arin. They have often allied with one of the two against the other to profit themselves. Because of this and their ideal placement relative to the other islands and continents, they are the wealthiest nation out of the three. However, if the other two ever decide to team up, they could wipe out LeLain without much effort. Because of this, LeLain has worked hard for decades to ensure tempers always run high between the other two continents. Their capitol is Dismarel, which lies in the middle of the Dismarel Forest. Many of the buildings are built out of the trees or in the trees branches. The forest is one of the most majestic of any in Aand, touting the biggest trees. The people of LeLain are mostly elvish.

### Saj'aant

Saj'aant is a City/State/Island nation near the cost of Narogard. Most of the island is desert, but the city (with the same name) also covers much of the island. It is a metropolis with many bazaars and trade with all other nations. It is one of the wealthiest nations in the world with many trade going through here and many wealthy individuals choosing to live there due to the lax tax laws, plenty to do, and easy access to many people. The nation has the most varied people, containing all races in all roles.

### Hidentia

Hidentia is a continent of unknown size in the south of Aand. The sea surrounding it is tumultuous and the cliffs around the shore steep, thus it is unknown if anyone has ever made it onto the continent and definite that no one that has has made it back.

## Islands

The world of Aand is largely made of islands that have been populated to varying degrees throughout history. They were at their most populated during the time of the Isle Empire, but have been mostly uninhabited since their disappearance. Briefly during the Discovery Age, there were colonies on many of the islands but most were abandoned due to the difficulty at acquiring resources and staving off the creatures that lived on the islands. Here is a list of islands in the world (excluding the continents listed above) with links to pages with more information:

* Archipelago of Corsairs
* Broken Spear Islands
* Dbitja
* Dragon's Breath Isles
* Dragon's Maw
* Eabus
* Erui
* LeLun
* Minnow Island
* Nepolis
* Oak Isle
* Pax'el
* Raepos
* Rose Isle
* Unnamed Island 1
* Unnamed Island 2
* Unnamed Island 3
* Unnamed Island 4
* Unnamed Island 5
* Unnamed Island 6
* Unnamed Island 7
* Unnamed Island 8
* Unnamed Island 9
* Unnamed Island 10
* Unnamed Island 11
* Unnamed Island 12
* Unnamed Island 13

## Factions

There are multiple factions in Aand outside of the existing governments.

* The Forked Tongue
	+ Assassin's guild made up of mostly Yuan-ti
* Cat's Eye
	+ Thieves' guild run by a Tabaxi.
* Icosahedral League
* Halls of the Magi
	+ Schools of magic spread throughout the world. This organization was formed fairly recently and incorporated the existing schools of magic in each area.
* Corsair Conclave
	+ Order of pirates that live on the Archipelago of Corsairs.

## History

### Divine Age

The Divine Age occurred long before the memory of any known living being. The stories of what happened during this age vary widely and it's not known which is true and which is false.

The true story is that the world use to be much the same, but magic ran wild. There was an unending supply of magic and people known as Magicians in search of power hoarded as much as they could. A small group of Magicians acquired a considerable amount more than anyone else and eventually decided to war with each other to attempt to assert sole control over the world. Their power levels were so high, however, that none had the power to destroy another. This violent stalemate continued for over a century, wreaking havoc on the existing landscape.

Eventually, several of the Magicians came up with a plan for everyone to win. Since no one could rule on their own, the next best thing was for them to rule together. They could pool their power, using it to give themselves dominion over all life, and then become gods over the world. After much convincing, they were still missing the agreement of several of the Magicians and the plan didn't work without agreement from everyone. The majority then combined their force and compelled the remaining Magicians to capitulate and join the convent.

With the decision unanimous, they used their combined power to ascend into gods. In order to prevent further conflict like this from destroying the world, they agreed to isolate themselves on other planes of their own creation and only interact with each other through chosen champions. They also decided to give the world a blank slate with less magic in order to prevent more beings from attempting to ascend. They wiped out all life on their world and rebuilt the landscape and people from scratch. Each god created people that reminded them of themselves, causing different races, subraces, and even just different personality people.

These Magicians became the gods worshiped to this day: Moradin in Mount Celestia, Pelor in Elysium, Avandra in Arborea, Erathis in Mechanus, Melora/Raven Queen in the Feywild/Shadowfell, Kord in Limbo, Asmodeous in The Nine Hells, Auril in Hades, and Tharizdun in the Abyss. They also each had many lieutenants they took with them that were given domain over different aspects of life and some were even allowed to add their own additions to the world.

### Unknown Age

Very little is known about this age as there wasn’t any history recorded during it. It can be assumed that the races created by the gods grew and interacted and went from small scattered tribes to cities to kingdoms. Presumably, record was kept of many things but all record was lost by the Tyrannical Age.

The only known records of this time are various letters and journals discussing the creation of the 3 empires. One theory is that all 3 empires ordered the destruction of all records prior to the empires formation. While this seems unlikely, supporters of this theory think it likely that this action was caused by divine intervention, either by Tharizdun and his forces to bring more chaos to the world or a combined decision by the gods to wipe out the memory of something that happened during this age.

### Tyrannical Age

The Tyrannical Age began at the beginning of recorded history and ran until the fall of most of Aand's empires and the start of the Discovery Age. It spans thousands of years. The world was nearly entirely run by three empires: the Wildenn Empire in the west, the Eincler Empire in the east, and the Isle Empire occupying many of the central islands. The empires rarely interacted given that most ships at the time weren't large enough to accommodate consistent sea travel in the wild seas.

The Wildenn Empire eventually fell to coordinated rebellions across it's continent that led to the fractured kingdoms of Narogand. The Eincler Empire dissolved into two kingdoms after it's emperor died and left no clear heir for the empire. Not much is known about the Isle Empire since there is very little written history from them. Many of their ruins can be found across the central islands. All that is known is at some point during the end of the Tyrannical Age or the beginning of the Discovery Age, every single being in the empire either died or disappeared. LeLain was the only major kingdom to not be ruled by one of the empires. The elves that lived there used their nature magic and superior knowledge of the forests to prevent most incursions into their territory for most of the Tyrannical Age. Around 50 pre-Dis, they finally let in an envoy from the Eincler Empire and began develop into a more modern kingdom

There wasn't much magic in this time. There were clerics that performed simple magic from their gods and a small handful of wizards over the thousands of years that managed to find stores of magic in the earth and take control of it (and many more that died trying). Most people in this time didn't even hear of magic however.

### Discovery Age

The official designation for the start of the discovery age is when an explorer from Cindarin first left to see what land existed beyond the three continents of the former Eincler Empire. By this point, the Wildenn empire had collapsed ~25 years prior and the Eincler Empire had been split between the two heirs for 6 years. When the explorer discovered a wealth of resources on islands not that far from their shore, news spread fast. Soon Cindarin, LeLain, and Ska'arin were all building ships to try to colonize the islands first and seize the riches they knew this would bring them. By 10 Dis, every island east of Dragon's Maw had one or multiple colonies. In 6 Dis, the kingdom's of Saj and Aant from Narogand also began exploring, which led to their kingdoms' fall. They banded together however and founded a new nation of Saj'aant. A few years later, there was a tenuous semi-peace in Narogand that allowed the remaining nations to begin their own exploring. By 15 Dis, LeLain had used their superior ship craftsmanship to reach all the way to the islands east of Duliber. Duliber reached the islands shortly after that and began battling over control over the island's resources. This was the first battle to be fought between a Narogandan nation and a nation from the former Eincler Empire. Their weapons and tactics were so foreign to each other that many lives were lost in the confusion. In 26 Dis, the colonists of both nations gave up fighting and settled together on the islands and the nations decided enough had been lost that they should be left alone. Over the next 150 years, each and every island was found, mapped, and colonized. This led to many more battles and many more exchanges of land. LeLain and Cindarin had the most spread as they devoted the most time to these efforts. However, by 200 Dis, every colony had split itself from their original nations and sought independence. Nations stopped sending colonists since they just lost resources instead of gaining the riches they sought. The last year of the Discovery Age was 213 Dis.

### Enchantment Age

The year of 1 Enc might be the most important year in all of Aand history. In mid-fall of that year, a horrible purple and blue storm appeared on the south horizon. It grew and grew as it got closer until it was the size of the entire continent of Cindarin, with the outer winds whipping out twice as far. The rain that poured from the storm was hot and burned to the touch. Most people fled for cover and didn't come out until the storm finally passed. The storm eventually swept over most of the known world of Aand. It was quickly noticed that those that were touched by the rain how enhanced abilities. Normally nothing extravagant, but some were slightly stronger, or could run faster. There were some that were exposed to enough that they could suddenly perform amazing feats. These were the first sorcerers. After this, sorcerers suddenly started being found from birth. Also, monsters were suddenly found all over the landscape.

The storm was very dangerous for the lower technology settlements spread out among the central islands. Between the deaths from the storm and people fleeing for a more civilized life, many of the central islands became unpopulated once again, dotted with ruins.

Each nation used the new found magic in different ways, leading to many different schools of magic. Over the next 700 years, Aand changed more than the previous 2000 years. Wars became not only soldiers and ships but sorcerers and warlocks. Clerics also were able to more easily tap into their gods powers and beings were discovered that would exchange powers with a mortal for something in return. By the end of the Enchantment Age, magic was so commonplace that it was unthinkable to imagine a time when there was no magic.

### Modern Age

Compared to the start of the Enchantment Age, the start of the Modern Age was barely a blip on the historical radar. However, it was still a momentous event for a continent that had been locked in warfare for 1000 years. The Narogandan kings all met and signed a treaty to unite their kingdoms and stop their constant warring. Since then, it's mostly been business as usual. Plenty of battles and death but no life changing moments. The start of the adventure will be November 14, 114 Mod.

## Calendar

For much of history, each nation had it's own calendar. However, after the signing of the Treaty of Kings, the Congress of Kings declared an official calendar for their continent and it quickly spread throughout Aand since it was simple and easy to follow. This also helped keep trade on schedule since everyone used the same calendar.

Years were designated by Ages. The Tyrannical Age was everything before the first explorer left Cindarin. The Discovery Age was everything between that explorer leaving and the Enchanting Storm. The Enchantment Age was everything between the Enchanting Storm and the Treaty of Kings being signed. To designate a year, you would indicate the number of years since the start of the age and then the first three letters of the age (ex. 114 Enc).