Werewolves are both inhereted and passed on via contact with an "infected" indivisual. However, most people aren't bitten, because there are very strict laws in the Eleveran/Wolven Doctrine that "prohibit the intentional transfer of individuals from the status of a non-lycathropic creature to one of lycanthropic capabilities."

Intertesteing. Is there any particular reason for why that law was put in place?

Of course. As you can well imagine, the dense forest of the Great Eleveran Wood leaves little room for roads. Thos roads that do exist are all heavily traveled trade routes. The families that controled the territory had a thing with converting the traders moving up and down the roadways and stealing whatever precious cargo that was aboard the caravans. Eleveran economy plummeted, and so those laws were put in place during a treaty between the clans and the Eleveran Royal Family. They've held ever since, with only the occasional mistake...because one or two traders every now and again won't be missed.

How much would my character know about the tension between the Elves and Weres. Is it still a simmering thing or pretty much a thing of the past with a little bit of a bad taste left in each others mouth? Also am curious about the other humanoid races that Lakota would have interacted with in her home territory.

And Were politics. Do they mirror wolf packs or have they moved beyond that? What's it like. Lakota was born into this so she was never just a human. Are other races susceptible to becoming a were or is it just humans? Would she have the same kind of education as humans? I am interested to know just how well read her people are in general and that will give me an idea of just how intellectual she could be.

Werewolves are still very feral in their governing society. They are intelligent enough to realize that other modes of government do exist, however they also all recognize how effective and simple a pack mentality is. They believe it is the safest way to lead.

As for other creatures, humans and elves mostly. Perhaps the occasional Vampire Trader or Demon Tarder or what have you, but its not likley, living in such a secluded society, that you would have had much contact with races that hold no prominant foothold in Elevera. Even your direct contact with humans would be limited to a minimal.

As for the conflict, it is still going on to a small degree this day, but for the most part, the groups have settled their differences. They still despise each other, but coexist more out of neccesity then friendliness.

Werewlves have no real formal education. They learn what their clan can teach them. Coming from one of the families I listed may earn you a slightly more prominant education, but it is nothing like the other races have availible. Wolves are, however, much more in tune with the forest and with the Earth tne even Elves are. Elves spend much time learning history as opposed to learning the lay of the land. Only a very old elf can hope to match a Wolf in his/her knowledge of the land.

The only races not susceptible to a tranformastion are Werewolves (obviously), Vampires, Demons and Arch Angels. Thats it. All other races are able victims...although Dwarfs make awkward wolfs, and are not ususally targeted.

your new sword. Kannizan has an idea that it could be draconis. His reckoning on that is because of different sizes, so a draconic longsword would be slightly longer than what a normal human is used to if they had larger bodies. he also uses the jewels and the intricacy as more hints to that. Is that fine or am I way off the mark?

Waaaaaaaaaaaay off the mark. Not even in the same era. Don't bother trying to identifiy it. It'll all fold old later on.

alright

The continent of Aalon is divided into many places of importance. I'm going to be going over some of these natural features.

The Valley of Fire: The Valley of Fire, known as Tarsonis' maw to local villagers in nearby Zylac, is located on the souther edge of the Brigar Mountains, boadering the great expanse of the Orvegra Desert. This valley is filled with an abundance of geothermal features. Almost constantly erupting volcanoes spew out fluid lava rising from the massive magma chamber below. The various geysers, hot springs, fumaroles and mud pots scattered around the tight valley make it unbearbly hot and smokey. The smell of sulfur that should dominate the area is non-existant because the heat is so intense that it literally burns away the stench. The Valley of fire is an inhospitible landscape, only traversable by those attuned VERY strongly to fire magics. All others might well die of heat exhaustion or burn from the heat in the air. This valley however hold an ancient temple to Tarsonis at its far end. It is rumored that this temple contains a great treasure, but as of yet, no man nor elf nor dwarf nor any other creature has reached it alive.

Orvegra Desert: This temperate desert is dominated by sandstone spires, dune seas and a two mile deep canyon forged by the Vala River's southern fork. The desert is an arid wasteland, with only rare pockets of springwater erupting from its dry ground. It is not entirely hostile however. It rains very often, causing the dry ground to flood and raging rivers and mudslides to tear across the dry canyons and sandstone bluffs. It is arguably one of the most beuatiful places in the world. Its hues of red, orange, purple, pinks and yellows cast radiant light in the sun at any time of day.

Vigraave: The Great Northern Tundra, as it is called by men. Vigraave is an Orchish term meaning Solitude. This massive expanse of frozen grassland houses no forests, and barley supports enought life to sustain its massive population of diverse wildlife. The snow is perpetual here, day or night, summer or winter. It never melts away. The rivers stay frozen and the land stays hard and cold. It is belived however that at one time, this area was a fertile northern plain, lush with farms and forestland. There is no written evidence to support this, but old oral house wife tales have been passed down from generations before us detailing the downfall of the region.

Larke Jhorlest: The largest lake in the known world, lake Jhorlest is the source of the Priforgra river, the fastest flowing river in the world. It is believed that an eternal spring, enchanted by the water goddess Xylasta, pours out fresh water into the lake from the depth of Isle Aurouas. Rumor has spread that a sacred cavern of titanic proportions lies under the lake, but the Siprhan military and government, who control Fort Aurour, which is situated on the island in the lakes center, deny all claims of such a cavern.

Mt. Frigra: Mt. Fire, as it is translated from Draconic tongue, is the most sacred mountain on the continent. This 47,000 foot peak is the largest volcano in the known world. Lore has it that this is the resting place of the "Blade of Life", the sword used by Tarsonis during the God Wars. Pilgrims climb to the summit of this mountains via an access trail that must be rebuilt every 16 years when the mountain erupts. The air near this mountains, all the way to its summit, is warm and fresh. It never thins, as if some mystical force is holding life against it. A massive cavern is visible on its south side. The opening juts out of the mountain, but is not reachable by ordinary means.

Dark Crags: The only landmark upon the tundra of Vigraave, the Dark Crags are three jagged peaks formed of black granite that jut out of the floor of the tundra along the shore of the Frozen Lake. It is apparently for no reason that these monoliths formed, but a massive structure is visible along the west face of the center crag. It has never been reached however, because the area is infested with Thresher Worms. These underground terrors can engulf a stray adventurer whole and dissapear back into the very earth from whence they came. They strike too quickly for conventional attacks.

Sylve Glacier: This massive body of ice is unlike an ordinary glacier in the fact that it does not move or progress down the valley it appears to have carved. Located in the deep recesses of the Gurde Bay in Hmeral, the Sylve Glacier is the largest single mass of ice in the world. It is nearly impossible to approach due to its loaction. The bay before it is filled with thick pack ice and floating debris from the may ships ruined there over the centuries. The mountians around it are impassable due to their inhospitible weather. However, onlooker and "Glacier Watchers" from the nearby city of Xychlon swear they can see ruins encased in the ice. What dark secrets this Glacier hold, the world may never know.

Seigor River Valley: The valley inside the Brigor mountains, carved by the Seigor river, is the longest such valley on the continent. This valley is a pine and ferm paradise. The pine covered slopes of the snow capped peaks play host to ever changing fog and clouds that hang low on their flanks. The floor of the valley is cool and moist, covered by a perpetual layer of fog that hugs the ground. Cliav, the capital of the Hemral Kingdom, is situated along the end of the valley, on a granite mesa that has resisted the wear of the river.

This story is an ancient tale, told by mothers to frighten children into good behavior. It is passed down by mouth, so some of the finer details may be off. Please do not take anything you hear to heart, this is only a housewife tale.

THE STORY OF KING NICOLAI

Long ago, before the ages of modern men, before the taint of evil, the Gods of the pantheon were still about creating the things that we know to this day.

Within his fortress of the sky, the god Norul, then the God of the lost element of the sky, meddled with creations that his brother Tarsonis had forbid. Norul worked with many things, but found one to be irresistable. Evil. Norul created that which threw the balance of good into turmoil. Evil ran rampant about the pantheon of the Gods, and Tarsonis was enraged. He captured Evil, and stored it in a wicked blade he had his demons forge. He forced the blade on Norul, and stripped him of his rank of God of the sky. Forever would he be the ruler of Evil and Darkness.

Norul was furious. He refused to hold this office his brother had forced upon him, and so he cast the blade the earth below.



NOW, during this time the Empire of Schlecta was not in existance. It was the Empire of Aalon. The norhtern state in this empire was ruled by a "King". A just king by the name of Nicolai. Nicolai was a fair man, beautiful and strong. He was loved by his people. He was a mighty hunter, and it was on this day that he and his troop of friends were out in the forests looking for game.

Nicolai was some distance behind his friends when a mighty fireball came from the sky and struck the ground. The explosion seared his friends to death. He was horrified, and rushed to their aid. Being an honorable man, he buried his friends on site, as was tradition. When he finished the rituals, he noticed a great a powerful sowrd, wicked and cruel in appearence, jutting from the eart in the center of a crater.

He stared at it for some time before a voice shocked him. It came from the blade. "Nicolai...Nicolai...I am a gift, sent to you from the gods themselves. Take me up, so that your makers will be pleased."

Nicolai was horrified, and he fled.


Days later, he returned to the gravesite to honor his friends, but was horrified by what he saw. The trees were dead, no larks sung their songs, no deer pranced through the forest. Nothing. It felt cold. He heard a voice once more. "Nicolai, Nicolai!" It said, "Look at the death you have wrought. You have refused your masters gifts, and they have cursed your land. Take me up, or your world will be engulfed in this suffering."


Nicolai was horrified. The honorable man that he was, he took the sword in his hand. The Evil spread through him. Corrupting his mind and soul, body and spirit. It ate away at him until there was no more of Nicolai. Only a foul beast that called itslef Nydus, or the Draconic word for Death, remained. Nydus tore across the land, terrorizing villages and townships. Thousnads of men fell to stop him, and Nydus was slain many a time.

In death however, he was sent to Norul, and when Norul beheld the evil sword which had condemmed him, he sent Nydus back to realm of men once more. And so Nydus cannot be killed, not by any mortal.

Soon Nydus was forgotten. He stopped terrorizing the villages and the townships, stoped burning walls and bridges. He moved into the shadows and was forgotten for all of time. Still it is believed his evil spirit haunts the north, keeping the frozen trundra frozen and the crops from growning in plenty.

And that, children, is how evil came to be.

The following is an entry from what is believed to be the original war diary of the Alerian King, Lord Vermire. Vermire came into power during the height of the Rynnlan Fracture, a massive seventy year civil war in which the once proud Pan-Continental Empire of Rynnla split into three warring factions. Vermire was the king of Alere, the Western State.

At this point in the conflict, the Rynnlan army has pulled it's forces back within it's boarders to regroup and prepare for the next offensive. Taking advantage of the lack of Rynnlan presence, Vermire launches "Operation Rapier" and pushes into the Kal' Alneor Mountains (modern Brigor mountains). Vermire intends to retake the Nerembu Pass (now Ruanor Pass) from the Canthosian occupation. Using a cunning decoy force, Vermire leads his army into the pass, where the recovered portion of his journal details.




"14'TH day of the month of E're,

OUR Canthosian enemies flee in terror at the sight of my army. Alere is close to victory over Canthos. We passed into the Nerembu Pass only three days ago from the Kilikhal Peaks. In our wake, we have burned the captured Rynnlan stronghold of Toerek. The Canthosian forces have left the valley. We have made camp for the night around a great ruin, most likley Rynnlan of construction. On our way through a nearbye village, we were informed that a mystical wealth inhabits these ruins. I was skeptical, but the strong Canthosian presence at the site assuaged any feelings of doubt I harbored.

It is being seen to that the site recieve a throrough investigation by my best scholars. I am in fact due to visit the site at dawn to inspect any findings we may come across.



15'TH day of the month of E're,

AFTER much excavation, my teams have uncovered a chamber of mythic proportions far underneath the facade of the structure. It is a rotund room, and it's walls are decorated in the most splendid of murals. In its center stands an altar upon which six gems have been placed. These gems among the most impressive I have ever laid eyes on. However, it is not their size nor weight in gold that attracts me. Instead, the glorious murals adorning the walls of this chamber tell a sotry through their depictions.

Although it is not entirely clear, I suspect, from the illustrations upon the walls, that these gems, if united at a single location, will grant the user some sort of immense power. Judging from the detailed artwork, I have concluded that this location is that of Bretti Island. The allure of such a prize is well worth a trip into Rynnlan boarders. Even then, we shall not be venturing too far into the enemies terriory. I have given the Captains the order to turn the army south. We will be heading through the Nerembu Pass and into the Bretti Plain. There, we will find the island, and hopefully, some sort of temple.


28'TH day of the month of E're,

We have reached Bretti Island with no incidence. The gems have been glowing since we arrived. I have ordered my men to begin excavating at the apex of the islands hill. Here I will hopefully locate the altar.


1'ST day of th month of Alnean,

We have done it! I go now to place the gems into the altar and claim my prize. When next I write within these pages, I shall be as a god."







Lord Vermire never unified the gems at the altar. A Canthosian spy had reported his location to Rynnlan forces in the area. The Rynnlan's, obviously knowing about the gems, sent every availible force to stop him. Vermire, as the record has it, was shot and killed my an unknown Rynnlan archer. Alere surrendered the Rynnlan occupation three weeks later, and the joint Rynnlan and Alereian forces crushed the Canthosian armies within a month.

all this gonna be important, or are you just giving us a sense of the history?

A little bit of both. Some of these details pertain to the game, others simply allow you to immerse your character in the universe better.

I was just wondering. I was having a hard time remembering some of the smaller details. Mainly names. I gotsta study them.

It's also just a bunch of reading material, something to keep you guys entertained. Names aren't a big worry anyway.

Any more questions would be appreciated. I'd love to answer some more.