Setting

Zhynos.

This vast world has been ravaged by unending wars. Each empire that has risen has been felled, leading to a chaotic struggle for power. Endless battles, slaughters, and genocides have stained the landscape with the stench of death and scarred it with rivers of blood. Before the mark of Zhynos' Thousand-Year Golden Age, heroes fought, loved and sacrificed to carve out their legends in the tomes of history.

The world of Zhynos is largely made up of two continents: Llaria and Euda. Despite its bloodstained history, Zhynos is home to numerous races living in harmony. The most prominent of these races are the Tieram, Sephin, Liem, Drela and Basarret.

These days, nobody remembers the world of Zhynos prior to the appearance of Eth stones. Probably because, according to legend, these stones were the beginning of good (and bad) times. In its Genesis, there was an unprecedented agricultural boom in certain locations due to a high concentration of Eth deposits underground. Among the many races that flocked in, Sephin were the largest in number and thus founded one of the first human cities, called Erinmore. Not long thereafter, the boom collapsed following a significant and mysterious decrease in cultivated crops. This misfortunate turn of events forced the people to dig deeper underground for an explanation. Upon close examination of their barren fields, the Sephin found that the Eth stone deposits deep beneath the surface had turned pitch black. This seemed quite peculiar but they could not make much sense of it.

Another humanoid race, the Drela, claimed Lodrigg in Northwest Llaria as their home. They were known to be physically weak, but rational and analytical. They invented many useful tools and were responsible for many innovative technological breakthroughs. Their work educated and influenced all races throughout the land. All forms of Engineering and Science in Zhynos could find its roots traced back to Drela scholars. They, like the Sephin, relied on crops for food. The Sephin provided Eth stones to the Drela who, true to their nature, began to study the effects of Eth on their own land. Through their research, they discovered that each type of Eth stone absorbed specific energy from all things around them, whether positive (agility, love, power) or negative (weakness, fragility, death). Furthermore, they discovered that the Eth stones were translucent with a tint of white when empty and these were usually found as raw ores. The Drela's most significant finding was that filled Eth stones could be triggered to release their stored energy. This released energy could either harm or heal, depending on the type of energy stored within. This discovery made Eth stones valuable not just as curiosities, but as powerful tools for both medicine and warfare.

The Drela discovered a revolutionary use for Eth stones in agriculture. They began importing raw Eth ores from the Sephin in large quantities, grinding them into fine powder. When they sprinkled this powder across their farming fields, something remarkable happened. The Eth powder absorbed the death energy released by dying crops, which in turn restored the plants to life. Seeing this success, the Drela freely shared their discovery with all races.

The Sephin, however, saw a darker potential in this discovery. They adapted it into a fearsome weapon against the Tieram armies by creating an elite force known as the Chosen Ones. These warriors underwent a gruesome transformation. They had Death-absorbing Eth powder directly injected into their bloodstream and endured repeated cycles of torture and healing. Through this process, their bodies stored vast amounts of death energy, turning their skin pitch black. In battle, these warriors would charge into enemy ranks and trigger a devastating explosion, releasing all their stored death energy in a lethal burst.

The Great World Invasion, a pivotal event in Zhynos' history, began with the Tieram, neighbors to the Drela. The Tieram were a proud race of High Elves who viewed Eth stones as sacred religious artifacts, deeply woven into their ancient traditions. They looked down upon the Drela's scientific experiments with Eth stones, considering such studies sacrilegious. For generations, the Tieram had been revered as the almighty race, largely due to their mastery over Eth stones and their natural affinity with them. Though they claimed religious righteousness, their true motive was far more practical: they feared others growing too powerful through Eth stone research. Under the guise of a holy crusade to cleanse the land of "improper" Eth stone use, the Tieram declared war on the entire continent, beginning what would become known as The Great World Invasion.

There are five known major races with six sovereign nations occupying the world of Zhynos.

Races

Tieram

Capital: Thrae