The History of Endurean: The reign of the Dragon Kings and the liberation of the slave races

The Dragonkings and Zenjishi

In ancient times the Dragonkings ruled the world following the end of the last ice age [8000 years ago]. They wielded mighty magics that granted them power far beyond mere mortals and were able to bend the younger races to their will. Their enslavement of the younger races came to an end due to the revolution wrought by Zenjishi the gold, a dragon in human form who renounced his birthright of enslaving the younger races so that they could develop into the maturity of self sovereignty. Zenjishi taught sorcery to the younger races, granting them a great boon to overcome their former masters who were mighty but few in number. The greatest folly of the Dragonkings was that they were self reliant to a fault- they refused to band together despite the overwhelming numbers of enemies arrayed against them. Zenjishi died battling one of the last Dragonkings, but the momentum he generated led to them all being deposed and the younger races raising kings of their own to rule themselves. The talismans of the Dragonkings might were the Riftblades, and each of the eight Dragonkings around the world once wielded one as his blazing symbol of authority. The Riftblades granted power over nexus magic, enabling the Dragonkings to use them to manipulate magic portals. They used these portals for a variety of purposes, to instantaneously move troops and concentrate or disperse their forces as needed, a most useful power when administering and maintaining an empire. Or the power to bypass fortifications and attack an entrenched army directly.

Once freed the younger races divided into various groups, some seeking the guidance of the gods while others relied on their own sorcery and ideas. The darkest of these gods was Astaroth, demon lord of lies, tyranny and murder. He feeds on the lower emotions of mankind to empower himself, mainly fear, lust, greed and hatred, and he seeks to create a world governed by these vices to place himself in ascendance over the other gods. Aviod is his nemesis, a god devoted to righteous valor and brotherhood, but his ranks of knights have become sullied by traitors serving the God of lies in exchange for his unholy blessings. A coven of black magicians are Astaroths chief devotees, and through fell life draining magic they live lives far longer than ordinary mortals. They foresee a time of upheaval that will cast down their enemies and elevate them to primacy, where all the nations will fight one another until they are struck by a great demon plague that will consume them all.

The people of Riekengard are descended from raiders who once preyed upon their neighbours. The people of Impraetor once ruled an empire that spanned the entire continent, before barbarians from Riekengard and Garderon rose up and fractured their empire. The people of Garderon are hard working and devout, and are fanatically loyal to their king Damerov. They are defended by the Aviodic Knighthood and the churches of Aviod the oathkeeper and Illustrielle the goddess of love. The elves of Aviallor have a troubled history with mankind, but nobly put aside their grievances to come to the rescue of the Garderons. Archion is a port city in the desert and is ruled by the council of High Mages. It is a city dedicated to the study and practice of spellcasting. The island of Shikugan lies on the other side of the world, but is connected to Garderon by a magic portal. Shikugan is ruled by the warrior caste of samurai, fearless warriors who fight enemy samurai for the advancement of the daimyos they serve. The zendragons are an order of mystical martial artists who fight demons, bandits and evil daimyo to protect the common people. The people of Hadeon live under the rule of despots: dark wizards who stood in opposition to the freedom loving highmages of Archion, indeed Hadeon was a magnet for ambitious wizards who sought to escape the restrictions imposed by the wizards of Archion. Hadeon has intermittently made war on its neighbours, occasionally conquering them. However, it has an unstable power base, as its armies are prone to infighting without a strong single leader, and the chance of strong leaders being assassinated by scheming underlings. Hadeon had just conquered Garderon not 10 years ago, when Damerov the redeemer had rallied the local lords and citizenry and expelled them from their borders. Sir Lyon and Sir Panterus were young knights who distinguished themselves well during that conflict.

The nations of Dazearn, the western continent, have all fought one another at one time or another, and some kingdoms have fallen into ruin. It came as a shock to the people of Garderon when the Shikuganese first appeared, ferocious warriors hailing from an island nation on the other side of the world that were translocated to the west by a magical portal connecting the two realms, part of a network of portals that once interconnected the world during the time of the Dragonkings. Their warrior caste followed a strict warriors code known as bushido, and they sought to prove their superiority by conquering the realm of Garderon for their Shogun. Garderon was harshly tested during their battles, but due to the elves of Aviallor and the wizards of Archion coming to their aid they prevailed. The Garderons drove the Shikugan back to the castle that protects their portal leading home, and for now wait to see what their next move will be. The daimyo Zigurashi who led the failed invasion is in the process of forming an alliance with the battlemancers of Hadeon, an alliance that will have the power to destroy the alliance and conquer Garderon.