Phate

by Jason Alan

  Deep Elves – Mysterious beings who live in the oceans and seas of Phate, they became the most powerful race of elves after the sky elves abandoned the world. Their cities are known to be vast, but their numbers are unknown. They have necromantic powers and the ability to influence weather and tides. They are thought to be in league with the Dark Forever. Cousins of the dark elves, they deal with them when necessary, but ally themselves with no one. They are very rarely seen, and rumored to be the only race Nenocrka Rool will spare should he ascend onto Phate.

  Demonkind – A general term affixed to any type of demon who hails from the Dark Forever.

  Demonskin Armor – Drinwor Fang’s demonskin was given to him by Vu Verian. Crated by sky elves, the leather was taken from a powerful demon’s hide. The demon’s spirit was exercised from the skin, and blue magical sigils of protection were placed upon the breast. Having never been tested, its full power and strength are unknown, but it is said to be able to protect the wearer from myriad attacks.

  Devil King – (*See Nenockra Rool)

  Devil’s Wind – When enough demons are gathered densely together (at least hundreds of thousands), a great red cloud is formed, looking something like a storm of blood that screams and howls. The Devil’s Wind is a horrific thing, and few who have seen one have survived to speak of it.

  Disintegrated Sea – What the Raging Sea was referred to after the Devil King destroyed it.

  Dragon Song of Solacing – A magical song some dragons can sing to bring temporary peace to those in pain.

  Drakana, Lord of the Spirit Dragons – Drakana was the One Life in the first war with the Dark Forever. Sacrificing his life by unleashing the full power of the Sunsword Surassis, Drakana’s spirit fled into the Hall of Voices, where he became the most revered of the spirit dragons. His sacrifice succeeded in defeating and banishing the Dark Forever, but it did not destroy the Devil King. Drakana offered his spirit to the Fallen Angel to become the One Soul, and again infuse the Sunsword with power.

  Draxiah Meeh – Vicious, powerful aliens who conquered Darkis’s galaxy, captured him, and condemned him to die on Phate. Darkis and Warloove believe they are watching them from the sky.

  Dreadships – Eerie looking submersible vessels of the deep elves that are impervious to the violence of the sea.

  Drekklor – A particularly powerful shadow demon created by Nenockra Rool to go forth and retrieve the body of Syndreck the Brooding from the depths of a black hole. Imbued with myriad abilities, Drekklor aids in the reconstruction of Ulith Urn, and is then tasked to trail the heroes on a secret mission as they make to resurrect the Sunsword Surassis.

  Drinwor Fang – A young dusk elf with smoky colored skin and silvery hair, Drinwor appeared one day in Herard’s sky elf palace of Areshria. Herard cannot now remember the day he first beheld Drinwor, but he is imbued with a strong parental instinct toward him. Drinwor is a lonely young elf, innocent and somewhat naïve for his age, but possessing great dexterous skills, speed, and a penchant for swordplay. Of late, he has trouble sleeping, and believes more and more that his destiny will take him away from Areshria, which he has never left before. He is the only known dusk elf in the universe.

  Ever Dying – A terrible sorcerous affliction where the victim is plagued by myriad fatal diseases, but cannot die from his maladies. The afflicted suffers the symptoms and pains of the diseases until he dies of old age or injury.

  Fallen Angel – The only angel to stay behind when all the others fled the galaxy in fear of the coming war with the Dark Forever. The Fallen Angel is friend to Herard Avari Fang, and swears to do what she can to help Drinwor. She is powerful, but her magic is fading as the sun dies.

  Fleeting Shadow – A rare insect dragon from Vren Adiri with swift, buzzing wings. Fleeting Shadow becomes Morigos’ mount and flies him on the quest to imbue the Sunsword Surassis with a soul.

  Fogwall – a magical wall of vapor that holds the waters of the Raging Sea from swamping the Cave Port of Kroon.

  Forest of Chanting Angels – An ancient forest whose boughs are replete with azure crystal leaves. Located on the eastern side of Volcar, the forest had for long ages been cultivated by the shadowlight elves. When the crystal blue leaves clang together in the wind, a melody is formed. The melody is different every time, every day. It is said that the trees can detect the mood of those about them, and it is reflected in the sound.

  Gauntlets of Loathing Light – Black, long cuffed gloves with glowing red runes crafted by the deep elves from interdimensional matter. They were created after the war with the Dark Forever. The Devil King commanded the abyssal elves to make gloves that would allow evil beings to wield the Sunsword Surassis (which is deadly to any demon’s touch), so that a being of darkness could steal it, thus rendering its influence inconsequential when he next attempts to ascend into the primary universal plane.

  Geeter – Warloove’s mount, a colossal Greater Demonic Dragon. Born from the Dark Forever, it is a ferocious beast in combat; a huge black dragon with six legs and a scorpion’s tail, who breathes acidic black fire. Geeter remained on Phate when most of the demonkind were banished back into the Dark Forever after Drakana used the Sunsword Surassis. Geeter answers only to Warloove, the only being he ever encountered who could match his powers.

  Glyph of Multiversal Guarding – A sorcerous ward placed over the towers of Ulith Urn by the Fallen Angel to warn her of any intruders into the spectral ruins. The ward will detect beings traversing through any dimension.

  Great White Owl – One of Vu Verian’s incarnations, a white owl the size of a small dragon, occasionally spotted in Phate’s high skies in the hours just before dusk.

  Greater Angelic Dragon – A brilliant golden dragon that some angels are able to transform into. They are cosmic dragons, able to fly between the stars.

  Hall of Voices – A heavenly, inter-dimensional place where Drinwor Fang journeys to find the One Soul. Guarded by spiteful Murdraniuss, the Lord Banshee, and inhabited by ZeerZeeOzz, the spectral seer who awaits the coming of the One Life. The Hall of Voices is filled with spirit dragons, secrets, and alleged to keep the One Soul.

  Hammer of Battered Souls – The weapon and scepter of the Devil King, the hammer is comprised of billions of tightly compacted souls taken from the Sea of Enslaved Souls in the Dark Forever. The weapon is many miles tall, and a single strike from it has been known to destroy cities, and even entire moons.

  Herard Avari Fang - Thought by Phate’s denizens to now be the only human in the world, a young Herard huddled in subterranean dwellings with the last tribe of his people who had survived the war with the Devil King...only to be eventually discovered and wiped out by dark elf assassins. As the lone survivor of the raid, Herard, escaped. He soon befriended the outcast cloud dragon Zraz and took to the sky, where he made his home in the sky elf capital kingdom of Areshria. As honorable a being as there ever was, he commanded both respect and virtual solitude from the dragon and elven nations. Though he has no recollection of how or exactly when, he came to be the father of Drinwor Fang, the dusk elf boy thought to be the Son and Savior of the Stars. Certain that divine intervention was involved, and feeling an intense love for his son, Herard dedicated the last decades of his life to protecting Drinwor, and securing peace in the war-torn regions of Volcar.

  Invisible Elves – A timid race of elves who chose avoidance over confrontation when the world went through times of strife. In the ages leading up to the war with the Dark Forever, they completely covered themselves over with cloaking magic. Known to have mostly dwelled in the great birch forest of Scimiton, they are thought to have totally disappeared right before the war. Not a single one has been detected in over a thousand years.

  Iron Fortress of Forn Forlidor – A pyramidal battle fortress comprised of floating sections, Forn Forlidor hovers over the giant crater of a meteor strike that was meant to destroy it. Ruled for centuries by Lord Dark Sorciuss, the fortress was the sight of many battles, for Sorciuss constantly bes
ieged all the lands around him. Made of magically fortified obsidian and guarded by a legion of undead wizards, the fortress’s walls have never been penetrated.

  Ironskull Dwarves – A race of dwarves thought destroyed during the war with the Dark Forever. A very tough breed whose skin is a deep, fiery red. They are formidable fighters and forgers of all manner of metal and crystal. Their strongholds were buried deep within Phate’s largest mountain ranges, and have since remained unexplored.

  King Star – The most beautiful star in the realm of the Hall of Voices, believed to be the soul of Drakana, the Lord of the Spirit Dragons. Shining bright and gold, this star is the most brilliant in the realm, and usually traverses the cosmic pathways between worlds alone. This changed when Drinwor Fang, the One Life, drew near to the Hall of Voices.

  Kingdom of Krykoss – The sprawling capital city of the deep elves existing on the bottom of the Raging Sea. The vastness of the population is unknown, but it is said the inhabitants of Krykoss possess great power. The Emperor of the deep elves, Volture, resides in the central palace.

  Kroon – The subterranean realm of the dark elves on the eastern side of the Continent Isle of Volcar

  Lion Lands of Irixx Een – A city of pillars ruled by an undead lion king. A small but once mighty realm, Irixx Een was attacked by a legion of ghost demons in the first war with the Dark Forever. The spells that were cast against the city caused its denizens and structures to rapidly age, thereby killing and destroying most. What was left lingers on in a sort of undead state to this day, buildings and beings alike.

  Lord Banshee - (*See Murdraniuss)

  Lord Dark Sorciuss – In ages past, Sorciuss had been a ruthless tyrant, conquering all the lands around him; but after long years of warring and slaying, he found himself alone, purposeless, and empty of even hate. Surrounded only by an army of undead wizards that he created, he has taken to extreme solitude. He has spent the last century locked up in the fortress of Forn Forlidor, pondering the emptiness of his evil life. Now his thoughts linger on what might have been had he embraced light.

  Lord of the Spirit Dragons – (*See Drakana)

  “May the Gods Return” – A popular phrase adopted by Phate’s inhabitants after the war with the Dark Forever, when it was believed that Phate was abandoned by the Gods.

  Moom – The ruling faction of sorcerers in the dark elf realm of Kroon

  Morigos – Morigos is a petulant dark elf, a once a proud, powerful mage who was held in high standing. With the continued decadence of his people, his standing fell, and he bemoans the present for memories of days long past. He begrudgingly carries out the will of Warloove, and is known by few to be his right hand. In recent years, Morigos’s disdain for Warloove and his people became more obvious, and through circumstances of fate he seemingly embraced the cause of light. His true intentions are unknown.

  Morning’s Hope – A beautiful, powerful, and wise Greater Translucent Dragon who guides Drinwor Fang on the quest to recover and restore to power the Sunsword Surassis. She knows Herard Avari Fang and many of the remaining denizens of Phate, but her origins are as mysterious as Drinwor’s. Though she fought in the first war with the Dark Forever and recalls many details of past events, there are none alive who remember her from that time period. The Fallen Angel believes her to be from a different world, sent solely for the purpose to guard the One Life the next time the Devil King attempts to ascend into the primary universal plane.

  Mountain of Bones – The mountain of bones lies in the nameless sea, off the western edge of Volcar. It was formed when the Lord Banshee screamed in torment during one of the pinnacle battles in the first war with the Dark Forever. It is the piled remains of countless dragons, demons, and deep elves. The toppled battle fortress of Shirian Shirion crowns it, and its feet lies the entrance to the Hall of Voices.

  Mountains of Might – The largest mountains in the galaxy, the Mountains of Might peak many miles above the surface of Phate. Once crystalline, beautiful, and teeming with both sorcerous and natural life, the mountains were burned and blasted in the war with the Dark Forever. They are now lifeless, volcanic, and surrounded by great molten pools that spread across the surrounding lands.

  Multidimensional Mansion of Veeryk Vine – A large, elusive mansion that phases in and out of the sky over northeastern Volcar. The mansion is stuck between many dimensions, and occasionally appears in the primary universal plane. Its existence was unknown until well after the beginning of the construction of Phate. Its home dimension has never been located.

  Murdraniuss (The Lord Banshee) – Murdraniuss was the most powerful deep elf in Phate’s history. Not only was he as skilled in abyssal magic as any of his kin, but he also had a strong aptitude for the necromantic and sorcerous arts of surface sorcerers. He used his abilities to prolong his life, and over time his natural incarnation morphed him into something demonic. It was said that he was then able to reach through the dimensions and make contact with the Dark Forever. Soon thereafter, Murdraniuss had the current deep elf Emperor assassinated, seized control over all the abyssal armies, and led them to the surface to fight for Nenockra Rool when the Devil King ascended onto Phate. During the battle, his beloved concubine, Zyllandria, was slain and fell into his arms. Murdraniuss was so distraught, he uttered a sorcerously enhanced wail of grief that echoed so horribly, and for so long, it slew all those about him, burying him in a mountain of bones. He screamed and wailed until he destroyed even his own skin, thus ending his mortal life. But his spirit endured to ever after haunt the mountain of bones. Now in death he’s become the Lord of Banshees, and scornfully guards the entrance to the Hall of Voices, denying anyone passage into the blessed realm beyond….

  Mystic Trident Tower – The deep elf sorcerers’ largest structure in the Kingdom of Krykoss.

  Nameless Sea – The sea where the Hall of Bones resides. Many of Phate’s landmarks, regions, and bodies of water lost their names when most of Phate’s history and population was wiped out in the war with the Dark Forever. The nameless sea is a vast ocean whose name was lost in history.

  Nenockra Rool – Purportedly as old the universe, Nenockra Rool is the grand master of Dark Forever, the seventy-five-mile-tall king of all evil. While a sentient being, his conscience is said to be devoid of any emotion, and he single-mindedly rules with an innate desire only to squelch whatever forces or beings of light he encounters. It is said the first Gods of the universe created him and the Dark Forever to keep order in all things by way of fear. Over long eons, boredom and desire began to fester in his mind, and now he instinctively seeks to escape the confines of the Dark Forever, to topple the balance of light, and to entertain his longing of destroying righteous beings. As one philosopher put it – he is as a malevolent dragon who has too long slumbered in his cavern….

  One Life, One Soul, One Sword – This legendary mantra simply describes the three components that comprise the fully activated Sunsword Surassis. The One life is the wielder; the One Soul is a purely good soul that exists within Sillithian Synnstrike, the tiny solar dragon in the Sunsword’s pommel; and the One Sword is the sword itself. If the One Life and the One Soul conjoin their essences to utilize the sword’s full power, its effects can be devastating for evil opponents. The mantra is often spoken with respect and reverence.

  Phantom Falls – Gigantic falls of liquid sorcery that flow over the nation of Syrox that’s embedded in the cliffs on the eastern edge of Volcar.

  Phate – A once wondrous planet immortals from a distant galaxy long ago created with sorcery. It is a huge world that housed the universe’s most powerful magic and greatest dragons. Its long and rich history were all but lost in the war with the war with the Dark Forever, and many of its races destroyed. Now much of the planet is empty and haunted, its fields and mountains burned and black, its skies filled with empty kingdoms. The galaxy in which it exists floats alone through the cosmos, as all other galaxies race away from it in fear of the Devil King’s inevitable ascension into
the primary universal plane. Phate exists in the weakest point of the multiverse, a place where the walls between the dimensions are most easily torn: a product of its glorious construction.

  Pyrlovos – A massive prison compound on the eastern edge of Volcar. Constructed by sky elf wizards, Pyrlovos was a prison for demons and criminals captured in and around the time of the war with the Dark Forever. After the sky elves left it unattended, its airborne islands broke apart, went volcanic, and its prisoners mostly escaped. Now it is a wild dangerous place that is avoided.

  Raging Sea – A violent sea on the western side of the Continent Isle of Volcar. The Raging Sea is controlled by the deep elves, and its waters are purposefully kept rough to ward off enemies or intruders. Its waves are known to reach a thousand feet high. Sorcerous storms endlessly hover over the sea, and ghostly dragons and other unknown entities exist both in and above its waters.

  Ring of Floating – A magical ring that slows the descent of the wearer when freefalling through the sky.

  Rong and the Four Apostles – Commonly referred to as the Five Moons of Phate, Rong is the largest of the moons. It is orbited by the second largest (the first Apostle); and the second largest is orbited by the third largest, and so on. Each moon is a gaseous giant, believed to be uninhabited. Many legends of the moons have been passed down over the ages. Some such legends claim that each moon is actually the spiritual embodiment of an immortal creator of Phate, and ever do they watch over their child world. Some say the moons were what was left over of the tangible sorcery that formed Phate, great flowing clouds that in time gathered to form the moons. The sky elves were believed to have attempted many expeditions to the moons over the years, but no reports of their findings have ever been imparted.