History of Erenshor
WARNING: This article or section contains spoilers! Proceed with caution.
History of Erenshor is a compilation of the game's lore in chronological order, based on the books available in-game.
Birth of Erenshor
In the beginning, the lovers Siva and Brax gave birth to the world of Amarion, upon which they created many lands including Merosavilla and Erenshor - all of which they personally designed together.
As they created the world, they banished a great darkness beneath the surface of the world - allowing the peoples they invited to settle upon the land and flourish.
In order to protect their new world, Siva created Vitheo, a demigod warrior imbued with the power of Water and Air. An oath was sworn to Siva upon his creation, to forever protect the land in her name.
Brax was more concerned with the sustenance and well-being of the land and created Fernalla, a demigoddess in the image of Siva. Her abundance of life and fertility allowed the world to prosper.
Siva-Braxon School of Magic
Later, Siva and Brax eventually set on Erenshor and opened a school of magic to share their knowledge and power with the peoples of the world by training the first Arcanists.
After a time, a magical prodigy called Azynthi began to learn at the school. Siva herself recognized his incredible raw power and talent and was drawn to it. He quickly became her star pupil and the two became close friends.
Azynthi's Journey
Upon completing his training, Azynthi sought even more knowledge of the world and set off to explore Northern Erenshor, beyond the Twin Soldiers. Whilst Siva and Brax were concerned as this land had been relatively untouched since they had bound the darkness beneath the surface there, they believed he would be capable to handle any dangers he encountered during his studies.
However... upon his return from these lands, he had completely changed. The spark of magic no longer glowed in his eyes, and he began to secude himself from society - retreating to an island to the east which would later be known as Azynthi's Garden.
The Corruption of Siva
Siva began to experience painful visions of darkness and death spreading throughout Erenshor. She decided to reach out to Azynthi to seek his counsel on the matter. She was shocked to find a shell of the man she once knew. Speaking only in whispers, he began sharing knowledge with her that was unknown even to the gods themselves.
He revealed to her that he had met something on his journey that had granted him an immense power - one which he could share with her, promising that this would give her the means to defeat any threats that might come for the people of Erenshor.
He warned her of a dark entity: a creeping horror, composed of secret sorrows, despair and suffering, and a dark horde of devil-like creatures that followed it. He used this threat to convince the goddess that even she could not stand against this threat without the power he was offering.
Brax tried to guide Siva away from this path, attempting to make her see that Azynthi was no longer the person she used to know and was being controlled by dark forces. She thanked him for his advice, but secretly began preparing for a forbidden ritual of power with Azynthi anyway.
This dark ritual was carried out by the pair in the outskirts of Braxonia. Siva was filled with darkness and her compassionate soul was crushed under the weight of the evil inside her until it was barely a flicker. Azynthi suddenly tore this darkness back from her - which now contained all of her essence and power - and took it for himself. He left her an empty husk, stripped of all of the good that once resided within her, as well as even her free will. She became known as Sivakaya. Following this, she disappeared for decades with few knowing of her sad fate save her most devout followers.
The sheer energy of this ritual brought into being a shadowy monolith - a physical manifestation of the corruption that had been wrought this day. It emanated evil and began to spread a blight of darkness upon the lands, causing all creatures touched by it to lose all control and become incoherent and violent. Citizens either fled or were overtaken by the incurable urge to destroy everything around them.
The Sacrifice of Braxonia
When Sivakaya and her followers returned from hiding, they were no longer recognizable. They had become twisted and demonic. Sivakaya had become an unholy winged agent of death, and no semblance of her original form remained. Several factions emerged - those embracing their warped forms - and began to create places of worship for their dark goddess. Others armed themselves and began to prepare for war, believing that this was all part of her plan. Despite their corruption, they perceived themselves as heroes returning to face the darkness she had foreseen, and began to wander the lands destroying everything in their path to cleanse it of this perceived threat.
Brax was distraught at all that had happened, and despaired at his lover's new form and identity. In order to stop the blighted monolith from spreading any further corruption, he tore down the very mountains and buried all of Braxonia in the ashes - forming a vast Desert - and saving all of Erenshor in the process.
The Founding of the Wisp
Not all of Sivakaya's followers were present for the fall of their goddess, and those who had remained loyal to her original teachings were shocked by her new form and total lack of empathy.
Led by Eldrin Shadowmire, these followers retreated from her and formed a group called The Wisp and dedicated themselves to finding ways to restore Sivakaya to her former self.
They created a magical artifact - the Nighthollow Candle - and gave it to Brax, whose flame gave it the power to reveal past memories. The Wisp hoped that he could use it to find a way to reverse her corruption.
The War of the Gods
A great war began between the followers of Brax and the corrupted followers of Sivakaya. Vitheo and Fernalla rushed to their father's side and joined the efforts to subdue their bloodthirsty mother before she brought death upon the entire land.
After many years, the Braxonian forces were victorious and repelled Sivakaya back to the north, beyond the Twin Soldiers. But the price was high for Brax: both his children fell through treachery or battle and, whilst this granted them true godhood, he mourned for their loss. He would never again be able to embrace his children for the rest of eternity.
Godless Amarion
Brax was irreparably scarred by the loss of all of his loved ones. The world of Amarion had taken everything from him. All the light of the land was so dulled he could barely perceive it. Sivakaya and her followers were husks of their former selves, and all of his people lay buried beneath the sands.
He couldn't take it any more - so he turned away, abandoning the now godless land to its fate.
The Arrival of Soluna and the Fall of Rockshade Hold
Some time later, The goddess Soluna arrived upon Erenshor in Soluna's Landing. She began to spread her celestial teachings to the local inhabitants alongside her faithful elemental servants, the Solunarians, led by Valao the Holy.
She left after a relatively short time, likely due to the arrival of Astra, who appears to be relentlessly pursuing her for as of yet unknown reasons.
The arrival of Soluna had another unintended consequence - an immense storm of magical debris was flung into the skies which fell upon Rockshade Hold.
This place, once a home to scholars dedicated to the study of the gods, was thrown into complete disarray. The inhabitants were instantly pelted with deadly amounts of concentrated magic. The lucky ones died instantly, but those that did not were cursed.
Not only did they start turning into unaging abominations of living stone, the endless pain and rage of their situation began to eat at their intelligence and morality. A great flame elemental, Pyroclast, came into being from the magical onslaught and enslaved them.
Upon their new master's orders, these cursed souls began to jealously attack all living creatures on sight, spreading the unending rage and pain that they felt. Only small hints of remorse flowed through them after these acts which in turn granted them a brief respite and return them to sanity, only to lose all hope once more.
There were some scholars who bravely set out into the world, escaping enslavement. Led by Wishlan the Savior, they traveled east to seek the aid of Azynthi, only to be met with silence, much like the gods that had seemingly abandoned them.
The Birth of Port Azure
Port Azure was founded in the year 1552 as a result of the Solunarian Paladins arriving in Erenshor and finding overwhelming evidence that the goddess Soluna was present on the continent for a time. They launched an initiative to encourage the other peoples to join them in creating a capital city on the continent. The Fernallans, Braxonians, and Vitheans also came to believe that their gods had been physically present on the continent at some point in time.
During the early stages of construction, a structural collapse of the castle occurred, resulting in the destruction of what some thought to be a prison and interrogation center for Sivikayan operatives (the remains of which can be found in the Lost Cellar.)
The government of Merosavilla currently controls the city and have instructed The Azure Guard to enforce their laws with an iron fist. Many who have overstepped their bounds have found themselves on the end of a hangman's rope. This is ultimately what has lead to the ban on all travel to Erenshor as the guard attempts to combat the increase in Sivakayan activity.