Prologue

The cold September air rustles the trees to life. Leaves are changing color, winds come stronger, scarves broken out of storage, and life comes to be cozy after a blistering summer. There's a stillness on Brightfire campus that comes with this time of year, when students have settled into their lives and autumn knocks so casually on Etheria's door. It's a rare sort of beauty that no one rushes to disturb.

Three travelers trek up the hill to the visitor's dormitory. They're keenly aware that this is the last place they'll spend this long in, that two weeks is an eternity to wait for a normal group of Paladins. When four people die so suddenly, though, the process of mourning is drawn out.

The night settles in as they do; the three new Paladins tuck tightly into their bunks and wait for sleep to claim them peacefully. She comes soon for all but one.

The young woman, staring out her window at the starlit night, squints at the horizon. Lit barely by the beams of the moon is a smokestack. It climbs over itself to reach higher and higher, light in color and distant enough to be nearly invisible. She blinks once, twice, and makes note of it when it doesn't go away.

In the distance, in a town across the Dragon Tongue river, a fire erupts. The town hall is ablaze, lighting the streets in a brilliant display of roaring flame and smoke. Anyone awake is staring at the fire in fear and awe. They watch quietly as the tendrils of ink swirl higher, shaping into a curved dragon with massive fangs and glowing eyes. It roars, its message clear:

This place belongs to House Bloodwyrm.

The Houses

As you can see on the map of Etheria, the continent is split into four sections. These sections are called regions and belong to one of the four Houses of Etheria. Each House is a combination of the most powerful figures, priests, and Druids in the region. 

House Arcanum -

The southernmost region of Etheria is ruled by House Arcanum. Their leaders are scholars, mostly, with a few mayoral families that help fund education in Brightfire or Lantern. This House is also responsible for the Paladins and their care/delegation. 

Important Figures -

Headmaster Placedo Proof of Brightfire. He is the head of both Brightfire Academy and Brightfire University, and has been since its founding almost 80 years ago. He's wise, kind, and best known by his stupendously long beard.

High Scholar Crest Alder of the Elemental Temple. Crest is the highest ranking priest of the Elemental Temple and is often right by Laurence's side. He's entirely motivated by knowledge and knowledge keeping; his ultimate goal is to be the first man to understand how the world works. 

Master Cressedia Alder of the Elemental Temple. Sister of Crest, Cressedia is the head of the Griot branch of knowledge keeping for the temple. She's bold and boisterous, always the first in the room to speak out when something seems off. 

High Druid Penelope Prudence of Fable Hollow. Her highest priority is the preservation of the words of The World Mother. She has Druids all over the continent recording visions and communication between devotees and The World Mother and sending them back to her Hollow. She's uptight and precise.

House Destrier -
The northernmost region of Etheria is ruled by House Destrier. The harsh climate and geography of the north has forged a hardened, strong people, who have even stronger leaders. Their House is made of warriors and battle-tested heroes.

Important Figures -

King Magnus Archais of Albuscala. Married to Valora Archais, High Priestess of the War Temple, King Magnus is completely devoted to the War Bringer. Every decision he makes in his rule is to benefit his people, his temple, and his god. 

Queen Rowan Salas of Vetus Loch. After losing her husband in a battle, Queen Rowan took the throne and has been ruling ever since. She's cold, calculated, and still loving as evident in her two sons and ever-standing fortress kingdom. 

High Druid Relic Nyx of Vetus Grove. Relic is a man of structure and strategy. His grove is run on a strict set of laws and a temple schedule, as he thinks the best show of devotion to The World Mother is caring enough to be on time.

House Vestige -
This region is the second southernmost and belongs to the grave keepers. Their ruling house is a quiet power that does not often rely on other Houses to get things done. They're decisive and calculated, often regarded as the most mysterious House in Etheria.

Important Figures -

Queen Meadow Fair of Veilmire. After growing up an orphan in the Grave Keeper's temple, Queen Meadow rose to power after toppling a tyrannical king ~10 years ago. She's a benevolent queen, but will always put the needs of Veilmire and the Grave Keeper above anything else.

High Druid Mistwalker of Restor Grotto. His biggest priority as a High Druid is to provide a place of solace and rest from the gloom of the Vestige region. He's cheerful and bright, the beacon of light for people searching for joy among the dead.

House Forger -
The middle region of Etheria belongs to House Forger, which got its name from the founding family of Smithton. These leaders have the most variety of any region, reflecting the encompassing practices of the Muse.

Important Figures -

Mayor Odin Forger of Smithton. A stout, humble, and infamously drunk dwarf, Odin is a merry leader whom his people love dearly. He's the direct descendant of the Forgers who founded Smithton and upholds their values of duty, diligence, and drinking.

High Priestess Ember of Symphony. Originally from Brightfire, Ember took up music at the Academy and realized she wanted to make beautiful symphonies for the rest of her life. She rose up the temple hierarchy quickly and became a Paladin for her goddess. She became the leader of Symphony once the priest before her passed, naming her as his successor. 

Highest Queen Eira Enfys of the Autumn Wilds, Her Most Graceful and Profound Majesty. Considered the leader of the Autumn Wilds - the only Wilds with a monarchy or any sort of ruler - and queen of the Forger faeries, Eira is a rather... interesting figure. She rarely shows up for meetings, is never on time to anything, and seems to enjoy the title more than the job itself.

High Druid Spruce "Bracer" Forger of Pine Haven. An elf cousin of the Forger family, Bracer began as a woodcarver before finding his calling with The World Mother. He can still be seen in the taverns some nights, drinking away with his cousin Odin and the other blacksmiths in Smithton.

A Quick History Lesson

Etheria began as a void. Shapeless, cold, and lit only by the shine of millions of distant stars. Over time, the light of these stars began to coalesce into a sea of starlight. The light was wild. It lashed and swirled like a newborn star before finally settling into living streams of magical light, gently corralled by the hands of Fate. These streams came to be called Astral Veins, working like literal veins to move Starlight across the globe.

With the magic settled into proper channels, Etheria as we know it came to be. Expansive fields, powerful mountains, rolling seas, and absurd Wilds all manifested from Starlight. Starlight, by nature a chaotic force, began breaking out from the Veins and sought freedom from the confines of this new order. To keep itself alive, Etheria manifested a guardian; a physical form of the land itself. She came to be known as The World Mother.

An unknown amount of time passed with The World Mother guarding Etheria and keeping Starlight in check. She grew lonely and desired others like her. With Starlight, she shaped a near-equal who came to be known as the Dragon Father. Both beings agreed that, in Etheria's best interest, smaller vessels for the wily Starlight should be created. They crafted mortalkind and the creatures that roam the plane.

Still, even with the added vessels, Starlight sought escape from the Veins. The Wilds grew larger and gained new inhabitants in the faeries. Seeing this leak intensify by the day, The World Mother knew she needed help on a higher level than mortals could provide - especially with how distant from her the Dragon Father had become (who even gave himself a mortal name). Secretly, she also desired a connection like the one she saw between mortal mothers and their children.

The World Mother brought together Starlight and mortal desire for leaders into five powerful gods. These five siblings became the Order of Etheria; a bridge between deities and mortals. They were vessels powerful enough to keep the Starlight in check for the rest of Etheria's existence. Over time, the Order gained a following among the mortals who erected temples and religions for their patrons. The Order became more than shepherds for Starlight, they became symbols of hope, magic, and guidance to their subjects. They were hailed as more than gods; they became siblings, mentors, and even friends. This relationship between gods and mortals ushered in a new age of peace and abundance: The Age of the Order.

With all their new responsibilities to the mortals and their plane, the Order couldn't both carry out tasks for their temples and The World Mother. The five gods elected Paladins to enact their will on the mortal plane. These Paladins would join forces with Paladins of other gods to protect Etheria from the dangers mortals posed to it.

To be continued...