An Angel Called Eternity

Lore Chapter: The Kingdom of Terranea

Ah, Terranea. The greatest nation the world has ever seen, especially in the north of the world. The barbaric Klironomeans claim to have bested us, but it was only through daemonic trickery and the impurity of our own kings that such 'victories' were capable for their lowly armies. Our majesty knew no bounds, and our ambition blotted out the very moon itself! It was just before the raging fires of the Age of Silence that Terranea was forged, and through that selfsame era it prospered and grew. It was our faith that saw the unnameable hordes cast back into the abyss, no matter what the disgusting Klironomeans claim. The peninsulas of Tilda, Dathan, and Ibaenea may now lie shattered and isolated from one another, but once all three were united under the glorious banner of the kings of Terranea.

Terranea itself had its roots in the mighty city of Tilda, the greatest city in Kliskorios despite the claims of the vile northmen. Rooted in its ancient towers lies a culture grander than any before or since, and with far more powerful a force than any heathen god could muster. It was in Terranea that the world learned to kneel before the might of the First Saint and the hundreds who followed him, and as such it was only in the capital city of Terranea that the world became pure. When a horde of Skraeling barbarians took offense to the miracles he had wrought in the city of Aegos they stormed the city and hanged him for all to see, but in doing so they did little more than reveal his divine nature to us all.

To think that I'd ever thank the Klironomoi for something, but for once they did something right; their conquest of the Skraelings, though not motivated by a desire to see the First Saint avenged, achieved that goal nonetheless. But we aren't here to talk of the Return of the Klironomoi, nor even of the First Saint, hallowed be his name. We're here so that you, my inquisitive young students, might understand the world that could be. Oh, what a world I could make...

Hm? Ah, yes, a good question, young Acolyte. There were a myriad of empires occupying the space the Terraneans would one day rule over. There was the Empire of Aegos, the Haggran City-States, the- no, I won't get further off track. You are correct nonetheless, my Acolyte. There were a great many other empires here once, but they were sinful. Much like those that occupy the space where the Terranean Empire once was now. If nothing else, the Terraneans taught the world that the age of the Sotenari and the Nekhtoudum were over, for the age of the Kliskorians had begun.

The city of Tilda itself was founded by triplet sisters many centuries before the birth of the First Saint. It is known that the three of them were raised by a pack of wolves along the river Til, before managing to fend off a great pack of direwolves alone and without aid for three days and nights. When the smoke cleared they founded a city atop the corpses of their foes, which formed the seven hills that Tilda is built around, but then argued for three days and three nights over the name of the city before one of the triplets struck down her sisters in a blind rage. We know not which sister it was that was left alive at the end, but it was from her that the rulers of the city, and later the kingdom, did descend. Her line is all but ended now, which is a great pity. The world could use more divine blood in these trying times.

The city today is famed for a great many holy and sacred sights. Admeta, you will likely learn much from the politicians in the majestic senatorial quarter. Not within the halls of the senate itself, but in the backrooms and antechambers where the real deals are made and power exchanged. Spyridon, the libraries of Tilda are still some of, if not the, greatest in the world. There is so much you could divine on the nature of the Saints in such a place.

As for you, Sin, I know exactly what will interest you above all else. The Knight's Steadfast, a grand and majestic structure attached to the northern walls of the city, with the senate to the south and the sea to the west. It was within the three keeps of this structure that the greatest knights in all of old Terranea, and as such the world, were trained. Greater still than the three keeps within the Steadfast is the Grandmaster's Hall, where the likeness' of every holy and mighty Grandmaster to have graced the lands of Terranea reside to this day. The statues are exquisite, carved from the finest marble and so intricately detailed one could be forgiven for thinking they are real men stood there instead of stone carvings. The detail, every fold in a cape, every curve in a muscle, all are portrayed just as realistically and lifelike as you or I sat here. Yes, young Acolyte. I believe you will one day fit right in with the heroes of old that watch over the Steadfast, and indeed the heroes of tomorrow that yet train and duel within its walls. A knighthood will never be your calling, but you will be as good as any of them with time.