Shadows Embrace

The history of Arconia

Long ago, Arconia was a prosperous and powerful nation, ruled by a kingdom that spanned its fertile lands. It was a place of wealth, rich in resources, with a thriving economy that stretched beyond its shores. Arconia traded with distant islands and was highly regarded by other nations for its craftsmanship, knowledge, and influence. Cities bustled with life, and the land was governed under the watchful eye of a royal family whose lineage stretched back generations. The kingdom was a symbol of unity and strength, led by a king who sat at the heart of it all.

The vast kingdom, though rich and influential, had grown complacent in its security. As its trade routes expanded across the world, so did its reputation for wealth and prosperity. Whispers of magic and dark forces from distant lands occasionally reached the royal courts—tales brought by traders and travellers—but these were brushed aside as mere folklore. This sense of invulnerability would prove to be their downfall when the shadow descended upon Arconia.

The Dark Mages of Saeria

To the far east of Arconia lay Saeria, a mysterious and foreboding island, seat to the Dark Mages, a secretive order that had for generations dabbled in forbidden arts. For centuries, the Dark Mages had pursued shadow magic, a powerful and dangerous force capable of manipulating reality itself. Under the leadership of the strongest of their order, Maltharion, they had grown bolder and more ambitious.

The riches and prominence of Arconia had not gone unnoticed. Maltharion, filled with a desire to conquer and rule, saw Arconia as a prize waiting to be claimed. In an audacious move, he led the Dark Mages and their dark forces in an invasion of the prosperous nation. From Saeria came an army of shadow-warped creatures and warriors corrupted by magic, marching under a sky darkened by unnatural storms.

The Cowardly King

When the invasion began, the scale of destruction was swift and brutal. Villages burned, cities crumbled, and the once-lush fields of Arconia were turned to ash by Maltharion's dark magic. The Dark Mages unleashed a nightmare upon the land, twisting it with their powers and reducing everything in their path to ruin.

At the heart of Arconia's governance sat the king, a man who had never faced a true threat to his rule. Instead of rallying his people or leading them into battle, the king chose to hide within the safety of his castle in Silverspire, the capital of the kingdom. Sheltered by high walls and protected by his royal army, the king hoarded his resources, leaving the lands outside of his royal estate defenceless. 

Across the land, villages and counties cried out for aid, but none came from their sovereign. The people of Arconia, abandoned by their ruler, were forced to fend for themselves. Entire towns were wiped from the map, and those who survived either fled to the wilderness or sought refuge in the few fortified cities that dared to stand against the onslaught without royal support.

Windsreach, once a bustling trade town on the northern coast, was the first to fall. Its defences crumbled under the weight of Maltharion's forces, and its harbour burned for days as the invaders swept through, leaving nothing but desolation behind. Further inland, the town of Goldleaf, known for its beautiful golden fields of wheat, was reduced to a wasteland as shadow magic tore through. Refugees fled to the wilds, hiding in forests and caves, hoping to escape the ruin.

In the midst of this chaos, the royal court continued to hide and live in luxury, protected by their walls while the rest of the kingdom burned. The king's cowardice had become a death sentence for much of his realm.

The Arrival of the Templars of Solas

When all hope seemed lost, a light rose from the west. News of the devastation in Arconia had reached Sol Odus, the sacred island of the sun god Solas. The Templars of the Sun, believed to have been mere legend, were soon to be steadfast protectors of the mortal realm. These warrior-priests, renowned throughout stories for their radiant magic and their ability to channel the light of Solas, sailed across the seas to confront the Dark Mages and defend the people of Arconia from annihilation.

The Templars arrived at a time when the continent was on the brink of total destruction. The onslaught had already claimed thousands of lives, and the land itself was beginning to wither under the curse of shadow magic. The Templars were the nations best chance of survival, wielding the holy light of Solas to counter the darkness that threatened to engulf everything.

The war between the Templars and the Dark Mages lasted for two long, gruelling years. Battles raged across the continent, from the desolate plains of the Ironhold, to the broken forests of the Silverwoods. The ground shook with the force of their magic, and the skies burned as fire and light clashed in terrible fury. Villages were destroyed, cities were laid to waste, and the lush fields of Arconia became battlefields soaked in blood.

Though the Templars fought valiantly, the toll was immense. Greyhaven, a once-great city of commerce, was reduced to rubble in the midst of the conflict. Its towering walls, which had stood for centuries, were brought down by Maltharion's dark magic. Evermarsh, a coastal town that had harboured many fleeing refugees, was swallowed by the sea after a devastating spell had decimated the cliff the town had rested upon. Entire regions were laid desolate, and the very landscape of Arconia was scarred beyond recognition.

The Revolt and the Birth of the Arconian Union

When the dust of the Arcane Cataclysm settled, Arconia was left in ruins. The land, once rich and prosperous, was close to dead. Cities had been destroyed, the countryside was scarred, and thousands of lives had been lost. Despite the pain and suffering, the greatest loss was the people's faith in their king.

The cowardice of the royal family during the invasion could not be forgiven. The people, who had suffered so greatly while their king had hid behind his walls, decided that it was time for a change. In the wake of the war, a new movement began to form—a revolt against the crown. The survivors of Arconia, emboldened by the heroism of those who had stood against the dark forces without royal aid, declared that the kingdom was no more.

In its place, they formed the Arconian Union, a new form of government led not by a single ruler, but by a council of elders. This council was made up of representatives from each county, chosen by the people to guide the land forward. The Union was built on the idea of shared governance, with no single person holding all the power. The failures of the king had taught them a valuable lesson: no one could be trusted with absolute control.

In one of the Union's first acts, they decreed that all magic would henceforth be forbidden. The horrors of the Arcane Cataclysm was fresh in their minds, and they feared even the light of Solas, and the destruction it could bring. The Templars, now nearly extinct, agreed, knowing the dangers of wielding such power. As many years passed, and the memory of the Cataclysm began to fade into history, the practice of magic was lost. Generations grew up without ever witnessing it, and it soon was passed down as nothing more than stories.

The Templars themselves, the last known wielders of magic, faded back into legend. They were eventually replaced by the Clerics of Solas, devout followers who continued the spiritual teachings of the sun god, without the assistance of magic. The Clerics became the moral and spiritual guides of the Union, offering wisdom and counsel in an age where magic had been abandoned.

Arconia, now governed by the Union, slowly began to rebuild. Though the scars of the Arcane Cataclysm would never fully heal, the land became prosperous once more, and trade resumed with distant islands. The people of Arconia learned that strength came not from kings or magic, but from unity and resilience. And thus, the Arconian Union, born out of tragedy, became a symbol of a new era—one of cooperation, freedom, and survival in a world forever changed.