Across the Realms

Guide to the Terran Kingdoms

This guide was compiled by Orshon; the Green, High Wizard of Gonzor and Amar de Golaz; Head Science Adviser of Gonzor in association with monarchs and advisers from Colsta, Azteca,  The Elven Woods, The Cities of Night, Lakelands and the Dwarven Mountains. It is meant to be a source of information to scholars, travelers and anyone else who finds it helpful. 

Kingdom of Gonzor

         The Kingdom of Gonzor is located on the East coast of the continent. It is heavily forested and the uninhabited portions should not be explored alone as wild animals are common. The Forest of the Forgotten lies in the far North of the kingdom and should be avoided at all costs. The Fae of the forest posses powerful magic that allows them to control the hearts and minds of passersby. Most are affected by only one gender of Fae, though some unlucky souls can be trapped by either. Immunity is extremely rare, only one known immune is living currently. Gonzor is ruled by King Tomas Blackfeather. The Blackfeather dynasty has ruled Gonzor since before the Europan settlers arrived. Queen Brooklyn passed away over a decade ago and the king has never remarried, instead raising his son, Prince Tano alone. King Tomas is well known for delegating many of the day to day responsibilities of the kingdom to his advisers (such as the writing of this guide). This strategy is often seen as odd by the neighbouring monarchs, but it has worked for the twenty years that Tomas has been king. Gonzor is known for its high volume of magic wielders of all types. Its high wizards have long been well respected across Terra. In recent years Gonzor has been plagued by the Black Sorcerer, a black magic user of unknown origin. He is responsible for ending the tentative truce between Gonzor and the vampires of the Forest of Darkness and Death, as well as awaking the Red Dragon which then laid waste to the kingdom, killing many and nearly destroying it. 

Forest of Darkness and Death

       The Forest of Darkness and Death lives up to its name in almost every way. It was originally known simply as the Dark Forest until the beginning of the last century when a group of abducted young humans emerged from the Forest after scaling the wall into Gonzor and proclaimed it "a place of only Death and Darkness". The children were found to have been kept inside the Royal Palace and were even tortured by King Edoret and his daughter, Princess Rhalia. This event sparked the Great Vampire War between the Forest on one side and Gonzor and it's allies on the other. Gonzor was aided by the Wood Elves and a small contingent from the Western kingdom of Colsta. It is still rumored that Elyseian sent soldiers to fight with the vampires, but this was never proven. The vampires are the ruling class of the Forest but they are not the only race within it. It is also home to large populations of skin changers as well as undead and most likely other creatures that have not been documented. The Forest is also home to human necromancers who value the protection the  Forest offers. After the end of the Great Vampire War a Paladin order was established within the Forest's borders to facilitate peace between the nations. This peace became tense after the order launched a failed mission to assassinate Rhalia, now queen. Not all of the details are known; what is known is that the Paladin sent to kill Queen Rhalia instead fell hopelessly in love with her. Shortly after their wedding Queen Rhalia and King Theodorex were attacked by a second Paladin. Theodorex reacted by killing his former brother, which was the event that truly caused tensions to rise. Paladins take an oath to never kill any living being (while vampires may be considered living they seem to be exempt from this oath), as long as they keep their word they are protected by powerful light magic. As soon as the oath is broken every trace of light magic flees the Paladin's system. Anywhere else this may not have resulted in anything severe, in the Forest of Death and Darkness the void left behind was quickly filled with the blackest magic imaginable; twisting Theodorex's mind into something unrecognizable and transforming him into the only Shadow Knight outside of legend. Several people have called for an end to the truce in light of the many rumors now pouring forth from the forest; including that the King and Queen are once again torturing prisoners for their own amusement and even more sinister that Theodorex is amassing an army of the dead, to be resurrected at will should the Forest be attacked.