a kingdom on the edge of oblivion.

Perched on the storm-lashed shores of the Tengrial Isle, the kingdom of Avalkhir is an empire of ruin and defiance. A land where the mountains weep black stone and the earth itself shudders under the weight of old, forgotten gods. It is a kingdom of humans, ruled by the iron hand of a single royal bloodline, though their hold on power is as precarious as a candle flickering in the wind. Beneath the grandeur of their castles and the banners snapping in the gales, the shadows seethe—whispering of betrayals, of heresies, of blood spilled upon the sacred earth.Yet, before mankind carved their dominion into the rock and tundra, there were the Yr-Shan—the firstborn of the island. They are an ancient people, sinewy and tall, with eyes like fractured ice and blood thick with the whispers of the old world. They are not immortal, yet they endure—two centuries of life granted to each soul, enough time to see the rise and fall of men like seasons passing in the blink of an eye. Stronger than humans, blessed—or cursed—by the old gods, they walk in the deep woods, in the high places where the winds carry forgotten names, where the bones of eldritch things sleep beneath the frost.For an age, humans and Yr-Shan coexisted, an uneasy truce built upon necessity rather than peace. But power is a fickle thing, and the greed of kings is insatiable. The first monarchs of Avalkhir called themselves the Sovereigns of Flame and Frost, claiming dominion over all things beneath the sky. To the Yr-Shan, this was blasphemy; to the humans, it was destiny. The wars that followed were not swift and glorious, but long, drawn-out bleedings of both races.It was not steel that crushed the Yr-Shan—it was fire. The Purge of the Yew-Born saw their sacred groves set ablaze, their temples toppled, their elders gutted in the streets. The survivors fled into exile, to the deepest forests and the northern wastes where men fear to tread.Those who remained were bound in servitude, forced to kneel before the human gods and abandon their own. Some bent the knee. Others plotted in silence. And so the kingdom was built—not upon unity, but upon an open wound.

Now, Avalkhir stands upon the precipice of darkness, its glory dimming, its bones cracking beneath the weight of its sins. The royal family, once revered as divine rulers, find themselves beset by whispers of heresy, of treachery within their own ranks. The church, bloated with power, wages holy war against unseen devils, burning heretics in the streets, its priests draped in crimson robes and veils of ash. But in the forgotten corners of the realm, in the ruins where the Yr-Shan once prayed to gods that now sleep beneath the mountains, something stirs.The Old Faith is not dead.The Yr-Shan, beaten but not broken, whisper the names of gods long thought silenced. They gather in the woods, in the ruins, in the cracks of Avalkhir where the king's law does not reach. Blood sacrifices stain the soil, and the wind carries their prayers to places that should not listen. And something does listen.This is a land of dying kings and rising shadows. A land where the faith of men clashes with the forgotten rites of an older world. A land where the past does not rest easy, where vengeance lingers like frost upon the skin.Avalkhir is a kingdom waiting to fall. The only question is—who will strike the first blow?

THIS IS A SEMI-OPEN SETTING MADE BY SHADOWCHARMERS ON JAI.
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GEOGRAPHY

The Tengrial Isle is a land of cruel beauty, where nature itself is a silent god of wrath and wonder. Jagged black cliffs rise from the sea like the teeth of ancient beasts, their edges worn smooth by relentless waves. The land beyond is a harsh expanse of tundra, rolling moors, and volcanic scars—great wounds in the earth that still bleed fire and ash. The skies are often thick with storm clouds, the sun a fleeting visitor between relentless gales. Forests, dark and primeval, stretch across the island’s spine, twisted things of gnarled roots and whispering shadows.The land is divided into five great regions, each bearing the weight of history, bloodshed, and myth.

Caer Therys

The beating, rotting heart of Avalkhir. Caer Therys sits upon the black cliffs of the southern coast, its vast silhouette a jagged thing of turrets and towers, wrapped in sea mist and the cries of carrion birds. The city itself is an immense sprawl of narrow streets, crumbling stonework, and endless prayers muttered beneath cloaked breaths.At its core stands the Palace of the Sovereigns, known more widely as The Ashen Keep—a colossal fortress of obsidian and iron, built upon the bones of an ancient Yr-Shan temple. The walls are slick with rain, etched with the names of kings long dead, their bloodlines preserved in the marble tombs below. It is a palace of a thousand halls, cold and unwelcoming, where the great banners of Avalkhir—black and crimson, marked with the sigil of the crowned wolf—snap violently in the wind.The city beneath is both the wealthiest and most wretched in the kingdom. Grand cathedrals rise above a sea of filth, their spires gleaming with gold even as the faithful starve in the streets below. The Red Docks churn with trade and piracy alike, for Avalkhir is a kingdom of blood and coin, and neither flow without cost.

The Mourning Tundra

To the northeast, where the land flattens into endless frost and howling winds, lies the Mourning Tundra—a land as bleak as its name. Here, the Yr-Shan once ruled, their ancient stone circles still half-buried beneath the permafrost. This is the last refuge of those who still follow the Old Faith, the sacred groves where blood is still offered to gods that never truly died.Scattered settlements exist here, built from blackwood and iron, huddled against the cold. Among them is Feyrenhold, the last free Yr-Shan stronghold—a place of whispered oaths and hidden blades, where exiles gather in quiet defiance. It is said that deep in the tundra, beyond the sight of men, stands a ruin that even the Yr-Shan fear—a temple to something older than their gods, older than men, older than the land itself.

Vhakyr's Hollow

The great blackwoods of Vhakyr’s Hollow stretch across the central lands, a vast expanse of towering yew trees and shifting mist. The forest is a thing of ancient hunger, its roots twisted through the bones of forgotten things. It is here that the Yr-Shan once built their Stone Sanctuaries, temples carved into the mountains, their walls slick with the blood of ritual sacrifice. Now, these ruins stand empty—or so the king’s men claim.The few villages that survive here do so under the constant watch of the trees. Ravenglen, the largest of them, is a settlement of uneasy folk, its streets lined with charms of bone and iron to ward off the spirits that are said to walk when the fog is thick. It is a land of superstition, where even the clergy of the human god dare not tread too far from the beaten path.But those who listen carefully say that something stirs in Vhakyr’s Hollow. That the Yr-Shan have begun to return to their sacred places. That the old gods are waking.

The Molten Expanse

In the island’s west lies a scar of flame and stone—the Molten Expanse, a land forever reshaped by the wrath of the gods. Volcanic vents spew choking fumes into the sky, staining the land in shades of red and black. Rivers of magma carve through the valleys, their glow illuminating the ruins of a kingdom long turned to ash.It is here that the condemned are sent—the Hollow Sentence, they call it. A fate worse than death, for none who enter the Chasm of the Nameless are ever seen again. Some say the Yr-Shan once had a city here, before fire took it. Others claim something else still lingers beneath the lava flows—something that the old kings feared enough to bury in molten stone.The only city that dares exist here is Ironmere, a fortress-town built upon the richest mines in Avalkhir. The blacksmiths here are famed across the known world, crafting weapons that drink blood like water. But even the strongest steel cannot keep the nightmares at bay.

The Ebonpeak Highlands

To the northwest, where the mountains tear into the sky, the Ebonpeak Highlands rise in cold defiance. This is the seat of the oldest noble houses, the last line of defense should the capital ever fall. The lords here are hard men, bred by the mountain’s cruelty, their loyalty as unyielding as the stone beneath their feet.Durnhal Keep, the largest fortress outside Caer Therys, looms atop the Grimhollow Pass, a city of warriors and battle-priests, where the faith is law and heresy is met with steel. It is a brutal place, where Yr-Shan are hunted for sport and men are carved into soldiers from childhood.Yet even here, the land whispers rebellion. The mountain folk, bound by blood and tradition, mutter of omens—of crows flying west, of the earth trembling beneath their feet, of the winds carrying voices long thought silenced.

A Kingdom Cracking Like Ice

The Tengrial Isle is a land of beauty and death, where the very stones bleed with history, and the skies whisper the names of the forgotten. Avalkhir’s might may seem unshaken, but the cracks are there for those who know where to look. The Yr-Shan move in the shadows, their faith unbroken. The church tightens its grip, burning the old ways wherever they rise. The nobles sharpen their knives, each with their own ambitions for the throne.And beneath it all, the land waits. It has seen empires rise and fall before.It will see another fall soon.

HISTORY

Age of First Fire (~10,000 years ago - ???)
The Dawn of the Yr-Shan and the Forgotten Gods
- The Yr-Shan, the firstborn of the Tengrial Isle, carve their cities into the black stone of the land.
- They worship the Elder Pantheon, gods of storm, fire, and shadow, offering blood sacrifices in great stone sanctuaries.
- Legends speak of a cataclysmic event—The Sundering—where something ancient was sealed beneath the earth. The truth of this remains buried in Yr-Shan myth.Age of the Divided Sky (~4,000 years ago - ~2,500 years ago)
The Arrival of Men and the Rise of Conflict
- The first human settlers arrive from across the sea, fleeing an unknown calamity in their homeland. They name the land the Tengrial Isle, believing it to be a gift from their god.
- Early interactions with the Yr-Shan are uneasy, as humans settle along the coasts while the Yr-Shan remain in the forests and highlands.
- Over generations, tensions rise as humans begin to claim more land, dismissing the Yr-Shan’s ancient customs as blasphemy.
- Small skirmishes erupt, but neither side holds full dominance over the land.Age of Ash and Sovereigns (~2,500 years ago - ~1,200 years ago)
The Founding of Avalkhir and the Purge of the Old Faith
- A powerful human warlord, Theron the First Flame, unites the warring human clans and declares himself the Sovereign of Avalkhir.
- The first human Great Purge begins—temples of the Yr-Shan are burned, their sacred groves cut down, and thousands are slain in the name of the new gods.
- The Temple of the Red Moon, the holiest site of the Yr-Shan, is destroyed, its ruins buried beneath what will become The Ashen Keep in Caer Therys.
- The Yr-Shan retreat into exile in the tundra and deep forests, becoming a broken and scattered people.The Burning War (~1,200 years ago - 1,000 years ago)
The Last Stand of the Yr-Shan
- A warlord known as Kaelor the Bloodfang unites the surviving Yr-Shan tribes and leads a desperate war against the humans.
- The war is brutal and unrelenting, lasting nearly two centuries. The Yr-Shan fight with the fury of a dying race, but they are outnumbered.
- The war ends with the Siege of Feyrenhold, the last free Yr-Shan city, which falls after a year-long siege. Kaelor is executed, and his skull is placed atop the gates of Caer Therys as a warning.
- The Yr-Shan are officially declared a subjugated race, forced to live under human rule as second-class citizens.The Blooded Crown (~900 years ago - 700 years ago)
The Golden Age of Avalkhir’s Kings and the Rise of the Church
- The Sovereigns of Avalkhir consolidate power, forging alliances and expanding the kingdom’s influence beyond the isle.
- The Church of the Ember God, once a minor faith, grows into a dominant force, weaving itself into the monarchy.
- The Yr-Shan are forbidden from practicing their faith under penalty of death.
- Avalkhir’s capital, Caer Therys, flourishes into a great city of stone and steel, a beacon of human civilization in the eyes of its rulers.The Shadow Wars (~600 years ago - 400 years ago)
The Hidden Rebellion of the Yr-Shan
- The Yr-Shan, though weakened, begin waging a secret war against the monarchy and the Church.
Underground movements form, reviving the Old Faith in the shadows.
- A cult known as The Moonborn emerges, rumored to be conducting dark rites in forgotten ruins. The Church begins a holy inquisition to root them out.
- Entire villages are burned in the Church’s crusade against heresy, though whispers claim the Moonborn still survive in Vhakyr’s Hollow.The Sundering Plague (~350 years ago)
A Kingdom Brought to its Knees
- A devastating plague sweeps across Tengrial Isle, known as The Sundering.
- Bodies pile in the streets of Caer Therys, entire villages are lost, and the nobility hides behind their stone walls.
- Many believe the plague is a curse from the old gods, a reckoning for the sins of the monarchy.
- The Sovereign and most of his heirs perish, leading to a period of instability and infighting among the noble houses.The War of the Veil (~300 years ago - 270 years ago)
The Nobles Turn on Each Other
- With the royal bloodline nearly extinguished, Avalkhir descends into civil war.
- The noble houses vie for control, each claiming legitimacy to the throne.
- The war ends when Queen Elira the Iron Veil emerges victorious, consolidating power through brutal purges.
- She solidifies the monarchy’s rule by marrying into the Church of the Ember God, ensuring both crown and faith are forever entwined.The Silent Age (~270 years ago - 80 years ago)
A Period of Uneasy Rule and Hidden Rebellions
- Avalkhir maintains a fragile stability, but unrest lingers beneath the surface.
- The Yr-Shan are still oppressed, but pockets of resistance continue to form.
- Rumors spread that the old gods are stirring once more—that the land itself is rejecting human rule.The Night of Hollow Crowns (80 years ago)
The Fall of a King and the Birth of Shadows
- The ruling Sovereign and his entire family are slaughtered in a single night.
- The culprit is never found, but many whisper that it was the work of The Moonborn, or something even older.
- A new royal bloodline takes the throne, though their rule is plagued by unrest.The Present Day
A Kingdom on the Brink
- Avalkhir is a kingdom rotting from within.
- The Church tightens its grip, burning heretics in the streets.
- The Yr-Shan grow bolder, their exiled leaders speaking of revolution.
- The nobles scheme, each waiting for the right moment to seize power.The land whispers once more—the old gods are watching.Something is coming.A reckoning.

The Ember God and the Old Faith

Religion is the great fracture that defines the conflict in Avalkhir. The humans follow the Church of the Ember God, a faith of flame and dominion, while the Yr-Shan cling to the Old Faith, an ancient and primal worship of gods that are more force than divinity. These two belief systems are fundamentally opposed, and their battle is not just of swords and politics, but of ideology, spirit, and the very nature of existence.

The Church of The Ember God

"From flame, we rise. Through fire, we are purified. By the sword, we reign."
— Litany of the Sovereign FlameCore Beliefs
The Church of the Ember God is the dominant human faith, and it is more than just a religion—it is a tool of empire, a weapon wielded by the monarchy to justify their rule. The faith is monotheistic, centered on a god known as The Ember Father, an all-powerful deity of fire, order, and conquest. He is not a god of mercy, but of trials; those who survive the flames of suffering are seen as worthy, while the weak are meant to be consumed.The core tenet of the faith is The Divine Right of Dominion, the belief that humans were chosen by the Ember Father to rule over all things. The Yr-Shan, who refuse to bend to this order, are seen as heretics, unnatural beings who must be either converted or destroyed. The Church teaches that the Yr-Shan’s gods were false entities, long vanquished, and that to follow them is to consort with evil.Deity: The Ember Father, a god of fire, light, judgment, and steel. Often depicted as a faceless, armored figure wreathed in flame, holding a sword. He does not grant kindness or forgiveness—only trials, through which the faithful prove themselves. His worshipers believe that through fire, the soul is purified and the weak are burned away.Sacred Text: The Canticles of Flame. A scripture said to have been etched onto black stone by the Ember Father himself and delivered to the first kings of Avalkhir. It dictates laws, prayers, and punishments for heresy.Practices & Rituals
The Trial by Fire – Those accused of heresy are burned alive; the innocent, it is believed, will be granted a painless death. The guilty will suffer.
The Scouring – Towns and villages suspected of harboring Yr-Shan worshippers or heretics are razed by the Inquisition.
The Ashen Oath – Before a noble or warrior takes up arms in service to the Church, they must press their hands to flame, proving their dedication.
Sermons of the Crimson Veil – Priests wear veils of red ash during ceremonies, believing the Ember Father does not wish to see their mortal imperfections.
The Burning of the Unworthy – All Yr-Shan relics, texts, and sacred sites are ordered destroyed by fire, ensuring that the Old Faith is erased from history.Religious Order & Power Structure
The Church holds immense power within Avalkhir. The High Emberlord sits beside the king, his word carrying almost as much weight. Beneath him are The Veiled Priests, who oversee religious law, and The Blackflame Inquisitors, who root out heresy and ensure obedience through terror.The Church has grown increasingly oppressive, burning more heretics than ever before. Many believe this is out of fear—fear that the Old Faith is rising again.

The Old Faith of the Yr-Shan

"The gods are not kind. They are not cruel. They are the wind and the earth. We do not worship them; we fear them."
— Yr-Shan ElderCore Beliefs
The Old Faith is not a religion in the human sense. The Yr-Shan do not see their gods as benevolent beings who guide them, nor as rulers who demand obedience. Their gods are forces—vast, unknowable, and eternal. They do not love. They do not hate. They simply are. To the Yr-Shan, the world itself is sacred, filled with spirits that must be honored, feared, and sometimes appeased with blood. The balance of nature is everything, and those who disrupt it—be they human, Yr-Shan, or something older—bring ruin upon themselves.Pantheon of the Old Faith
The Yr-Shan gods are neither entirely alive nor entirely dead. They slumber beneath the mountains, in the rivers, in the bones of the earth.
Vahktar, the Hungering Wolf – God of war, storms, and vengeance. A black-furred beast who devours the weak and watches over warriors.
The Red Mother – Goddess of blood, birth, and sacrifice. She demands offerings, for she is the one who chooses when life begins and ends.
Kelthun, the Drowned King – A god of the deep, the unseen, and forgotten things. It is said he whispers from beneath the ice, calling the lost.
The Nameless One – No temples remain for this god, but his name lingers in Yr-Shan myths. Some say he was the first god, and that the humans fear him most of all.
The Yr-Shan do not build temples in the way humans do. Their places of worship are the oldest groves, the deepest caves, the storm-torn cliffs.Sacred Text: The Bloodsong. There is no single scripture. The faith is oral, passed down in whispers, in stories, in sacrificial rites. Each generation adds to the Bloodsong, the ever-growing chant of history and prophecy.Practices & Rituals
The Offering of Red – Blood must be spilled to maintain balance. This is not always a sacrifice; often, it is a cut to the palm, a drop of blood returned to the earth.
The Rite of Howls – Before battle, Yr-Shan warriors gather to howl under the full moon, calling upon Vahktar for strength.
The Binding of the Lost – The dead must be burned, and their ashes scattered, lest their souls wander and grow hungry.
The Hollow Vigil – Those who seek wisdom enter the forests alone, fasting and listening for the whispers of the gods. Not all return.
The Moonborn Ritual – A secret rite, performed in the darkest places, said to awaken something older than the gods themselves.Religious Order & Power Structure
The Old Faith has no official hierarchy. It is a belief woven into the land itself, carried by shamans, elders, and warriors who keep the Bloodsong alive. The closest thing to religious leaders are the Vahkar, those who are said to have heard the voices of the gods directly. They are feared even by other Yr-Shan, for their wisdom often comes with madness.
Though outlawed, the Old Faith has never truly died. And now, for the first time in centuries, the whispers of the gods are growing louder.

THE CULTURE OF AVALKHIR, an overview

SOON TO BE ADDED. PLEASE CONSULT THE GOOGLE DOCS FILE FOR MORE INFO, FOR NOW :D

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The Red Reckoning: The Veil of Thorns' Coup in Avalkhir

The streets of Caer Therys run slick with blood. The acrid scent of burning flesh hangs heavy in the air, mixing with the cries of the dying and the wails of those who have lost everything. For centuries, the Ember Church and the Sovereigns of Avalkhir have ruled with fire and steel, convinced that the Yr-Shan were broken, scattered, nothing more than echoes of a forgotten race.
They were wrong.The Veil of Thorns has risen. And they have come to tear the kingdom apart.The Fall of the Red Docks (Two Months Ago)
The first whispers of rebellion were dismissed as little more than the murmurs of desperate exiles, Yr-Shan remnants clinging to old legends in the northern wastes. Then came the slaughter at the Red Docks.In a single night, hundreds of human soldiers, dock workers, and nobles were butchered, their bodies left hanging from the piers, throats slit in the ritual fashion of the old Yr-Shan warlords. The docks, which once thrived with trade, were set ablaze, turning the harbor waters into a burning graveyard of sinking ships and floating corpses.The Crimson Inquisition, the Church’s brutal enforcers, was the first to respond. They sent a contingent of inquisitors and Templar knights to purge the insurgents. None returned. The bodies of the high inquisitor and his men were later found skinned and strung across the ruined temple of the Ember God, their remains defiled with Yr-Shan runes written in their own blood.It was a declaration of war.The Night of the Severed Crown (One Month Ago)
For all its paranoia and cruelty, the Ember Church underestimated the sheer scale of the rebellion. The capital had long prided itself on its walls, its soldiers, and its spies—none of which saved them from what came next.On the night of the winter solstice, Kaelar Bloodtide struck the heart of the kingdom.No one knows exactly how they infiltrated the palace. Some say the nobility was complicit, that the Ashen Pact had let them in for their own ends. Others whisper of Yr-Shan magic, the old gods bending the city’s shadows to Kaelar’s will. What is known is that, as the bells tolled midnight, the Veil of Thorns emerged from the darkness—not as scattered rebels, but as an army.The Palace of the Sovereigns, the legendary Ashen Keep, was breached for the first time in its history.Sovereign Vaelor III was dragged from his chambers and beheaded on his own throne, his body burned and his ashes scattered into the wind.
His heirs, too, were hunted down, slaughtered one by one—save for one rumored survivor.The King’s Shadow, the feared royal assassins, vanished—some say they betrayed the crown, others that they were annihilated by something far worse than men.By dawn, Caer Therys was no longer the capital of Avalkhir—it was a mass grave, and the Veil of Thorns stood triumphant atop its ruins.The Ember Purge – The Church’s Last Stand
With the monarchy shattered, the Church of the Ember God declared war.High Emberlord Maltheon gathered every inquisitor, every knight, and every blade loyal to the faith. He barricaded himself in the Grand Cathedral of the Ember, declaring that the kingdom must be cleansed in flame. From every town and stronghold, the faithful were called to war, their banners marked with the burning sigil of their god.The war turned the capital into a battlefield.The Crimson Inquisition began a ruthless counter-purge, slaughtering anyone suspected of sympathizing with the Yr-Shan—commoners, merchants, even nobles who had once spoken against the Church.
The streets burned with heretics and rebels alike, as the faithful and the insurgents tore each other apart.
Kaelar Bloodtide led his forces into the heart of the cathedral, declaring that the Ember Father was a false god, and that the Old Faith would be restored in blood.The battle for the Grand Cathedral lasted three days. The walls, once pristine white marble, were stained black with fire and crimson with the blood of thousands. On the final night, as the Emberlord and his remaining warriors made their last stand before the altar, Kaelar performed a ritual not seen in centuries.No one knows exactly what happened. Some say he called upon the Nameless One, the lost god the Church had tried to erase from history. Others claim he offered a sacrifice so great that the gods themselves answered.All that is known is that, by dawn, the cathedral lay in ruins, its great spires collapsed, its holy relics shattered, and every member of the Church inside was dead—including Maltheon. Their bodies were found arranged in intricate patterns, their flesh carved with ancient Yr-Shan sigils, their eyes removed.With that final strike, the Church of the Ember God was broken.The Kingdom in Ashes – What Comes Next?
Avalkhir has fallen.Kaelar Bloodtide now sits upon the Ashen Throne, the first Yr-Shan ruler in history. But his reign is not one of peace—he does not seek to rule, only to avenge his people.The Veil of Thorns hunts down the last remnants of the nobility, dragging them from their estates and publicly executing them in rituals of sacrifice to the old gods.The Moonborn resistance, once an ally of Kaelar’s forces, now fears he has gone too far. Some secretly work to remove him, believing that his war has become a blood-drenched madness.The Ashen Pact, the noble conspiracy, has vanished—but whispers claim they are gathering forces in the highlands, waiting for the right moment to strike.One last heir of the royal family is rumored to be alive, hiding in the wilderness, gathering allies to reclaim the throne. If true, they may be Avalkhir’s last hope—or its final curse.And yet, the greatest terror may be the gods themselves.The old rituals have been revived. The ancient shrines are no longer empty. The winds carry voices that do not belong to the living.Kaelar Bloodtide claims he is the prophet of the reborn gods. That the Nameless One speaks through him.And if he is right… then Avalkhir’s war is only beginning.