So I wanted to post this and see how many people would be interested in this before venturing further. So here you go:
"You better watch yourselves around these parts, Zeldor ain't no place for heroes"
-Pirate Lord Soran to Grandmaster Durnil
Ill times have fallen on the Rangers, the former guard to the Emperors of Zeldor. After the assassination of Emperor Regulus X, who left no living heir, the Zeldoran Empire fractured into many warring states, after being unable to elect a successor. From the snowy land of Drakenwuld where there hardy people rode drakes into battle, to the southern realm of Torandail where gleaming knights take the field alongside peasant militia, war erupted as all tried to carve out larger borders, and eat what remained of the old capital lands of Ar Dornast. The Rangers, then known as the Phoenix Guard, did all they could to defend the old lands and maintain order, being one of the few able to utilise magic, living long lives which they used to perfect their martial prowess. But as their numbers dwindled, and the capital of Al Dornast was burnt to the ground along with the knowledge of how to create more, they took the name Rangers and began to roam.
Lead by Grandmaster Durnil, they took an oath to encourage and safeguard peace, and to defend the states until the were united once more. However they were universally unaccepted by all nations, who viewed them not only as former enemies, but monsters to be eradicated. For decades they wandered the continent, fighting hordes of Dark Ones, warbands of Orcs and occasionally armies sent to deal with them until they were slowly pushed into the far east to the Forests of Shadow where they met an unlikely ally, the Elves. The Elves had been pushed to the edge of annihilation after the boom of the other races, and the race who once ruled a continent had been reduced to one city in the forest, Elacrai. Finding it under siege by a Toranian army from the south, Durnil ordered the attack on the rear of the besiegers, routing the superior force. Meeting with the Elven Council of Nobles, they gave their thanks and offered them access to the city, where no other race had entered for years. The Council and Durnil struck a bargain, where the Rangers would lend their power in casting a powerful illusion to hide Elacrai to all but those deemed friends to the Elves, and in return the Rangers would forever find a home within its walls. Sadly afterwards, Durnil died from a poison wound suffered in the battle.
The wars began to die down as borders began to settle in place, with only sporadic wars between 2 or 3 nations and not the continent engulfing civil war that had raged for nearly 50 years. The Rangers under their second Grandmaster Vulcan, began their crusade against those who would harm the nations of Zeldor. Believing wholeheartedly in Durnil's vision, he frequently ordered the Rangers against the Dark Ones over the mountains to the east and the warbands of Orcs to the north of the forest and with over 400 years of near constant warfare the Rangers dwindled from 5000 to merely 1500 due to the attrition of battles. But unknown to them, a new, more dangerous enemy was about to arrive on the shore of Zeldor.
The Varricus Imperium arrived on the south eastern shores from a continent far away. Worshippers of the Ruinous Ones, and highly militarized, they posed a threat to the balance that had managed to take root on the continent, and with their vast, highly trained armies, not much could stop them. Upon hearing of the arrival of the invaders, Grandmaster Vulcan decided that it would be better to destroy this fledgling bud before to turned into a tree. Mobilizing the Rangers, they marched to the encampment of the invaders determined to drive them back into the sea. The Rangers experienced some success at first, and looked set to defeat them until the powers of the Ruinous Ones intervened. Within the ranks of the Imperium were sorcerers. Wielding dark magic not seen on Zeldor for over a millennium, they summoned a warp portal behind the Rangers which dispatched a horde of demons to cut off their retreat, with the lieutenants of each Ruinous One accompanying their demons. And this is where our story truly begins, with the Rangers facing an impossible enemy and faced with annihilation.
Yet fate has decreed that not all should perish this day. Several Rangers, chosen by destiny, are chosen to escape this slaughter and unite the lands against the Varricus Imperium and the Ruinous Ones. Will they do so by being shining beacons of virtue, fighting until the bitter end to uphold the old oath? Or will they forge their own path with fire and blood, bringing the rebellious states to heel and reforming the old Empire?
I'll share more after I get more people interested.
Last edited by iiReaper on Fri Aug 11, 2017 7:14 am, edited 2 times in total.
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