Lore

[Atlas Van Malice]

The Overlords: The Overlords are demons born of extremely powerful blood and soul. They're true nature and origin is unknown. They just appeared as if some kind of god placed them there. The first appeared during the dragon dictatorship a long, long, LONG time ago. The first went down in history as not only the first Overlord but also the liberator of Kidas who broke the dragon power. There is no way to predict exactly how to know who's an Overlord or going to be one. There are only 2 ways to tell for sure. Rise to power unreachable or earn the right to rule. Even if an Overlord were to have children there's no guarantee that they are next to become an Overlord. In fact it's said to be an incredibly rare case that an Overlord is parent or even grandparent to another Overlord.

Rising to Power Unreachable: The first way to tell an Overlord is if they are extremely powerful. Both in body and soul. They are not born with incredible power however. They must get stronger on their own. Prove that they can go beyond limits and, of course, never allow themselves to die. What makes an Overlord powerful is the power he accumulates on his own.

Earning the Right to Rule: The second way to tell an Overlord is if they have a sort of special knack for raising an army. Weather it be knights of black armor or commoners with nothing but pitchforks and raggedy clothing. Inspiring bravery even in a small army of commoners can win a 3 front war. As was said by the first who raised an army of slaves against mighty dragons. Of course since the assassination of the 14th this way to tell an Overlord has been desperately abused by many in an attempt to take the throne. It has failed so far though.  

[Atlas Van Malice]

The Dragon Dictatorship: Before the appearance of the first overlord. The land of Kidas wasn't even known as Kidas. In fact during that time there were no such things as nations because at the time it wouldn't make any difference. The dragons were in power across pre-Kidas. There was no point in naming an army or titling a nation because everyone that tried were easily wiped out. Eventually and inevitably all the lower races submitted to the dragons power. There was simply no combating such furious might. That was until the appearance of the first Overlord.

The Elder Lord Dragons: During the dictatorship. It was dragons who ruled the lower class races. But it were the Elder Lords who reigned over the dragons. The elder lords were said to be god-like dragons in physical form. Their power was unrivaled across all the 9 hells. They were also said to be colossal. The largest was said to sit perched on top of Idos Tower. Which is now used as the Overlords tower in Aard. When the first Overlord began winning the war only so many Elder Dragons were successfully defeated. But some couldn't be. Some overpowered the Overlord and pushed back the rebellion swiftly. The war would've been lost if they had not found a way to seal the remaining 3 Elder Dragons.

The Remaining Elder Dragons: Gaiuce, Ikaros and Mohnoto. The three remaining Elder Dragons which were sealed away deep in the dark of Trost Downs.

Gaiuce was portrayed as the Elder Lord of Lightning. His ferocious strikes were said to turn their targets into ash on impacts due to the lashing heat of their velocity. The speed of his flight rumored to make him invisible made him the most difficult target to seal for the rebellion.

Ikaros was portrayed as the Elder Lord of Poison. The horrific toxins in her blood which she can expel and use as her weapons are otherwise lethal and it's rumored that her blood is what caused the Spellbroker plague in Fielders Planes. Not that this has been proven though.

Mohnoto. The absolute most powerful out of them. The Elder Lord that was said to be impossible to kill. Not just because he was the Dragon of Darkness but also because he was literally untouchable. His dark powers swallowed everything they touched including every weapon or spell. His sealing was what broke the dragon power and forced them all to surrender to the first Overlord. Every expedition into Trost Downs logged that they felt watched for the entire expedition. Also seeing something moving in the darkness constantly but never actually spotting or trapping it.  

[Atlas Van Malice]

The 7th Hell: The 7th Hell is the hell at which Kidas resides in as well as all other nations. The entirety of 7th is unaware that it's even the 7th or that their's even any more Hells at all. 7th is host to at least 6 other DISCOVERED nations. Kidas. Crucix. Shakugan. Shahl. Kharnon. August.

Kidas: The home land of the Overlords and many other species of demon. Being host to variable weather and rather awry environments. As you'd expect from a nation made up of several different creatures, environments and provinces the culture of Kidas is incredibly variable. But you won't find an Overlord anywhere else.

Crucix: A nation of palace-talkers (basically akin to french accents.) Crucix is said to have the grandest of skilled cooks. Followed by this is the special season in their nation known as "Harvest Moon" where when a full moon sit's high their crops seems to grow significantly faster like some miracle. Originally Crucix was a peace loving nation but in recent years when the last Overlord disappeared and Kidas was with no leader their was provocative talk between the nations trade which soon escalated into an rather threatening war. Again with no leader on throne. Crucix was safe to make the first punch. And make the first punch they did since they took the Marshlands and drove the Drow elves out. Crucix is, much like Kidas, a variable nation of variable race of creatures.

Shakugan: A nation farther to the east of Kidas which was originally of 27 separate independent states which often feuded with each other... A LOT. In ancient times it was Shaku' law and culture to bring honor to your state and family. This mean't learning the art of war and glory (if you haven't guessed. Shakugan is basically Hell's Asia). Of course there were states that didn't have much chance and they instead resorted to training people in reflex and assassination. This was, while effective, a more dirty and dishonorable way to do things... but only if you got caught. In today however things are of course very different. Shakugan is host to a very nice and clean civilization however their type of magic and fighting style is VERY different to what you'd commonly see.

Shahl: Not so much a nation as it is a group of 4 sometimes independent countries. Shahl is mainly a desert country with very little civilizations. Not from the lack of trying. You'll find ruined ancient or otherwise recent civilizations dotted around. The reason for Shahl not exactly being a nation would be mainly because they don't have enough towns or cities to close the gaps between each country however the reason their considered a nation is because each country works in conundrum like one. Their towns and cities would fall apart if they didn't hold each other together. However commonly any part of the map outside of the border between countries are vacant lots for whatever people get up to there. Though these vacant parts of Shahl are mainly populated by bandits or wild creatures. Shahl's civilizations are somewhat a combination of Egyptian structure and Arabian style. Shahl is host to mainly one type of Elf, that being a Bormear Elf. Who's skin is rather tan unlike the Drow who are dark skinned and the Ashen who are pale.

Kharnon: A nation of snowy forests and mountains. Also mainly being populated by Anubans. The civilizations of Kharnon aren't what you'd call large cities. It's mainly small or medium sized towns. Kharnon is such a large country that instead of expanding they instead split apart and make their own quaint little towns around the place. Kharnon is hell for mapmakers though as their are so many towns to mark on maps that they may often miss one completely leaving a few towns to fend for themselves. Kharnon villages adopt a type of Canadian colonial style.

August: Said to be the "Homeland" of Cubi's but with lack of evidence no ones quite sure. August is mainly a nation of variable environments much like Kidas only the style is more... dark-ish. Some type of curse was put upon the entire landscape which made the second any entered it would turn really dark and eerie and the clouds would immediately move to hide the sign from that particular angle. Their are only ever large civilizations dotted around August however from time to time there are quaint manors or towns dotted on the roads between cities or off the beaten path. As you'd expect from a nation shrouded in darkness their style would be more gothic than anywhere else in the world. The reason that August is 'considered' the homeland of Cubi's is mainly because Cubi's feel disturbingly attuned to dark gothic places such as this. Although it is still stated that the home of Cubi's is in Kidas where the Queen Succubus resides.  

[Atlas Van Malice]

The Dark of Trost Downs: Long before even the dragons reigned there was a massive cataclysm that shredded up the land. 100 years pass and most of the land healed except for one particular part. Through out each age of Overlords this hole has never healed. They say that every time you stare into it you feel something stare back. After long the area in and around this hole was declared un-safe and from time to time expeditions would be sent down to investigate in the dark below. Each time they found very little but they have managed to piece together that the hole is the prison of the Elder Dragons. After which they have decided to name the area 'Trost Downs'.  

[Atlas Van Malice]

The Mists: Originally there was a way to get too and from Shakugan quickly back in before the 6th Overlords era. Till suddenly one day a gigantic mist formed out of nowhere stretching for untold miles. Everyone who went too far in it disappeared and for some reason whenever someone ventured inside there were random quakes ranging just outside the mist. Anyone who ventured in never returned... except for a small expedition sent in by the 7th Overlord however only some of them made it back. Everyone was stunned when they reported their findings. Colossi. There were gigantic colossi residing in the mists. No one could find any logical reason or explanation as to their sudden appearance or the mists appearance. There were originally large ruins in the road between Shakugan and Kidas. Every battalion they sent in suffered heavy losses and could never defeat any colossi inside. Eventually it was stated that the mists are officially cordoned off and that absolutely no one was to enter ever again.

Colossi: A colossus is a gigantic beast made up of enchanted stones and earth. While these would originally be classed as golems there were the largest creatures since the Elder Dragons. One wouldn't say they were all intelligent. Some were literally dumb as rocks however some did possess intelligence. It was a forbidden art to ever, EVER, attempt to construct a colossi. A: because it would be considered playing god and disrupting the natural order of things and B: Because Colossi are extremely dangerous if awoken. They can tear down cities if they get too close or to provoked.

The Origins of Colossi: Back during the dragons reign one of the rebellions plans was to attempt to construct some type of weapon that could assist them in battle. Some wizard suggested crafting a creature of stone and earth. At the time the rebellion was desperate for any type of good idea and they were none the wiser towards what mistake they were making. When the first colossi was constructed everything backfired. It didn't just want to destroy the dragons but everything else including those who created. Eventually the dragons managed to destroy it but the rebellion suffered serious losses and eventually they were forced to surrender to the dragons because of this dumb idea. That would've been it if not for the first Overlords appearance. The wizards who constructed the colossi were never seen again after that. They say they ran like hell when things wen't south and disappeared into some type of mist magic before they were caught.  

[Atlas Van Malice]

The Times Forgotten: A long, long, long time ago. And I mean really long ago. Like LOOONG ago. Not just a bunch of long long ago's but I mean REALLY REALLY long ago. The hells were nothing more than prehistoric worlds. There were no civilizations. No cultures. No Overlords or gods. Every creature was still completely animalistic in nature. There was no sophistication or potential for intelligence. Not until the Angels appeared at least.

Heavens Expedition: During prehistoric Hell. Heaven entered it's era of wonder and exploration. Many angels set out to other realms to find substantially intelligent life. Most were unsuccessful unfortunately. When Heaven's angels discovered the 9 hells realm it was baffling to them. Although the worlds were still so young and so unsophisticated the magic power resonating from them was incomparable to any other realm they visited. They knew they had to investigate. And so they built a portal gate to the Heavenly realm for shorter trips. When they attempted to study and understand each prehistoric race they found that they actually did possess potential for intelligence. So in a sense this was a double whammy. The entire point of their current era was to find intelligent life. The fact that they found incredible untapped magic AND intelligent life was big news across the Heavenly realm.

The First Of Many: The years rolled by and before anyone knew it a civilization was set up around the expeditions portal. With each year they studied the Imp's they got smarter. They even began to talk using the same linguistic's as angels and many other races would soon follow. But something wen't horribly horribly wrong. A few angels were on top of the idea that they Heavenly realm was superior to all. The fact that races from the 9 hells realm that began becoming intelligent disturbingly fast was taken as a threat to them. Unfortunately at the time the Heavenly realms were becoming very uneasy with the idea that this was happening and like politics as you'd expect they mass population was tricked into becoming an otherwise despotic race. This marked the end of the era of wonder and exploration.

Separation: There was demand that the creatures from the 9 hells should be exterminated before they attempted to overthrow the Heavenly realm. No one but the expedition understood what they actually were. They found that not only did they possess intelligence but morality too. But this discovery wasn't believed. It was taken as evidence that the expedition became corrupted under the hells' disturbing amount of magic. So they decided before any corruption could spread.They marked all who were in the 9 hells realm as 'Fallen Angels' and were shunned back into the 9 hells. They closed and destroyed the portal and completely separated the realms from each other Leaving the angels civilization to fend for itself. And they would soon have to for in 100 years time dragons were going to unlock they're own intelligence.

Nomads: When the Imp's, Cubi's and other creatures became intelligent enough to work together. Many of the separated angels left the civilization and became nomadic. The era of wonder and exploration may have ended for the Heavenly realm but there was still so much left to see and discover in this realm. So they set out far and wide across the 7th hell. Some survived and became new civilizations. Some didn't. Either way this was the beginning of sophisticated life for the 9 hells. And in due time the era of exploration would end. And the age of Overlords would soon begin.  

[Atlas Van Malice]

The Dragons: You've probably heard the story over hundreds of times now. The Dragons were despotic and enslaved every lower race then the First Overlord beat them. Yada yada yada. This time were talking about their power and potential. Dragons are very special although they've been overthrown for thousands upon thousands of years now.

Element Dragons: All Dragons are magically elementally imbued in birth. The element of a newborn is dependent on the parents. Like normal a child is half of both of them but they can only inherit the one element. Although that said there are the extremely rare existence of Twin Tamers.

The Existence of Twin Tamers: Twin Tamers are extremely rare because, while some would call it a birth 'defect' others would call it a gift. Dragons have only ever been able to tame ONE element at birth. It's still a subject of serious study due to their rarity. Underworld science has made very little progress but progress at all is an achievement because no one is able to understand the origin or cause of Twin Tamers. Not even the Elder Dragons. Like before Twin Tamers are often dependent on the elements of the parents. Although after a looong amount of study it's been found that even anyone who isn't a dragon could have an affect on the likely-hood of the child becoming a Twin Tamer.  

[Atlas Van Malice]

The Yrai: The Underworld isn't without it's super powers. The Yrai is the power that keeps the peace and defends the Underworld from any and all threats. The Yrai originally followed the rule of the Overlords but after 10000 years without an Overlord they were forced to adopt a new government which ended up being a really bad idea given the situation of the Eastern Underworld. Within the Yrai are special groups of of people very extremely special powers. There are 3 groups to be exact. The God Slayers. The Soul Eaters and The Story Keepers.

Yrai Knights: The Yrai are very different than your normal group of fighters. They are significantly more attuned to magic than normal people. They are trained and taught in ancient arts that help them master all forms of fighting. Ranged, melee, magic. They only falter in very specific ways in terms of combat but for the most part they are disciplined and unique. They are however in few. Ever since the disappearance of the 14th Overlord there has been a colossal decline of they're presence to the point were chaos ran rampant across the Underworld.

The God Slayers: In a universe dominated by sorcery there are those out there who are host to incredible power. What you would consider god like in a way. Should this power go abused and unchecked however could cause irreparable damage. For this the God Slayers were created. Though they are still Yrai they are people who show much more potential in magical ability than any other. The type of ability that would rival gods. The type of magic needed to bring god like entity's down.

The Soul Eaters: Evil is an eternal entity that takes host to everybody in some way. However some people are quite literally possessed by evil. Unknown entities that may attempt to deal with you and/or trick you into selling your soul to them in return for eternal beauty or incredible power or an ageless life. You can strike down the possessed by the entity that possessed them is eternal and unkillable. But that's why the Soul Eaters were created. They are Yrai Knights at pledge themselves to hunting evil entities. And their's no going back either for to become a soul eater you must drink the blood of an corruptive Elder God. When you drink the blood of an Elder God you become attuned to evil. You gain the ability to sense corruption and possession in people. When a Soul Eater strikes down an possessed person then they absorb the evil within them. Of course this comes at the cost of they're life. When a Soul Eater dies they run the risk of releasing all the evil they welled up inside them so when they die they must be burned. Then when only ashes are left they seal it all in an enchanted urn and leave it in a very special hidden vault. Of course it's not as bad as you think. When you drink Elder God blood your lifespan is increased ten fold to compensate for the life you lose every time you absorb evil.

The Story Keepers: True legends are hard to come by and even harder to remember. The Story Keepers are tasked with scribing and cataloging all legends. The Dragons, the Overlords, the Heroes, The Terrors. It is their duty to make sure knowledge of terrible events or heroic deeds are forever remembered in the Grand Library so that they can come back and reference required knowledge to defeat future enemies. They're job isn't as easy as it sounds however. Where there are people who need this knowledge to save lives. Others need it to end them. The Grand Library is often attacked however very rarely has anyone ever successfully robbed it. The Story Keepers, like God Slayers or Soul Eaters, are trained to detect the smallest change. The slightest twitch of a face. The smallest trip of a heart beat. They are trained to be razor sharp both in intuition and in combat. They aren't easy people to get by and you'll need more than practiced lines to fool them.  

[Atlas Van Malice]

Magic: In some other realms Magic depends on the knowledge of the user. Well what if I told you that's only half the case. The use of magic is not only dependent on the knowledge of HOW to use it but it's also dependent on the willpower of the user.

Willpower: Will, short for Willpower, is what everyone needs to use magic. Although in some nations it's not exactly referred to as willpower. Some places refer to it as 'Magicka' or 'Mana'. Without Willpower it would be nigh impossible to cast any type of magic. You could have the knowledge of the spell and it's uses but you may be too weak in terms of Will to do it. A good way to train your willpower up is to generally just cast spells. Practice. Test yourself constantly. Like exercising muscles only you don't have a buffer body to show for it. You'll find yourself able to continuously do the same spell for longer over and over as a sign that you've successfully attained a new height. But of course spells that take more understanding are ultimately the most Will consuming so practicing on the exact same spell won't strengthen your will as much as it would when you had a weaker Willpower. It's also worth mentioning your willpower is not infinite. Continuous use of magic ability can and will tire you out eventually however your Willpower replenishes when you rest.

Knowledge: Knowledge is exactly as it sounds. Like learning how to cook something in cooking class you'll be learning a new recipe or a more efficient way to cook. The same applies for using magic only instead of learning new recipes you'll be learning spells and instead of efficient cooking it'll be efficient use of spells although I guess you could use spells TO cook. As mentioned in the information about Willpower above you must first have substantial Will to cast more complex or will consuming spells. If you find that your Will is to weak to cast a large Will consuming spell then you can try using a unison technique. A unison technique is the combined attempt of a similar spell. Some spells may even require more than one person's cooperation or it may not work. Of course magic always has laws in every dimension and some magic are illegal by order of the Yrai.

Illegal Magic: Illegal magic are illegal for a good reason. Obvious illegal magics would be trapping someones soul, forcing someone into an enchanted comatose, summoning the unwilling assistance of the dead and attempting to "worship" unknown entities. These illegal magics are measured in classes ranging from 1 to 5.
Class 1 Illegal Magic: Class 1's are minor and otherwise overlookable magics. There are often some cases where certain types of Class 1's are overlooked for whatever reason.
Class 2 Illegal Magic: Class 2's are only somewhat more serious than Class 1's. In some cases these are also overlookable.
Class 3 Illegal Magic: Class 3's are much more serious. There aren't normally many cases where this is acceptable.
Class 4 Illegal Magic: Class 4's are significantly more serious and are highly illegal. There are an extreme few times the Yrai have tolerated Class 4 activity.
Class 5 Forbidden Magic: As you may have noticed. Class 5 is not only illegal but forbidden altogether. Any and all study of Class 5 magic are to be immediately disposed of if uncovered and the user of Class 5 spells will be punished severely. Only in desperate times are Forbidden Magic's EVER used.  

[Atlas Van Malice]

Class 1 Illegal Magic:
-The Hijacking of Someone Else's Willpower.
-The Use of Otherwise Life Threatening Magic in Public Areas.
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Class 2 Illegal Magic:
-The Opening of Portals into Someone Else's Property.
-The Opening of Portals into Someone Else's Storage Unit.
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Class 3 Illegal Magic:
-The summoning of unwilling deceased assistance.
-The Torture of Deceased Souls.
-Manipulation of Someone Else's Body and/or Thoughts..
-Attempt of Reading Someone Else's Thoughts.
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Class 4 Illegal Magic:
-The Bargaining of Souls.
-The Bargaining of Powerful Magical Artifacts.
-The Opening of Portals to Different Countries.
-The Attempt of Absorbing Evil Souls if you have been Exiled from The Yrai.
-The Harboring of Powerful Magical Artifacts.
-The Attempt of Replication of Someone Else.
Class 5 Forbidden Magic:
-Summoning Evil Entities.
-The Opening of Portals to Different Times.
-The Manipulation of Time Itself.
-The Attempt of Changing Key Points in Time.
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