| A world ruled by the Verden elves through
their strangle hold on the shipping lanes by way of the Living
ElfWood ships and their noble lineage. A dark and ancient world
full of secrets unturned and long kept. It is a place of old blood
rivalries just now coming to a head in the winds of change that
seldom blow here. Come explore Lakates, the world known as ElfWood
and see why it is not just another fantasy realm. |
| Some Verden elf concept sketches. The
typical surface elf will be a ship builder, sailor, or woodsman
if not a noble or merchant of some sort. Verden make up the majority
of the world's population so they vary greatly. Verden are characterized
as haughty, selfish, and attractive, a deadly combination for
everyone else. |
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Directly apposed to the Verden
are the Stygian. They are a noble warrior-like people and would
really rather not fight at all, but since time incarnate they
have felt the heal of the Verden's boot upon their throats. One
thing is for certain with Stygian, their graceful cunning and
honorable spirit make for a deadly enemy or a powerful ally. They
Verden are the surface elves, but the underworld belongs to the
Stygian. They are marked not with woodgrains, but with dark mottled
complexions much like deep earth rock. |
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The cunning seperatist Sanguine elves are, some would say,
a mere shadow of their Verden heritage. There is some mystery
as to where and how they came into being, but this much is known,
they do not come from the Lifetrees as the Verden and Stygian
do. Sanguine are known for their dark magical arts and feared
for what the world does not know of them.
They are reportedly the originators of the Windsormen, but
little else is known of this matter. Windsormen are elegant
wood carvings brought to life in some dark ritual and left to
wonder Lakates as tortured souls trapped with the memories of
others.
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Half-elves were a product of war. Their unfortunate
fate does not end there, however. They were encouraged, after
much debate by the Verden Lords, to be kept on as slave labor,
militants, and later as magical batteries to help power the Verden
Warrior Mages spells in combat. It was found that no one really
wanted the half-breeds around, unless they were using them for
something. Elves despise their 'human' nature, and humans distrust
them for their connection to the Verden. Most freemen halfelves
are either escaped or somehow managed to outlive their masters
on the battle field. |
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| Humans in Lakates are scorned by all. They are the hated ones,
but no one willingly discusses exactly why they are so hated.
Because of this reaction by the majority of the world, humanity
took to the Scalding Seas for refuge. They learned the secrets
of the ocean and formed drifter colonies from old ships, giant
sea turtle shells, and other large structures. They are the raiders
of the sea. The Scavengers of the Scalds. They survive because
they must. |
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M'raak are another unclaimed product of war. They
are formed from the union of the Orc and the Stygian elves. They
are disowned by both peoples for the same reasons. The M'raak
have formed their own culture over the years and have now perfected
the art of banditry, marauding, and general ruckus-making. They
eep out a living as farmers, traveling mercinaries, brigands,
unwanted merchants, and cutthroats. M'raak, in general, have a
knack for finding (or making) trouble wherever they ary. |
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| Dwarg are powerful. Their lust for power in any way, shape,
or form, plus their need for everything, themselves included,
to be perfectly sculpted and neatly poised makes them bad news
for the rest of Lakates. They love destroying their competition,
and now is the time. They have planned for decades on how to lower
the axe on the Verden. Their four foot stature, at best, would
seem to be a deterant, but the Dwarg attitude is that their form
is perfection, and everyone else is twisted and distorted. These
tactical thinkers are always on the go trying to reinvent ways
to lay low their adversaries. |
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The Drey are a unique people. At first glance, one
would think of them as fae, but this is so not the case with the
Drey. Their bone-framed bat-like wings allow for amazing deftness
and serve as their primary support for their 12-18 inch height.
The Drey culture is a very deadly and fanatically bloody cult
that focusses on their survival through control of their Hive
Queens. The Drey accolytes are known to be excellent assassins
and are feared world round for their knowledge and use of various
poisons and shadow arts. |
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Taurim are primarily a tribal peoples from the far
western plainlands across the Golden Horizon Sea from the Verden
homelands. They prefer the simple life of hunting, living off
the land, and communing with the gods. Some Taurim have began
traveling the world and are not uncommon in the Verden lands these
days. Some of those creatures are beginning to form fellowships
with many and speak of the Forest King often. |
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If there were ever anything contrary to the nature
of Lakates, it would be the Kague. The Bringers of the Sickness.
These foul creatures are well known for their gleeful part in
driving the humans far from civilization and their continued participation
in shadow arts, dark frenzied and fanatical rituals to unknown
and terrible gods, and a strange attraction to cool, damp, underground
places. |
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| Orc are tough, mean-spirited, and merciless. They are faced
with adversity from before their own birth so any orc ever clawing
its way into Lakates is forged from the nightmares that most elves
dare not even dream. Their existence has become simple enough.
Kill for food. Kill for pleasure. Kill for the sake of killing.
And when all else fails, wage war with someone. The Orc tend to
stay fairly well tied up warring amungst themselves from tribe
to tribe, but no one seems to care much as long as they stay away
from civilization. Lately the Orc have been less active, and that
can only mean something very bad is brewing within their camps. |
| Perhaps the life cycle of a troll is best viewed from a safe
distance. Trolls are found in nature, but tend to want to say
in dark, cool, and somewhat moist places. |
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