Fantasy Fractured Pantheon – The War of Ascension (WIP Name & Lore )

[Nothingness]

𝕋𝕙𝕖 𝔸𝕣𝕔𝕙𝕠𝕟𝕤
​

• Archon ofLightning
• Archon of Water/Ice
• Archon of Earth
• Archon of Fire
• Archon of Growth
• Archon of Wind

• 
  
  
  𝐓𝐡𝐞 𝐒𝐭𝐨𝐫𝐦 𝐄𝐦𝐩𝐫𝐞𝐬𝐬 - 𝐀𝐬𝐭𝐫𝐢𝐝, 𝐀𝐫𝐜𝐡𝐨𝐧 𝐨𝐟 𝐋𝐢𝐠𝐡𝐭𝐧𝐢𝐧𝐠 [𝐀𝐥𝐢𝐯𝐞]
  
  The ruler of Valkyros, a skybound kingdom consisting of floating islands just above the clouds. Revered once as a war-goddess amongst her people, during times of conflict, the people of Valkyros would call upon Astrid for strength before and during combat. Considered to be a beacon of justice and strength, she ruled Valkyros with an iron will and a sharp mind. Unlike her fellow Archons, she did not view herself as a distant deity among the mortals but rather as a guardian over them, it would not be unlike her to descend from her throne to fight alongside her people.
  
  In the days before the Divine Sundering, Astrid was known for her unyielding sense of honor and devotion to order. Many believed that she was the only Archon who genuinely loved the world she ruled, and the storms that followed were signs of her fury as well as her protection. However, this same sense of passion made her prideful, stubborn, and unbending. She struggled with compromise, believing only in strength and conviction could maintain order, to her hesitation was a weakness and mercy was a dangerous luxury. She expected loyalty, respect and honor from her people, yet refused to demand worship while punishing those who dared to show dishonor during combat even against an enemy of hers.
  
  Unfortunately, after the Divine Sundering, Astrid changed. The loss of her fellow Archons, and the rising rebellion of mortals left deep scars on her. She no longer knows who she is meant to be—a goddess meant to protect her people or a tyrant that should crush and dominate them before they can destroy her. The once glorious kingdom of Valkyros whose people had always looked up to her were now divided; some believe she is still the last true god of order while others believe that she is an old lost relic who refuses to allow the world to evolve beyond divine rule.
  
  While the rebellion grows stronger day by day, Astrid has become more volatile, she is still the unstoppable warrior she always has been, though her thoughts and judgement are now clouded with doubt and rage.
  
• 
  
  
  𝐓𝐡𝐞 𝐅𝐫𝐨𝐳𝐞𝐧 𝐓𝐢𝐝𝐞𝐜𝐚𝐥𝐥𝐞𝐫 - 𝐍𝐞𝐥𝐲𝐫𝐚, 𝐀𝐫𝐜𝐡𝐨𝐧 𝐨𝐟 𝐖𝐚𝐭𝐞𝐫/𝐈𝐜𝐞 [𝐌𝐢𝐬𝐬𝐢𝐧𝐠, 𝐏𝐫𝐞𝐬𝐮𝐦𝐞𝐝 𝐝𝐞𝐚𝐝]
  
  As the silent guardian over the sea and the ruler of Glacivaris, a kingdom of towering glaciers, endless surrounding tundras and a frigid ocean that stretches throughout the world of Ethellis, Nelyra is an Archon of dual natures—both of natural beauty and merciless destruction. She is the embodiment of the endless cycle of the tides and ice, soothing weary sailors or swallowing entire fleets beneath the frozen seas. While Astrid has been an Archon of fire and war, Nelyra is the cold and patient tides, inevitable and inescapable.
  
  Unlike her fellow Archons who sought either conquest or dominion, Nelyra preferred silence and solitude, letting time shape the world as it always had. She was wise and reserved, speaking little but always watching, always listening. Those who sought of her wisdom had to endure brutal trials of endurance and determination against her unforgiving seas. Those who triumphed over her trials would be eventually greeted with calm seas and safe voyages while the weak-willed would freeze and be swallowed into the abyss of the frozen waves.
  
  Even with her calm demeanor underneath it was a terrifying ruthlessness. Nelrya was neither merciful nor was she cruel—she simply did what must be done. To her, the world was like the ocean; ever-changing, untamed, and indifferent to mortal desires. Those who dared to defy the natural order of the world would be crushed beneath the weight of her tides.
  
  After the Divine Sundering, Nelyra vanished, no one knows of her current whereabouts, not even the other Archons.
  With her disappearance, the balance of the seas was disrupted. Without her, the once-controlled tides now rage wildly, swallowing towns and cities that are situated too close to the shorelines and freezing the oceans for unknown periods of times. Travelers who attempt to monitor the weather before traversing the seas come to find that the tides can be calm one moment before turning into ruthless storms the next without any warning whatsoever.
  
  Similar to Astrid, with her disappearance, the people of the kingdom have become divided. While some believe that she had fallen during the Divine Sundering and that the reaction of the seas was her power fading. Others claim that she fled beneath the frozen abyss and was waiting for the world to return to a peaceful state before she would decide that the world was worthy of her return. Some even fear that she has become something entirely different, due to the Divine Sundering being such a cataclysmic event she had become a forgotten goddess, corrupted by the very abyss she once ruled.
  
  
• 
  
  
  𝐓𝐡𝐞 𝐄𝐚𝐫𝐭𝐡𝐛𝐨𝐮𝐧𝐝 𝐖𝐚𝐫𝐝𝐞𝐧 - 𝐎𝐫𝐯𝐚𝐡𝐧, 𝐀𝐫𝐜𝐡𝐨𝐧 𝐨𝐟 𝐄𝐚𝐫𝐭𝐡 [𝐀𝐥𝐢𝐯𝐞]
  
  Considered to be the foundation of civilization, Orvahn was not only the Archon of Earth; he was the Archon of stability, endurance and unyielding will. Where the other Archons wielded raw power, Orvahn was the embodiment of permanence, a foundation on which civilization was built upon. He was the protector of mountains, and the keeper of ancient oaths. He ruled over Durnhollow, a colossal kingdom of which was a fortress city carved into the heart of a massive mountain where the greatest smiths, warriors and architects call home. The citizens of Durnhollow and even many smiths and miners outside of the kingdom call upon Orvahn for his blessings when they create new weapons, praying that each piece of gear or weapon they forge shall never break or shatter while miners pray for endless ores from the mountains they carve into daily.
  
  Unlike the storming wrath of Astrid and the cold patience of Nelyra, Orvahn instead was a silent, steady force, and rarely ever gave into impulsive actions. He believed that true strength was never in destruction but rather in endurance—to hold firm and strong against the storm and any and all odds.
  
  Unfortunately, due to his views his unwavering resolve would make him stubborn to a fault. He struggled and refused change, refusing to accept that his old views of the world would eventually crumble around him. To him, he believed that humans needed order and structure, not freedom and chaos. His sense of justice was absolute and unyielding—if a kingdom was weak and corrupt, it would fall underneath its own weight, if the ruler was unjust then they would be crushed underneath their own sins.
  
  Orvahn did not destroy nor did he protect. Instead, he simply let the world run its course, the strongest of foundations would endure while the weak would crumble.
  
  Ever since the Divine Sundering, Orvahn has become an Archon out of his time.
  The world around him has moved on, the people he once watched over have either abandoned their Archon or their faith has started to waiver with their growing skepticism over the need for the continued rule of deities. Many of the cities that he had helped build still stand but the people no longer worship him as they once have. The kingdom of Durnhollow has begun to fracture, its halls emptying as more and more of its people leave in search of new lands and new ways of life. The mountains run more and more dry of its precious minerals as fewer and fewer miners come to work each day.
  
  For the first time in his immortal existence, Orvahn begins to wonder if he was left behind, has the world outgrown the need for Archons, what is a mountain to do when time wears it away. While he is still considered the immovable one, even the strongest of mountains erode over time.
  
• 
  
  
  𝐓𝐡𝐞 𝐂𝐫𝐢𝐦𝐬𝐨𝐧 𝐇𝐚𝐫𝐛𝐢𝐧𝐠𝐞𝐫 - 𝐋𝐮𝐭𝐡𝐢𝐫𝐢𝐬, 𝐀𝐫𝐜𝐡𝐨𝐧 𝐨𝐟 𝐅𝐢𝐫𝐞 [𝐄𝐱𝐢𝐥𝐞𝐝, 𝐈𝐧 𝐡𝐢𝐝𝐢𝐧𝐠]
  
  The Archon of freedom and rebellion, Luthiris. Once ruler of the kingdom of Pyremorne, a thriving kingdom far off to the east surrounded by natural hot springs and tropical weather, now known as The Ashen Wastes—cities and towns once full of life now a desolate wasteland of dead trees, blackened earth and grey skies as far as the eye can see. Although Luthiris was born of fire, she never found it for war—she was meant to be a liberator, a force of passion, freedom, and relentless ambition. Fire was not meant for simply destruction in her eyes—it was renewal, the force that burned away stagnation to give birth to something much greater.
  
  Unlike Orvahn's rigid laws, Nelyra's cold patience, or Astrid's tempered wrath, Luthiris was an Archon of rebellion. She absolutely hated chains both in the literal and metaphorical sense, she believed that no mortal, no nation, nor Archon should hold absolute power over others.
  She watched as the world evolved over time, all of which was built on the power of control over others—empires shaped the weak, mortals bowed before the Archons, rulers tightening their grip around those beneath them and punished those who had different views. The sight of this made her wonder; what if the Archon were wrong, what if they were the chains that needed to be broken to free the mortals.
  
  And so, with these questions in her mind, she led the rebellion against the Archon with those who would rally behind her and support her cause. While Luthiris was no monster, she did not want to burn the world simply for the sake of destruction, but she could no longer sit idly by, she found that the Archons were no better than tyrants, shaping the world around them in the image they wanted it to look like rather than given mortals a chance at making their own choices. While some would call it a rule by worship and loyalty, she considered it a rule by fear. Fear of their divine wrath.
  
  This was the start Divine Sundering.
  
  With the failure of her grand rebellion, Luthiris was cast out from the Archons, this was due to the Archons refusing to kill one of their own, but exile was not her only punishment; her name was burned from history and her kingdom of Pyremorne was shattered to ashes.
  Even being cast out Luthiris was never the type to surrender, even though she was now hunted, and even her followers had abandoned her, her fire still burned bright.
  
  She now roams Ethellis as a nameless exile, moving between shattered kingdoms and ruined lands. Whispers speak of a woman wreathed in embers, appearing before the downtrodden, inciting rebellions in dying nations to bring them back from the brink of destruction to rise again.
  
  While she may no longer be an Archon, she is still a force of change and if the world does not change soon...she will burn it all down and start again.
  
• 
  
  
  𝐓𝐡𝐞 𝐁𝐥𝐨𝐨𝐦𝐢𝐧𝐠 𝐎𝐫𝐚𝐜𝐥𝐞 - 𝐒𝐲𝐥𝐯𝐚𝐲𝐚, 𝐀𝐫𝐜𝐡𝐨𝐧 𝐨𝐟 𝐆𝐫𝐨𝐰𝐭𝐡 [𝐃𝐞𝐜𝐞𝐚𝐬𝐞𝐝, 𝐫𝐮𝐦𝐨𝐫𝐞𝐝 𝐭𝐨 𝐛𝐞 𝐫𝐞𝐛𝐨𝐫𝐧]
  
  The Blooming Mother as some called her; the Archon of Growth to others. Sylvaya was not only just an Archon of nature—she was nature itself.
  
  She was the whispers of the leaves, the growth of the roots through stone, she was the embodiment of the endless cycle of life, death, and rebirth. Where Oravhn was the unyielding stone and Luthiris was the all-consuming blaze, Sylvaya was fluid, ever-changing, ever-adapting.
  
  The kingdom she ruled was known as Evermere before the Divine Sundering—a seemingly endless vast forest that spread throughout practically all of Ethellis. She did not have specific followers or cities under her rule, instead all the plants, animals, and weary travelers were her 'followers' as she was not an Archon of conquering but rather a keeper of balance. She would not stop a hunter from taking the life of it's prey, nor would she stop nature from reclaiming abandoned ruins. Even so, she would never allow life nor death to become too powerful on its own.
  
  She was kind, but not gentle, for life was not gentle. Storms were required to clear deadwood and wildfires were needed to nourish the soil. Predators must hunt to keep their herds from starving.
  
  Even with all her attempts to keep the balance, the Divine Sundering would shatter this balance.
  
  During the Divine Sundering, Sylvaya did not side with one side or another specifically, she instead fought for both sides—against the Archons who sought to keep their thrones, as well as against Luthiris who threatened the world with her flames to burn it all to ash. She did not want any specific side to win, instead she simply wanted the war to end; to bring back balance to Ethellis, but war did not care for balance.
  By the time the dirt and ash had cleared, Sylvaya was found dead in the midst of the battlefield between the Archons. No one knows exactly who had dealt the killing blow, some believe it was Astrid's storm that had split her great tree in half. Others whisper it was Luthiris who burned her heart to cinders. Some say it was at the hands of Oravhn who crushed her beneath stone, in fear of what she may become.
  
  No matter who had dealt the blow, Sylvaya was a causality. Her death was not silent. It was a calamity. When she fell, the land itself screamed. The forests of Evermere withered, its rivers ran dry and eventually an unnatural silence fell over Evermere. The once untouched paradise was now barren, the animals that once thrived here either died or fled for other lands, what was once known as Evermere was now called The Withered Wilds. With Sylvaya no longer in check of the balance over nature itself, occasional earthquakes occur randomly, plants die even when they are cared for and populations of predators and prey have become unbalanced in numbers.
  
  However, even with her supposed death, something still lingers, while her body may have fallen, her roots run deep and beneath the ruined remains of the forest, something still stirs...
  
• 
  
  
  𝐓𝐡𝐞 𝐓𝐞𝐦𝐩𝐞𝐬𝐭 𝐔𝐬𝐮𝐫𝐩𝐞𝐫 - 𝐙𝐞𝐩𝐡𝐢𝐫𝐨𝐧, 𝐀𝐫𝐜𝐡𝐨𝐧 𝐨𝐟 𝐖𝐢𝐧𝐝 [𝐀𝐥𝐢𝐯𝐞]
  
  The Laughing God as some like to call him or as his renowned title as the Archon of Wind, Zephiron.
  
  Just like the very wind itself—ever-moving, ever-changing, never lingering in one place for long—Zephiron was never meant to be tied down.
  While the other Archons ruled over their grand cities, Zephiron never built any throne, instead, his kingdom of Aetheria was a land of floating isles similar to how Astrid's fortress floating islands were. However, rather than be primarily focused to be a fortified stronghold of a city which was structured, orderly and unwavering, Aetheria was freely drifting through the skies and its people had endless freedom, a place where no laws nor rulers could bind or chain them down.
  
  Zephiron believed that change was the natural state of all things. That people, nations, even Archons should never grow stagnant, to be still, was to die. He encouraged freethinkers, wanderers, and explorers to embrace the unknown and follow the flow of the wind rather than to resist it.
  
  Of all the Archons, Zephiron was the most easy-going of all the pantheons, he was playful, mischievous, and rarely took anything seriously—until it truly mattered. When he would take anything serious, his playful and laid back demeanor would change to one that produced howling storms, winds that tore through anything and anyone that attempted to cage him or bring harm to those he protected.
  
  During the Divine Sundering, Zephiron did not stand with either side of the Archons, he refused to stand and help the Archons maintain their control nor did he join Luthiris and her grand rebellion, as he believed that her flames would eventually consume everything, not just the tyranny. Instead, he attempted to quell the conflict and guide the winds away from the war, but the storm was too strong and it had forced Zephiron to eventually flee.
  
  After the dust had settled from the aftermath of the Divine Sundering, he watched as to how the remaining Archons clung to whatever power they could, he saw as how the mortals they once attempted to rule over started to stop worshipping them and even despise them. Rather than stay to help with the rebuilding of what was lost, Zephiron decided to wander the world, some say he now guides lost souls back onto their paths before vanishing again.
  
  All while Aetheria now begins to drift aimlessly without the rule of Zephiron to help with guiding the floating isles on safe passages. Just as the other Archons' citizens of their kingdoms, the people of Aetheria have become divided—some resent him for leaving them, while others see it as a final gift of sorts—the ultimate freedom, to be bound by no nation, no ruler, no Archon.
  

𝕋𝕙𝕖 𝔽𝕒𝕔𝕥𝕚𝕠𝕟𝕤
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• The Sanctum of the Divine
• The Sovereign Rebellion
• The Prophets of the Fracture

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  𝐓𝐡𝐞 𝐒𝐚𝐧𝐜𝐭𝐮𝐦 𝐨𝐟 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐃𝐢𝐯𝐢𝐧𝐞
  
  After the Divine Sundering and with chaos emerging throughout Ethellis due to the loss of the Archons and many of their followers forming resentment as well as withdrawing their worship of them. A new group arose, known as The Sanctum of the Divine—a fanatical religious order, believed that the chaos that their world currently experienced was a punishment for the rebellion against the Archons. To them, the world was in turmoil because mortals had strayed too far from the natural order that the Archons had set in place and their goal is to restore the divine rule, no matter the cost.
  
  The order originated in the kingdom of Valkyros due to how it was once ruled by the Archon of Lightning; Astrid, who demanded order, loyalty and honor amongst her people and had been able to keep her people both safe and content with an iron will. Though as the years have passed, the order has been able to expand to many other nations, forming inquisitions, and political strongholds wherever their influence reaches.
  
  While their views of the Archons are as supreme rulers of Ethellis, they believed that the Divine Sundering was a test rather than a disagreement amongst the Archons, they believed that Luthiris' betrayal, and the instability of the elemental forces that now spread throughout the land was all punishment for those that were faithless toward the Archons. Any and all that dare seek to separate themselves from the rule of the Archons are considered blasphemers and would be struck down by the order to 'save the world'.
  
  While the Sanctum is a religious group, they resemble both a church as well as a military inquisition. This is only further proven by the fact that the group is not led by one leader but two; The High Inquisitor, a warrior-priest who enforces divine law through strength. The Grand Prophet, a spiritual leader who claims to receive divine visions from the Archons themselves.
  
• 
  
  
  𝐓𝐡𝐞 𝐒𝐨𝐯𝐞𝐫𝐞𝐢𝐠𝐧 𝐑𝐞𝐛𝐞𝐥𝐥𝐢𝐨𝐧
  
  Where The Sanctum of the Divine's ambitions is to return the rule of the Archons to the world, their opposition are The Sovereign Rebellion; a revolutionary faction that rejects the rule of the Archons, believing that the Archons have no right to dictate the fate of mortals.
  Founded in the aftermath of the Divine Sundering, it was born from the chaos of shattered kingdoms, broken faith, and a realization that mortals no longer needed to live in fear of divine authority. They fight not for the Archons to give them freedom but rather they fight for the people of Ethellis, they believe the world belongs to those who inhabit it, not those who wield absolute power.
  
  While Luthiris' rebellion against the Archons was an important step, the Sovereign Rebellion is not her creation. It has grown far beyond what she once dreamed of. It not only consisted of the people of the kingdom once known as Pyremorne but rather, it united the mortals from all corners of Ethellis who seeked liberation from divine control.
  
  To the Rebellion, the Divine Sundering was proof that the Archons were neither invincible nor were they the perfect beings that loyalists preached them to be. If they could fall, then they could be challenged and replaced.
  
  Unlike the rigid hierarchy of The Sanctum of the Divine, The Sovereign Rebellion operates independently, allowing independent leaders and cells to function throughout Ethellis. Even so, there is still one commanding group within the Rebellion known as The Council of Free Sovereigns, they consist of six individuals, each from different backgrounds and each from different nations but they all share the same goal of overthrowing divine rule and achieving absolute freedom for the people.
  
• 
  
  
  𝐓𝐡𝐞 𝐏𝐫𝐨𝐩𝐡𝐞𝐭𝐬 𝐨𝐟 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐅𝐫𝐚𝐜𝐭𝐮𝐫𝐞
  
  The Prophets of the Facture are the final faction of Ethellis.
  A secretive group that formed after the Divine Sundering just as the other two factions had, however, unlike The Sanctum of the Divine or The Sovereign Rebellion which are both publicly known throughout the world, The Prophets of the Facture are more of a myth and only whispers of their existence spread amongst the people.
  
  It is said that they believe the Divine Sundering not only severed the rule of the Archons but it had awakened something much older and much stronger than the Archons themselves. They believe the battle between the Archons had caused a fracture to form in the very fabric of reality itself.
  Unlike with religious Sanctum of the Divine and the rebellious Sovereign Rebellion, The Prophets of the Facture believe that the true destiny of both mortals and Archons alike lies beyond the known world, due to this, their followers are obssessed with unlocking the secrets of the fracture—unseen wounds in reality that claim to hold forbidden knowledge, lost power and entities beyond mortal comprehension.
  
  Unlike with either of the two opposing factions, The Prophets of the Fracture have no clear leader. Instead, they simply have fanatical followers, the most anyone has rumored to have seen or heard of from this mysterious group are those that are called 'Factureseers', individuals that claim to have gazed beyond reality and have had their minds completely altered because of what they have seen, these individuals are apparently considered similarly to oracles or advisors within the faction.
  

Kingdoms

• Valkyros

• 
  
  
  Valkyros, the Kingdom of Lightning, ruled by the Archon of Lightning; Astrid. The fortress city was a bastion of order, discipline, innovation and unwavering strength. The kingdom consists are multiple floating isles all connected to one another by chains and sky bridges built by the people there known as Valkyrians with the help of their Archon. Underneath each of the isles are massive crystals that absorb the natural elemental energy in the air before converting it into lightning energy to keep the islands afloat.
  
  Valkyrians are known for their ironclad discipline, martial prowess, and their devotion to the ideals of strength and honor. From birth, citizens are trained in combat, strategy and elemental control, believing only the strong could safeguard the weak.
  Due to Valkyros reliant on their storm-powered technology, they are considered one of the most technologically advanced kingdoms throughout all of Ethellis. Prior to the Divine Sundering, they had provided their knowledge and technology advances to many of the other kingdoms for them to also be able to evolve, making Valkyros being one of the main reasons as to how Ethellis has grown as technologically advanced as it is to this day.
  
  Because of their advancements, their military is also one of the most powerful throughout the world making their kingdom well admired for their strength but also feared for their uncompromising rule. Some fear that the kingdom is more similar to an unyielding empire—one that valued order over freedom.
  
  With the Divine Sundering, in its aftermath, Valkyros was thrown into chaos. The people of Valkyros had become skeptical of the Archons and that their old ways had failed, that the Archons had failed, Astrid had failed. More and more as Valkyrians became divided, Astrid would eventually vanish from the public eye, with her disappearance, the skies and storms had become unpredictable and much more violent. The kingdom of Valkyros, which originally could detect storms and live amongst them had now been striking into the hearts of the city inconsistently. One moment the skies would be clear and the next it would be dark with horrendous winds and lightning strikes landing in the middle of the streets rather than being directed to the many lightning rods scattered about.
  
  Without their Archon's guidance, the once might kingdom began to fracture. The Council of Stormlords—politicians who worked beside Astrid struggled to maintain order as many citizens saw them as unworthy replacements for their Archon.
  
  With the divide growing amongst the people, while some still held out faith that eventually their Archon would return, others have abandoned their faith and some have even become warlords and sky-pirates.
  

 

[Nothingness]

𝐌𝐚𝐠𝐢𝐭𝐞𝐜𝐡

Since Ethellis is a world where everyone is born with a specific elemental affinity, technology would naturally evolve to incorporate elemental energy as a primary power source. Unlike traditional industrialization, where steam or electricity dominates, Ethellis would rely on elemental conduits, catalysts, and engineered magic to drive innovation. The power sources that the world of Ethellis uses is called Elemental Cores, these cores are either naturally occurring crystals or artificially created constructs that store and release elemental energy, as a form of 'battery'. These cores can be used in numerous different ways such as for airships, tide-power ships, and even rail networks.

Many of the floating isles such as those once ruled by Astrid or Zephiron have massive crystals created originally by the Archon that generate a near infinite amount of their respective elemental energy which keeps the isles afloat to this day.

Other forms of use for the technology is that of Elemental Automatons—robotic golems that have been known to be used as workers, warriors or even guardians. Unfortunately, after the Divine Sundering and the disruption of magical energy, it has been rumored that some of these golems have gone on rampages and have somehow discovered a will of their own to attack their owners and now wander the world aimlessly.