Astronia

Astronia is the second smallest continent on Vuota, spanning a size of roughly 85,000 square kilometers, and containing a large central land mass with two larger offshore islands with smaller islands surrounding them. It is the starting location for the campaign "The Ghosts of Saltmarsh" DM'd by DuccQuacc and the central location for the in development mecha rpg "ARKANIKS". Astronia is a fairly young continent in terms of settlement, with emigration to the continent being around the time the elves returned from the Feywild and humans began to record their history, marking the day humans first set foot on this land 14 Gihachio 1c1 (14 Gihachio 1 as cycles weren't introduced until the 5th cycle).

The History of Astronia
"'Astronia mightn't be the largest landmass on Vuota, but you'd be a fool to think her people will let the forces of hell take control' Guile Malvado, addressing Dustwood at the end of the paladin war, 9 Crudele Arida 23c14"

Prehistoric era
At some point long before the elves returned from the feywild and humans rediscovered the continent, there was a calamity unlike anything Vuota had seen. Not much information is known on what this calamity was and what was here before it, but the evidence of its destruction is plentiful. The changing of elves who remained behind, the huge crater desert that is Morkart and ancient ruins with architecture completely alien to anyone alive today all but prove that someone else came first, and perished in this horrible event.

Dawn of Astronia
Just when humans began to record their history, Astronia was rediscovered by the peoples fleeing the eternal war between north and south Dividr on 14 Gihachio 1c1. This discovery was a welcome change for these few refugees looking for a place free of conflict, a small but incredibly fertile continent capable of sustaining a population to rival Dividr. Over the course of several years (1c1 - 42c1) word of a newly discovered continent spread across both Dividr and Princiterra, as a join effort between the northern Humans of Dividr and the Dwarven government of Princiterra, deligates and resources were sent to this new land to help create a new neutral presence on Vuota. On 18 Calante Sol 24c1 the Elves returned to Vuota on the northern part of Astronia quickly building a great city, Onithyr, in the valley connecting north of the mountains to the rest of the continent. They would meet and come to an agreement with mankind, they get sovereignty in the mountains of Astronia and Humans would learn from the ancient culture. Not long after their establishment on the continent they soon meet with their cousins Arcana Elves and meld culures together. Over the next few years Elves spread to all continents and quickly grew in numbers to rival the humans. Before any of this happened however, "the great ancient one" (the original white dragon) began to find the scattered Dragonborn across Vuota and brought those who needed help to the freeborn isles. This culture would develop over the course of 200 years before humans discovered Astronia. As such their traditional ritual based culture was a shock to humans, however they remained at peace and even began to trade, the Dragonborn providing the best boats and instruments crafted by any culture and humans providing breads and agriculture unable to be maintained in their frozen tundra island. Humans settled on the south western coast and with a join effort from elves built a great city on the island close offshore. The Dwarves settled on the south western coastline starting a great mine in the basin valley between Tor and Vulc. The elves soon spread slightly down the coast and began to populate to woods of the north. The orcs living in the desert in the centre of the continent are yet to know their continent has been discovered yet.

Era of Dragons
After the peaceful start for Astronia it very quickly devolves into chaos. On 1 Calore Sol (Sol's Peak) 73c1 an ancient evil thought dead by the hands of "the great ancient one" returns to life and begins to terrorise small villages, Fulgur has returned to prime material plane. The aforementioned Ancient One is slain by an ancient red dragon "Shakti". So began the Era of Dragons. The dragonborn living as servants to Shakti, humans and eves alike raging war against the admittedly weakened Fulgur, and repealing his biggest rival Shio along the entire north of the continent. The south and east of the continent however, live peacefully as Pourrir, an ancient black dragon keeps the natural order protected without intervention from other dragons. During this time period of more than 3 cycles, A new race is evolved from Elves, as gnomes become more and more common. Elves themselves begin to resemble their living environment more, creating the subspecies of Elves. Orcs begin to notice they are no longer alone and begin to guard their central desert vigilantly. Some crossbreeding between Dwarves and Orcs brings about a new race, halflings. Goliaths are discovered roaming the peaks of the northern mountains. The first dragons from the elemental planes come to Vuota, creating the first Elemental Dragonborn on Astronia. The Era of Dragons ends with the defeat of Shakti at the hands of Väktare, the son of the Great Ancient One. Fulgur defeats his rival Shio who pledges his eternal servitude to him before attempting to claim all of Astronia for himself but is stopped by Shakti Pourrir and Väktare. Dragons are now at a relative calm and no longer interfere with mortal affairs.

The Golden Age
With no more violence from powerful entities the mortals of Astronia are free to spread and flourish, all the major cities are built and booming by 56c9. Halflings integrate with human culture abandoning the deserts and living peaceful lives away from any danger. The only exception is a plague from a witch in Glamoria kills about a third of the population, the rest just barely cured by the regions wealthiest and most powerful family, the Tates. Over 2 cycles technology and architecture booms creating the best quality of life on Vuota, Astronia is finally a power worth respecting among the international community. As such the 3 major political powers decide to build a neutral capital for the continent in a zone not effected by bias, and as such build Dustwood, a marvel of modern building in the middle of Morkart. With no regard for the original natives the Orcs are now left with no home and are captured and enslaved by the Dwarves, those that escaped capture live in their one surviving settlement, "The Pit". Despite the Elves reservations about slavery they ultimately do nothing and allow the Dwarves to do whatever they please. Trade booms and for the rich life could not get any better. Tensions between the Arcana Elves and Fey Elves begin to rise and Arcana Elves over the next cycle become less and less common.

The First Paladin War
For the first time a major incursion of fiends from the Nine Hells takes place, Baal had decided to make a move on the Prime Material Plane in an attempt to gain a foothold closer to the divine realms. Onithyr is destroyed and becomes the frontline between Hell and Vuota. The council of dragons agrees to a truce with humanity to deal with the incursion of Fiends. Fulgur is killed and Azazel is banished before Harmonia in a mortal body "kills" Baal ending the war within 2 weeks. 24,678 lives are lost on the front lines alone, under the orders of Guile Malvado, his carelessness for human life along with exorbitant greed with deals made with the other kingdoms during this period earn him the name "Guile the Glutton" or "The Fat King". The truce between dragons and humans are maintained indefinitely with Fulgur no longer capable of swaying the council otherwise. The dragons return to isolation however no longer attack humans so long as humans don't bother them.

The Modern Era
Over the past few decades not a lot has changed, people are rebuilding after the paladin war and trying to move forward with their lives. Drow have become resentful of High Elves, seeing their lack of compassion at the loss of Onithyr as cold and heartless. Revarina and Doroku are founded as major cities in Revarlia. The human general Julius Roberts marches onto the freeborn isles and claims it for himself, the crown and Hurriland allow it to happen. Recently the southern coast of Astronia has been active with new reports of extreme violence and a new potential booming mining industry is set up.

The Kingdoms of Astronia
Astronia is devided up into six kingdoms, all of which follow the law of the crown to varying degrees.

Hurriland
Hurriland is located on the south western coast of the continent and contains major notable cities like Merriwood, Crossroads, Seaton and Saltmarsh. The culture and racial diversity of this land is fairly stagnant and boring, being mostly human with little to no excellence in magic. They follow the word of the crown to the letter and are distrustful of outsiders of their community, often ostracising them or outright lying and harassing them. Merriwood is the capital residing in a flat plains just south of the pine woods separating Hurriland and Revarlia. Their main export is farm produce and fish, with some minor mining setups being established it's hoped that a booming mining industry to rival Tor Vulc's will emerge.

Revarlia
Revarlia is located around all of the north of the continent and partway down the eastern coast, containing the highest density population city of Revarina, with other notable cities and landmarks such as Doroku and the ruins of Onithyr. The culture of this expansive land is vastly variable depending where you are, the high elf cities are artistic and market heavy, the rural towns of wood elves are traditional and meditative, the drow are industrial and dedicated to the wonders of science and the mountainous regions contains the tribes of Goliaths. Of course north of the mountains is the most peaceful and barren part of the continent where, Air Elemental Dragonborn and Air Genasi, live in peaceful temples dedicated to self control and the art of martial arts. Racially the country is incredibly diverse with gnomes and fey elves working side by side to ensure there's a place with everyone they welcome, however, in recent years tensions between Drow and High elves has risen due to the fall of Onithyr, the Drow's, and the countries original capital, and with the steady decline of Arcana Elves, something seems to be wrong with their historically "accepting" nature. The main export is knowledge, art and arcane artefacts, as well as feywood.

Tor Vulc
Tor Vulc is located on the south eastern coast ranging from the Osana hills southwards, with very few smaller settlements and the largest city by area, Obsiforge, in the valley between Tor and Vulc. The culture of Tor Vulc is very commerce heavy, a bustling marketplace and import export is a fact of life for pretty much every citizen of this badlands country. They are allied with the crown heavily investing in them to favour their needs. The main workforce is Orcish, unpaid and without rights, Dwarves have taken advantage of the now homeless Orcs and use them as slave labour to harvest desert spices and work deep mines. Racially Tor Vulc is not very diverse, housing mostly only Dwarves and Orcs (7:4 ratio of dwarves to orcs) with very few humans and elves to be found. Their main exports are Steel, Iron, Obsidian and Spices.

The Capital
The Capital is the most recently formed country mostly just encompassing the central desert Morkart, there are a few external towns however a bulk of the population live in Dustwood, the capital of the continent.The culture of The Capital is very sporadic, and undefined. Each section of Dustwood has its own feel, like a mix of all cultures and customs.There is however a very dangerous time between settlements, both because of the harsh environment, and because of a roaming group of bandits that go by the name "Morkart Riders". The heat is fatal for most humanoids who spend more that a few hours at a time without shelter in the desert, however it remains liveable. It is impossible however for any humanoid to survive the blistering cold nights, reaching temperatures that rival the void. The native population recommend heavily insulated tenting and a constant fire. Racially this is the most diverse country on the continent, with representation from every corner of the continent and beyond

The Freeborn Isles
The Freeborn Isles is actually a mixture of three cultures spread across the three ice covered islands, the majority of the population belong to the tribe of "Cityborn" and take residence mostly in the largest city on the main island Vetrarhvild, with Bryggjur and Hugleiosla each housing a large population respectively. The Cityborn are regarded as Traders, Explorers and Warriors, creating boats that no culture has ever been able to rival. The next most populous tribe in the Freeborn Isles is the Seaborn, living in boats and the southern smaller island with only one city, Höfn. This tribe much like the Cityborn are explorers, however are also renowned farmers, fishers and gave birth to the only known Sailors to make a round trip to Princiterra by using the stars alone. The last remaining tribe is the Wildborn, those who initially chose to reject the advancement of technology and personal comforts, they now live as proud Warriors, Farmers and are the oldest known nomadic people to still live in perfect sync with their land. They are also the tribe most directly linked to "the great ancient one", the original Ancient White Dragon who's name has since been lost to history.

Unique Natives to Astronia
Astronia is very small indeed, but hosts a wealth of unique races not found anywhere else on Vuota, this may be due to the extreme conditions of the continent forcing evolution to adapt or maybe historical and mystical links to the soil. The following are a list of Unique Races found natively in Astronia:

Orcs
The Orcs once lived in the central desert of the continent until they were forced out of their home by an alliance of humans and dwarves as they founded a capital in the centre of the continent. While some natives still roam the harsh deserts free from the crown, a majority fled to the southeast where they had been captured and enslaved by the dwarven population who built their great city amongst the basin valley of Tor Vulc.

Elemental Dragonborn
While there is a fairly strong Dragonborn presence in Astronia, it is not their only home, more rather the Freeborn Isles was a clan who's values have built into a complete society, not a birthplace for their kind. However, Elemental Dragonborn, is not found anywhere else on Vuota. While their herratige is not explicitly linked to Vuota, rather linked to the elemental planes, there is a undeniable presence of each element located on Astronia.

Air Elementals: nomadically live on the northern great planes beyond the mountains

Fire Elementals: live peacefully atop the flaming peaks

Earth Elementals: live a sheltered isolated life in the Osana Hills

Water Elementals: live a hunters life along the eastern coast of Astronia

Arcana Elves
The Arcana Elves once shared a direct bloodline to the elves of they feywild, this was thousands of years ago however. During some great calamity, the Elves retreated into the feywild to live for centuries before returning back to Vuota, however, some elves remained behind. While most of the population of living creatures were wiped out, on Astronia especially, a few elves lived through and were permanently changed, their blood now infused with the essence of magic and becoming the Arcana Elves that can be found today. Up until recent years they have lived side by side with the increasing paranoid and spiteful high elves.