FANTASIA 3|000
~Legacy of the Stars~
Thousands of years ago, there existed an ocean of Stars across the sky. The world lived in peace, happiness blossoming in everyone's hearts when the notion of conflict did not exist.
However, one day something changed. The stars on the sky were stolen, and the future of the world became suffused in chaos.
The Gods abandoned their heavenly thrones and lost themselves in the rage of battle, destroying the gates that maintained the balance of the world and prevented its collapse.
Now, all roads look murky, and the memory of hope has been lost. The skies serve as guide to noone, and the Truth has vanished like a faint illusion.
As a new light buds upon the grey horizon, the people no longer hope for it to save them.
Salvation, or Ruin...?
Just which is it, that the Etrangers bring?
1058 AE, The Starless World
Once upon a time, on a certain day, a vast plain under an endless gray sky shook with the tremors of battle.
"Push forward, maggots! I want those monsters dead FIVE AGES AGO!" The deep bellow echoed across the burning battlefield, the commander's cry overpowering the deafening sounds of shells impacting against steel and the lightning that flashed from the weapons of the soldiers.
A thousand years had passed, and still the presence of a commander would dominate the battlefield.
The soldiers roared, raising their weapons and pointing at the numberless hordes assailing them. They flew through the air, creatures the size of man but monstrous in shape, each and everyone of them only wishing the death of the insignificant individuals below them.
Hundreds of years ago, these men would have feared the existence of these ferocious creatures.
However...
There were many things that could change in a millennium.
One of the soldiers raised their weapon, a large rectangle-like device that he strapped over the shoulder. He aimed the strange device at the beings as they were about to pounce on their position, and the tool glowed with a burning energy like the light of the sun.
In moments, the horde of monsters was cleaved in twain by a beam of light that shot from the weapon and flew to the heavens, a thunderclap of energy sending flying those lucky to have escaped the center of the blast.
All over the battlefield, the phenomenon repeated itself. The monsters were shorn down by beams of light that lanced through the skies, fantastic spears that turned the creatures into charred skeletons and ashes scattered through the sky.
The flying horde pulled back, and the soldiers pushed forward. More creatures still rose to face them, this time large canine-like beings easily as big as twenty men piled together.
They roared, and from their eyes and thick fur long arcs of lightning erupted, bathing the creatures in an infernal light.
The soldiers fired, from their strange rifles that shot incandescent beams and their large lances of death, but the barrage proved not enough against the monsters that shielded themselves with the might of the arcane, with strength and speed that defied the realm of science and common sense. The creatures roared and despite their burnt muscles blotted the skies with their bodies with every leap, getting closer to their prey.
However, the commander from before did not look fazed. He simply raised one hand, took out a strange device emitting a strange sound, and shouted into it. "Juggernauts, fire at will!"
The next moment, there was a white flash that had every soldier glance down for a moment, before several tremors shook the earth.
When the light faded, the soldiers lifted their heads and saw the fate of the monsters that had pounced. Red smoke lifted into the air, as the battlefield was marked by a field of craters where beasts had once stood.
However, though whatever had killed the monsters had stopped firing, the earth continued to quake.
The soldiers turned back as one, feeling a sudden fierce wind from behind. It was then that they saw the steel giants that cast a shadow over the land, the ferrous legion of creatures that looked like a man made of steel.
One such being approached the soldiers, so large that a single foot could flatten a man into fine paste. Its broad torso loomed over the soldiers as massive arms bearing flashing tools of destruction swung over the battlefield, occasionally firing another shot that burned so bright it could not be looked at directly.
And then... The creature spoke.
"This is Juggernaut One, all Hero-class targets have been slain. Light 'em up, flyboys!"
The titan's shout was followed by a roar that shook the air, and the soldiers laid down their arms to watch in awe as from the distant horizon, a flight of black iron birds arrived to deliver a final sentence upon the monsters.
Tiny lights descended upon the mass of monsters in the distance... Before those same lights became swelling orbs of destruction, a red death that engulfed the flying horde of thousands and caused the starless sky to glimpse a vision of the sun.
The clash between man and monster ended in death once again, but no longer was it man that lamented its weakness. For hundreds of years, they had fought with swords. For ages, they had sought to master the magic that came so naturally to the other beings. At every turn, they had failed in every effort they pursued.
But they had learned from their mistakes.
And with a thousand years, even the weakest man may find a way to fell a giant.
The titanic Collossus swung one arm, its sensors spotting another of the creatures rising from the ashes of its comrades. The lights on its body came to life, pulses of energy flowing from its deepest core towards the glowing muzzle of its arm.
With struendous steps, it took aim at that behemoth-
"Taste the power of Steel, Rufus!"
-And fired another lance to swallow everything in its light.
---
A thousand years ago, the world of Merisphelia suffered a great change.
After a massive war between a combined alliance from nations all over the world and the Demon Army at the height of its power, the very fabric of reality that upheld the laws of Merisphelia suffered a tear, opening a scar in the world that led to dimensions beyond space and time.
Within that gigantic gap, the possibility of a new future was opened.
It was with the light that had been sparked from their advances and the devices found within that eldritch tear that the humans were enlightened, and with their inspiration an influx of ideas came rushing into this world.
Years passed, and the world attained an understanding of things it could have never imagined had existed. Magic, Battle, Culture, Technology. All four were nurtured, soaring in comparison to the stagnation that had plagued them millennia ago. Borders shifted and nations rose and fell, but as time passed civilizations only grew bigger and stronger.
In the continent of Halterre, the Ferrum Imperium rose to dominance. With their gigantic Colossi and bearing the torch of Technology, they quickly conquered any foe that opposed them and forged the most populous empire in the world, counting billions of human souls under their borders. Preaching the might of humankind, the nation they have forged has already surpassed the Steel Empire of the past.
Opposing them in the island-continent that makes up the western half of Halterre is the Magic Kingdom of Agarta, first in Culture and Magic alike. A beautiful land rich in magic, its leaders have mastered the mysteries of the arcane and even the weakest human in its borders is capable of using the phenomenon of magic which had seemed so unreachable many eras ago.
In another continent, the warriors of the Niezlith Empire train day and night amidst hellish wastelands and monster-filled reservoirs, testing their rough bodies and honing their very souls into fine weapons to destroy any enemy in their path. Honoring the legacy of their ancestral God-Emperor, they devote themselves to endless battle and conflict, and praise martial strength over all else.
From the eastern fringe of those lands, the nation of Tokushu watches its allied neighbors with exasperated fondness, even as they work with the divine creature Orochi to uphold balance across the world. Though small, the people Tokushu number many indeed, and countless are the troops that move all over the world settling disputes and bringing peace to lawless lands.
In the other half of the world, the legacy of the Dragonheart shines bright. The Grand Dragon Alliance, a dream made real- A nation of Humans, Elementals, Demons and Monsters living under the same sky, sharing the same laws and treating each other equally. A bastion of civilization and power, the descendants of the Last Hero work against all odds to build a nation that matches the vision of their honored ancestor.
Watching over them all is the Empire that has dominated both Heaven and Earth. Thanks to the efforts of Haeos the Metatron and the Dawn Empress, Angel and Devil finally managed to see eye to eye with each other and united in one almighty nation. Led by the eternal and immortal Dawn Empress, they strive to rebuild and remake the Angel Empire of old in a better shape, all the while they keep watch over the Grand Order and make sure no world-ending calamity will return to the planet.
And in the shadows, beings long forgotten stir back to life. Though they are remnants, mere embers of their past glory, the Demons will never give up on their will to live, and they will never stop aiming to stand at the top of the world. Though they live under the shadows of the races that have left them behind in the past, the Demon Lords have not forgotten- And they have not weakened at all.
All of these great factions will suddenly come to a great and massive clash when a new discovery shakes the entire world, and forces them into action.
In the middle of that chaos... You were there.
Under that starless sky...
...You were definitely there.
---
What is this?
Read up on this rulebook and find out!
Looks cool, but where can I find more on this?
I haven't compiled a list with lore from the past RPs, but you can find the previous rulebook for Fantasia 2 here, together with a lot of info on miscellaneous stuff.
How many characters will you be accepting?
Five players, with one twist- Players can choose to submit their sheets as a joint effort by picking the same faction. If that happens and their sheets are elected, then the two of them will count as a single team and will be accepted as 1 slot, with the caveat that they will be updated together as part of the same army. That means that if players choose to go as teams, up to 10 may actually get to join.
Help, I don't get XXX!
Just hit me up right here in the OOC, PM me if it's a private question, or better hit me up by IRC in IRCHighWay, we hang out at #regalia.