Helios
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Fire rolls from a distant mountain, cascading across the cracked plains below like a river of molten fire before cooling into jagged rock. Ash chokes the yellow sky, blotting out the glare of a hateful sun and basking the scorched earth in shadow. An army of Orcish warriors clad in spiked obsidian armor marches across the plains, their faces grim, their footfalls like thunder. This is the world of Helios – a grim and desperate world torn asunder by war and fed by the resolve of those who refuse to surrender to its cruelty.
God of war, Helios exists to cull the weak and test the strong. He is home to the Orcish people, a proud and mighty race who live for the thrill of battle and the honor of victory. The warlike ways of the Orcs have made Helios a politically unstable world ruled by whatever warlords are most powerful at the time. Armies from Helios flood from Warpweir to sack cities, slaughtering everything in their path. Some resist, building fortifications around the Warpweir which lead to Helios. Others hire Helion mercenaries to war against their enemies. No matter the response, there are no neutral feelings towards the Men of Helios. |
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Helios consists of a single, massive continent divided into several regions by the warring factions who live there. The continent consists of five major regions; Golgorath, the great central plain, Mul Z’orrah, the icy north, Vol M’kosh, the treacherous eastern seas, Shusoa, the jagged southeastern coast, and Sthek, the black sand desert to the west.
Golgorath
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The plains of Golgorath have long been known as the Lands of Blood. As ancient home of the Bosek, the plains are host to the largest cities of Helios which lie fortified amongst foothills, built into the side of canyons, or guarded by great walls of iron and bone. Muan is a massive fort city built along an important trade route. With access to stone and iron from the hills and precious underground springs, the city is prosperous. Skim Grim Gizza lies at the head of an important river. Ruled by a trinity of powerful clans, the city has grown wealthy by controlling the rivers flow to grant water to those who please them. Galvaros is known far and wide as Bonegate for the mountain of bones from failed invaders piled high outside its gates. Galvaros is the largest stable power in the region and a significant center of Orcish lore, history, and culture. Finally, Mukrath is smallest of Golgorath’s city-states, but wields the powers of ancient magic and technology. Built atop the ruins of what seems to be a massive Golden Age weapon, the city is nigh unassailable. Mukrath boasts a high concentration of mages, yet its arcanists are interested only in studies which further their strength in war.
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Mul Z'orrah
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Mul Z’orrah is the ancestral home of Goblinkind, a frigid, mountainous region known as the Lands of Fang. Though the Goblins once built wondrous, technologically advanced beneath the mountains, their lands were consistently invaded by enemy armies until the greatest Goblin cities were demolished and their people carted off as slaves. Only a few wild Orcs, Goblin refugees, and occupiers inhabit the Lands of Fang today. Zim-Zan was once the greatest Goblin city, built into the depths of Fum Dow Drim, the tallest mountain on Helios. Though seemingly empty, a resistance movement to free Goblins from slavery secretly operates out of the city.
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Vol M'kosh
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Vol M’kosh is a treacherous coast of rocky beaches and angry seas. Powerful sealords sail their fleets throughout the isles, attacking and plundering the coastal strongholds of their rivals. Vol M’kosh is a volatile region where no one power holds sway for long. In the center of the great Deadman’s Gulf lies the isle of Kormoran, a safe harbor where ancient peace treaties are still honored by the pirate lords. Here, the city of Vulwol, better known as Bloodhaven, stands as a neutral meeting point and trade post for sea-farers of all kinds.
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Shusoa
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Shusoa lies further south of Vol M’kosh and includes the rocky coasts of Kinreath as well as the inland jungles of Ora Makesh. Known as the Lands of Bone, this wilderness has belonged to the Urad since their forefather’s inheritance from the True Khan ages ago. The Urad are intimately familiar with the geography of their land, from the unnavigable coast to the perilous jungles. From strongholds hidden in the rocks, trees, and hills of Shusoa, the Urad remain unbowed to warlords who foolishly continue to invade.
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Sthek
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Sthek is a vast desert of black sand full of venomous creatures, giant sand worms, and dangers of all kinds. No cities stand on its unlivable surface, but beneath the sands winds a network of tunnels connecting dark cities. Known as Neth’al Tuak to its inhabitants, the Lands of Shadow are home to a great many Fomorians. Only a handful of attempts have ever been made to invade the Lands of Shadow. In every instance, the invading army became lost in the maze of tunnels and turned on each other or was devoured by one of the ravenous subterranean predators who dwell there. Greatest of the eerie Fomorian cities is Dynea, a marvel of craftsmanship within the darkness, lit by bioluminescent fungus. Rival to Dynea is Calabath, a similarly dark and wondrous place built by the hands of Fomorians and enslaved demons.
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