Mantica is the official world setting for the Kings of War game.
For the wiki on the fluff surrounding King of War and games set in Pannithor, see KoWiki
History of Mantica[]
The Time of Light[]
The Time of Light refers to a period of Mantica's history, thousands of years ago. During this time, the three great races; Elves, Dwarves and the human Grand Republic of Primovantor ruled over a land untroubled by Orcs and other evil creatures.
The three races were united in their worship of the angelic Celestians. Little is known of the Celestians, but they gave many gifts to the races. To Men, they gave the ability of extra-planar travel while the Elves were able to create remarkable works of art and the Dwarves delved great underground cities.
Calisor and Elianthora[]
During the Age of Light, Calisor Fenulian was considered to be the greatest mage of all time. It is said that he could "call the ocean up from its bed, or call the clouds down from the sky". In many ways, he was the hero of ages; an accomplished artist, statesman, and warrior, until he met Elianthora of Primovantor.
Elianthora's father was Macron, Tribune of Esk and envoy to the Elven city of Therennia Adar. Calisor instantly fell in love and began to court her. Not wishing to live in the shadow of such a great Elf, and fearing to die long before he would, she resisted every advance he made.
This constant rejection began to wear him down and he left the city, wandering the sacred groves outside its borders. It was here that Calisor chanced upon Oskan, one of the younger Celestians, who enquired as to the Elf's health.
Calisor's response that all was well did not convince Oskan and, eventually, he told the Celestian of his heartache. Oskan promised to help and told Calisor how to build a magical mirror that would show both the past and the future. According to Oskan, all Calisor had to do was persuade Elianthora to look into the mirror until the "moment when a golden bird sings."
The construction of the mirror was a long and arduous task. Among the items Calisor needed was the glimmer of the Star of Heaven, the star which was the source of the Celestian's power.
The Fenulian Mirror[]
Eventually, Calisor was able to collect all he needed and began construction of the mirror and, upon completion, was able to persuade Elianthora to gaze into it.
At first, she saw exactly what Calisor hoped she would - a life filled with adventure and love with many children and a devoted husband. Wrapped up in the visions they saw, Calisor paid no heed when the sound of bird song was heard.
Too late, he saw the golden bird Oskan had warned him of and the visions turned to those of Elianthora's death and the grief it would cause Calisor. In addition, she also saw the death of one of their children, killed by his father, and Calisor's subsequent death through shame.
These visions distressed Elianthora such much that, in horror, she smashed the mirror, an act that was to have profound consequences for Mantica as it possessed the essence of the Celestians.
The God War[]
When Elianthora broke the mirror, the Celestians were also broken.
Those that survived, found themselves divided into two lesser aspects, limited, petty and vengeful. One aspect was 'shining' while the other was 'wicked'. The shining side sprouted many ills through theirstrict morality while the wicked side became an 'anti-pantheon', relishing destruction and bending their talents to cruelty in all forms.
The two sides were opposed and immediately set upon each other, dragging the other races into wars which gripped the world and caused much knowledge to be lost. The Wicked Ones created many races to do their bidding, swelling the ranks of the Abyssal race.
It was only when Domivar the Unyielding, song of Mescator, God of Justice, and Laria, High Consul of Primovantor, fought Oskan, now known as the Father of Lies, that the wars ended. Taking the form of his father, Domivar soared into the sky and wrestled with Oskan, finally seizing Oskan's Black Axe, a terrible weapon forged from the icy cold between the stars.
Taking the weapon, Domivar struck the ground and tore a great rent into the land. Into this Abyss were cast the majority of the evil gods where they were imprisoned. This great effort used up Domivar's spark of divine power and, returning to his mortal form, he died.
The Time of Ice[]
The aftermath of The God War was to be felt through out Mantica for thousands of years. Although the world returned to some semblance of what had been, too much had been lost. Many evil creatures now roamed the land and there was, always, the threat of the Abyss.
The ties between the three Noble Peoples were weakened. The Dwarfs blamed the doom that had befallen Mantica upon Elvish pride while the Primovantians began a slow slide into barbarism. Wars became commonplace as Orcs, driven south as the world grew colder, troubled the more temperate lands south. Ice began to spread across the lands, finally bringing Primovantor to its knees.
The last great war took place almost a thousand years ago. The goddess known only as Winter had managed to escape Domivar's prison and, upon being discovered, she unleashed her magic upon the world. For the last time, Elves, Dwarfs and Men united against a common threat in a war that lasted 150 years.
Finally, Valandor the Great, mightiest mage of his time, confronted Winter and defeated her.
However, victory did not come without a price. The melting of the ice inundated much of the world. Gone is the Great Republic of Primovantor and much of Elvenhome.
The Age of Conflict[]
A new age has come upon Mantica; an age of war and strife.
Though the ranks of the Gods have been thinned, they still walk the lands. The ties between the three Noble Noble Peoples are broken. Hordes of Orcs, Goblins, Ogres and other creatures from the abyss threaten the land. Armies of the dead, led by the necromancer Mhorgoth, spread fear everywhere.
If, as some say, this is a time of rebirth for Mantica, the midwives are war and strife.
This is the Age of Conflict.
Geography[]
The Infant Sea[]
Created by melting ice at the end of the Winter War, the Infant Sea lies where the lands of men were once located. Most of the Republic of Primoventor, along with many other kingdoms, were swallowed by the rising waters with only the northern parts and the province of Basilea surviving.
Many strange creatures, submarine races and giant monsters make their homes in this region. In addition, many trade routes cross the sea but sailing these waters is a dangerous undertaking.
The Civilised Lands[]
Much of the Infant Sea is surrounded by mountains, most famous of which are the Dragon's Teeth. The narrow coastal plains at their feet are where most of the Kingdoms of Men are located. Also located here are the Empire of the Dwarfs and the Territories of the Elves.
The Wild[]
For the most part, most of Mantica is wild and untamed. There are many places where the ruins of fallen civilisations can be found along with vast tracts of desert, steppe, forest and mountain ranges that have never been tamed.
The Abyss[]
The greatest wound inflicted upon Mantica during the God War lies far to the north east of the Infant Sea, among the remnants of Winter's glaciers. This is where Domivar struck the world with Oskan's axe and where the Wicked were cast down.
The Abyss is a great rent in the surface of Mantica, a fissure carved to the centre of the earth with a pall of black smoke hanging above it, shrouding the region in perpetual night. Molten rock is spewed into the sky while toxic smoke hangs in the sky, ready to choke all who venture there. All around are pits of ash which, like quicksand, can drag down and smother the unwary.
Yet there is life here.
The Abyssal Dwarfs build their temple-citadels at either end and Orcs dwell upon the plains. Other races are to be found as well: men, Elves, and Dwarves toil as slaves in the mines and foundries of the Abyss while those seeking the black power of the evil Gods also come to the region.
The Mammoth Steppe[]
To the far north of Mantica lies huge cliffs of blue ice, tall as mountains. Some say this is Winter, still living and shouting defiance at the sun.
At the feet of these cliffs lies the plains of the Mammoth Steppe, an endless sea of dry grassland which encircles Mantica. Ogres, barbarians humans and Goblins make their homes here in a hard land which shows little signs of civilisation.
The Ardovikian Plain[]
The Ardovikian Plain was formed when the ice retreated after Winter's defeat. Once home to the nine richest provinces of Primovantor, the region now contains some of the richest and most fertile land in Mantica. Young forests cover large parts of it and erosion has unearthed rich seams of ore. This, along with the many ancient artifacts to be found in subterranean complexes, makes the Ardovikian Plain hotly contested among the races.
The Southern Desert[]
The Southern Desert is a vast, desolate region that is expanding on a daily basis.