Almanac

The Unbound Forge

In the beginning everything was a chaotic tempest of possibility and potential. From this unbound essence Asmythe and all the planes of existence were forged. The "unbound forge" springs eternally and from it all things that were, is, and will be are created. The Forge is the source of all magic and the manifestation of thought.

History

The First Era - The Age Of Beasts

The First Era is characterized by nomadic tribes of all races scattered throughout the world.

It began when the world was created and ended when the first nations of elves and dwarves appeared.

The Second Era - The Age Of Dragons

The Second Era is characterized by the supremacy of elves and dwarves. The elves built a surface empire of magic; the dwarves built an underground empire of machines. These empires stretched throughout the world.

The Second Era ended when conflict between elves and dwarves destroyed both empires.

The Third Era - The Age of Anarchy

The Third Era is characterized by the supremacy of goblinoids, who built on the ruins of the elven and dwarven empires.

The Third Era ended when humans, strengthened by holy power, began building settlements capable of holding back the goblinoid armies.

The Fourth Era - The Age of Spirits

The Fourth Era is characterized by scattered nations of each race, none particularly stronger than any other, engaged in holy wars with each other. Although humans were the first to use the power of the gods the other races quickly learned to access their own deities.

This is the current era.

Astrology

Circling Asmyth are three moons. The largest, Cylene, marks the seasons with its four cycles each year. Slightly smaller and much redder, Samlene, cycles every twelve days; normal weeks are six days. The third moon, a small dark body hard to see even when in full aspect, which is often called the blue moon, cycles every 17 days.

By the empire calendar there are four weeks in a month, three months in a season, and four seasons in a year, for a total of 288 normal days per year. The spring months are Seeds, Clouds, and Flowers; following are the summer months of Stars, Golden, and Contest. The autumn months are Bells, Harvest, and Crowns; finally the winter months of Shields, Storms, and Silver. The new year is on the first day of Seeds. The weeks are Squire, Knight, Prince, and King progressing from the first week of the month to the end of the month. The first day of each week is set aside for worship and is generally a day of friendship and renewal.

Every ninety-eight years is the Time of Passing, alternating between midsummer and midwinter. This is when a great darkness falls on Asmyth bringing with it a great shaking of the land, heaving of the seas and other great disasters. In the skies a great dark body growing ever bigger heralds the coming of these baneful times; it is called The Destroyer.

Astrologers also mark the passing of three great lights that streak the sky at regular intervals over the years. There is one seen every 27 years that brings with it the passing of a great leader, one every 42 years that marks the birth of a great hero, and one seen only by a few every 150 years foretells the coming of the avatar of evil who will try to claim all of creation for itself. There are many other lights that pass through our skies that cannot be predicted; all bring with them an event of great significance.

Economy

The most common coins are the ancient dwarven coins and the coins of the Empire.

The coins of the empire are ornate and difficult, but not impossible, to forge. They are, however, barely worth the cost of the base metals and the difficulty of mixing the proper metals into the correct molds, and the harsh penalties for forgeries, makes counterfeit coins fairly rare. In the outer reaches of the empire these coins are somewhat uncommon because of the fear of forgeries and the fact that they are more difficult to get than dwarven coins. In the heart of the empire these coins are the only legal tender; forgers are aggressively hunted and punishments are severe.

The dwarven coins are of extremely high quality; they are ornate and composed of complex alloys. Dwarven "silver" is not actually silver but some kind of aluminum alloy. The art of making dwarven coins has long been lost, making them much more valuable than their base metal and legal tender in most cities of Asmythe. In many of the outer reaches of the empire the dwarven coins are more common than empire coins.