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Original Article found: here.
By: Babs Saito
Date: June 29, 2006
June 29, 2006 - The Rakshaal are not native
to the world of Elanthia. Rather, they come from Eisa, the Plane of Darkness.
Before the Sundering, they arrived only as summoned servants of the Arcanum.
Accountings describe them as handsome, with solid-colored eyes and leathery
skin. However, those that visit now come on their own, and are twisted
into monsters in transit. Among the three most familiar types, both the
Vaklash and Gorrog possess supernatural powers, and enough intelligence
to act as war-animals or independently, while the clever Ilorax are natural
leaders that love battle, preferring to lead from the front, not the back.
In Hero's
Journey, a fantasy persistent state world being developed
by a pioneer in the category, Simutronics, the otherworldly Rakshaal
are one of the external threats to a society working to recover from
a devastating war. Gathered under the banner of the Triumvirate, the
people are attempting to repair the results of their ancestors' misdeeds.
However, the factions of Nature, Magic and Gear don't always get along,
and sadly, private agendas, greed, the blinding desire for power,
and simple malevolence also stand in the way. In this series, the
team has agreed to tell us more about its intriguing project.
Includes two exclusive concept images
Quillmore and the Grenmeer Lowlands
Once considered an outsider by the world's great power centers,
Quillmore is now the last of the Old Blood cities, and finds itself
as the keystone of Elanthia's restorative efforts. The remnant citizenry
of hundreds of communities call Quillmore home and look to its ruling
House to provide sanctuary in the wake of the Sundering.
In an effort both to contain the Lowland's
resources and protect its inhabitants, House Trugar undertook the
building of a massive wall to fortify its eastern border along the
Green Mirror River.
Like everything touched by that onerous episode, the former kingdom
is not without scars.
At the dawn of its history, Quillmore was the refined and opulent seat
of House Quill. Because the land surrounding it was considered too harsh
and unyielding to live on, the kingdom was never bothered with hostile
takeover bids and remained a relatively peaceful place. It prospered
thanks to the tenacity of its rulers, who tamed the area and built a
haven of Human heritage within it. Thus, what it lacked in fertile lands,
it more than made up for in astute, crafty leadership and unswerving
dedication to the ancient traditions of their people.
Quillmore concept art by Mike Doscher
House Quill had long accepted its lot as the least favored of the
Human domains when the Sundering catapulted it to the forefront of
political importance. Owing to the fact that it isn't lying in a million
pieces, Quillmore is now one of the most populated cities in the known
world, and the only old Human city left standing. Post-Sundering,
refugees poured into it from the rest of the ravaged lands in search
of food, shelter and safety, swelling its numbers to unheard-of heights.
House Quill was not the only royal house to survive the shattering
calamity, but it shoulders much of the burden of the territory's governance.
House Wainstone settled in Quillmore Castle and supplemented House
Quill's defenses with wizards and magical research, while House Trugar
established a small village and barracks in the Grenmeer Lowlands
from which it stages border patrols, rescue missions and sorties.
The three houses together form a fragile and sometimes pithy alliance.
Lord Regas IV, shrewd leader of the House of Quill, works tirelessly
to keep the peace within his domain and repel the forces that seek
to destroy it. Though his family has always been aligned with the
Arcanum, he recognizes the growing importance of the Triumvirate,
and has installed his youngest brother (and heir until Regas sires
a child) as an ambassador for House Quill in Soarhaven.
Grenmeer Lowlands concept art by Mike Doscher
It takes a lot of food to feed the citizenry of the Quill region.
Fortunately, the Grenmeer Lowlands survived the Sundering too. It
is one of the few territories that actually improved with the catastrophe
- changed weather patterns and diverted water sources now irrigate
the once-arid plain to provide bountiful harvests with which to feed
the growing population. As far as Quill's enemies are concerned, this
is a bad situation. The Ukar, in particular, make it a point to levy
a steady dose of destruction whenever the opportunity arises.
In an effort both to contain the Lowland's resources and protect its
inhabitants, House Trugar undertook the building of a massive wall
to fortify its eastern border along the Green Mirror River. Fraught
with innumerable problems, not the least of which is the actual repair
of the embattled barricade, it is referred to by residents as Trugar's
Folly. Breached and cobbled in many places, some argue that the barrier
is more trouble than it's worth. It is a constant source of political
strife among the three Houses.
Although life in the Lowlands is far from bucolic, the same pioneering
spirit that turned a wasteland into a thriving country still imbues
the very air, and the farmers and herders of the Lowlands are as tenacious
as iron-thistle and twice as tough.
Babs Saito
Hero's Journey
Simutronics
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