Fantasy Story

2025-08-24

In the Low World, the beginning there was only chaos. Gods clashed with each other leaving death in their wake, intelligent beings coward, trying not to be casualties of war. But in the second age, the old gods had been killed and hunted down, or at least driven into hiding, and as their power receded a new wave of civilizations rose from the rubble. Drow ruled the eastern caves, the Spiders of Annok took over the Ironwood Forest. And a small kingdom was formed on the shore of the Whitewater river at the foot of the Blackstone Mountains by a group of humans, elves, and dwarves built the Spire. It was a stone masterpiece built on the side of the great river.

In the early years, during the construction, waves of orc, goblin, beast, and raider crashed on the walls of the Spire, great battles were fought and steel, bow, and magic were all used in the defense. Many good men and women, of all races, fought and some were slain, but the collective lived on stronger. This period strengthened the alliance between the three middle races, unifying them against the violence and rage from the outer kingdom. And 100 years after the construction of the Spire, renamed to the Great Spire, the leaders got together in celebration and created the Kingdom of the Spire. They made a law that once every 10 years a new king would be elected from one of the three races, and each decade they would switch the race chosen. This king, or a few times Queens, lead the entire kingdom for the decade and during the next decade the next race would elect their leader. The first race to elect a leader were the dwarves because they were the most jolly, being jolly does have its advantages sometimes. And so the Kingdom of the Spire was born, and for hundreds of years there was piece and order inside the walls.

In the kindgom’s infancy the land ownership expanded greatly, the dwarves created great mines underground and mined silver and gold. They often fought with drow and goblins, sometimes dragons. The humans expanded on the land, building farms, raising cattle, and creating iron works. The humans fought with all manner of wolf and orc, driving out evil and building churches and temples. The elves lived in both the trees and on the ground, they grew fruit, made longbows, and lived in general harmony with nature, they had to deal with the spiders and trolls of the forest, clearing them to make room.

The races of the Great Spire lived together in harmony, they bartered, sang, drank, and loved as one race, as one people. The dwarves were known for dark ales, strong and stiff. The humans mostly drank lighter ales, made with wheat from their glorious farms, and finally the elves usually fermented fruit like apple or peaches to make ciders. They drank before a battle and drank after a victory as well. They drank on Saturday and Sunday, and holidays with no work. Life was mostly pleasant.

And there were a few times in the next 100 years where the people of the Great Spire were almost wiped from the world. 115 years after the Spire, a pair of twin dragons, known as Nithe and Ragnar descended on the kingdom. They could smell gold that some dwarves had dug up and laid siege to the spire itself. They laid waste to much of the farm land and most of the spire. They people fought back with bows and pikes but the dragons were so strong and well armored that nothing could harm them. Eventually Nithe dug his snout into the ground and took the gold mound from the dwarves who were not too happy about it but the dragons then promptly left and the rest of the kingdom was spared.

Another time, 162 years after the spire, a brutal winter hit which froze all of the crops and trees. Many starved and during this time a group of dire wolves attacked farmers, workers, and even warriors looking for food. Knights of all kind fought back against the wolves but they were large, around 200 pounds with 6 inch teeth that could bite through chain mail. Many died during this fighting eventually the winter thawed and the wolves retreated.

And exactly 200 years after the spire was erected there was huge celebrations. Drink flowed freely, songs were sang, no on worked, and parades were had. Men and women of all races hugged, and kissed, and slept with one another. Many babies were born 9 months later, and glory was had. There was a huge ceremony has power was handed from the dwarves to the humans. And it was in this bicentennial year that the humans showed weakness and desired power, as they are known to do sometimes. For some humans, their greed gets the better of them and the sacrifice the good that they have. The King at this time was Leif Blackshield and he made a unholy alliance, literally, in the years leading up to his reign, the last reign of the spire. The Kingdom of the Great Spire, which had unbroken reigns of three races, was unbroken for 200 years would be shattered irreparably.

Leif Blackshield had made a blood pack with the Necromancers of Poison Swamp and let in a group of undead into the kingdom walls and directly into the spire. All defensive advantage was lost, there was a large battle and many great warriors fought on the side of good and righteousness, but the power of evil and death was too strong. And thus the Kingdom was lost, smashed into a thousand pieces. And the good humans, elves, and dwarves were forced out of the lands outside the spire, which became black and sour, ruled by Leif and the necromancers. The farms and trees turned to dust, the mines were left empty.

And in an elf refugee camp, far south of the Spire, west of the Great Plains, among the swamp pits, just west of the city, more like a large town than a city, is where some of the refugees from the Spire were allowed to settle. An on this glorious day, 242 years after the spire was created, a young boy was born to his very pregnant mother while his father held her hand. They had walked so far from the spire, she had done much of it while pregnant, and they could hardly believe their luck as the baby had survived the journey. And this is where our story begins.

-Gary