EMPYREAN

And in the height of their insolence the Akharen - for that is the name they had back then, when their master was still flesh and blood, guiding every moment of his tyrannical conquest, came forth, and built the colossal citadels on top of the cities they conquered. These structures were so colossal that they bled the planet's natural resources dry, ravaging the wilderness, and polluting the world with radiation and toxic waste. Even so, they were marvels of architecture, engineering and technology. During the great war that followed, they became the refuge of millions of humans, and solidified the power of the Akharen. In time Akronas ascended to the heavens, and the last of the Akharen became his heirs on Arandor. The Hexad. And among the Hexad, Nalatoth was always the most extravagant. The Arrogant God of Swords and Seas had built his giant citadel - Anatheras, near the sea, ensuring that his fleet would dominate the seas. Furthermore, Haedras was the most central of the s...

Like all the other legendary citadels, Anatheras was built on top of a vast older city that was abandoned during the great wars that led to the Age of the Fall. These cities were huge complexes, and often could be compared only with industrial hives with many layers containing a mix of habitats and industrial sites. A separate power grid was installed on the citadels, much more advanced and superior to the redundant old technologies that were swiftly abandoned. Only a few names remain of the old cities that now lie buried deep within the hollow bowels of Anatheras, and yet millions of souls have found home there, able to dwell beyond the immediate rule of Akronas and the Hexad. Anathon, Aedras, Aethra, and Adraca were only a few of those names - none of them verified. And yet, thousands of small settlements still persist, having developed their own laws and means of survival. Many survive due to part of the old power grid still functioning thanks to huge solar panels that are mi...

An ancient, thousand-year-old legend persists in the bowels of the citadel of Anatheras. A sect of ancient mystics once built a wondrous underground city. Some believe that the fabled White Citadel is one and the same with this city - the mystic city of Acheron. Built underground, Acheron was built in three levels: the first level was a cemetary, filled with tombs, graves and catacombs, but also a place of worship. Underneath it, was built the second level which was the living quarters of the mystics. In the final level, there was an underground lake with an island in the middle. Within the island was the fabled hidden chamber which was protected aggressively. Only the most enlightened members of the mystic society could enter this chamber, and what they did there, or what they had remains unknown. Some speculate that the chamber was a place of miracles - that since the mystics of Acheron apparently dealt with mysteries of death, spirituality and the afterlife, their artifacts ...

In the midst of the six domains of the Hexad spans the realm of Haedras, with the colossal citadel of Anatheras rising as its crowning jewel. The city’s steel-blue walls of ancient, ferrous concrete, circle around gigantic structures that house more than twenty million souls, all of them floating upon the ancient lake that gave the city its name. Towering in the midst of the giant habitats, lies the titanic palace-temple of Nalatoth, god of the Hexad, ruler of the seas, master of strategy and god of Blades. The city also hosts a magnificent port, whence the gleaming vessels of the realm spread across the turbulent North Sea and beyond, to trade and barter goods with all the other realms, and lift levies and taxes from all the lands that remain in awe of Anatheras' mighty naval forces. It is also home to the titanic Stadium of Swords, where millions of souls gather to witness spectacles of slaughter and carnage – a necessary daily sacrifice that will appease the great G...

Ydris the Strong is a legendary Arandorean hero and one of the first Empyreans of Arandor. Together with other Empyreans she rose defiantly against Akronas and the Hexad long ago. It is said that it was Ydris who destroyed one of the original overlords in a duel, and she and her allies nearly defeated Akronas before he could ascend into godhood. Sadly, it didn't come to pass. Tragedy befell the ancient heroes, and a terrible fate lay in store for those among them that were taken captive alive. Chained in torpor inside giant suspension tanks, the great heroes were used as batteries producing elixirs for the immortal gods of the hexad, and their chosen. Ydris was given as a gift to Nalatoth, the overlord of Anatheras, and through the hundreds of years that she remained imprisoned in the palace vaults, her memories sunk into oblivion. Then, one day, a sudden and unexpected power surge ripped through the palace vaults, destroying the suspension tanks. Some of the forsaken captives ...

Background Kaltos led a peaceful and relatively unassuming life, in the small subterranean settlement of Atias, deep in the bowels of the citadel of Anatheras.  He helped run the settlement's church, lending moral, psychological and physical support to those that needed it. Although he was hardy and strong-willed, he didn't have the violent spirit needed to practice in martial ways. When a gang tore his settlement apart in a brutal rampage, Kaltos was among those who fell first, but died last, after much pain and torture.  When Kaltos returned from death, he was still in agony, and had to pull himself out of the terrible torture that the gang had inflicted on him. He could not remember exactly what had happened. He gazed in disbelief at his healed wounds, and gasped at the new sensation of a godlike flame living inside his chest.  One would think that it was a sensation of pride and excess, but it was quite the contrary. A humbling and reverent sensation - ...

Anatheras is one of the oldest known names, its origin lost in time. Its meaning remains obscure. Some sources claim it means "Summer Palace", due to the alleged archaeological site of the old Arkenassian palace, buried somewhere deep in the bowels of the citadel. Others suggest the world relates to "Bane" or "Monster" due to the alleged presence of a slumbering ancient horror, sleeping in the depths of the sea near the citadel. What remains certain is that Anatheras is a place with a rich history and a lot of development. Sadly, most of the old sites are sealed under the citadel proper. But to understand Anatheras in its current state, one must comprehend the notion of the Arandorean Citadel. The Citadels were first built at least a thousand years ago, before the rise of the gods of the Hexad, with technology that is probably now lost forever. They are colossal behemoths, remnants of an era that is now long gone. They were built to secure million...