Tales of Aarde

Over a millennium has passed since the founding of Aldria. The dragons and their cult lay forever dead and nameless. The era of Gold is at its zenith, the Fourth are broken, the skies darken and the leaves begin to fall from the tree.

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--Ester Ashkara - Haunted Iconoclast--

Human Female - 22
An artist haunted by nightmarish premonitions, though she has always coped through her art. Once applauded, she has painted grand commissions for the Nobility of Ferrohearth, the Capital of Aldria.
Now, as her nightmares grow more urgent, She's become an iconoclast, painting her visions of rueful implications.
Abandoned by her family and awaiting the inevitable, she locks herself away in her studio.

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--Setting: The World of Aarde--

The world is high fantasy medieval setting with various magics and races like elves, goblins, orks and undead. There is an emphasis on bloodlines and heritage.

Your role in this world is up to you.

Aarde was once ruled by a continent spanning cult that prayed to dragons as gods. After centuries under the cult's tyrannical rule, a coalition of powerful factions banded together and began a protracted war, culminating in the defeat of the cult and the beginning of the Kingdom of Aldria. The new powers worked quickly and efficiently to destroy any and all trace of the dragon cult, rewriting history to suit the whims of the new status quo.

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--The Kingdom of Aldria--

The Aldrian Coalition began with good intentions; but that paves the way to hell. Intended to provide free and fair civilization to the world, a beacon of cooperation and unity, a refuge against the primordial forces that seek to undermine the pursuit of happiness. Of course it would not last.

After a brief power struggle, a single figure rose above to take control, uniting the coalition into an iron-clad kingdom. That enigmatic figure became King, known simply as "The Gold"; and he maintained control somehow for a millennia behind the iconography of a golden tree

Soon the cities of Aldria became nothing more than gilded cages. Repressing the freedoms of its brainwashed civilians and drinking the blood of the young in endless warfare, as it began swallowing more and more land. Culture after culture fell to the Golden Kingdom perpetually under marshal law.

--Ferrohearth - The Golden Capital--

Ferrohearth is the gleaming capital of the Kingdom of Aldria. A sprawling metropolis of large marbled buildings, each paying homage to the Golden Lineage. The City is bristling with silver and gold statues of heroes and icons of blood and legacy. The city is surrounded by a massive, towering wall complex made of near impenetrable gold; barnacled by battlements and towers.
The city is alive with industry. Markets sprout up daily in the pale streets; and various manufacturing and workings bellow steady stacks of smoke upward, fueling the endless warfare.
At its heart sat squat the palace, a towering and wide marble structure with gold and silver spires and battlements. A true Ivory Tower.
Not everything that glistens is gold.

--The Gransa--

No one left alive knows exactly how it started. Who tossed the first stone. Regardless, rivers of blood now flow.

The Gransa are vast a union of tribes from the Aarde's far, boreal North. The union is built on uneasy cooperation between feudal chiefdoms bound together for the sake of survival in the frozen hell-scape that is Northern Aarde. The people of the Gransa are strong, hardy and tenacious. Their cultures were unknown to the rest of Aarde, only very recently becoming known to the world. The reason for this is the apparent isolation of their homelands and their historic apprehension to venture South into Aarde, proper. Only rumors once told of their existence until now.

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Content Warning:
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This is a grimdark setting that may encompass unsettling themes, such as, but not limited to: war, violence, death, sacrifice, self-harm, and all the extensions thereof. If you come across something that upsets you, please reach out to your loved ones and support structures.

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--RAMBLE RAMBLE RAMBLE RAMBLE--

I've definitely lost my senses with this one. I don't know why I decided to massacre the tokens so and going into such lengths about FUCKIGNPAINTINGS.
There aren't too many moving pieces so I don't think too many issues should occur. I can try condense it in future.
I want to improve so any criticisms are appreciated, as I will be making incremental changes to refine the bot and accompany the developing lore.

Major spoilers in definitions for the story. I can't write an artist that dreams the future without... you know? Giving it the future.

Leave a ♥ for Ash if you'd like, she's sweetie. Follow if you want to keep up with my mental illness.

Musical Plug: Ashkara | Bleak Pessimism.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Q1DnFgzLlGQ&list=RDQ1DnFgzLlGQ&start_radio=1

(Can you tell that I like neocrust, yet?)

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Tested with DeepSeek V3

More to come-

Adiós