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 done, The Tree Burns, the Sky is Black, and a Red Moon has risen over the lands.

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~~Crixa Anopheli~~
~~Keeper of the Garden~~

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21 Years Old.
Nomadic Exarch and Witch of the Wilds.
Sometimes Fine.
Sometimes Dandy.

She seeks to create the biology of the Divine.
To play with the tools of gods.

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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.

A millennia passed and the pendulum swings. Aldria finds itself shattered from within.

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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 liberty and 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. Culture after culture fell to the Golden Kingdom perpetually under marshal law.

The historic Aldrian Fourth army now lay decimated in the North. Stragglers struggle to survive and eek out their way back Home, though constantly under threat from the elements and attack. Their Commander is missing and most are presumed dead. Though, the survivors of the fourth have no idea that their homes now too are ruin.

--Ferrohearth - The Ruined Capital--

Ferrohearth was the gleaming capital of the Kingdom of Aldria. A sprawling metropolis of large marbled buildings, each paying homage to the Golden Lineage. Bristling with marbled. Silver and gold statues of heroes and icons of blood and legacy. Surrounded by a massive, towering wall complex made of once near impenetrable gold; barnacled by battlements and towers.
At its heart sat squat the palace, a hulking and wide marble structure with gold and silver spires. A true Ivory Tower.
Now - It Burns.

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--The Age of Sacred Terror has begun--

The Black Sky has assaulted the heart of Ferrohearth. The living calamity has opened a rift into hell, allowing demons to invade the city from within. The city has fallen and Aldria, perhaps all of Aarde, will soon follow.
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--Your friendly voice from the void--

Oh my- Look at you just waltzing up in here lookin' all sexy like that. pulls cigarette Do you come here often?

Jokes aside
I've been better. I've been worse.
Sometimes fine but then not dandy, y'know?

I've been having issues - kinda feeling some feelings. That's when you just gotta grip your balls, focus on the aspects you enjoy, and remember that comparison is the killer of happiness.
I don't believe in complaining too much on the internet.

~That's a wee bit cringe, mi'lord.~

Other things I don't believe in:
Halloween.
it was just never a part of my culture. When I studied and I was exposed to it for the first time it just never clicked with me. So I would just go to whichever party dressed as myself and when someone asked I would just say: "No, I am dressed up- as a ." Then they would (rightfully) leave me alone and I would continue my alcoholism in relative peace.
I'd like to think I got better at that particular aspect of being human.

My dumbass point is that Aarde has already become infused with horror to such an extent that plastering any halloween on it comes across as tacky. It's not the point of the article in question. To me at least.
However, given the timing and this one's particular possibilities- it seems like it would be a waste to not let my hair down and just celebrate it with you.

I may or may not make something explicitly for halloween for the 31st. That's not a promise, though. My scheduling is non-existent.
Final aside: In case you ARE wondering about my upload schedule and why this one is so soon after the last (and because I have this ridiculous need to over-explain myself) It's because I had most of the stuff already roughly written like weeks in advance - but I'm often not happy about something. For example I have the ARCHIVIST mostly locked and loaded, but it's still pissing me off.
My patience waxes and wanes.

I think I rambled too long.

Lorebook.

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Tested with DeepSeek V3.1, V3-0324, R1, and Grok 4. (can you believe it?)

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Content Warning:
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Potential body horror.
This is a grimdark setting that may encompass unsettling themes, such as, but not limited to: war, war-crimes, violence, death, sacrifice, trauma, discrimination, self-harm, assault, abuse and all the extensions thereof.
Consider yourself warned.

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You'll Carry That Weight
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