A Nirendia Journey: The Mallories

The Mallories are one of two families that control the southern territories of Surdel. These families are so important and ancient that the scion of the family is officially appointed the title of High Lord by the royal family. The High Lord of the Mallory clan at the onset of the Age of Magic is Janus Mallory, father to Julian and Jayna.

Janus Mallory is known across Surdel as a pragmatic, bold, calculating, and even-tempered man. His family has repelled hundreds of orc attacks to keep the southeastern expanses of Surdel safe. The Mallories have also repulsed Visanthi pirates and armies sent to harass ports like Sevania and Fomsea and invasions that extended to Shirun and even as far north as Perketh and Dona. To keep the peace amongst the southern lords, arranged marriages are common between the Mallory and Vossen clans. Both families have rich heritages of Vossen and Mallory lineages, but no such marriage has taken place for Janus’ children, which is highly unusual. Tensions have risen and there are rumors of organized bandit raids in the Vossen lands that may have been ordered by High Lord Janus Mallory.

Janus first married Vanessa Vossen whom gave birth to a beautiful red-haired daughter named Jayna. Rumors swirled about Vanessa and infidelity for years before Vanessa died mysteriously without producing a male heir.

Janus remarried a local noblewoman Samantha Voltaire, who gave birth to Julian Mallory less than one year after the death of Vanessa. Because of the circumstances around Vanessa’s death and the rumor that Samantha was already pregnant when Janus remarried, relations between the Vossen and Mallory clans deteriorated further and quickly.

At the onset of the Age of Magic, the Mallory family is entwined in an unofficial feud with the Vossens. Raids have been reported on local tax collectors, causing the royal Eldenwald family to become involved by proxy. Meanwhile, Janus has requested High Lord Edward Vossen recognize and agree to formal marriages be arranged for Julian or Jayna, which have gone unanswered. The Mallory children are now in their early twenties and rumored to be inseparable, being often seen together at tournaments at Fomsea and King’s Harbor, a port in Vossen territory.

Explore the world of the Mallory family and the Kingdom of Surdel in the Orcusinian Box Set (Books 1-4 of the Age of Magic)

A Nirendia Journey: The Rasalaseds

The human Visanth Empire was modeled after the dark elven Harenyadae Empire as both nations were neighbors south of the Small Sea. The Visanthi ruler family is the Rasalased family, which immediately before the Age of Magic is led by King Jofka and Queen Sabarna.

King Jofka was a conservative, traditionalist monarch in Visanth who became controversial in the years immediately before the Age of Magic. He was a carefree spirit who believed in projecting power over local kingdoms and municipalities, and this led to a direct conflict with the Kingdom of Surdel which destroyed much of Visanth’s navy and ultimately resulted in his assassination at the hands of Theodore Crowe of Surdel.

The consequences of Jofka raiding Surdel also include the militarization of his son, Crown Prince Jandhar, who breeds dragons to directly assault the Kingdom of Surdel. This invasion ultimately fails to conquer Surdel but significantly weakens the kingdom during a simultaneous invasion by Demon Lord Orcus, the Lord of the Undead, which has potential consequences for the entire world.

Under the direction of Roshan Rasalased, the second son of Jofka and Sabarna, the Visanth Empire rebuilds, regroups, and prospers. Unlike his father, who projects power and dresses ostentatiously, or his brother Jandhar who comes of age as a warrior wraith hell bent on punishing the men who killed his father, Roshan acts as spymaster and prefers to stay in the shadows. He acts through emissaries, generals, and nobility and matures into a competent leader through the careful instruction and guidance of his mother.

Queen Sabarna received a focused education and is a gifted researcher in archaeology at the University of Scythica in the capital of the Visanth Empire. As a widow of a king, Visanth culture expects her to stay in the shadows and guide her son King Roshan into leading his empire.

However, Sabarna is elevated to President and Headmaster of the University shortly after her husband dies, where she oversees daily research activity.

Explore the world of the Rasalased family and the Visanth Empire in the Orcusinian Box Set (Books 1-4 of the Age of Magic)

A Nirendia Journey: Ashton Jeraldson

Ashton Jeraldson, son of Karl and Margaret Jeraldson, lives in the town of Perketh in the Kingdom of Surdel with his best friend Clayton Achates. Ashton and Clayton apprentice to the local blacksmith, known across the Kingdom of Surdel as Master Nathan, a smith of renowned talent and unimpeachable character and dependability.

Clayton is the more gifted blacksmith apprentice, and Ashton doesn’t take his job too seriously. He expects Clayton will eventually become the town’s blacksmith after Master Nathan retires, allowing Ashton to work with Clayton every day at the forge until they both grow old together. But a terrible tragedy takes the gifted apprentice and best friend away. The town mourns, including Clayton’s young wife Riley, whom the pair of friends had been picking flowers for when the son of a southern High Lord’s carriage overtook them on the main cobbled throughfare of Perketh. Ashton mourns his friend at his graveside, even after Riley departs for her home, until an unexpected magic resurrects his friend from the grave.

In the Orcusinian, the first four books of the Age of Magic, the winds of fate sweep Ashton throughout the land of Surdel, from small towns like Perketh to the capital of Kingarth. He becomes known as the Necromancer, a man who raises the dead to take vengeance on the living. But Ashton is not the only necromancer on the world of Nirendia. Deep below the surface, a demon lord named Orcus, Lord of the Undead, stirs. As the chief necromancer in the universe, Orcus does not take kindly to imposters or to those who harness the Words of Creation, gifts from the gods and the original Creators whom have been destroyed by demon lords like Orcus and the Prince of Demons Demogorgon.

Ashton assembles a motley crew of demon fighters: a darkly-aligned paladin; the last prince of the dark elf Etyrian Empire; a red-haired princess coming into her magical powers and deeply wronged by Ashton’s actions; and a psycopathic wood elven archer intent on wiping all orcs from the face of the world. They partner with a chaotic neutral demon lord, one of three vying for power on the planet, who does not appear to lust for the death of all living creatures. But Lord Orcus is strong, far more powerful than any other creature on Nirendia and killable only by few weapons in the universe. To defeat him, Ashton and his cohorts must find those weapons and the creatures able and willing to wield them, before every person on Nirendia becomes just another mindless undead minion of Lord Orcus’ army.

Explore the world of Ashton Jeraldson in the Orcusinian Box Set (Books 1-4 of the Age of Magic)