The Cast

Ad'zan … A young gorgon boy, about four years old, at home in a small farming community near Caer'zoth. He escaped the worst of the events transpiring together with his friend Umar'za by hiding in a hollow tree in the woods before Keza'zoth and her companions picked them up.

Agar'zan … A male demon and the oldest son of the lady of Caer'zoth. This makes him Keza's older brother by a few years. Although he is older, he does not stand in line to inherit his mother's fiefdom, although he does his best to ignore the fact that he was named after his father's domain. He harbors a serious dislike for his younger sisters in general and especially Keza.

Eld'tide … A gorgon woman around Keza's age. She is the daughter of the village priestess and has been friends with Keza and Kaele for as long as either of them can remember. She is a formidable ranger and her favorite weapon is the bow. Even without the aid of an invisibility spell she can be quite stealthy.

Kaele'zoth … A demon woman and the twin sister of Keza, although the two do not really look much alike. She is of typical height for her kind, which makes her slightly taller than most non demons. Yet she is much shorter than her twin sister. She is rather bookish. The arcane arts are her forte and whatever spells her sister and her friends can cast she can cast as well and better to boot. She cares a lot for her family.

Keza'zoth … A demon woman and the twin sister of Kaele, although the two do not really look much alike. She is tall, even for a demon and especially for a woman. She stands almost as tall as most men of her kind. She has been trained in the art of war ever since she was old enough to hold a weapon, both by her mother and by her mother's weapon master, Uzzana. Her favorite weapon is the glaive and her fighting stlye revolves around reach and mobility. She cares much for her friends and her family but she can be a bit reckless at times.

Khuzan … This darkelf is the son of the weapon master Uzzana and an accomplished fighter himself. Ever since his mother took the position as the domain's master at arms he has been friends with Eld'tide, Keza and Kaele, forming a close knit group with them. As an elf he is actually considerably older than the others, but not necessarily any more grown up.

Kivilan … A darkelf hunter from a small farming community a little ways uphill from Caer'zoth. He is very close to the gorgon and fellow hunter Kor'za. He tends to manage their resources when they are out together. He takes care of their equipment as well.

Kor'za … A gorgon hunter from a small farming community a little ways uphill from Caer'zoth. She is very close to the darkelf and fellow hunter Kivilan. Her knowledge of the hills and the forests covering them is exceptional.

Umar'za … A young gorgon girl, slightly older than Ad'zan, at home in a small farming community near Caer'zoth. She escaped the worst of the events transpiring together with her friend Ad'zan by hiding in a hollow tree in the woods before Keza'zoth and her companions picked them up.

Uzzana … A darkelf weapon master and the master at arms of Caer'zoth. She is the mother of Khuzan and the teacher training him and Keza'zoth in the art of fighting and warfare. She probably is quite a bit older than she looks.

Places

Bleak Peak … A volcanic mountain at the very heart of the demon controlled lands. The Great Demon King rules his vassals and the lands under their control from his capital there.

Caer'zoth … A small village as well as the surrounding domain at the very edge of the territory ruled by the demon king from his throne at Bleak Peak. Only a mountain range separates it from the human ruled lands of the Council of Kings.

Council of Kings … A council composed of the crowned and seated kings of the realms to the east of the demon ruled lands around Bleak Peak. It is composed of numerous human kings, the elven kings of the forest realms as well as the dwarven kings from their realms under the mountains.

Gothol'uin … One of the numerous human kingdoms, centered around the city of the same name, that dominate the Council of Kings to the east.

Gods & Goddesses

The Moon Maidens … The Moon Maidens are the predominant, but not the only goddesses of the people living around Bleak Peak. They are known elsewhere as well, but their individual roles and the aspects attributed to them can vary slightly.

The Maiden … The goddess of the waxing moon, spring, children and growth. She is often depicted as a young girl.

The Mother … The goddess of the full moon, summer and motherhood. She is usually depicted as a heavily pregnant woman.

The Crone … The goddess of the waning moon, autumn and wisdom. She is, as the name suggests, usually depicted as a blind, old crone.

The Lover … The goddess of the red moon, passion and compassion. She is often depicted as a lithe sword dancer.

The Devourer … The fallen goddess of the new moon, winter, death, greed and gluttony. A number of ravenous monsters, slimes as well as dragons and many in between, are associated with her.

Creatures, Plants and Everything Else

Arkanium … A rare magical metal mostly found in ruins of the ancients these days. Heavy and warm to the touch as if heated by a fire from within.

Ashroot … A kind of crop plant very much like potatoes. They are one of the few plants that can handle the more frequent ash fall that can occur closer to Bleak Peak and has thus become the main staple of the people living there. Even in areas where ash fall does not occur quite as regularly it is grown in large quantities as it is easy to cultivate and allows several harvests a year.

Bitterleaf … A kind of medical herb that can be used to numb pain. It should only be consumed in moderation and not for prolonged periods of time as it can cause addiction.

Dark Elf … Elves that migrated from the grand forests of the east to the lands around Bleak Peak due to some falling out with the rest of their kin. Their skin darkened since then due to changes in their dietary habits, especially the inclusion of ashroot in their diet. Like their cousins to the east they can easily life for several hundred years and like other elves they have slightly elongated, pointy ears and stand about as tall as humans. They tend to be a bit slighter of build though.

Demon … Demons are the dominant people in the lands around Bleak Peak. They outnumber the other people except for the border regions where others, especially gorgons and dark elves are more numerous. They are dark skinned and stand quite tall in general. There is a considerable sexual dimorphism among their kind. The males tend to stand much taller again than the women and are built much heavier, although there are some exceptions. They are easily recognizable by their long and often curved horns. These are not natural weapons though as they are actually quite sensitive.

Dire Boar … A very large and ferocious kind of wild pig. They are the band of farmers as well as hunters. They can weight upwards of two thousand pound when fully grown. They are one of the primary reasons why outlying farmsteads are most often built with very thick stone walls, almost like small fortifications.

Elf … A people that makes the forests of the east their home. These forest realms are part of the council of Kings. Pointy ears and a slight build are their most eye catching features. Some of them are known as head hunters who hunt other people for sport, food and trophies. Supposedly it was the advent of these head hunters, that made those who would later become the dark elves, leave.

Ghoul … A creature corrupted by The Devourer known to eat the flesh of the dead, and sometimes that of the living. Their exact origin is unknown. Supposedly whole hosts of them, led by so called Ghoul Kings, roam the great desert at the heart of the world and their great war with the gray skinned orc hordes is the only reason why the rest of the world is safe.

Glow Berries … Glowing berries that grow on a bush almost all year around. They have slight healing properties and are pretty easy to find as they do actually glow in a soft light from within.

Gorgon … Gorgons look very much like humans for the better part. It is mostly their hair that sets them apart from them, as it can appear at times as if it had a mind of its own. Gorgons tend to wear it long and braid it into strong tentacle like braids which they can use like prehensile limbs. There are numerous superstitions surrounding them, especially in the human realms of the east. One is, that anyone looking into their eyes will turn to stone.

Human … There is not much to be said about them. They are pretty average in just about every regard. They are a minority in most parts of the world, but there are no realms, where one won't find at least small communities of them. Only in the lands governed by the Council of Kings they are the dominant people.

Illuminium … A magical metal. Light and glowing with an inner light. It can only be found where lightning strikes a special kind of red mud at river banks.

Long Tailed Tree Cat … A curious breed of cat that lives almost exclusively in the treetops of dense forests. Their fur is dark brown and marked with rows of darker spots and streaks. Their tail is quite long and they have opposable thumbs on their front paws which allows them to climb almost like or possibly even better than monkeys. They are a little smaller than house cats but are ferocious predators anyway.

Star Iron … Might be a magical metal as well, but scholars aren't quite sure about that. It has an oily sheen and feels slick to the touch.

Sweet Grass … A kind of grass that is actually more like bamboo or sugar cane. Woody on the outside, its innards are soft, sweet and very nourishing as they contain a lot of sugar.

Titanium … The rarest of the magical metals. Incredibly tough and hard. Supposedly the bones of the ancient Titans.

Wyvern … A large, dragon like creature associated with The Devourer that will hunt and eat just about anything that moves. Unlike real dragons they can't breath fire. They have a poison stinger at the end of their tail to make up for it though. That stinger isn't the only thing poisonous about them. Their scales are quite tough.