Well known to all who dwell in our nation of Il'Doran, is the curious fact that the nation of Kelland is almost completely alone as one of the few nations in our world that does not possess or utilize some form of magic.

Though no other nation can come anywhere close to the power of the Soryan Order and (to a lesser extent) the Holy Order of Aeremon, they all employ their own fashion of sorcery, be it blood magic, clerical or other.

Not so with Kelland. That cold land utilizes a method of building various machines that work within the confines of nature. They call this "technology".

While somewhat laughable now (we do not laugh at them to their faces), there was a time when their flying boxes and projectile weapons were truly a devastating, superior force to our ancestors here in Il'Doran.

Why did they develop this way, when the rest of the world is more or less in step with one another?

Theories abound, but it may be difficult to fully and definitively answer this question.

For one, the Kelland are extremely guarded about their early history. The second and most telling factor is that the early Kelland were extremely aggressive (as the Il'Dorani people of the time discovered to their dismay), even with each other.

Repeated internal strife and civil wars wiped out much of the history of the time, so that apparently even they are unaware of the true facts of the founding of their nation.

The Holy Order does not deem this a subject worthy of time and effort. We of the Soryan Order disagree. The answers to the Kelland question seem tied inextricably, as with every matter of great importance, to the greatest mystery this world has ever known.

The mystery of the Elves.

Litches - The Litch is at the top almost at the top of the food chain, so to speak, of the undead heirarchy.

A Litch is a very powerful creature, similar to a Vampire but with NONE of a Vampire's weaknesses.

These beings are immortal and almost entirely invulnerable to harm. Most Soryans will have difficulty besting a Litch by themselves. Upon encountering a Litch, protocol demands immediate retreat to alert the Order to the danger.

Litches generate powerful magical forces within their own bodies. Most, if not all of them are sorcerers capable of terrifying feats of sorcery.

Vampires are the Lieutenants to the Litches General. It is known that Vampires don't care for this arrangement but there is little to be done about it from their end.

Although they have no known weaknesses, the only fortunate circumstance is that they are few and far between. It is not known exactly what causes a Litch to be created. No amount of coercion will get a Litch to talk if it does not wish to.

It seems Litches are solitary beings. Not especially happy about the creation or existence of other Litches.

Usually a small squad of Soryans is dispatched to deal with any Litches that turn up, but until we discover the ultimate cause of their creation, and a way to prevent it, we will most likely never be rid of them.

~Master Soryan Archivist Arryl.

Vampires - these are foul, troublesome creatures that have plagued humanity for too long. Although any Soryan's first instinct is to destroy these wretched abominations on sight, the standing order is to capture and question any Vampire encountered.

These creatures are blessed with a malevolent cunning and intelligence. They are almost always involved in some greater scheme than is readily apparent. It is best to uncover it sooner rather than later.

Where Zombies and Hellwights feed on human flesh, Vampires feed solely on human blood. They tend to have family alliances, and most remain loyal to the Vampire that sired them.

As with Hellwights, no mundane weaponry will harm them. Although there are a few curious weaknesses. Fatal weakness to sunlight is the most striking. Why this is so no one knows. A precise strike through the heart with a wooden weapon will destroy the vampire. Again it is not known why.

For some reason, a Vampire may not enter a personal home without being invited. They may enter any public building they wish. Very curious.

Some Vampires possess other abilities such as powerful hypnosis, abilities to control lesser lifeforms such as wolves, birds, bats and rats. Also the ability to transform into mist or animals. All very odd, but very dangerous abilities to have.

Finally, Vampires are essentially immortal, and will apparently live forever if not hunted down and killed. Some Vampires we destroyed have been over 600 years old!

Although most of the personality of the original human is retained when one is turned, for some reason the condition almost without fail causes the person to fall into evil. The Holy Order of Aeremon ascribes this to the lack of a human soul.

We of the Soryan Order do not believe this. We have seen more than enough evil from those who have full possession of their souls, assuming souls even exist.

It is a mark of shame for the Soryan Order that we have not rid humanity of this disease as of yet.

~Master Soryan Archivist Arryl.

Hellwight - the Hellwight is another rung up the scale of undead from the Zombie. These creatures are vicious, fast and brutal. It is not known how they were first created.

Like Zombies, they operate only on instinct -although at a higher level than Zombies. Hellwights react to their environment and can even follow rudimentary orders, plus adapt tactics to attain their goal of feeding. Their desire for human flesh is what propels them. They are the foot soldiers of the greater undead.

Where they differ mostly from Zombies is not only their speed and brain function, but the magic that animates them protects them from mundane injury. Normal weapons will not harm a Hellwight. They can only be dispatched via magical means.

They also reproduce via bite, similar to a Zombie. If attacked and bitten by a Hellwight or Zombie, immediate magical healing is your only recourse, lest you spend eternity as a walking nightmare.

~Master Soryan Archivist Arryl.

Due to our recent and troubling dealings with a Revenant, I have been tasked with clarifying the roles and attributes of the different undead likely to be encountered by our newer Soryans.

Zombie - what we call a 'Zombie' is most often always a mistake, or an immortality spell gone awry. The formerly living creature possess no reason, cannot move at speeds greater than a lurch, and present almost no danger to a Soryan.

It is only the rapid contagion that causes problems for unsuspecting citizens.

The Zombies feed on the living, but even if left to their own devices the animated corpse will eventually deteriorate to nothing.

Such as these are nothing more than a nuisance threat to the Soryan Order or the Holy Order of Aeremon.

~Master Soryan Archivist Arryl.

The Order of Nine is the ruling governmental body of our nation of Il'Doran. Comprised of the political heads of the original nine provinces, they are the supreme voice of the people of Il'Doran.

At least, they are supposed to be.

The Order of Nine came to be centuries ago during the years of aggression this nation endured from our current ally Kelland. Each of the provinces were little more than vaguely defined territories then, but organization was necessary to repel the Kelland invaders. Some say this organization was imposed with force.

Each of the original members of the Order of Nine, while legends themselves, paled in comparison to the most honored figure in the history of Il'Doran - Tristain, the founder of the Holy Order of Aeremon.

He was the one who brought together adversarial, openly hostile magic users under the banner of Aeremon. It is told that he was responsible for creating the original Order of Nine and laying the foundation of our government today.

Unfortunately, the Order of Nine was little more than a puppet regime, appearing to be in control, but truly following strict orders from the Holy Order of Aeremon -allowing their religion to take hold as law in this country for hundreds of years.

It was only the rise of the Soryan Order that showed the people, and the Order of Nine, that true government by the people was possible. Today the Order of Nine is a much more autonomous body than ever before.

Yet they are not entirely free from the clutches of the Church. Much of the national budget is still funded by income from the Holy Church. Some of this financing is given publicly, while according to our sources, much is given behind closed doors and out of the public eye.

Not to mention that there are sitting members of the Order of Nine who would have it no other way. These members are strong believers in Aeremon and the Holy Order. They will not see those ties broken if they can prevent it.

None of the Order of Nine are truly sympathetic to the Soryan Order, but the will of the people is to avoid the terrible ravages of war. To appease them, they must treat with us fairly, at least in public.

Even though we are left with a possibly compromised ruling body, all Soryans must take solace in the fact that at least we now have some voice in this government, muted though it may be.

~Master Soryan Archivist Arryl.

While we of the Soryan Order enjoy freedom and political power to a degree unheard of to our forebears, we still face a very real public stigma caused almost entirely by misinformation and propaganda outright lies spread by the Holy Order of Aeremon before and during the war. These insidious attacks continue even today.

I strongly believe that the momentum of favorable public opinion towards Soryans is unstoppable. It grows every day, though it may take years, generations likely, before we are fully accepted.

The true damage here is to the good citizens of Il'Doran. Many suffer from terrible afflictions or die from injuries sustained in accidents. These people suffer and die needlessly.

We have yet to find any disease or injury short of death that cannot be healed by the power of the Soryan Order. Alas, many citizens under the sway of the Holy Order of Aeremon are frightened of us, and refuse treatment even to save their lives, as they believe they will be consigned to one of Aeremon's many Hells should they be touched by Soryan Magic.

This, of course, is preposterous. Silly, and all the more tragic for being so.

The magic of the Holy Order, while powerful, apparently cannot heal to the degree that ours can. Even if they could, it is doubtful they would if the people were not large contributors to the church. Many have died because the Holy Order deemed them too lowly to heal.

The Soryan Order can do little in this situation except watch as good people suffer and die for no sane reason at all.

~Master Soryan Archivist Arryl.

Word from many Soryan Wanderers would seem to indicate serious troubles on the horizon, originating in large part from the unknown lands to the west beyond Wastel.

Already we have heard of violent strikes from out of the desert into Wastel. People murdered and even attacks on Soryans.

There is at least some connection to the Holy Order of Aeremon. As is usually the case, our missives to the Holy Order go unanswered unless routed through the offices of the Order of Nine. That process can take weeks, if the messages are answered at all.

So it falls to the Soryan Order to find the truth of this situation and halt further aggression. It is my fervent hope that there is some explanation for these incidents that will not devolve into violence, but all my years of experience tell me to prepare for bloody years ahead.

~Master Soryan Archivist Arryl.

It is well known to almost all in this world that the powerful race of beings we called Elves are no more.

There are many Elven artifacts to be found in every land and every nation, proving if nothing else that the Elves at one time enjoyed dominion over this entire world.

Many of the Elven relics found are completely harmless, though there are a few well known objects that have proven to be lethal when tampered with.

What is clear is that the creatures were extraordinarily powerful.

What could have happened to them?

The only known place to find the answer to that question (possibly) is the small island to the southwest of our great nation of Il'Doran. Alas, the barricade that surrounds the island defies even the power of the Soryan Order to gain entry. Attempts to breach it are almost always fatal.

Evidence gleaned from the fragments of Elven society that remain outside of the island suggest that they either destroyed themselves, or they simply left.

The questions then remain - if they did not destroy themselves, why leave this world? Or if they did leave, where did they go? Finally, wherever they went, are they still there?

~Master Soryan Archivist Arryl.

It is obvious that Wastel is becoming a hotbed of unsavory activity that is possibly a threat to the peace and security of the civilized world.

Under normal circumstances, any envoy from Kelland or Il'Doran is met with the utmost respect, grudging though it may be.

King Bhyrain is foolish in many ways, but not fool enough to purposely bring down the wrath of our own nation or that of the Kelland.

Although inferior to us, the military might of Kelland far exceeds anything Wastel would be able to muster. Destroying Wastel utterly would be an effort of mere weeks on the part of Kelland.

Because of this, when Soryan Wanderer Devann reported the discovery of the body of a murdered Kelland Regulatory Agent, shock was the primary reaction.

This could not be the work of King Bhyrain, therefore he must be losing what little control of the country he had. It was already known that the lawless and villainous dregs of society naturally gravitated to this wild and loosely governed land.

What could be worth the guaranteed scrutiny invited by the murder of a Kelland Reg. Agent?

The Kelland, though allies, are refusing to divulge what their agent was involved in. That in itself must tell us that it is a situation bearing further investigation by the Soryan Order.

~Master Soryan Archivist Arryl.

Unknown to most in this world, including the Holy Order of Aeremon and the ruling body of Il'Doran - the Order of Nine, we of the Soryan Order have been working closely with the Regulatory Agency of Kelland for almost two years.

The 'technology' of Kelland discovered a large object hurtling toward us out in the void. After we turned our spellcraft to studying the object, we determined it was a large chunk of ice and rock that was on a random, though unfortunate, collision course with our world.

The vast size of the rock virtually guaranteed the extinction of every living organism on the planet, should it strike.

At the time, we had an estimated 5 years to act. Working together, we determined to use the combined power of the Soryan Order to deflect the object, while the Kelland would provide spatial coordinates.

We still had years to prepare before the object reached us, but we were just informed that the massive rock has been destroyed. Utterly. Reduced to nothing but dust in the void.

The Kelland are at a loss to explain. Apparently when the object came within the edge of our sun's gravitational pull, there was a surge of energy, and then the rock was gone.

According to the Kelland, it has the look of an automated defense system. Such a system is far beyond their technology. But what others could or would have created a defense for this world against such catastrophes?

~Master Soryan Archivist Arryl.

Try as they might, the Holy Order of Aeremon has truly made little progress in bringing the word of Aeremon to lands outside of Il'Doran.

Though too many in our own beloved country are still locked in the grip of this unfortunate religion, the outside world has steadfastly rejected the teachings and words of the followers of Aeremon.

Until now, apparently.

Wanderers Gianna and Fedro have independently reported aggression from the peoples inhabiting lands west of the volatile nation of Wastel. Truly little is known about these people, and they are believed to be nomadic tribes who made their homes amidst the large desert on that continent.

Gianna reported an incursion into a western village of Wastel. Young boys and men were taken. All else, including women, children and the elderly, were put to torch. Gianna did not arrive in time to stop the perpetrators, but the foul killers left behind a banner featuring what she recognized as a stylized version of the Holy Symbol of Aeremon.

Fedro arrived shortly after another such raid, again in the western-most region of Wastel. This time, being very close behind, he attempted to track the raiders into the mountains. He encountered one of their number, a magic-user presumably left behind to guard against pursuit.

After a brief skirmish, Fedro defeated the man, who then ignited himself with some sort of suicide spell. Fedro was unable to prevent the man's death. He reports the magic used against him was similar to that of the followers of Aeremon here in Il'Doran.

What can the Holy Order of Aeremon be up to now?

~Master Soryan Archivist Arryl.

Only Soryans at the very highest levels know that we are being watched at nearly all times by a very sophisticated scrying spell, created by unknown beings who apparently possess vast power.

For years, their spell has encompassed the entire world, a feat not possible with Soryan or Holy Order sorcery.

Only recently I have determined that the focus of the spell has shifted to a particular region of the world. Kelland.

The Scryers obviously have great interest in what is happening, or what is going to happen, in Kelland.

We have not shared this information with the Holy Order, though the time is coming soon. Either something is happening, something is going to happen, or the Scryers are going to make something happen in Kelland.

~Master Soryan Archivist Arryl.

A great day, this day. Working in conjunction with The Holy Order of Aeremon, we of the Soryan Order were able to restore life to the soils of the Darronn Plains, located in the midlands here in Il'Doran, and which have been an unpassable wasteland since the end of the great war.

The power of the magical forces unleashed there in that penultimate battle with the Holy Order had completely destroyed all life that made its home there, plant or animal. Remnants of that destructive magic had taken root there and prevented natural recovery.

Since that time, both groups had tried without success to restore the Plains. Finally, mandated by the Order of Nine, select members of the Holy Order and the Soryan Order researched the problem for years, culminating in today's massive, complex, and thankfully successful spell.

Hopefully the good done today will help ease tensions between ourselves and the Holy Order of Aeremon.

~Master Soryan Archivist Arryl.

Once again, Wastel's King Bhyrain seems intent on lowering his own nation even further into the depths of depravity.

Numerous Wanderers report foiling attempted assassinations in countries all over the world. The attacks seems more prevalent the further one gets from Il'Doran.

Bhyrain is no doubt seeking to avoid any further Soryan attention. As usual, he has failed.

We cannot conclusively prove that Wastel is funding the assassins, but the blood magic used by the assassins for their ritual suicide is a staple of that troubled land.

Wastel has little of worth in the way of export, so it appears they have found themselves a new, more lucrative market.

The Wanderers are working with the Regulatory Agents of Kelland to put an end to this disgraceful practice.

~Master Soryan Archivist Arryl.

A disturbing report has been received from Wanderer Alia Deshelle.

While in the northernmost area of Baradia, Alia witnessed firsthand the unsuccessful attempts by Brothers of the Holy Order of Aeremon to tame and domesticate the brutish giants that reside there.

These creatures possess no magic, but their sheer physical size and strength make them formidable in the extreme. Alia reports that the Holy Brothers barely escaped with their lives.

Although, as she remained hidden, she observed them noting the behavior of the giants in a ledger. No doubt hoping to refine their technique and try again.

They will unquestionably be met with a similar reception when they return.

The giants will not abide the sight of a human. They become immediately enraged and will not stop attacking until the human is either dead or gone from view

A decidedly rude welcome, but when it comes to the Holy Order, who can blame them?

~Master Soryan Archivist Arryl.

A tremendous victory has been won by not only the Soryan Order, but by the entire nation of Il'Doran.

The Order of Nine have passed the proposed eduction writ allowing private, secular instruction for all who desire such.

The gravity of this cannot be overstated.

No longer does the Holy Order of Aeremon have the power to deny women, no longer do they have the power to deny the poor and downtrodden the education that may better their lives, and in doing so, better the nation as a whole.

Technically, they can still refuse, but now there is nothing to stop those rejected from setting up or attending private institutions from which to learn.

Although, ideally, they would come to learn from us at the Soryan Order...

~Master Soryan Archivist Arryl.

A Revenant is a forsaken creature. Driven mad by immortality, it craves only death...for itself and all others.

Revenants have been a serious problem in the past, before the rise of the Holy Order when Blood Magic was the most powerful form of magic humans could command.

Usually some hedge wizard would attempt to render himself (or more likely a test subject) immortal, and in doing so would turn himself into an undead Revenant.

The Revenant is no longer the person who the spell was cast upon. That person is dead. Revenants refuse to acknowledge this fact and instead in most cases end up rallying legions of undead minions, attempting to extinguish any and all human life they encounter. They are inevitably insane.

There are old tales of entire regions inhabited with nothing but dead shuffling corpses -until some brave human warriors somehow manage to stop them.

It is unknown how this was done with blood magic. While good enough to create a Revenant, that unpredictable sorcery has no known method for truly destroying an undead. It is widely believed that banishment was the only cure for the problem, in which case some other hapless humans somewhere must eventually deal with the creatures.

Of course, in today's times, the power of the Soryan Order and (to a lesser extent) the Holy Order of Aeremon can easily deal with these creatures and whatever minions they employ.

Take note - Revenants, for some reason, always have the ability to command other undead. When a Revenant is created, undead creatures will gravitate towards its location as if summoned. If left unchecked, a Revenant will have a powerful army at its disposal within weeks. This is a curiosity, but one that has never been studied at length.

No one wants to keep a Revenant around long enough for that.

~Master Soryan Archivist Arryl.

Soryan Vance Lerra reported an interloper in the southwestern province of Theandra.

We have virtually no presence there, but it is a hotbed of political activity. As such, Vance was given the task to begin construction of a Soryan facility within the limits of Theadrille, the largest city in the region.

Not three nights there when he discovered a man on the Soryan grounds, attempting to cloak his presence with crude, barely functional magic.

Once detected, the man activated a teleportation spell, but as it, too, was badly constructed, he succeeded only in suicide as the spell transported just the top portion of his body.

Although covered in blood, Vance was unharmed. Further, Vance was able to detect traces of the poorly cast magic all over the town, concentrated around the local church of The Holy Order of Aeremon.

Logic indicates that they, too, were being spied upon, but were unable to detect this miscreant. Our first instinct was to accuse them, but whatever their faults, the magic of the Holy Order is not that badly misformed...

~Master Soryan Archivist Arryl.

Information has come from trusted sources that a member of The Holy Order of Aeremon has perished while attempting to enter the Lost Island of the Elves to the southwest.

While loss of life is always regrettable, The Holy Order must eventually learn that whatever secrets the vanished Elven civilization might hold, they are not worth a human life.

Every single attempt at gaining entry to those Islands has ended in at least one death. Save one notable exception, of course.

As information does not flow freely between our respective Orders, I have been unable to fully verify this.

~Master Soryan Archivist Arryl.