History

Founding of New Aylgaard

Four hundred years ago a large group of Aylists, dissatisfied with their city-states tolerance for the ‘new faiths’, left Adenia by ship on a pilgrimage of settlement. Their goal was to find and settle a new land, one where faith in the Lord Ayl would be absolute and where the new gods would find only disdain. The sea was not kind to the pilgrims, and of the 178 ships to set forth only 112 would make it to the new land.

After months aboard their ships the pilgrims from those 112 ships landed on a continent far to the East of the one they were born on. The ranking priest assured them that this was the place they were to make their new home so here they landed and here they built their town, Aylgaard. The land itself they called Dawn, as it was here that the new day of Ayl would dawn. As luck would have it Dawn was a harsh land, tainted by a very ancient evil. Quickly, the pilgrims were set upon by the land’s existing residents, Devils. Nearly half the pilgrims number were slain and were it not for the incredible power of the church’s warrior-priests the migration would surely have met a terrible end. Eventually a foothold was had and the Church-Keep known as Bastion was built.

Over the following two centuries the pious warrior-priests pushed back the devils towards the distant mountain ranges while the remaining priests, more inclined towards politics and bureaucracy, built up the city of Aylgaard around Bastion and solidified their power within the new land. Many times they were almost broken but their faith, and a succession of leaders with a brilliant sense of military matters saw them through.

Eventually Dawn was cleared of its taint and the devils pushed back to the massive range of mountains separating it from the rest of the continent. There they were largely held at bay by the Godshield, and what warrior-priests remained had no choice but to remain in the mountains and remain vigilant against their foe. This war with the Devils is one of the primary drivers for the Church’s ruthless oppression of all magic that is not state sponsored, Ayl given, magic.

Today, Aylgaard is a very large city with the typical assortment of glories and horrors one expects in a large city. The church is the government and outside power is ruthlessly stamped out. Worship of other gods, and the use of arcane magic, is strictly outlawed and punished severely.