Enemies and Phenomena
Most of the
cities in Utopia are run by the human race. The centre of human government is
the sprawling city of Cryptillius Centralius, to the far north of the world of
Cryptillia on a small island close to the Great Northern Wastes. Humankind is
controlled by one emperor, who gives orders to several hundred lords and ladies
who control sections of land across the entire planet. It is mostly up to these
lords and ladies as to what is done in their land as the communication between
these leaders and the emperor is extremely slow. The current human emperor,
Haldrine IV, is very old, and will soon choose one of his many sons to succeed
him – this means that the lords that in the most part control the human race
currently have more control than ever.
The Militia
Cryptillian
lords are required by royal law to recruit a peacekeeping force known as the
militia. Militia presence is only required in urban areas, as sending them out
into the countryside is a waste of time and money. The rights and role of the
militia in each city is governed by the lord or lady of the city alone, however
many militia forces are corrupt and controlled by their superiors who are only
concerned with fooling the local lord into thinking they are successfully
fighting crime. Militia are usually paid on a per-arrest basis, so be prepared
to be arrested at least once during your quest, if only to bolster the
men’s-men’s purses! The militia are authorised to use deadly force, on suspects
as well as known criminals, and especially if a suspect resists arrest.
Punishment for most crimes is harsh across Utopia and many other similar
countries, which has in some ways kept crime to a minimum and held a fragile
peace in the cities. It has been known for militia forces to hold an uprising
and overthrow the rightful lord of the town. If this occurs, it is usually more
convenient for the emperor to declare the new ruler of the town the official
lord, and not intervene so long as royal command is upheld.
There once
existed a time where all Cryptillia was plunged into darkness by a war of magic
that lasted hundreds of years, known as the First Age Of Magic. This was before
many races learned of the dangers of spell casting, and fully knew the gravity
of the demonic threat posed by the energy around them. The war only ended when
several wizards formed together into an alliance and signed a peace treaty
between the elves, humans, and dwarves, which was reinforced by powerful magic
to attempt to hold the peace for centuries, if not forever. Unfortunately,
several races failed to turn up to the meeting due to what is believed to have
been demonic intervention. Some of these races included the Orc empire and
several Elven tribes, which later became known as the Dark Elves. Because of
this, everlasting peace can never be a reality, as these races always have an
agenda to destroy all the Peace Pact stands for and destroy the upholders of
the treaty once and for all.
Demons
Demons are a very real and proven
threat in the world of Cryptillia. They exist as pure energy, but as energy and
matter are interchangeable, they are able to make themselves solid at their own
will. Demons are one of the original races to inhabit the world of Cryptillia
before human and orckind arrived over three thousand years ago. Demons and
their energy realm are one of the many reasons for magic and magical items
existing on Cryptillia as they do today. Demons have a contempt and hatred for
all matter-based creatures, thinking them to be inferior. Demonic entities are
extremely intelligent, and have traveled not only across the whole of Cryptillia
but surrounding star systems too, not needing such a fragile
environment as humans. To do any considerable damage to the physical world, a
Demon must possess a physical creature by mapping its own energy into the same
form as a neural pattern of a humanoid creature, and transferring itself
directly into the mind of a that creature, completely overwriting what was
there before. This takes some time and effort so usually a distraction is
needed – quite often a ceremony or a spell casting long enough for the energy
to move into place. It also takes a great deal of accuracy so is best achieved
while a creature is sleeping as the Demon has to synchronise itself completely
with its host, to ensure that bodily functions such as heartbeat are maintained
– it is a very hard task for a Demon to undertake, but, when this occurs, all
that made the physical creature what it was ceases to exist, and the demon
controls the creature’s physical body to do as it desires. This usually
involves wreaking havoc on the physical world, clearing the way for Demons to
inhabit Cryptillia as they had done for millions of years before humanity
arrived. Only the most powerful of wizards knows the gravity of this threat to
all physical life, and there is little they can do except warn others with
enough intelligence to understand, amassing a secret army for the time when
their judgment arrives…