This is an article about the world of Fels, a setting of many of my stories.
Alais Gera is a messianic figure in the history of the Three Rivers. He is simultaneously revered and reviled alike, and remains a contentious figure to this day.
To the common man, he is a hero and saviour who forever thwarted and diminished the unchecked power of sorcery. To those who wield such power, his very name is an anathema.
Hated and loved
Alais Gera wasn’t born a man; he was made one by the Ennead, a collection of nine potent, yet mentally deranged sorcerers, to be their servant and pupil. The year of his creation isn’t recorded and he himself had no true recollection of his early years.
The Ennead (individually called Aspects) dwelt in a large castle overlooking Mialta near the hamlet of Kuvasuda in the far north of the Three Rivers continent. Their experiments led to the unbalancing of Odylicism and Natural Law with the consequence that Natural Law itself started to disintegrate. Things taken for granted by people, such as the air they breathed, the crops they grew and the sea they fished in transmogrified into odylic chaos.
These grievous events did not go unnoticed. Although most of the Three Rivers was unaffected by this breakdown, the effects were spreading. The veil between the world and the Argence was weakening, causing odylic side-effects to common day occurrences and disrupting the lives of many. Eventually, many deities in Exa, Hjoll and the Subterrane took action against the mad Ennead and destroyed them. Although prohibited under the terms of the Mellifluity, the act was warranted due to the Ennead’s misdirected meddling.
The plan
Growing wary of the increasing power of sorcerers such as the Ennead, the various deities in existence formulated a plan to permanently place checks and balances on such power.
The plan was to seal the Fabled Third World from sorcerers. The Fabled Third World is a pure amalgamation of Natural Law and Odylicism and the magic that comes from it is pristine and potent. Without direct access to this perfect realm, magic would be unstable for sorcerers and their every casting a potential risk to themselves.
The undertaking to seal away the Fabled Third World was placed upon the shoulders of the naïve Alais Gera. He was instructed that he would found the New City and that he would be the one to wear the Triocular, a fabulous eyepiece that allowed its wearer to see into the Fabled Third World and harness its power regardless of whether it was sealed away or not.
He was given a number of artefacts to aid him. Foremost was a mysterious box that contained the foundations of the New City, although it was enchanted to cloud his mind until the right time had occurred. He was given four small ebonite figurines and told to drop them in bowls of pure water. Lastly, he was given the staff Onom, which caused great destruction when it struck anything. Armed with these, he was taken by the Three Who Walk, those powerful servants of the gods, to the court of Arion, Arch-Duke of Telxerxes, a realm in southern Forosth.
It was in Hyslur-Zemark, the capital of the Arch-Duchy, that he met Rolinna, an indentured serving girl, and fell in love with her. Although she found Alais Gera to be beautiful, she was confused and angered at his complete lack of courtship manners, and she repulsed his earnest advances.
It was the first real lesson of life for Alais Gera. He was heartbroken and chastened by Rolinna’s seemingly cold and distant manner and his attitude towards the world sobered. His admiration for Rolinna didn’t abate however, and he bought out her indenture from Arion by giving him a sizeable scytae crystal.
It was this time that Alais Gera received an intuition that he needed to travel to Obel in Cloeptir.
With Arion’s blessing Alais Gera set out for the city of Nelucium, from where he could cross The Belly to Rhaelo on the southern Three Rivers coastline. In tow was a reluctant Rolinna, who was convinced at this time Alais Gera had enslaved her (or bought her indenture from Arion). Very little was said between them on their journey north to the city-state of Yprost in central Forosth.
In time, Rolinna had come to admire Alais Gera, whom she had thought of as a callow and feckless shell of a man, and a friendship was forged between them, if not quite love.
In due coursed they reached Nelucium, which was held by the supernal being Ge Diomala, an outcast from the Welkin. Rolinna was the target of Ge Diomala’s lusts and attention and Alais Gera fought a cunning battle against the powerful supernal. Outmatched by strength, but not by wit, Alais Gera hunted Ge Diomala down in the supernal’s own palace and there forced him to release Rolinna. Ge Diomala, knowing Alais Gera for the one to wear the Triocular in time, relinquished his hold on Rolinna. With her free, Alais Gera banished Ge Diomala from Fels and sailed across The Belly to the palisaded fishing town of Rhaelo.
Without incident, they crossed The Belly. At this time, Alais Gera and Rolinna finally became lovers. In Rhaelo, Rolinna was kidnapped by corsairs of the Yeda Archipelago, just off the coast. Alais Gera, incensed, razed the corsairs settlement and killed the leaders with the power of the staff Onom. Rolinna had been poisoned and was near death. Alais Gera, with great sadness, gave the care of Rolinna over to a female monastic order inland of Rhaelo and vowed to return for her.
Boon companions
Alais Gera allowed his ebonite figurines to come into contact with pure water. The figurines transformed into four human simulacra, two of each sex. The male simulacra were Psymn and Psyrs, the women: Lylla and Lylli.
All four were demure and softly-spoken and of incredible charm and beauty, and each had a particular talent that was to serve Alais Gera. Psymn could hear any lie spoken, Psyrs could sense any ill intent, Lylla could taste any poison and Lylli could sense odylicism being cast within a hundred yards. Until Alais Gera reached Obel, these talents saved the lives of all five of them.
Finally Alais Gera and his companions reached Obel. There, the intuition that had been latent within him, came to the fore. He planted the box on the ground and all five of them were whisked inside the Argence.
They found themselves before the wall of the Epirozethium, that barrier that separates the universe of Fels and the Fabled Third World. He struck the barrier once with Onom and it permanently sealed the Fabled Third World away from mortal purview. Onom shattered as a result, and the New City was created on the ruins of Obel where it remains to the present time.
After this deed was performed, Alais Gera gained the Triocular from the god Cydain and with the New City built, Alais Gera is rumoured to have returned for Rolinna and taken them both back to Telxerxes and the court of Arion. The fate of his four magical companions isn’t known, though some say Lylla appeared at Trowheald Castle and became a fugitive lover of Thenson Trowheald.
In the folklore of Fels, Alais Gera ascended to Exa and died at the feet of Cydain, as a fulfilled and content old man and was placed in a grand tomb beside his Consort Rolinna (who had died some years earlier.) The truth of the matter is that he was buried in a remote cliff-side tomb near his home town of Kuvasuda, along with the Triocular. This was a secret known to a very few and his tomb lay intact and unknown to the world until the day Ioja of the Octagon defiled it…