Domain Summary
Cartographers, scouts, historians, and spies make their home deep within the Rocky Mountains. Eerie sounds echo through geometrically perfect snow around the Archive’s most well-known structures: the Orphanage, the Observatory, and the Library housing the Imperial Histories.
Life in the Domain
A popular saying in Archive is that all they have is rocks and snow. Life in Archive proper is harsh and unforgiving, but they wouldn't have it any other way. Challenge breeds strength, and only the strongest survive in the Seventh Age. Competition is common and encouraged. When not testing their survival skills, Archivists spend most of their time indoors. They engage in various pursuits, but all hobbies in the Archive have a pragmatic bent.
When they need a break from the mountains, Archivists visit the city of Memphis. In many ways, the two territories are polar opposites. Memphis is decadent, almost to the point of frivolity. It is an endless festival, full of music, dancing, food, and unsurpassed artistry. Those who live in Memphis lead lives of debauchery: sex, drugs, and rock-n-roll.
Dominant Races
Fae, Vampires, Mages, rare Shifters.
Paradigm: In Archive proper, a domain of subtlety, assassination, and information, the Ahl-i-Batin, Euthanatos, and New World Order can find a place. The regimented lifestyle holds opportunities for Hermetics. A few Etherites have Awakened in Colorado Springs. Memphis attracts Cultists of Ecstasy like no other, with Celestial Chorus and Taftani close behind.
Costuming and Archetypes
Survivalist Explorer, Eccentric Bookworm, Black Ops Soldier, Hardened Orphan
Politics & NPCs
The domain lord of the Archive holds the title of the Praenomen, the First Name. Currently, the Praenomen of Archive is Calamity the Winter’s Rose. Beneath the Praenomen, the Archive follows a basic feudal system, but is highly competitive. Any noble who proves themselves to be stronger or more skilled than another can advance in title. Such internal conflict is encouraged to eliminate weakness. Even killing another Archive noble is forgiven, so long as the proper oaths are sworn and the killer avoids offending more powerful nobles.
Any noble who hurts a child, is incapable of keeping a secret, or is even suspected of disloyalty, is re-trained, replaced, or simply vanishes. Skill, discretion, loyalty, and personal style are respected. The most skilled nobles are practically ghosts, letting glory hogs have the public spotlight while they operate in the shadows.
---Loading Oaths---
Umbral Realms
- Low Umbra - Shroud 10 (Artificially raised)
- Middle Umbra - Gauntlet 10 (Artificially raised)
- Dreaming - Mists 0 (Far Dreaming - Mists 5, Deep Dreaming - Mists 8) / Banality 5
- High Umbra - Periphery 5 (Vulgate - Periphery 3, Spires - Periphery 4)
Historical Information
Exploring the Fallen World
After the Fall, the world was forever changed. It was in these disasters that Archive found its purpose. The fall of civilization destroyed many advancements. The Archive has sought to preserve as much knowledge as possible, refusing to accept its loss. The Archive dedicated itself to seeking out the knowledge and advances of the last age. They raided ruins of cities and retrieved countless volumes. Their library, built in the mountains, in the ruins of Denver, was a stronghold of knowledge. Its purpose: to rescue humanity from an everlasting dark age.
Read more: Exploring the Fallen World
Unlike the arcane collections of the Twin Cities, the Archive focused on academics... Mathematics, sciences, engineering, medicine, literature, and history. Upheavals and changes to the landscape rendered old atlases useless. New maps once again read "Here be dragons." Archivists made it their duty to explore the wastelands and other domains, and map this new world. They provided the maps that other domains and their nobles would rely upon for centuries. They explore this new world to discover what secrets it holds, and catalog and record the events of this new age.
A Clashing of Domains
Nobles of the Devil’s Triangle learned that one of Archive’s nobles, Lulu Cooper, wished to leave the domain. Several of them met with the Archive’s Domain Lord, the Praenomen, in an attempt to negotiate her release. This parlay became a catastrophic failure when one, Wiley Harris, drew his guns on the domain lord. The Praenomen banished the Bermudan nobles for this insult. This did not end the matter, only exacerbated it.
Read more: (Foundation Era) Bermuda vs. Archive
Lulu fled the Archive, breaking her Oaths and seeking refuge in the Devil's Triangle. In retaliation, the Praenomen cursed Lulu to find no solace in Bermuda. He exterminated all spirits from his domain, preventing them from leaking domain secrets. The ensuing animosity between the Praenomen and Doc would last for centuries.
A Western Coalition
What would later become the Empyrean Dysambigua began as several independent domains. The New Faith, Vancouver, and Archive, all attempted to bring Pascal into Dischordia. They worked to form a strong alliance dominating the western half of the kingdom.
Read more: (Foundation Era) Western Coalition
As ties strengthened between New Faith and Vancouver, the two domains merged. Radu Bistri of the New Faith remained the lord of this new joined domain. The nobles renamed their domain the Empyrean Dysambigua; Canton of the Changing Heavens. King Pascal's domain, Valley of the King, did not join Dischordia immediately. Yet he remained allied with the new Empyrean Dysambigua.
Archive Joins Appalachia
The harsh and forbidding nature of life in the mountains attracted few nobles to the Archive. Despite their many allies, the domain could not sustain on its own. Both Appalachia and the New Faith approached their allies with invitations to merge. The Praenomen, opened negotiations with Radu Bistri of the New Faith. After weeks of deliberation, the Archive agreed to join under the New Faith's banner. Yet, when it came time to sign the agreement, the Praenomen snubbed the New Faith.
Read more: (Foundation) Archive Joins Appalachia
The Praenomen did not swear oaths to Bistri as agreed. Instead, he joined instead under Devil Anse Hatfield of Appalachia at the last minute. This single act sparked centuries of animosity between Bistri and the Hatfields. The two domains teetered on the brink of war.
Shortly after this merger, Imperial Prince Ailil revealed Archive's most closely-guarded secret. He revealed that Archive's role, as cartographers and historians, was only a ruse to conceal their true purpose... as Balor’s personal spies, saboteurs, and assassins.
The War of Nightmares
Four Dischordian armies, each led by one of Balor's lords, marched against the Nightmare Lands of Greenland. They were met on the field of battle by Aitu, the Crimson Weaver, and his own cadre of generals.
Read more: (Foundation Era) War of Nightmares
When the call to war went out, Odin awoke from the Odinsleep, and the Wolves of the North fell in line. They had waited long enough, and were eager for battle against their enemies. They marched to battle in silent unison, with crows devouring all in their wake. The Wolves faced the armies of Sargon of Akkad. As Odin and Sargon fought, each shrugged off blows that could shatter mountains. Yet Odin's soldiers lacked his godlike resilience. When he led them into the thick of battle, many of his men fell in the assault.
Lord Devil Anse Hatfield of Appalachia, faced the spectral Queen Amytis. Even the the Spectre's corpus was no match for the Redcap's jaws. One taste was all he needed, and Devil Anse would sniff her out from across the battlefield. His relentless pursuit exhausted even the rage of the Spectre of Despair, until she fell to his teeth.
Bartholomew Roberts, Warlord of Bermuda and Aranta-Shadur, inspired his soldiers into battle. He, the Herald of Poseidon faced Mangora, the Drowned Mage of Mu. Bart's armies appeared from the shadows, and the oceans themselves fought at his side. Nothing slowed the archmage. Mangora's wounds healed faster than Bart could inflicted them. Reality twisted at Mangora's whim. Raw magical power overwhelmed the Bermudan lord, encasing him in an metallic prison.
The countryside was alternately incinerated and frozen with magic. The Praenomen, mysterious domain lord of Archive, faced Shokar, the Immolator of Pompeii. The Praenomen, the most magically adept of Balor's generals, called ice down upon his foe. Shokar summoned the fires of his own rage. The magics they wielded destroyed swaths of the battlefield, and armies with it. Neither could best the other. Yet, Shokar surrendered, hoping the Praenomen's icy magic could cool his tormenting flames. Shokar was returned to Dischordia in cold iron chains.
Dischordia had defeated the Crimson Weaver, and his generals had fallen or fled. The Dischordian armies returned to their kingdom, bloody but victorious. They knew, however, that they could not defeat the nightmares forever. They would thrive in this era of fear and darkness, and Dischordia could only weather the storm.
Archive's Coup
Growing unrest among the Archive’s nobles, and waning faith in the Praenomen, culminated in a coup. At the end of the surveyor's era, nobles of Archive and the Devil's Triangle conspired in rebellion. Calamity of Archive and Doc of Casablanca, ambushed and killed the Praenomen. Taking the mask that held his power and his soul, they shattered it. Calamity gifted the broken mask to Radu Bistri, to end the hostility between the two domains.
Read more: (Surveyor's Court) Archive's Coup
But the death of the Praenomen severed the Archive’s oaths to Appalachia. Rather than re-swear oaths to Appalachia, Calamity instead chose to join Aranta-Shadur. The loss of Archive stripped significant title from Appalachia's lord. Appalachia learning that Aranta-Shadur had aided in the rebellion, fractured their strained alliance. Discovering that Bistri had also benefited from the coup led to continued hostilities. Calamity's efforts to mend the conflict had only worsened them. Devil Anse Hatfield considered Bistri directly responsible for Calamity’s betrayal.
An Alliance is Formed
Aranta-Shadur and Empyrean Dysambigua competed to win the Imperials' surveyor challenge. Each conquered significant territory, and there was no clear winner between the two. The opportunity to tip the balance in their favor came as other domains faltered. Whoever swayed these struggling domains to their banner would be the victor.
Read more: (Surveyor’s Court) Archive / Empyrean Alliance
Unification struggled through a civil war, growing weaker in the eyes of Dischordia. Both Aranta and Empyrean worked to claim them. They each made elaborate offers to Prince Mercer, hoping to earn his fealty. Empyrean assisted Mercer in his victory over his rivals. This aid persuaded mercer to swear fealty to Radu Bistri.
A coup in Archive ended with the Praenomen's assassination. With his death, the Archive's ties to Appalachia died with him. Fueled by the insult paid to him by the Archive centuries earlier, Bistri moved to claim it once again. Aranta sought to prevent Empyrean Dysambigua from absorbing yet another domain.
The Aranta council voted to go to war, and laid siege to the nearest Empyrean Domain: Unification. Hal Morgan, Demon of War, Warlord of Aranta-Shadur, was also the former lord of Unification. He knew their defenses, and eagerly launched a campaign against his former domain.
Prince Mercer was able to persuade the Aranta council to the bargaining table. Following tense negotiations with the council, Bistri withdrew his claim to Archive. Calamity, the new Praenomen of Archive, joined Aranta, claiming a seat on the council. Khaalid relinquished his seat to her and pursued his new role as Ambassador to the Jade Kingdoms. Bistri and Calamity swore an Oath of Clasped Hands, cementing an alliance between the two.
War of Aether
Along with the rest of Dischordia, Archive fought the Aether on many fronts. The Archive was at the head of the game of cat and mouse. Their expertise in secret operations made their agents indispensable to the war effort. They were never on the front lines, but often behind enemy lines. They accepted the most dangerous assignments in the most volatile of situations.
Read more: (War of Aether)
Calamity, Master of Ravaging, oversaw great projects to protect Dischordia's places of power. She created, relocated, and, in certain desperate times, destroyed such fonts. She ensured every Freehold, Node, and Caern remained in Dischordia's hands and out of Nul's. Their missions were always dire. Had Archive failed but once, Dischordia would have lost much of its splendor. Nul knew this, as did Balor and his Lords.
Court of Empires
Early in court, Calamity was key to the Sultanate of Glass joining Dischordia. A few whispered words into the right ears planted the seeds of a political marriage. The wedding between Princess Maeve and Ambassador Fadil brought the two kingdoms closer. Ultimately, the Sultanate merged into Dischordia as another domain. Calamity's own marriage, to the Voice Jacob “Doc” Winters, made her the first Commoner Queen. Following the wedding, she withdrew from most courtly matters to manage her domain. Yet the lord of Archive would remain well-informed of events that transpired.
War of Maelstrom's Rebuke
During the Court of Empires, diplomatic relations between Dischordia and Lazarus' Kingdom failed. Dischordian nobles learned of a dark ritual planned by the Prince Alyosha Buljiev. In response, Dischordia launched a coordinated attack on Buljiev's domain of Carpathia. Their attack, seen by Lazarus' Empire as unprovoked, precipitated the conflict. The hostility between the two kingdoms erupted into the War of Maelstrom's Rebuke.
Read more: (War of Maelstom's Rebuke; Archive)
In typical fashion, Archive dedicated itself to gathering information on the enemy. Many other Dischordian domains owe their success in the war to Archive intelligence. They assembled maps, reports on troop dispositions, and secret machinations of Lazarean nobility. Queen Calamity led troops into battle in defense of Dischordia's more vulnerable territories. Her armies fought along side those of the Middle Kingdom, repelling the Grim Legion's attacks.
The Sublime Cataclysm
The tides of the war began to turn to their enemy’s favor. The Dischordian lords of prepared a spectacular attack to bring a swift end to the conflict. Sultan Suleiman, a master of spirit magic, led the largest ritual the kingdom had ever seen. New Faith ritualists, students of the Arcane Academy, and a million occultists gathered from all domains aided him. The sky itself bled with the power they summoned. Chunks torn from the spirit realms themselves bombarded Lazarus’ Empire. As each realm struck, it laid waste to thousands of miles of Lazarus' territory. Millions perished in an instant, as the realms destroyed immense swaths of land.
Read more: (Sublime Cataclysm; Archive)
As Europe reeled from Dischordia's devastating attack, Aether seized their chance to cripple both. Cities which had fallen to darkness during the War of Aether bled shadows like an open wound. Abyssal armies swarmed from these tears in reality. Shadow-eaten vampires, spectres, and demons laid waste to surrounding territories. The Aether fought without regard for their own destruction, and inflicted considerable damage.
The Grim Legion never reached Archive's borders during the War of Maelstrom's Rebuke. Yet they did not emerge unscathed. Shadowy insects swarmed from dark forests to the south. Only blasts of lightning from Tesla's tower prevented them from overrunning the Archive. When the black sun rose the next morning, the swarm was no more. But the Archive's perfect geometric snow was black with ichor. Archive's territory of Memphis was less fortunate. The city's iron walls withstood the legion of spectres, and the citizens knew they would hold. They were not prepared for the geyser of darkness that erupted from the infernal pit in the center of the city. Shadowed monstrosities tore the city's defenders to pieces. Only Krause, Demon of Law, armed with nothing but a pen, remained to stand against the abyssal general. None remained to witness the final battle, but the city yet stands as a testament to his sacrifice.
Treaty of Maelstrom's Rebuke
The war ended one year, to the day, after the events which marked its beginning. Delegates from Dischordia and Lazarus met to solidify a treaty and bring the war to a close. Every kingdom sent diplomats to witness the signing, but each had ulterior motives. Each hoped to see their kingdom's goals reflected in the final document. The Treaty detailed terms of ceasefire, such as returning prisoners and withdrawing troops. Yet it also contained several initiatives which advanced specific agendas.
Read more: (Treaty of Maelstom's Rebuke)
The Aether's offer of peace required a difficult choice for those assembled, and a high cost. The first option: accept the darkness into reality and restore the balance of creation and destruction. Or the second, deny them and accept reality's ultimate end. The steep cost of acceptance complicated this decision. Without a vessel to bind Ahriman, a powerful abyssal entity, it would consume the world. But, to bind it required the sacrifice of a child to contain the darkness.
Two children had been abducted from their parents for this purpose. The first, the Last Son of Gwydion, child of Imperial Queen Maeve. The second, the Last Daughter of Eve, child of Hierophant Zachariah Baldric. In the end, it was Queen Calamity of Archive who chose to sacrifice the Last Daughter of Eve. In doing so, she bound the darkness with a name, and ended the darkness' war on reality. The souls of all mankind would be safe from Oblivion. The sacrifice adjusted reality towards an age of enlightenment for mankind. If the path stays true, the next age promises to be an Age of Ascension.
