Tale of Crowns
Part I

The World Before

The Age of the Covenant

For eight hundred years, the land of Valdren knew peace under the Covenant of Three Crowns—a sacred pact forged between Humans, Elves, and Orcs after the Scouring Wars nearly annihilated all three peoples.

The pact was simple: no race would claim dominion over another. The great fortress of Ashenhold, built at the convergence of the three territories, would stand empty—a symbol that no single ruler would ever again plunge the realm into war. The throne within its walls would remain vacant, a reminder of the tyrants who came before.

Each race governed itself. Trade flowed freely. The land healed.

But peace, like all things, was fragile.

The Breaking

Seventeen years ago, the last of the Covenant Keepers—three ancient figures, one from each race, bound by oath to enforce the pact—died within a single winter. Some say it was coincidence. Others whisper of poison. A few speak of a curse older than the Covenant itself, finally finding its mark.

With no Keepers to enforce the old laws, tensions that had simmered for generations began to boil.

It started with border disputes. A human lord claiming elven timber. An orc chieftain damming a river that fed human farmland. Elven rangers killing orc hunters they deemed "poachers."

Then came the Night of Burning Oaths.

Someone—history has never confirmed who—set fire to the Hall of Names in Ashenhold, where the original Covenant was kept. The parchment, signed in the blood of all three races' ancestors, was reduced to ash.

The symbolism was clear: the old world was dead.

Within a year, the first war bands had formed. Within five, the great families and clans had fractured into dozens of competing factions. Now, seventeen years after the Breaking, Valdren is a land of warring guilds, each claiming legitimacy, each hungry for the one thing that could unite the realm under their banner:

The Throne of Ashenhold.

Part II

The Races of Valdren

Humans

The Restless Inheritors

Origins

Humans are the youngest of the three races, arriving in Valdren as refugees from a collapsed empire across the eastern sea some twelve centuries ago. They found a land already divided between Elves and Orcs, and through sheer adaptability—some would say opportunism—carved out a place for themselves.

Character

Humans are neither the strongest nor the longest-lived, but they possess an almost terrifying ambition. Where Elves think in centuries and Orcs in generations, Humans think in lifetimes—and that urgency drives them to build, conquer, and scheme with relentless energy.

They are the most numerous race in Valdren and the most politically fractured. Human guilds range from noble houses clinging to old bloodlines to merchant coalitions, religious orders, and simple bands of sellswords who've grown powerful enough to claim land.

Culture

Human society in Valdren is feudal at its core but increasingly mercantile. Coin speaks as loudly as blood. Their cities are the largest and most diverse, often serving as neutral ground where all races trade—though "neutral" is a generous term these days.

Humans revere the Sixfold Path, a religion that teaches balance between six virtues: Courage, Wisdom, Labor, Mercy, Justice, and Sacrifice. In practice, most humans pick whichever virtue justifies their current ambitions.

Strengths
  • Versatility: Humans excel at nothing in particular but can adapt to any role.
  • Numbers: More human guilds exist than elven and orcish combined.
  • Infrastructure: Human roads, bridges, and fortifications crisscross Valdren.
Weaknesses
  • Division: Humans fight among themselves as often as against other races.
  • Short Memory: Their brief lives make them prone to repeating old mistakes.

Elves

The Fading Stewards

Origins

The Elves claim to be Valdren's first people, born from the land itself in an age before counting. Whether this is truth or myth, they were certainly here long before anyone else. Their ancient kingdoms once spanned the great forests and mountain valleys, and ruins of their golden age still dot the landscape—monuments to a glory that has long since dimmed.

Character

Elves live for centuries, and this longevity shapes everything about them. They are patient, deliberate, and often maddeningly slow to act by human standards. But when an elf commits to a course of action, they pursue it with a persistence that shorter-lived races find unnerving.

The Breaking has divided elven society between Traditionalists, who believe the old ways must be preserved at any cost, and Renewalists, who argue that adaptation is the only path to survival. This schism runs through families, communities, and guilds alike.

Culture

Elven society is organized around Hearths—extended family units that trace their lineage back thousands of years. A Hearth's honor is paramount; elves will endure almost any hardship rather than bring shame upon their ancestors.

Their spirituality centers on the Green Covenant, a belief that the land itself is sacred and that all living things are bound in an ancient contract of mutual stewardship. Elves do not worship gods so much as honor the interconnected web of existence.

Strengths
  • Patience: Elves plan in decades, building advantages that only reveal themselves over time.
  • Craftsmanship: Elven-made goods are renowned for quality, especially weapons and armor.
  • Woodland Mastery: In forests, elves fight with home advantage few can match.
Weaknesses
  • Pride: Elves struggle to admit when they're wrong—even to themselves.
  • Declining Numbers: Birth rates have fallen steadily for centuries. Every elf lost is a blow.
  • Slow Mobilization: By the time elves agree on action, faster-moving enemies may have already won.

Orcs

The Unbowed

Origins

The Orcs came to Valdren from the northern wastes in the time before human memory, driven south by some catastrophe they do not speak of—not even among themselves. They found a land dominated by elves and fought a brutal war for survival that lasted generations. When humans arrived, the Orcs saw kindred spirits: another people fighting for a place in a world that hadn't made room for them.

Character

Orcs value strength, but not merely physical strength. A sharp mind, a cunning tongue, an unbreakable will—these are all forms of power, and orcs respect power in all its forms. What they despise is weakness: cowardice, dishonesty, the refusal to stand behind one's words with action.

Contrary to human and elven prejudice, orcs are not mindless brutes. Their society is sophisticated, governed by complex codes of honor and obligation. But their directness and their comfort with violence make them seem savage to those who don't understand them.

Culture

Orcish society is organized into Clans, each led by a Warchief who earns and maintains their position through a combination of martial prowess, political acumen, and the support of their people. Leadership is not inherited; it must be claimed and constantly proven.

Orcs follow the Old Way, a spiritual tradition centered on ancestor veneration and the belief that the dead watch over the living, judging their deeds. To die with honor is to join the ancestors; to die in shame is to be forgotten forever.

Strengths
  • Resilience: Orcs are physically tougher than other races and accustomed to hardship.
  • Loyalty: Once an orc gives their word, they keep it—or die trying.
  • Decisive Action: Orcish guilds can mobilize faster than their rivals.
Weaknesses
  • Reputation: Centuries of prejudice make diplomacy with other races difficult.
  • Internal Challenge: Any perceived weakness invites challengers to leadership.
  • Resource Poverty: Traditional orc lands are harsh, pushing them to compete for richer territory.
Part III

The Land of Valdren

Geography Overview

Valdren is a vast realm, stretching from frozen northern peaks to temperate southern coastlines. The land is rich—perhaps too rich. Its abundance of resources has made it worth fighting over since the first peoples arrived.

The Heartlands

Rolling hills and fertile plains dominate central Valdren. This is humanity's stronghold, dotted with farms, villages, and walled towns. The soil is rich, the rivers plentiful, and the roads well-maintained. It is also the most contested region, as control of the Heartlands means control of Valdren's food supply.

Key Features

  • Ashenhold: The great fortress at the realm's center, currently held by whatever guild can take and keep it.
  • The Kingsroad: A wide stone highway connecting major settlements, built during the Covenant era.
  • Millbrook: A prosperous market town, nominally neutral, where guilds trade and negotiate.

The Greendeep

An ancient forest covering the eastern third of Valdren, the Greendeep is elven territory—though "control" is a relative term in a woodland so vast that entire armies have vanished within it. The trees here are old, some dating back millennia, and the elves say the forest itself has a will.

Key Features

  • Silvanneth: The largest elven settlement, built among the branches of colossal trees.
  • The Whispering Glades: Sacred groves where elves commune with their ancestors.
  • Ruins of the First Kingdom: Crumbling monuments to an elven civilization that fell long before humans arrived.

The Ironspine Mountains

A massive mountain range running north-south along Valdren's western edge. The Ironspine is orcish territory, though dwarven ruins suggest another people once called it home—a mystery the orcs refuse to discuss. The mountains are rich in ore but poor in farmland, forcing orc clans to trade or raid for food.

Key Features

  • Khar'vol: The largest orcish stronghold, built into a volcanic caldera.
  • The Deep Mines: Vast underground complexes where precious ores and stranger things are found.
  • The Ancestor Halls: Mountain tombs where orc heroes are laid to rest.

The Northern Reaches

Frozen tundra and pine forests, sparsely populated but rich in furs, timber, and hardy herbs. Independent human settlements, orcish hunting parties, and stranger things call the Reaches home.

Key Features

  • The Frost Marches: Borderlands where the realm gives way to endless ice.
  • Valdren's Teeth: A series of ruined watchtowers from a forgotten age.
  • The Hollow Pines: A forest where travelers speak of lights in the darkness and voices with no source.

The Southern Coast

Warm, prosperous, and historically isolated from the realm's conflicts. The coast is home to wealthy trading cities, fishing villages, and estates where minor nobles live in relative peace. That peace is ending as ambitious guilds look south for resources and recruits.

Key Features

  • Saltmere: The largest port city, controlling much of Valdren's sea trade.
  • The Vineyard Hills: Famous for wines prized across the realm.
  • The Sunken Isles: Partially submerged ruins offshore, origin unknown.
Part IV

Resources of the Realm

The Wealth Beneath

Valdren's prosperity flows from its abundant natural resources. Control of these resources drives much of the conflict between guilds.

Ores & Metals

The Ironspine Mountains and various smaller deposits throughout Valdren yield:

  • Iron: Common but essential. The backbone of arms and armor.
  • Copper: Used in alloys and for trade currency.
  • Silver: Valued for jewelry, currency, and certain alchemical applications.
  • Gold: Rare and precious, found only in the deepest mines.
  • Valdrite: A dark metal unique to the region, prized for its ability to hold an edge and resist corrosion. Master smiths guard their valdrite-working techniques jealously.
  • Moonite: An extremely rare ore with faint luminescent properties. Rumored to be connected to the old magic.

Timber & Fibers

  • Heartland Oak: Strong, abundant, used for construction and shipbuilding.
  • Greendeep Ash: Flexible and resilient, preferred for weapon hafts and bows.
  • Ironwood: Rare trees from the northern forests, wood nearly as hard as metal.
  • Flax and Hemp: Grown in the Heartlands, essential for textiles and rope.

Herbs & Alchemicals

Scattered throughout Valdren's wilds:

  • Kingsfoil: A common healing herb, reduces fever and infection.
  • Moonpetal: Blooms only at night, used in remedies for exhaustion and clarity tonics.
  • Bloodroot: Dangerous but potent, can staunch bleeding or—in larger doses—cause it.
  • Ghost Moss: Found in caves and ruins, used in salves that numb pain.
  • Veilcap Mushrooms: Rare fungi that grow near places of old power, used in seeing drafts.
  • Thornberry: Common, makes a bitter but restorative tea.
  • Wraithweed: A gray plant that grows in battlefields and graveyards. Alchemical uses are… disputed.

Horses & Livestock

  • Heartland Destriers: Large, strong horses bred for war.
  • Greendeep Runners: Swift and sure-footed elven-bred horses.
  • Ironspine Chargers: Stocky, resilient mounts bred by orcs for mountain terrain.
  • Northern Fells: Shaggy, tough horses that thrive in cold climates.
  • Cattle, sheep, and pigs are raised throughout the Heartlands.
  • Goats are common in mountainous regions.
Part V

The Nature of Magic

The Quiet Art

Magic exists in Valdren, but it is not the flashy, world-shaking force of legend. The great mages of old are gone—if they ever existed at all. What remains is subtle, demanding, and often unreliable.

The Theory

Practitioners believe magic is not a force to be commanded but a current to be guided. The world is suffused with what elves call Vehlanna (the living breath), orcs name Ghur'khal (the ancestor wind), and humans simply term "the Gift."

It flows through all things but concentrates in certain places, materials, and moments.

Magic cannot create something from nothing. It can only nudge, enhance, or diminish what already exists.

The Practice

Those who work magic—hedge witches, herbalists, runesmiths, and the rare true practitioners—do so through years of study and attunement. The art manifests in several ways:

Herbal Enhancement

The most common form. Skilled herbalists can coax more potent effects from plants, creating salves that heal faster, tonics that grant temporary vigor, or poisons more deadly than their ingredients alone would suggest. This is less "magic" and more "deep understanding," but the line blurs.

Runic Inscription

Dwarven in origin, now practiced by all races. Certain symbols, carved with precision and intent, can hold a whisper of power. A rune of sharpness on a blade makes it cut slightly truer. A rune of warding on a door makes intruders feel unwelcome. The effects are modest but real.

Attunement

Rare individuals are born with heightened sensitivity to the world's currents. They might sense approaching danger, feel the history of a place, or know when someone speaks false. This is less a skill than a burden—many attuned individuals are driven mad by stimuli they cannot control.

The Old Rites

Each race preserves rituals from their ancestors. These rites—performed at sacred sites, during specific celestial alignments, with precise components—can produce effects beyond normal magic. A human consecration that truly protects against evil. An elven binding that links two souls. An orcish blood rite that grants temporary supernatural strength.

These rites are not performed lightly. They demand sacrifice, carry risks, and often have unintended consequences.

The Limits

  • Magic cannot raise the dead or restore what is truly lost.
  • It cannot compel minds or override free will.
  • It cannot create lasting matter or energy from nothing.
  • It grows weaker the more it's used; the world seems to resist manipulation.
  • Iron disrupts magical working—a fact that has shaped warfare.

Places of Power

Certain locations in Valdren hold concentrated magical potential:

  • The Whispering Glades: Elven sacred groves where the veil between worlds grows thin.
  • The Ancestor Halls: Orcish tombs where the honored dead rest uneasily close.
  • The Sunken Isles: Ruins offshore that glow faintly on moonless nights.
  • Crossroads and Thresholds: Boundaries hold power. Where paths meet, things become possible.
  • Ashenhold: The fortress itself was built on a convergence. Whether this aids or dooms whoever holds it is debated.
Part VI

Those Who Prey

The Bandit Lords

The Breaking didn't just shatter nations—it shattered lives. Soldiers without lords, farmers without land, craftsmen without patrons. Many turned to banditry.

In the years since, some bandit groups have grown into powers unto themselves. They prey on travelers, raid villages, and extort protection money from those too weak to refuse. The most powerful call themselves "Free Companies" and pretend to a code of honor, but they are vultures feeding on chaos.

Notable Bandit Factions

The Hollow Men

Operating from hidden camps in the Greendeep's edges, the Hollow Men are deserters, exiles, and criminals from all three races. They're led by a figure known only as "the Husk"—said to be a former elven noble driven mad by the Breaking. They specialize in ambushes and leave their victims' bodies displayed as warnings.

The Redwater Band

Named for the river along which they operate, the Redwater Band are more organized than most. They run a protection racket along trade routes, offering "safe passage" for a fee. Their leader, a human woman called Mira Coldhand, is said to be ruthlessly practical—she'd rather collect payments than spill blood, but she'll spill plenty if crossed.

The Ironteeth

A predominantly orcish warband rejected by their clans for cowardice or oath-breaking. Desperate to prove their worth—or just desperate—they're among the most vicious raiders in the Heartlands. Their chief, a scarred veteran named Grakk the Denied, dreams of earning enough glory to reclaim his place among his people.

The Graycoats

A mysterious group that operates in the Northern Reaches. Unlike other bandits, they seem to target specific individuals and caravans, leaving others untouched. Some believe they're a guild in all but name, pursuing agendas beyond simple robbery.

Part VII

The Guilds

What Is a Guild?

In the chaos following the Breaking, traditional power structures collapsed. Noble houses fell. Clan hierarchies fractured. Religious orders lost their authority.

What rose in their place were Guilds: voluntary associations of individuals bound by common purpose. Some guilds formed around old loyalties—remnants of noble families, veteran military units, merchant alliances. Others emerged from nothing: ambitious leaders gathering followers through charisma, cunning, or force.

A guild can be as small as a dozen sworn companions or as vast as a small nation. What defines them is their willingness to act as a unified force in the struggle for Valdren's future.

Guild Formation

Any group can declare itself a guild. Survival is another matter.

To endure, a guild needs:

  • Leadership: Someone capable of holding the group together.
  • Purpose: A reason for people to join and stay.
  • Resources: Land, wealth, or trade goods to sustain members.
  • Strength: The ability to defend what they hold.

Guild Types

Territorial Guilds

Control land directly, collecting taxes, maintaining order, and defending borders. Most aspire to this status; few achieve it sustainably.

Mercenary Guilds

Sell their martial services to the highest bidder. Profitable but dangerous—clients may become enemies, and reputation is everything.

Trade Guilds

Control commerce rather than territory. Wealthy and influential, but dependent on others for protection.

Ideological Guilds

United by belief rather than profit. Religious orders, revolutionary movements, or racial supremacist groups. Often zealous; sometimes effective.

Shadow Guilds

Criminal enterprises operating through intimidation, smuggling, and assassination. They prefer influence to open power.

Magic Guilds

Dedicated to obtaining and studying the arcane. They seek out places of power, hoard rare components, and guard their knowledge jealously.

Part VIII

The Throne of Ashenhold

The Prize

Ashenhold was built to be unconquerable. Its walls are thick, its position commanding, its defenses layered. For eight centuries, it stood empty—a symbol of the Covenant's promise.

Now it is the ultimate prize.

Whoever holds Ashenhold can claim legitimacy as Valdren's ruler. The throne within the fortress carries weight beyond military advantage; it carries meaning. People remember what the Covenant was. Some still long for unity, for an end to the chaos. The guild that can take Ashenhold—and hold it—may be able to forge a new nation from the realm's fragments.

The Challenge

Taking Ashenhold is one thing. Keeping it is another.

The fortress's value makes it a target. Every guild with ambition will eventually turn their eyes toward it. Holding the throne means constant vigilance, perpetual warfare, and the need to build alliances that can withstand siege after siege.

Some say the throne is cursed—that whoever sits upon it is doomed to fall. Others say this is merely the mathematics of power: the throne makes you everyone's enemy.

The Siege System

When a guild challenges Ashenhold's current holder, they declare a War of Succession. This is not mere banditry but a formal claim to rulership.

The siege follows ancient protocols that even the lawless respect:

  1. Declaration: The challenging guild announces their intention, giving the defenders time to prepare.
  2. Assembly: Both sides gather their forces. Allies may join either side.
  3. The Siege: The attackers attempt to breach Ashenhold's defenses. The defenders attempt to hold.
  4. Resolution: If the attackers breach the inner keep and claim the throne, power transfers. If they fail, they must withdraw—and may face retribution.

The same protocols apply to any fortification, though lesser castles carry less symbolic weight.

Part IX

The Current State of Valdren

Seventeen Years After the Breaking

The realm is fractured but not destroyed. Life continues—farmers plant crops, merchants ply trade routes, children are born and named and taught. But everywhere, the shadow of war hangs heavy.

Political Landscape

No single power dominates. The largest guilds control territories the size of small kingdoms, but none can claim more than a fraction of Valdren. Alliances form and dissolve with the seasons. Yesterday's enemy is tomorrow's reluctant partner.

Ashenhold changes hands every few years. Its current occupants—whoever they may be—know their tenure is temporary. They strip what resources they can, fortify what they can, and wait for the next challenger.

Economic Reality

Trade continues despite the chaos. The roads are dangerous, but merchants are adaptable. Guilds that raid too aggressively find themselves cut off from commerce; most have learned to tax rather than pillage.

Resources are the true currency of power. A guild that controls iron mines can arm their soldiers. A guild that controls farmland can feed them. A guild that controls trade routes can starve their enemies.

Social Conditions

For common folk, guild rule is a mixed blessing. A strong guild provides protection, maintains roads, and enforces some semblance of law. A weak or cruel guild is no better than bandits with better organization.

Refugees are common. When guilds clash, villages burn. Survivors flee to cities, join other guilds, or take to the roads as wanderers.

Racial Relations

The Breaking rekindled old hatreds. Many guilds are mono-racial, suspicious of outsiders. But pragmatism often overcomes prejudice; mixed guilds exist, united by shared interest rather than shared blood.

The three races eye each other with wariness. Elves remember human encroachment on their forests. Orcs remember elven attempts at extermination. Humans remember both races looking down on them as newcomers. Trust is rare and precious.

The Future

Some believe a new Covenant is possible—that the right leader, from the right guild, could reunite Valdren through diplomacy and marriage rather than conquest. Others say the only peace will come when one faction crushes all others absolutely. Still others have abandoned hope for unity and simply try to carve out sustainable domains in the chaos.

The throne waits in Ashenhold.

The land groans under the weight of war.

And somewhere, in camps and halls and hidden places, ambitious souls sharpen their blades and make their plans.

Appendix A

Timeline

~1200 BA Elves claim first settlement of Valdren
~800 BA Orcs arrive from the north
Year 0 Humans arrive from the east
1–200 Human expansion; tensions with elves and orcs
203–247 The Scouring Wars
248 Covenant of Three Crowns signed; Ashenhold built
248–1048 The Covenant Era
1048 Death of the last Covenant Keepers
1049 Border disputes escalate
1051 Night of Burning Oaths
1052 First guild wars begin
1065 Present day
Appendix B

Common Phrases & Sayings

"Empty as the throne"

A promise certain to be broken

"Covenant's ashes"

An oath (similar to "by God")

"Sharp iron, short memories"

Humans forget the lessons of war

"The forest remembers"

Elven warning; vengeance may be slow but certain

"Blood answers"

Orcish expression; debts must be paid

"Walking the Kingsroad"

Going to war; heading toward danger

"Valdren's bones"

The fundamental nature of reality; what cannot be changed

Appendix C

Currency

Copper Rounds

The only widely accepted coin. Copper Rounds are minted by various guilds, but their weight and size have remained consistent enough through tradition that most are accepted regardless of whose mark they bear. Rounds with the old Covenant seal—increasingly rare—are sometimes valued slightly higher for their craftsmanship and historical weight.

Eternium

Long before the Covenant, when the Scouring Wars had reduced whole kingdoms to cinder and bone, a strange phenomenon was observed in the aftermath of the most devastating battles. Where magic had been unleashed in its rawest, most destructive form—where thousands died in a single, cataclysmic instant—the very earth would sometimes crystallize into a luminous metallic ore that pulsed with an inner light.

The elves named it Aethernil. The orcs called it Gorath-Vein, the blood of fallen warriors made solid. Humans simply called it Eternium.

Scholars believe Eternium forms when the life force of the slain fuses with residual magical energy, creating a substance that exists partially outside normal time. Fragments of Eternium never tarnish, never decay, and are said to carry faint echoes of the souls that forged them. For this reason, it is considered both precious and profane—a currency minted from tragedy.

Eternium cannot be forged or replicated by any known craft. The great deposits were exhausted centuries ago, and now only scattered fragments remain in circulation, passing through the hands of the powerful. It is wanted everywhere and coveted by all. A single shard of Eternium can purchase what a thousand Copper Rounds cannot: rare artifacts, forbidden knowledge, the loyalty of legends.

Barter

In practice, much of Valdren's economy runs on direct exchange. A sack of wheat for a bundle of flax. A dozen fish for a healing salve. An iron sword for a month's labor. Barter is especially common in rural areas, among traveling merchants who prefer goods to coins, and when dealing across guild lines where one faction's currency might be refused on principle.

Smart traders carry both coins and goods. Copper opens doors in cities; useful items open them everywhere else.