Let’s learn all about the secret organization of the Aeriof Waters. Join Adam as he explores his DireLands fantasy campaign setting. You can learn more about DireLands here: https://reverendcampbell.com/direlands/
About DireLands Fantasy Campaign Setting
DireLands is a system agnostic, dark fantasy tabletop roleplaying campaign setting. It was created by Adam P. Campbell in 2024. DireLands is set in a land that is in the final century of an ice age that saw the rise of the Witch-Queen who subjugated the three realms’ populations and cast out the demi-human races. The Triumvirate rose in the last century and liberated two of the three nations, but after their victory, they have become corrupt themselves.
Transcript
Cold Open
There is no secret organization in Faulest (faw-lest) which has a deeper connection to, and sheer detest for the Witch-Queen.
Intro
Welcome to this continuation of my DireLands system agnostic, dark fantasy campaign setting! My name is Adam and in this episode I will be discussing the secret organization of the Aeriof Waters (air-ee-off) in DireLands. If you appreciate the development of this campaign setting, or the features of other games on this channel, I would like to invite you to consider becoming a patron on Patreon. You can even purchase tabletop roleplaying games using my affiliate link in the description below.
Details
In the ancient days before the arrival of the Witch-Queen, there was a secret organization that operated out of the wildlands. Led by the mysterious dwarf Zuhuul, this order of Warlocks communed with unspeakable cosmic beings. Their origins were one of honoring the gods by examining their extra terrestrial origins in space and time. Through their research, they were contacted by beings they called the Dubh-chreideamh (Du kar-etch-ev). This aberrant cosmic society existed beyond the dimensional space time even the gods inhabited, and desired the control of Ciar-mhonadh (kierd-vonnig).
The Aeriof Waters realized that they did not need their primitively evolved eyes to see into space time and ritually removed them. Every initiate would be expected to personally perform this rite before being accepted into the organization. This granted them dimensional focus, and they used that focus to open the dimensional door into their reality. The Aeriof Waters believed they could become even more powerful if they worked with the Dubh-chreideamh and helped facilitate their arrival by subduing the gods. It is believed by the Aeriof Waters that this series of rituals which spanned a decade, caused the exponential growth of the northern glaciers and the ice age itself, but that would be a small price to pay for the arrival of, and power granted by the Dubh-chreideamh.
Space time itself is malleable in the wildlands, and no one understands this save the gods, and the Aeriof Waters. They exist now, and they existed before the Beàrrta (bee-och-te) stepped foot on Faulest. But their power was granted to them initially by the gods, then later by these extra dimensional beings. And this seemed to be their ultimate doom. For once the Witch-Queen arrived, she sought to control all on Ciar-mhonadh starting with those who heralded her arrival. For she saw anyone who wielded power as a potential threat. As she was welcomed by Zuhuul and his devotees, the Witch-Queen tore their tongues from their mouths with one sweep of her hand. Blind and speechless, the Aeriof Waters were ostensibly neutered; at least that is what the Witch-Queen believed.
This forced Zuhuul and his devotees underground. It was at this time that the Witch-Queen would make it illegal for any male to practice magic. Magi were killed on sight if discovered, and this not only reduced potential threats to her rise of power, it also kept those who would be capable of standing in her way to fear doing so. Her path to power was assured. But the Aeriof Waters were not only dealing with the current dimension, and they certainly wouldn’t allow a being who they heralded into their realm the ability to destroy them. Over the centuries they learned the power of extrasensory perception or ESP. With this inner talent they would learn to once again exert their power into the realm of man.
The gods however do not forget, and those that would attempt to subdue them would feel their wrath. While the Witch-Queen waged her war on Faulest, the gods waged their war on the Aeriof Waters. But those who drew their power initially from the gods and then the Dubh-chreideamh would not go down without a fight. Their numbers dwindled from a few dozen to less than five in the current age; they have ostensibly pulled the focus of the gods in the wildlands from the mortal world, and not only allowed the Witch-Queen unopposed control for nearly a millennia, but diminished the gods’ presence in the very world they created.
Throughout the centuries the Aeriof Waters fought their war, and when they could, drew in more from the realm of men through promises of knowledge and power. This slow resurgence of their numbers ensured their ancient traditions would continue, and their numbers would be replenished in the ongoing conflict. But when the Witch-Queen was overthrown by the free-peoples of Faulest, the gods ceased their war, believing the Aeriof Waters had once again become weakened. The organization played into this divine belief and the war finally ended. But Zuhuul still lived, and his desire for power and communication with the Dubh-chreideamh was far from closed.
As the world of men began to rebuild in the wake of the Witch-Queen, and the beginning of the end of the Ice Age had begun, the Aeriof Waters believed their time was finally at hand. They are working to resurrect the Witch-Queen in the wildlands, under their control, and in doing so, the spreading of the wildlands is pushing the massive glacier that has covered Ciar-mhonadh for nigh a millennia, back. The gods are silent, but the Aeriof Waters are in constant communication with their patrons in the Dubh-chreideamh and they believe this new form of the Witch-Queen will be easier to control.
As the order of the Aeriof waters continues in their extra dimensional schemes, they are continuously on the look out for powerful talent to join their orders. And they do not see their past as a scar, but rather a foundation moving forward. They still ritually remove their eyes, but they have adopted the removal of new adherents tongues as a form of tradition that will embolden their order, creating focus into their plans and ensuring their future success over the gods and eventually the Dubh-chreideamh as well.
Will you join this ancient order of warlocks, or stand in opposition to them? Can they ever usurp those who granted them their power? And finally, will these extra dimensional beings ever be locked out of our reality? Only your home campaign can answer those questions, as the future of these DireLands are in your hands.
Outro
Thank you for watching today’s DireLands Fantasy Campaign Setting episode. Please consider subscribing to this YouTube channel, liking and commenting on this video. And if you enjoyed this episode, consider becoming a patron on Patreon. Always remember that evil spelled backwards is live, so get out there and be evil!