Recently I've begun a small project to create a world for both a D&D/Pathfinder campaign setting and a setting for a series of stories I intend to write. As I know many of the people here at Paizo are lovers of novels and the amazing writing of the Paizo staff and their freelancers, I thought that this would be an excellent place to show off some bits of the setting to get some critiques. I will probably move it to some place off Paizo in a sort of blog format later, but I greatly enjoy the opinions and insight of the people here (though I admit to spending a great deal of my time lurking).
Feel free to leave any comments, questions, or criticisms here. I will warn you, it's rather unedited, so there may be the occasional grammatical or logical error. Feel free to point those out if you find them, but I don't expect you lot to be my editors ;). Thus introduced, allow me to introduce you to my world of Tarela.
World of the Hungering Star
Many wonders abound in Tarela. In the land known as Morteya, hordes of undead creatures fight endlessly amongst themselves, reliving the days of their long-dead empire. In the obsidian peaks of the Black Spires, hobgoblins and their armies wage constant war against tribes of giant warlords. Near Tarela's equator, the Godscar rests as an eternal tribute to the death of an ancient god, its shattered wastes a nearly lifeless testament to a battle between two immortals. In Helonth, the land of a thousand lakes, scholars search for secrets and engage in cunning political ploys to raise their ranks above that of their neighbors. Mysteries abound of the floating nation of Gelfarin, where no one enters and the few that leave speak nothing of the land. Many other places exist, from the kingdoms of serpent-pharohs, to lands devoid of any humanity, place of adventure are abundant across Tarela's surface.
Of Tarela's most defining features, one rises above all others in a quite literal fashion, for the sun that provides the light that gives life to so many also seeks to destroy everything. Looming in the sky roils the star-god Visharanthol, a monstrous immortal composed of flame and hatred that wishes nothing more than to devour all other than itself. It is held in check with a constant battle with the god Ochulire, who's priest fight to continually root out Visharanthol's crazed followers. Hundreds of years before today, the sun god Kel Masabd was slain by his enemy Gabach which created the Godscar that encircles half the planet. This caused the world's sun to die, causing a time known as 'The Great Cold Night'. Ochulire, Kel Masabd's nephew, was asked with Kel Masabd's dying breath to venture forth into worlds beyond Tarela to find a new star to keep the world from a slow death. Ochulire found the star-god Visharanthol quickly, but refused to bring it back at first, hoping to find a less dangerous and more malleable source of heat. It was only at the last possible moment that Ochulire brought Visharanthol back to Tarela, consigning himself to forever keeping the foul beast at bay.
Each gate, when active, possesses a particular trigger and leads to one specific destination. A trigger can be anything from a song, a color, a unique item, or even just entering the area where it exists. Due to their chaotic nature, most activations of these portals is entirely accidental, and still many more are never activated at all. Still, there are occasionally times when a you farm maid may find a pretty stone near a place where she is gathering water, only later to disappear with a toppled bucket found near the barn door. Afterwards, the now mutated woman may begin attacking near the farm site, or a strange beast known to be from far off lands may be sighted, or perhaps nothing at all may happen. As often as not, many go through their lives without being affected in any way by these gates, even the most adventurous of heroes.