A Short History of Cordilon

Before Cordilon, the world was populated by millions of people spread throughout numerous warring kingdoms and empires. The largest three were Axcenas, Pereblia, and Magmera, a trio which had been at total war for countless generations. The only thing that united the humans of the world was their belief in a single history: the gods created the world and created the life on it, and simply stood back and watched, never interfering.

The gods, however, were displeased with the never-ending conflict between humans, but were unable to impede the free will they had given humanity. And so, with no way to directly tell the human kingdoms to cease their hostilities, they were left with one last choice in desperation.

A catastrophic event occurred, known to this day as the Great Reckoning, which devoured nearly the entire population of the world and ripped all manmade objects from the earth, reforging the land in the original image of the gods. A few thousand men and women survived the event and awakened to a lush, green planet that had been restored to its former beauty. The first kingdoms that spanned the world were no more, and the men and women of the world formed the first towns that would become the center of the Kingdom of Cordilon.

Never since the Great Reckoning have men clashed in battle with each other, instead occupied with a new creation of the gods: the hordes of the dead and the damned. Though a few groups have separated from Cordilon and founded their own small nations, no cities or kingdoms have ever warred against each other, opting to work together to defeat the armies of the other side.

Thanks in part to the peace between all humankind (and, ironically, to the hostile armies of the other side), a system of shortened travel has been found between sections of the world, via shortcuts through a dangerous alternate world where the damned roam the burning landscape known to mankind as hell. Only the most powerful of kingdoms have ever attempted to create the potentially devastating network of portals through hell and back, and those that have done so have only made short exploratory ventures into the inferno.


Cities of Cordilon

Aquanor

Situated in a cave network with numerous underground rivers and lakes, Aquanor was originally founded by Nilanos Blademoon, who recognized its value as an easily-defended position in the early days of the Creeper Outbreak of 339 AGR. Shortly after the Creepers were culled, a valuable deposit of redstone was found, spurring significant growth. While the redstone ran out quickly, the complete safety of the cave town and its steady supplies of clean water allowed for continued growth under Nilanos' eldest son Thexare.

Lumania

Cordilon's first true city, built after society had recovered somewhat from the Great Reckoning. In fact, Lumania was built in large part as a celebration of this recovery, proof that life could go on. The city's numerous fountains were symbolic of its rebirth, and its equally-numerous guard towers served as a silent assurance that this city would be safe. It houses the Lumania Pyramid, where the ruling council meets and hears petitions from civilians, as well as a sizable guard regiment and training facility. The overt appearance of security combined with the town's age has led to Lumania being the most populous city in Cordilon.

Tethra

Tethra is the capital and personal home city of one of the rulers of Cordilon, Lord Kazinsal Goldsmith. The city is an assortment of buildings in the belly of a large cave that was found to end as a deep, wide basin. The buildings are all centered on the Hall of the Forge, the fortress from which Kazinsal runs the city. Being situated in the area, it is significantly restricted in its expansion and has no room for farming, though small iron and coal veins are often found during construction. Due to the lack of room above ground, many buildings expand deeper into the earth instead of building upwards.

Sensara

An ancient project of the Cordilon ruling council, Sensara is intended to fill two roles. It is a tourist attraction and a way to show the power of Cordilon when contact with other nations is re-established. It also serves an emergency fallback point in the event of another Reckoning; it is large enough to support the entire population of Cordilon, if perhaps a bit uncomfortably, and it continues to expand as necessary. Sensara is supported by numerous pillars which contain spiral staircases up to the city proper, and travel within the city is facilitated by means of the Tubeway - a series of, essentially, water slides. The only straight land-based entryway is through the narrow Crybridge Pass, which is only connected so wagons and merchant caravans can access the city.

Originally posted by Astrophel

---

The construction of minecarts and tracks locks up a server in such a state that a backup of the world has to be restored.

In fact, that's one of the reasons the public opening is delayed until the Halloween update - in hopes that this'll be fixed.

This is also (part of) where the idea for Sensara's Tubeway came from - accelerated travel in what should be a large city without powered minecarts? Only one option was left.

---

Originally posted by Astrophel

---

Bad news, Alexandor. Minecarts are still broken. And Hell doesn't even work in multiplayer.

---