The Known World of Ardynor

The Known World of Old Ardynor

An introduction to Lumia, the old capital, and the world beyond.

The Lands of Old Ardynor form a vast continent divided into many kingdoms, regions, and smaller territories.

For centuries, these lands developed alongside one another. Trade routes connected distant settlements, scholars exchanged knowledge, and neighbouring cultures influenced each other through cooperation, rivalry, and war.

At the center of the continent stood the old capital.

Built on the highest peak within a ring of mountains, it was once the most important city in the known world. Merchants, rulers, scholars, and craftsmen travelled there from across the continent. Its libraries and workshops held knowledge that no single kingdom could have gathered alone.

That age ended when the rulers of the capital began searching beyond the world they already knew.

The Old Capital

The capital was built in a place that seemed impossible to attack.

Mountains surrounded it on every side, while the main castle stood above them on the highest point of the range. From there, the rulers of the capital watched over the roads and kingdoms below.

The city became wealthy through trade, research, and the exchange of knowledge. Its scholars were encouraged to study anything that might strengthen the continent.

Eventually, this curiosity turned toward the skies.

Records from that time are incomplete, and much of what happened remains hidden. What is known is that the rulers discovered something beyond the ordinary world - a place, power, or realm connected to the sky itself.

They believed it could be controlled.

They were wrong.

The disaster began inside the capital.

Ice spread through its streets, walls, towers, and homes with unnatural speed. Parts of the city were destroyed, while others were frozen almost exactly as they had stood before the catastrophe.

The corruption did not affect everyone in the same way.

Some citizens were frozen before they could escape. Others resisted the influence and died where they stood. Many soldiers, nobles, and servants were changed into undead warriors bound to the ruined capital.

The capital has remained isolated ever since.

Few people know what still survives inside it.

The Royal Family

The king was not the only member of the royal family involved in the search beyond the skies.

His daughter, the princess, also helped pursue the power that caused the disaster. She was corrupted alongside him.

Her mother resisted.

When the queen refused the corruption, she was frozen and left standing as an ice-covered statue. Seeing this broke the princess. Rather than continuing to resist, she allowed the ice to take her as well.

Unlike the ordinary citizens who froze and died, the princess had already been corrupted.

She remains trapped within the ice, alive but unable to escape it.

What she has become - or whether she can still be saved - is unknown.

Lumia

Lumia is the first playable kingdom within the Lands of Old Ardynor.

Lumia is a human kingdom shaped by military discipline, agriculture, craftsmanship, trade, and strict loyalty to the Crown. Its cities and villages are protected by soldiers, walls, and local authorities, while roads connect farms, markets, and smaller settlements throughout the region.

Beyond those roads, the kingdom is less secure.

Bandits operate in the wilderness. Goblins and orcs threaten travellers and isolated settlements. Skeletons and other undead appear near ruins, caves, and forgotten places. Old structures remain scattered across the land, many of them older than the kingdom itself.

Lumia opposes the corrupted capital, although few of its people understand the full nature of the threat.

For most citizens, the old capital is a distant warning—a place associated with forbidden research, corruption, and the destruction caused by uncontrolled power.

Magic Is Forbidden

Magic is banned in Lumia.

The kingdom believes that supernatural power played a direct role in the destruction of the old capital. Open spellcasting is therefore treated with fear, suspicion, and, in many places, hostility.

The law does not mean magic has disappeared.

It survives through hidden practitioners, forbidden books, old relics, travellers from distant lands, and secret groups operating beyond the attention of the authorities.

Some people practise magic because they believe it is necessary.

Others seek it for power, knowledge, protection, or survival.

Most simply avoid being discovered.

A person seen openly casting spells inside a settlement may attract the attention of guards, officials, religious figures, or frightened citizens.

Not every consequence of this is fully represented through gameplay yet, but it remains an important part of Lumia’s lore.

Magical Classes in Lumia

Classes such as the Mage, Cleric, and Summoner still exist within the world.

Choosing one of these classes does not mean your character is publicly accepted as a spellcaster.

A magical character may hide their abilities, rely on knowledge learned beyond Lumia, carry forbidden relics, or have been trained in secret. Some may have ties to underground orders, disguise the true nature of their powers, or simply avoid the kingdom’s settlements where discovery would be far more dangerous.

This creates a clear difference between gameplay and the laws of the world.

You may use magical abilities as part of your class, but within the story, your character may need to be careful about when and where those powers are revealed.

Life Beyond the Roads

Lumia presents itself as orderly and well defended, but much of the kingdom lies beyond direct control.

The further travellers move from major settlements, the more dangerous the land becomes.

Old ruins remain unexplored. Bandit groups control sections of the wilderness. Goblins establish camps near roads and caves. Orcs gather in stronger warbands. The dead sometimes rise in places where old battles or forgotten rituals took place.

These threats are not always connected to the corrupted capital.

Some are older. Others have simply taken advantage of the kingdom’s weakened control over distant regions.

Adventurers are often sent where ordinary soldiers cannot remain for long.

The Wider Continent

Lumia is only one of many kingdoms within the Lands of Old Ardynor. Beyond its borders lie other peoples, cultures, and powers, many of which view magic very differently.

Far to the northwest are said to be elven lands surrounded by forests, snow, and flowering trees. To the north stands another human kingdom, positioned directly against the old capital, while sea warriors inhabit a distant peninsula and the islands around it. Elsewhere, desert settlements have grown around trade and long-distance travel, and hidden woodland villages are home to hunters and mercenaries who prefer to remain far from the main roads.

In the south, powerful warlords claim to be the true centre of human power. Stories also speak of magical peoples hidden in remote parts of the world, a civilisation beneath the sea, and even a realm said to exist somewhere above the clouds.

Most of these places cannot yet be reached, but they will gradually become accessible as the playable world continues to expand.

The Present Age

The old capital has not been defeated.

The corrupted king still survives, and the ice remains trapped behind the mountain ring. Whether it is weakening, spreading, or simply waiting is unknown.

Lumia continues with its ordinary life: trade, farming, military patrols, local disputes, and the defence of its settlements.

Most citizens are more concerned with bandits, missing travellers, dangerous creatures, or the next harvest than with a distant frozen city.

That may not remain true for long.

The story of the Lands of Old Ardynor begins in a kingdom that believes it understands the dangers around it.

It does not.