Esshar

The Country of Esshar is a land to the far east of Sheng, separated by the Restless Ocean, a stormy, tumultuous sea that's still heavily under the influence of the fading peace barriers. There are no references to Esshar in the ancient texts of the divine wars: the continent was uninhabited until the early third century, after the Dread-demon Mordred the Perfect and its legions destroyed the country of Astya. The High Angel Malztiel and his aides managed to intervene near the end of the devastation, relocating many thousand refugees to this new land, and it has long since established itself as a leading superpower in the world's affairs.

The most known and practiced religion throughout the lands is The Faith, the Essharan Church.

Osrona: Otherwise known as the Shimmering City, a city led by an Archmage, and is home to the knights of the Order of the Second Dawn.

Achyon: A city which serves as the Empire of Barsburg's foremost outpost upon Esshar. Ruled by an Iron Council, as well as various families.

Moxtli: Following the Pandemonium Chase, many Beastkin came together and formed the tribes of Moxtli, following after Gehenna's Tocathianism.

Foundings

The Kingdom of Esshar was founded by refugees near the end of the second century, and its people have an eventful history that spans all the way back to the beginnings of the world. The empire of Astya was where it started, the first great civilization during the Mythical Era, roughly five millennia ago to date. This was a time when magic was in full bloom, and many of the more proficient magi were demigods in their own right, able to perform what by today’s standards would be considered miracles.

There were two in particular that, despite the heightened flow of magic of the time, still stood out among the rest. Amalia Elaide and Mikhail Petrakis. They both held the rank of Archmagi, the highest honor the empire would award someone with… And while held in similar esteem by the people of Astya, they walked very different paths; Amalia’s interests were in the natural world, the animals in the forest and the spirits. Mikhail’s was the past and future, but never the present, a disciple of the timestream.

Amalia’s interests would eventually turn from wildlife and towards creation. She used the fear of men as fuel for power, pulling their nightmares out of sleep like the clouds pull water from the ocean and turn it into rain. She called them demons, her own special kind of creature, a new breed of beast - far more predatory, deadly, and intelligent than any other. The council of lords that ran the empire saw this as a great advancement, and at the command of Amalia, the demons conquered many countries, helping to expand the reaches of Astya. Eventually, however, the witch set her sights on complete dominion, wanting total control of the empire rather than sharing it with the council, but her ambitions were directly thwarted by Mikhail Petrakis, exposing her hidden agenda.

This led to the Civil War of the Astyan Empire. The first great war. Many provinces sided with Amalia over the empire, admiring her ruthlessness and power, or just considering her the safer bet. While a valiant fight was put up, the armies of the witch were eventually destroyed. She was said to perish in battle, though some sources claim she survived in some form or another. Her sister, Miya, also continued to live in secrecy among the Astyans. Peace returned to Eternia, for a time.

It wasn’t until many centuries later did the witch have her revenge, in the form of a demon. One of her own creations, one of the first to rise. Over the years, Mordred had ascended to the highest form possible within the demon evolutionary chain and moved to wreak havoc on Astya, decimating its cities, devouring its people. The demon was a mountain of moving flesh, and it destroyed the country completely, land and all. Just twenty thousand Astyans were rescued by the High Angel Malztiel after the elder Archmagi, Mikhail, called out in distress, his voice reaching across the spirit realm and toward the heavens. What was left of the peoples of Astya were taken to a new land, the Continent of Aegis: To the far east of the world, across the Restless Ocean. It’s there they start over, led by the Petrakis bloodline, after being welcomed by the natives of the land - the people of Magnolia in particular - and given self-governorship of a small province on the western coast.

Over a millennia and a half has passed since then, and Esshar is the most prominent power in the region.