Ascendant History 01: The Great Dragon

“For beneath the eye of the dragon, all were equal.
beneath the eye of the dragon, all were ash.”
-An ancient poem believed to have been written by an eyewitness of the dragon.

Civilization on Ascendant’s earth began 50,000 years ago, with the help of Guardians and blood mages, agriculture quickly sprang up and cities followed soon after.

Despite the warnings of the Guardians about Blood Magic, two empires founded on it slowly took shape. Neither empire could be content while the other still existed and so it came to war.

It was during these wars that many of the Twisted were created, living weapons designed to terrify, and destroy. None of them could measure up to the might of the dragon.

Since all records of the period are destroyed, no one is sure which empire created the dragon, but there are some records from after the reign of the dragon that say it took a thousand human deaths and the slaughter of a hundred Guardian Fledglings to create the dragon.

It would take many more deaths to destroy it.

It is unknown how long the dragon’s reign lasted, but it decimated the populations of humans and Guardians alike. There were many attempts to slay the dragon, but none succeeded and people wondered if this was how the world would end.

In the end, it was no Mortal power that defeated the dragon. The Trinity called up a mighty flood and drowned the world and the dragon along with it. The Guardians, according to their legends, were given the land of Caelam to spare them the floodwaters. (After this, the Guardians became more powerful as well, as they were closer to the Immortal Realm)

Eventually, Blood Magic would reestablish itself in the minds of humanity, but it would never be as commonplace as it was before the dragon.

Ascendant World Building 03: Blood Magic

Guardians aren’t the only ones with channels, humans have them too. Unlike Guardians, however, humans usually have very little to no access to the power of the Immortal Realm. In extraordinary circumstances, they might tap into it a bit, but nothing like the conscious control the Guardians have.
In earth’s ancient history though, there were people who figured out how to gain greater access to this power. The first Blood Mages started popping up around 50,000 BC. and before too long, the earth was home to two great blood empires.
Blood Mages did many terrible experiments seeking out the limits of their power and along the way, they created the Twisted and eventually the Shadow Folk (posts coming soon!)
As you can see from the chart, Guardians have a lot more channels than humans as well as being able to consciously control their power without blood magic. This makes them highly desirable for blood magic rituals, but taking on an adult Guardian is no small feat and your chances of victory are slim to none. Fledglings, however, are much easier to take on as they have little control of their power outside of illusions.
Guardians usually keep their children safely tucked away in Caelam, out of reach of dark forces. Sometimes though they come to earth and then all of the dark forces on earth sit up and take notice.

Ascendant World Building 02: Guardian Magic

1) Channels are how Guardians access the Immortal Realm, which is where their power comes from.
2) Primaries and wind feathers have the most channels and the most power
3)Guardians use their wind feathers to sense air currents around them
4) Normal Guardians fly by altering the air around their wings and bodies
5) Wind Weavers are able to manipulate the air on a much greater scale and their magic can overwhelm another’s

Ascendant World Building 01: Wing Types

In ancient times, Guardians were divided into three clans, and while they were united long before Justice’s war began, the ancestry of a Guardian is still easy to tell.

Mountain Clan has the gift of speed, and they also have the highest number of wind weavers among them

Desert Clan was given the gift of endurance. In the age of the clans, they would soar between oases in the desert. They can stay aloft for days at a time, even sleeping on the wing.

Forest Clan has agility. No other clan can navigate the treacherous airspace beneath the forest canopy and you definitely don’t want to engage a descendant of Forest Clan in battle if you’re in cramped quarters.