Aarklash

Aarklash is a fictional world and, more generally, a setting, originally created for the french miniature wargame Confrontation by Rackham. It is now used as a background for several products like the roleplaying game Cadwallon and several novels.

Since originally the background for a wargame, the world is filled with fighting cultures, some of them on the brink of extinction. It can thereby probably be considered to be of the dark fantasy genre.

"Most of this article is translated from French. You can read the original article here."

The world of Aarklash

Race and people

The races and peoples of Aarklash are gathered together by their affiliations. Those who share a similar philosophy or common goals have forged alliances to face their enemies and to secure their victory. Thus the three great Alliances came to be.

Meanders of Darkness

Those who keep trying to satisfy their thirst for power and do not hesitate to call upon the most terrifying and twisted powers.

* The Living dead, also known as the Limbo of Acheron or the Army of the Ram, shelter the corrupt legions of the Maudite Barony.
* The Alchemists of Dirz, also known as the Army of the Scorpion, are refugees in the desert of Syharhalna. There carry out their unnatural experiments and are getting ready to unleash hordes of biomechanical clone warriors.
* The Akkyshan Elves, army of the Spider, also have it in mind that, in the dark night, they sacrifice Aarklash on the altar of their goddess, Lilith.
* Taken away from their Wolfen brothers, the fairness of the Devourers of Vile-Tis today goes to the one who opened his eyes for them: Vile-Tis, the Beast.
* The Ophidian Alliance, the Army of the Serpent are an ancient race which is in the autumn of their power. After long centuries spent in hiding they are now returning to the surface of Aarklash to ally themselves with the other Meanders of Darkness.

The Ways of Light

The Ways of Light work to bring about an age of reason and prosperity. They unite the most prosperous civilizations on Aarklash.

* The Lions of Alahan, the Army of the Lion, are the protectors of justice and of the light. They fight to reestablish order and prosperity over Aarklash.
* The Griffins of Akkylanie, the Army of the Griffin, are fanatical warriors devoted to the god Merin.
* The Cynwäll Elves, the Army of the Dragon, are getting ready to return to this world, which has forgotten them, accompanied by the magic of their strange artifacts and construct warriors.
* The Kelts of the Sessair clan, the Army of the Minotaur, are nomadic warriors of the Plains of Avagddu. They worship the god Ard Ri, the great king who will reunite them again.
* The Dwarves of Tir-na-bor, the Army of the Boar, live in the Aegis Mountains where they construct unbeliveably powerful, steam-powered weapons and armour.

The Paths of Destiny

The peoples of destiny cherish their freedom and staunchly refuse the future promised by the powers of Light and Darkness.

* The Daikinee Elves, the Army of the Scarab. When they were still a young people, the Daïkinee lived by the gods’ side. Now recluses in the eternal forest of Quithayran, they have cultivated the connections they share with the fayrees and the magical forces of the continent.
* The Orcs of Bran-o-kor, the Army of the Tree Spirit. Originally bred as slave-warriors by the Alchemists of Dirz the orcs fought themselves free and escaped to the land of Bran-o-kor and to the Behemoth mountains. After living in slavery for too long, they are now ready to defend their dearly bought liberty.
* The Wolfen of Yllia, the Army of the Wolf, are the greatest predators in all of Aarklash. Their god is Yllia, the goddess of the moon.
* The Goblins of No-dan-kar, the Army of the Rat, have spawned from Shyar experiments. They are the youngest people of Aarklash. Rowdy, fertile and greedy, they are now a real plague. United by their shared fervor that is equaled only by their notorious greed, they loot, battle and work with all their hearts for the immortal glory of Rat.

Besides these three formal alliances, many independent armies take part in the Rag’narok. The free city of Cadwallon refuses to choose sides, but will lend a hand to its allies in good time, though only out of sheer commercial opportunism. And whenever its independence is under threat, all its heroes will raise their weapons. In the same way, mercenaries travel Aarklash seeking battles and someone ready to pay for their experience…

* The Utopia of the Sphinx are ancient enemies of the Ophidian Alliance which were nearly destroyed in the dawn of time. They now return to Aarklash allied to the Cynwäll Elves.
* The Kelts of the Drune clan, Army of the Stag, have, after a long time, broken with their brothers, the Kelts of the Sessair clan. But they all worship the Ard Ri, the great king who will reunite them again.
* The Dwarves of Mid-Nor or Army of the Hydra are only puppets of flesh and terror. They serve the Despot.

The Gods

[The original French is] copied from the official forum, whose goal is to gather together all available information about each god of each people in order for this information to be seen clearly.

ights of the Light

* Cynwall ElvesWhile Cynwall teachings and philosophy can in other regards seem religious, this republic of elves does not pay homage to any particular god or gods. They follow a path that is similar to Taoism or Buddhism many respects. The Cynwall way of life teaches that one should seek clarity of mind and truth, no matter how elusive, and that simple emotion is untrustworthy when making decisions that concern the fate of others. Instead, they instruct one to meditate carefully on the most sensible course of action, free of illogical emotion.

* Griffins of AkkylanieMerin: "the unique gods"

* Sessoir Celts( Danu + Lahn => Cianath + Murgan )( Danu + Eladh => Fiann + Siobhan + Neraidh )

Danu: the mother goddess. Earth Goddess: goddess of the ground, of the lakes and rivers.- This artifact has an equally deeper role: the one which persuades the Celtic hunters that death is approaching them and that they have the authorization of the Goddess to kill these spirits for the good of the clan.- Charged with the fervor of the priests of Danu, the Hearts of Fury are so named because of the irrepressible feeling of anger and hate that takes over whomever they approach. Under the influence of these artifacts formed in a divine rage, the Warriors of Danu allow themselves to be flooded by the spasm of fury from when the first blood was spilled.- Combatants like them are rare and they are considered the favorites of Danu. Strong from this particular link, they frequently wear the amulets blessed by the priests of Danu in order to fuel among them the protection of the goddess.- At the age when the young men learn the management of arms, certain sights topple their existence in these moments. Danu appears to her chosen ones, in all her power and her glory. Faced with the intensity of this vision, the eyes of the Sessairs close forever, preserving for the rest of their existence the vision of this loving goddess. Only death will know how to force them to again open their eyelids. Their perception of the world changed forever, they become the Oracles of Danu, protectors of the tribe and of the teachings of the Goddess.- The warrior priestess is the queen of the fiannas, those who interpret the strange sights of Danu and strike down their enemies.- Virae often takes with her an antique icon of Danu. This little bronze statuette, which could pass for a toy or a talisman, nevertheless contains immeasurable power. The statue is one of the first representations of the goddess and has been for centuries the object of worship by the beings of pure love.- Sinshera is not a big cat like the others. He mysteriously appeared on the morning of the enthronement of Virae to the mysteries of the goddess Danu. He has never left her side, and never will.

Lahn: god of the sun and the heavens

Cianath:- Cianath is the divinity assembled into his present forms by knowledge of the divine arts. His priests constantly keep watch over the gates of his spirit, open to manifestations of his divinity. They transport an impressive amount of parchments to give body to the oracles that their Cianath delivers. They allow themselves to be invaded by his presence and they practice a form of automatic writing. They alone are then capable of interpreting the strange symbols that they have traced under the grip of this trance.- The wisdom of Cianath, god of scholars, is legendary. It teaches the Sessairs to serve him in combat.

Murgan

Eladh/Cernunnos: see Drunes

Matrae: the Matrae are the three protector goddesses of the Sessairs

Fiann: goddess of war

Siobhan: goddess of nature, life and fertility

Neraidh: She who Walks Among the Dead

* Lions of Alahan(Arin + Elad => Arakin the Benevolent)

Arin:- The first and foremost of the lion gods. The father of the Light is represented as a ripe man watching over the world and carrying Lahn.- Deliverance is the sword that will have been carried by Arin, the father of the Barhan gods, whereas this one injured the land of Aarklash by battling on the side of his own people.According to legend, Deliverance will contain a part of the divine essence of Arin, and only a man of pure heart will be able to wield it. The weapon has certain extraordinary properties, which seem not to have been inspired by a god...This sword strikes relentlessly the heart of the enemies of the Lion, to deliver them from evil.- Misan has inherited the name of Clairvoyant from his father's side of the family, who inherited it from his father, who inherited it from his father before him...The history of the family tells the story that the founders of the line had accompanied the patriarch of the Barhan gods, also named Arin, when he injured the land of Aarklash.- Often compared with the Sun physically and philosophically, this god represents the ideal to which everyone gifted with conscience should aspire to be.- For a few, he is the protector, the generous force that grants prosperity and light to those who stray into darkness. For the others he is the inexhaustible source of power and courage, the god who helps those who believe in him to overcome all obstacles. For the rest, finally, Arin is a symbol of authority, the firm but fair king who administers all the realms of the Light. No one pretends that Arin, in reality, will simply be a conceptualization of all human ideals. The god has never shown himself in person (at least not officially) to prove the contrary. But if that's the case, the miracles he obtains give evidence of the grandeur of the Man...- Every Faithful of Arin possesses his own special characteristics. Each o them, however, possesses a miraculous gift: foresight.

Elad: Arin's wife. Goddess of fertility, love, and water.

Arakin the Benevolent: son of Arin and Elad. God of war, courage, and honor.

Arakin the Tormentor: malicious alter ego of Arakin the Benevolent. Personification of the inhumanity of war.

Tiranor and Kain: twins of destiny, good or evil.

Chimera: guardian of the realm of the gods.- The tradition of the Lion tells the story that the Chimera guards access to a domain of Light and lives with the gods and heroes destined to return in the final age of the world. Thanks to these aspects, the Realm of the Gods resembles Parangon, the mythical place where the heroes of the past are said to rest.

Azel: goddess of death, time, and winter.- The legends and the altars show her as a young woman with white-blonde hair, endowed with a coat sewn of stars and swords.- Azel is the guardian of the passage which separates the worlds of the living and the dead. Even if she has no fundamentally maleficent nature, the funereal aspect of the domains which are dedicated to the faithful causes the Barhans to mistrust this goddess. Her cult is fully tolerated and no temple directly pays homage to her.- If it doesn't possess the clergy to speak properly, the cult of Azel can nevertheless count a few of the more faithful among the adorers. The Order of the Valkyries is an ancient and respected sisterhood. The allegiance of the Order towards Azel is discreet but real. Every Valkyrie venerates her with fervor, but only a special few among them, the Pythies, are initiated into the Mysteries of the goddess. Some say that the Pythies are capable of holding back—just for a moment—the souls of the dead above the land of the living...

* Utopia of the Sphinx?

Ways of Destiny

By keeping in him an undesirable part of the god he worships, a member of the Faithful becomes capable of redefining the very environment.

* Devourers of Vile-TisVile-Tis: the Beast is a cunning and cruel god. Sworn enemy of Arh-Tolth.- Zeiren was a Wolfen of the wolfpack of Ellis, the Elder of the Devourers, when Vile-Tis, the Beast, arrived on Aarklash. Like all his previous warriors, the Beast was to him a gift of inestimable power. Zeiren received the Asterion, a twin halberd unbelievably resistant and more searing than the best acid. Cut off from civilization after a long period of being missing, this weapon is endowed with a strange conscience. The Asterion can redirect the hatred of an enemy against him. The more bodies the Asterion kills, the more powerful it becomes, and the more violent its powers become the next time around.- Managarm the Traitor inflicted on Shengul, the name of the Beast, the destiny reserved for usurper gods.- But when the Beast delivers his revelations, the truths of Nekhar fly in brightness. All the belief lost in the voyage, cut off from reality like that, but Vile-Tis keeps watch over his own...Nekhar, after the month of bloody depravity and self-mutilation, awaits "the ecstasy", the illumination. The fallen god, it satisfied him to attend the spiritual renaissance of his Disciple, who made from among the Alviram a dreadful weapon whose perverse desires fuel the deep desires of the Devourer.- Before giving battle to the assembly of the peoples of Aarklash, the Devourers are first and foremost at war with the gods. They perceive in them the truly powerful—but mortal!—entities. They have enslaved all the beings of Creation with no other goal but to satisfy their fratricidal ambitions...The Faithful of Vile-Tis are dreaded for their vandal spirit. They don't honor the Beast with the obedience that characterises proud and cruel divinities: they manage to be in agreement as much as possible with their own natures and the ideal warriors of the Beast. Their power of negation is such that reality seems to dislocate near them.- Vile-Tis, the Beast, teaches the perfection of combat to his warriors. The fallen god teaches them force, endurance, and the pain of the body and spirit, in equal measure. The best among them sometimes receive the privilege of battling alongside Ellis, the physical incarnation of the Beast on Aarklash. The Elder of the Devourers then reveals to them the secrets of the Gift of Death...Those who have survived all the tests of war receive a spark of power from the beast and are named Carnivores. Some of them transcend the limits of their body and soul facing adversity and become the true Disciples of the Beast. These combatants who have incarnated the perfection of combat are instantly baptized Tyrans.- Arh-Tolth suspects the Beast, the intelligence that guides the Devourers, of the Beast being an enemy that Arh-Tolth has already fought in the past...- Modified the same way by the Alchemists of Dirz, this strange blade has lost nothing of its sharpness, nor of its cruelty. It prepares to embed itself with the enjoyment of blood, as if it eagerly absorbs the precious "fluide vital". When it waters itself thus by the blood and agony of his victims, the Fang has traveled from a long shudder that betrays the savage will of this damned blade. Keeping alive part of the savagery and the ferocity of the Beast, its powers trigger themselves more strongly with each combat.- Although it acts as an artifact going back to the origins of the Wolfen, the talisman has the form of the symbol of Vile-Tis. It is the proof that the fallen god who guides the Devourers is far more ancient than they believed him to be.

* Daikinee Elves(Earhe => Wisshard)

Aoh: the Spirit of All Life

Eakhyn: God of the Dawn

Earhe: Goddess of the Twilight- The Ynkaro River takes its name from the gigantic winged serpent that swore to protect Earhe, the goddess of the Daikinee, after her companion, Eakhyn, sacrificed himself to save the Eternal Forest. Invisible and redoubtable, Ynkaro beat up the enemies of the goddess, having the swiftness of a lightning bolt and with the fury of a storm. When he came for her at the time of his death, Earhe bestowed upon him this blessing: that he would become the immortal spirit of the great river. The legend took place at the moment when the goddess allowed her own saber to glitter upon the tide, in honor of its fierce protector.- Shengul, the name of numerous descendants of the goddess Earhe and Quithayran, was a cruel Immortal, eager for blood and suffering, He persecutes his servants and enemies with his barbeled whip and maintains an immense core of slaves. His cult died out when Scaelin, the black widow of the Akkyshans, imposed her malediction on the Daikinees. After that, none of his subjects offered their infants in sacrifice in worship of him. The "bloody god" slept in lethargy, awaiting the Rag'Narok so he can revel one more time in the torments of mortals.

Wisshard:- A Daikinee legend claims that in ancient times a giant beast prowled about in the Eternal Forest. This terrifying being, named Wisshard, had been damned by the gods the day he was born: the more he nourished himself, the more his appetite grew. Wisshard devoured all his own before wandering into the forest on a quest for nourishment...The malediction was lightened the day Wisshard devoured a god. Destiny wanted the monster to die at the bottom of a grotto where the vengeance of the gods would not torment him any more.

* Goblins of No-Dan-Kar

Rat:- This powerful artifact is—if you believe in the legend—one of the new little bells which the god Rat gives as a gift to the Goblins when they stamp themselves from the joug of the Nains. The other little bells have today disappeared and this constitutes one of the great treasures of the people of No-Dan-Kar. When the sorcerer attempts to ring the small bell of the god Rat, a quake of rage and anger travels all over the entire goblin army. The wrath of the god Rat manifests itself curtly in the small bell and all the Goblins are stricken with frenetic trembling, while the excrescences and the horns appear on their bodies. The Goblin Army looks just like a nightmarish ocean tide resolved to submerge all their enemies...- The new bells offered by the god Rat at the time of the liberation of the Goblins represent all the aspects of this divinity. The bell held by Gidzzit evokes, for example, the frenzy of a wolfpack of rats, the fury of the Goblin people in a common hatred. The one that Xherus has just rediscovered awakens the voice of Rat. When this artifact is activated, the strident sound of the squeaking of some thousands of gnawers invades the air. This intolerable noise attacks the eardrums and brings the Goblins to tears. The Faithful Goblins think that among the missing bells, one most likely symbolizes Rat's faculty for transmitting sickness, another marks his cunning and his guile, and finally one last bell brings to mind his ability to worm his way into any place he chooses. But the one who knows exactly where they are can find these mythic relics.- Kobalt belongs to a large family, known and respected, for that family has so much meaning among the Goblins. Their ancestors possessed one of the new little bells sacred to Rat, a bell which was stolen from them under mysterious conditions. This theft has lived on as a veritable double-crossing and the rancor once again calls the line of Kobalt to action.- The genetic heritage of the Goblins is naturally unstable...Among the Mutant Goblins, certain ones more exposed than others to the madness of the god Rat discover strange supernatural powers.- It's at this moment that the Blowers intervene. This caste has set itself on the point of numerous gases in order to take the vermin away from a given place without eradicating them—that would offend the god Rat.- Writing has been elevated to an art form among the Goblins, even if the local dialect and the usual variants are a vast legion of languages. Xherus has consecrated its existence to meditate on the deepest of the sewers of Cadwallon, near the numerous incarnations of the god Rat. Blind from birth, the rats divert their eyes and ears. The day came when Xherus was introduced to the core of the Grand Rat, the incarnation of their god in these places. He thus discovered from their unsteady fingers that the Grand Rat was reduced to the state of a skeleton after a long time and that on his bones were carved the basics of a language unanimously comprehensible by the Goblins. For Xherus, a new era began...After this formidable discovery, the Devout Goblin seeks by all means to generalize the language of the god Rat among his brothers. The hermit has become literate. Even the Emperor of all the Goblins, Izothop, seems very interested by this revolutionary new mode of expression.- The reported founders of the Nains tell the tale of how the Ancestors, the five heroes chosen by the gods of Aegis, will descend to the center of the earth to do battle with the monstrous clique of Rat, the Usurper who had sown the seeds of insurrection in the spirit of the Goblins.

* Nains of Tir-Na-Bor(Gheim + Nylheim => Odnir)

Gheim: the Original Fire

Nylheim: the Nothing

Odnir: father of all the gods. One-eyed giant and armed with a sword. He gave birth to Aarklash and all the living beings that inhabit it.- Odnir is the sole god of the Nain pantheon whose weapons were not forged by Uren. His weapons and his armor were created out of his own anger by the fire of his will.

Gylfa: enigmatic wife of Odnir- Goddess of life and death who delivers women's births and whispers in the ears of those in pain.- Legend has it that in ancient times, the god Uren forged two swords and offered them to Gylfa, goddess of nature, in homage to her troubling beauty.

Caradoc: god of commerce and subterfuge. It's hopeless to try to understand him because his voice is deaf...

Uren: god of the Forge and brother of Bleddig- Very popular. God of blacksmiths. He sometimes grants his benediction to warriors on whom he gives a portion of his power.- Legend has it that in ancient times, the god Uren forged two swords and offered them to Gylfa, goddess of nature, in homage to her troubling beauty.- The Nain pantheon counts a great number of deities, all keeping watch after hundreds of years over the people of the mountains. Among the cults the most widespread finds itself the cult of Uren, protector-god of the forge. His followers have after a long time chosen the voice of weapons and have won their letters of nobility on the field of battle where their fervor galvanizes the Nain warriers. Besides, their rightness is valued as maintaining order and peace at the heart of the society of Tir-Na-Bor. Feared and respected by all, the Provost-Marshals rule by the judgment of Uren with severity but with an unquestionable fairness.- Uren is considered the god of steam and of equipment for complex mechanisms. [...] The all-powerful will of Uren is not taken by the caprices of Nain technology.

Bleddig: brother of Uren. More esteemed among his officials. God of the warrior code of honor: courage, bravery and strategy are his protectorates.

Lyfh: reigns over nature and all things related to love. The cult of Lyfh is particularly active among the Nains of the plains.

Hyffaid: god of the Argg-Am-Ork. Few of the Nains dare to overtly pay homage to him, because he was the patron of the Ancestor named Mid-Nor.- Hyffaid is the Nain god of the Argg-Am-Ork, the battle of the end of the world. Considered to be at fault as a malicious god by certain neophytes, Hyffaid symbolizes the rage of winning a sound victory over the obstacles that block the route to victory. Elghir is the current guardian of the Cauldron of Hyffaid and only those who use their power wisely appeal to his power. In touching the artifact with his pistol-grip a Nain warrior instantly fills himself with a liquid that seems to be quivering blood. The one who drinks from it will see his pleasures close up rapidly and will be overtaken by a feeling of invincibility.

* Orcs of Bran-O-Kor

Chacal:- Khorlan and Grizmaor are the traditional weapons of the guardian of the Den of Chacal. The power that emanates from the sacred temple of Chacal has permeated this axe and this flail of the destructive force of the god of the orcs.- "Chacal chooses his prey." By these words and in naming an enemy with his mass, the Faithful place the mark of their god on their victim. Because of the image of "The Jackal", the Orcs do not experience any reticence in behaving like scavengers.- The Tueurs Amok are the chosen ones, the sacred warriors born under the sun god. They carry within them the divine rage, which at the moment is helpful to the Orc people to permit them to liberate themselves from the yoke of their creators. At the heart of the Orc tribes, the warriors marked by the Amok show off an immense prestige and often show themselves to be haughty and disdainful, "vis à vis" of the other warriors. But precious few will challenge this sentiment of superiority. The Amok symbolizes for the Orcs the divine trance of the warrior who feels boiling within him the blood of Chacal.- When Chacal designates his prey, that prey must die. And there is no force in the world that can pose a threat to the will of the Orc god!- A Chacal Warrior represents the ideal receptacle for permitting Chacal's divinity to manifest its most savage aspects. Thus invested with the power of Chacal, he becomes quasi-insensitive to pain.

* Wolfen of Yllia

Yllia:- Yllia has blessed her infants in placing them at the peak of the food chain no matter where they happen to be. Therefore the goddess has given them a supernatural ferocity capable of coming to a boil no matter how savage the other animal is.- Yllia makes those whom she chooses as Faithful pay a heavy price. That's because Yllia is also a divinity cold as the lunar star and she doesn't show pity or compassion.

Selene:- Selene is the representation—the idealization—of the Moon near the Selenites. Some consider her a goddess, others a concept. It all depends on the beliefs of the individual who is talking about her. She makes herself known during the Selenite incantations. Legends attribute to her the possession of a mystical mansion in a chosen Realm.- Rapport with Yllia is easy to establish but not obvious: Selene is also abstract and distant as Yllia is bloody and close to her Wolfen children. It's very likely that each came into being from different entities, or if they came into being from the same entity, they did so through two opposing manifestations. But when you stop and think about it, the Moon can present an infinity of faces...so who would have the power to check?

Meanders of Darkness

The Meanders of Darkness are also born of corruption. The majority of the Faithful dedicated to dark gods serve themselves by the religious faith of their enemies to return it against them.

* Alchemists of Dirz

Arh-Tolth:- Arh-Tolth suspects the Beast, the intelligence that guides the Devourers, of being an enemy he's already battled in the past...But the Alchemic god who rests at the foundations of Shamir cannot content himself with intuition—he needs facts. He experiences above all the need to understand how his adversary has succeeded in rallying the children of Yllia to his cause.- The Companions of Torment are a manifestation of the will of Arh-Tolth on Aarklash. They are amassing to bring pain and despair, as much on the fields of battle as at the speaker of the ziggurats of Syharhalna.- The Athenor, the alchemic grail, has always been the symbol of the prosperity of the Syhar city of Tenseth. The legend claims that this radiant artifact of power will be the heart of Arh-Tolth, the god of the Syhars, given to a people in testimony of blessing.

* Ophidian Alliance

Vortiris: one of six original dragons spewed from the Nothing. Created by the Desire.- The existence of Vortiris, the reptile-god of the Ophidians, follows a cycle. He is born under the form of a destroyer dragon who sets Creation on fire. Then, satiated with massacre, he becomes the serpent, wise in innumberable ways. Finally, he discovers the Truth and metamorphoses into a solar salamander. He illuminates Creation before dying, worn out. A new cycle can then begin.

* Akkyshan Elves- Lilith: the spider-goddess

* Drune Celts

Scathach: the Shadowed One, mother of the Formors

Cernunnos:- A Celtic legend says that Cernunnos one day changed himself into a deer in order to seduce Danu. Afterwards, the drinks of this animal are a symbol of royalty among the Sessairs.- The antlers of the deer are an emblem of virility and fertility of the animal kingdom. All Celts associate them with nobility and with Cernunnos, son of Avagd, lover of Danu and father of the Matrae...- The Gae Bolga is a mythical weapon that belongs to—so they say—none other than Cernunnos himself. It came into being from a barbed weapon with long points of flint, sharp and searing. The injuries caused by this weapons when the Hunter pulls it out of his victim's body are devastating.

* Limbes of Acheron(Salauel => Dhalilia + Belial)

Salauel: Lord of the Darkness and the Abysses- He reigns over all the demons of hell. Belial and Dhalilia are not his infants in the literal sense of the word (basically, they have no mother) but they—according to Acheron transcriptions—"issued from him". The one and the other are the only demons for whom the parentage is stable and obvious. The grievous legend attributes to Salauel the power of engendering demons at will. In that case we can consider Belial and Dhalilia as his "messiahs", and certain demons don't hesitate to claim that they were created by Salauel, out of the weakness of mortals.- The Quaestors of Acheron are the guardians of the damned cathedrals and the emissaries of Salauel near their adorers.- The belief and the Faith of the Masters of the Zombies towards Salauel is quite often sufficient to breathe a semblance of life into the bodies of their fallen enemies.

Dhalilia: Demon-Queen of Vice. No mortal can resist her beauty.

Belial: Prince of the Abysses

Typhon: Protector demon of the Lazarian House

* Nains of Mid-Nor

Mid-Nor:- The aforementioned founders of the Norns tell of how the Ancestors, the five heroes chosen by the gods of Aegis, will descend to the center of the earth to fight the monstrous clique of Rat, the Usurper who had planted the germ of insurrection in the spirit of the Goblins. Returning to that topic, the Ancestors were not more than four: Mid-Nor remained in the depths to seal up the access to the infernal realms.- The Nains of Mid-Nor for their part evoke the Titanesque combat that delivered Mid-Nor, abandoned by its brothers, facing the Hydra-god. It is claimed that the rest of the heads beaten from the Hydra have served for the fabrication of artifacts of an incredible mystical power.

Geography

A map of the continent of Aarklash is available from now on at the site of [http://www.rackscan.net/rackscan/rackscan-map.php Rackscan] .

Works related to the fictional universe

Confrontation

Skirmish scale miniature wargame situated in the world of Aarklash, first published in 1996.

Rag'narok

Large scale miniature wargame using the same figures as Confrontation, introduced in 2003.

Cadwallon

Tactical role-playing game taking place in the free city of Cadwallon on Aarklash. Also published in the series: Secrets, Volume one - a game master's book which details the locations and people of Cadwallon.

Hybrid

Board game that serves as an introduction to the world of Aarklash. Hybrid also has a supplement named Nemesis which contains missions and additional rules for the original game, as well as three new figures.

Hybrid takes place in the laboratories of the Hereciarch (Dirz - founder of the Alchemical Empire of Syharhalna). The laboratories have slumbered underground for centuries but still contain clone warriors which repel any outsiders from entering.

The boxes for Hybrid and Nemesis contain floor tiles and cards as well as some figures for the Griffins of Akkyllannie and the Alchemists of Dirz. Some other armies/ peoples of Aarklash can also be played as allies in the game. Profiles for these fighters are supplied in the boxes as well as in the Cry Hovoc magazine.

Confrontation: the Age of the Rag'narok

In 2007 Rackham plans to launch a new game system which combines the previous Confrontation and Rag'narok games. The new game is called . In addition to the new rules this game will be played with pre-painted plastic miniatures where as Rackham's earlier miniatures have been made of metal and in component form (requiring assembly and unpainted.)

Miniatures

Rackham sells a line of fantasy miniatures which are used by all it's game systems taking place in Aarklash; Confrontation, Rag'narok, Cadwallon and Hybrid.

Novels

Rackham has started a pair of novels, which come with figures representing characters from the novels.

The Fault of Kaiber - supplied in a box with the miniature Syd de Kaiber, a hero of the Cynwäll elves.

Ashes of Wrath - supplied in a box with the miniature S'Erum, sydion of the Ophidians.

Magazines

; Cry Havoc (magazine)

: Magazine dedicated to Rackham miniatures and games.

; Ravage

: Bi-monthly magazine dedicated to action figures.

Fan activities

Webzine

; [http://www.les-cda.com/ Les chroniques d'aarklash]

: Webzine about Rackham miniatures. Publication stopped.

Collections

The collecting of miniature figures.

tudies

tudy of the fictional universe

To do.

Author of the fictional universe

Inspirations

What inspired the fictional universe.

Evolution of the Aarklash universe

Important evolutions of the imaginary world.

Rights and jurisdiction

Rackham has the exclusive rights of "Aarklash" over all jurisdictions.

It is accepted (with no jurisprudence to the contrary) that you can make your own extensions to the game and distribute them free of charge, without license and without official support.

It is accepted (with no jurisprudence to the contrary) that you can write you can write texts, fanfics, and novels, free of charge and without official support.

Important personalities

None known.

Groups (enterprise, association or other)

; Rackham

: Proprietary corporation holding exclusive rights to this imaginary world.

Group of Players

; Conf'federation of the Red Dragon:

: Association bringing together players of Rackham games for tournaments and exclusive activities.

[http://www.conf-federation.org.uk/ UKCORD]

=Conventions and events=

Meetings and manifestations of the fans of the imaginary world.

; Open of Paris (Conf'federation of the Red Dragon)

: The author of the games, Rackham, appears at the Open of Paris. It's organized by the Conf'federaton of the Red Dragon.

; Game World

: Rackham is busy due to the habit of always being present at this convention.

; Game Room (or World-Wide Society of Dolls and Models)

: Rackham is busy due to the habit of always being present at this room.

Related fictional universes

None known.

imilar fictional universes

The Old World developed by Games Workshop used in the action figure Warhammer.

ee also

External links

Official

*French http://www.confrontation.fr/index_htm.html

Fan site