History
Light and Darkness
Light and darkness. A dichotomy as old as time, woven into the fabric of the world of Oniria. The magical world is divided into two kingdoms: the bright Upperworld and the dark Underworld. The Upperworld is a flourishing land, scorched by the sun and populated by the illuminated dragons, who dance free in the sky and breathe magic to live. The Underworld is a tangle of pitch-black subterranean caves, crawling with stealthy, dark creatures. A hostile place for unwary explorers.Ancient Times
But perhaps it was not always so. Legends tell of a time when there was no distinction between light and darkness, between the Upperworld and the Underworld.
Oniria was at peace. Some say there was even a time when humans were able to reach this magical land and influence its history. The details are largely unknown, and the only way to unravel them is to go there and find out for yourself.
A Dragon in the Human World
Something big happened recently. A dragon was spotted in the human world, flying over an old abandoned tower lost in the woods. It appeared in a flash of supernatural light, then vanished. Did Oniria and the human world collide?
Only a few saw the dragon. Most did not believe their eyes. However, a handful of chosen ones did. They are the only ones that are naively curious and brave enough at the same time. They wonder and speculate in excitement. Was the dragon real? Are there more? Where did it come from?
An Exciting Future Awaits
Answers await them in the highest secret room of the old tower.
The dragon’s momentous appearance swept the dust away from the treasured binding of a centenarian relic: the Wonder Book.
This ancient tome almost seems to vibrate in excitement, foretelling that something great and magical is going to happen. An adventure is bound to begin.
Soon, someone bold enough will find the secret room, and will pick up the Wonder Book. From that moment on, their destiny will be forever intertwined with Oniria’s.
How does the story go on? Join this adventure, hero, and it will be up to you to decide!
Places
The Ancient Tower
If you look from a distance, you can see it peeping out from the dense green mantle of forest vegetation. It is a tower, ancient and abandoned. No one ever dares enter it, because it is known to be crumbling and unsafe. Some even think it is haunted. Children who pass by often ask their parents, “Can I go inside and explore?”, only to see their excitement cut short by a thundering “No! It’s dangerous!”. Protected by fears and legends, the quiet tower has thus managed to keep its secret hidden for centuries. An arcane and powerful secret, which lies in the dust, waiting for someone curious and brave enough to step forward and find it. Who will it be? Perhaps a child who will disobey their parents and finally accomplish the coveted exploration?
Characters
The Heroes
Tina, Sid, Ken, and Lara are four friends that go to the same school. They share a common curiosity and desire to explore as well as a fascination for all things fantasy. Their excitement could not be contained when, recently, they witnessed a strange phenomenon. They saw for just a moment a fantastic creature flying over an old tower in the woods near their town. They are the only ones who are convinced that the apparition was not just a hallucination. In fact, they are certain that what they spotted was a dragon! They are determined to go exploring and find out more.
Tina
Tina is a 15-year-old girl who truly cares about the people around her. She does volunteering, she likes cheerleading, and she always tries her best to be nice to everyone. Sometimes maybe she goes a little overboard, and people may find her too nosy and clingy, but when they actually get to know her, they can’t help but love her. She grew up as an only child with wealthy but emotionally distant parents. When she was little, she brought a foundling dog home, who she named Cupid, hoping that the puppy would help her parents reconnect with each other. But her parents separated anyway. Since then, she has mostly been raised by her beloved grandmother, who taught her to always be caring and loving towards people. Love is everything for Tina, it is the principle that underlies her world. She also has a passion for reading fantasy books (with a bit of romance, of course), and she regularly attends the Fantasy Club, an after-school group where she can talk endlessly about books with her best friends, Ken, Lara, and Sid.Sid
Sid is a cool 14-year-old boy. He wears his hair in a sleek punk crest, dresses like a real tough guy, and is a superstar among his peers because he is an ace at shooter video games and he even has quite an online following. He wasn’t always like this, though. He grew up in the countryside with his mother alone, since his father was a soldier and was never home. He was a restless boy, who couldn’t keep his passion for shooting in check. He often used to break neighbors’ windows with his slingshot, ending up in endless arguments with his mother. When his father suddenly came back, he changed jobs and moved the whole family to the City. Since then, Sid has had to find a way to blend in with his new cool classmates from the City. The way he found was by building up a cool persona around himself, asking his parents for money to sustain his fancy look and to buy consoles and games. Lucky for him (and for his mother’s nerves), he has channeled his passion for shooting into video games and paintball, so, no more broken windows. He also regularly attends the Fantasy Club, an after-school group where he often brings new fantasy video and board games to play with his best friends, Ken, Lara, and Tina.
Ken
Ken is a 12-year-old boy. He practices several sports and he is very good at them. He is idealistic and inspires people. His best friends, Lara, Tina, and Sid, think he is a natural leader. He always wears his strange cap, even if others sometimes make fun of him for it, because it has a special meaning for him. It is a daily reminder that he should be proud of himself. But he wasn’t this mature until recently. Ken’s mother is from the City, but his father comes from a distant country. And Ken, who grew up in the City, was bullied for his foreign origin and his different look by his classmates. Because of this, he had rejected his roots. He used to feel ashamed: he swore that he would never learn his father’s mother tongue and he stopped going with his family on their yearly trip to his father’s land to visit his grandpa. Unfortunately, the year that Ken decided not to go anymore, his father came back with bad news: his grandpa had died. His father brought back the last present for Ken from his grandpa: a weird cap, shaped like a warrior’s helmet, with a note attached that Ken couldn’t read. Ken felt guilty and sad. He realized that his behavior had caused him to let his grandpa die without seeing him one last time. Since then, he has changed his attitude. He would not feel ashamed of who he was anymore. He started to wear the cap, he stood up to the bullies, and he quickly became fluent in his father’s native language. He was finally able to read the note from his grandpa that had come with the helmet, which said, “To my grandson Ken, who has a fine sensitivity. The ones that mistake this for fragility will be blown away, because soon the fiery strength of a warrior will blossom in you.”Lara
Lara is a 13-year-old girl whose mission is to protect the people around her. She is fond of boxing and loves to play RPG games with her friends Sid, Tina, and Ken in their after-school Fantasy Club. (But only if she can play a strong melee character, like a barbarian, otherwise you will hear her whining the whole day.) She is practical-minded and can be more mature than her age shows. But she is not the best at diplomacy. In fact, she has an “easy punch”, especially towards bullies. Her childhood was not easy. She grew up in a different city with her father, her older sister, and her younger brother. Her mother died when she was 6. After her mother died, Lara often ended up in bickerings and fights at school. Her father enrolled her in a boxing course, hoping that she would learn some discipline and channel her pent-up energy through sport. Lara liked it; the strategy seemed to work. Until, one day, Lara’s little brother came home all bruised. Some bullies had targeted him at school! The next day Lara found the bullies and punched them all. As a consequence, she was expelled. Her father then moved the whole family to the City so Lara could go to another school. There, Lara met her current best friends. She became especially close with her classmate Ken, who she found out was being bullied, and she helped him get tougher.
Eidolon
Wide, powerful golden wings, eyes as bright as sapphires, and a luminous magical aura that envelops him. He is Eidolon, the dragon-king of light. He is a mighty elder dragon who has ruled for hundreds of years over the Upperworld, the surface part of the magical world of Oniria. They say he has gone missing from Oniria after some recent turmoil.The Wyrms
Dark and mysterious creatures of the Underworld. They are eyeless, but they compensate for their lack of sight with a sharp sense of smell. They cannot fly like dragons, but on the other hand they possess menacing claws. Are they dangerous? Best not to get too close and find out on your skin! They are creatures of Oniria, but recently it seems that some of them have arrived in the world of humans. How did they infiltrate?
Objects
The Wonder Book
An antique book, which lies in an old tower, waiting to be found by some brave hero.
Its time-worn pages are held in place by a wrinkled leather cover, on which is embedded a gold filigree depicting a glorious tree with branches that look like a monster’s claws.
It hides many secrets. For example, who created it? And how is it connected to the magical world of Oniria? The Wonder Book is said to be a portal to that world. But will it be true?
Magic
Legends say that the world of Oniria is founded on magic. Magic is the basis of everything: of life, of creation; but it is also at the heart of inequality, wars, and cataclysms. It is said that anyone who breathes the air of Oniria absorbs some magic and becomes capable of doing incredible things that would be incomprehensible to human understanding.
Magic takes many forms, from gaseous and incorporeal to crystalline and concentrated. It is not uncommon to encounter it in the form of dense and luminous particles, which flutter in the air almost like crystal pollen: the so-called “Sparks of Magic”.
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