Today’s lecture focuses on the Demon Knight, the most critical Demon in terms of military might. Each Demon Knight is both a formidable warrior in their own right, as well as a critical factor in the effectiveness of the Demon army. During the Reign of the Demon King, it was common to see Demon Knights in most occupied areas carrying out the will of the higher castes. If the Soldier is the laborer of the Demons,...
Today we continue on where we last left off , and now focus on the Demon Solider. Of all the Demons, the solider is the most iconic, because of their sheer numbers. Every person who lived during the reign of the Demon King has encountered a Demon Soldier. Today, we will take a closer look at the origins and some of the more unique aspects of the Demon Solider. Demonization As we have talked about in the...
Since their creation by Ebnus, the Demons have been a blight upon Elhal. While some with more narrow minds might say the same thing about the Orcs or Giants, the truth is that those races have their own positive effects on the world, even if we do not fully agree with the norms of their societies. The Orcs have made tremendous discoveries in the areas of natural science and agriculture, and the Giants create some...
I want to take today’s lecture to discuss two unconnected events which happened during the Fall of the Empire and the Rise of the Demon King. Where our past lectures have been in chronological order, today’s stories fit into the timeline we have established thus far. Today we are going to talk about how the lands of Arelean became known as the Demon Lands, and the fate of Ceradome. The Darkness Let us start with the land...
After the fall of Arelean and the rise of a Demon Kingdom, the Four Kingdoms had declared war on the Demon King to liberate Arelean and restore the Empire. War in that time, much like this time, was something which required preparation. In order for the Four Kingdoms to launch an attack into Arelean it would require coordination, and grounds to stage the troops before the attack. That place was Nendar Moor. Nendar Moor Nendar Moor is...
Normally on a Wednesday morning, Professor Tyriv would be lecturing on some part of Elhal’s history. But I did not get that post written this week, because my wife was out of town. Sounds like a terrible excuse, but give me a few minutes… Not to lament or ring my own bell, but my life is pretty complicated. I am a husband, father of two special needs children, an IT Project Manager, and a Game Master....
While the total domination of Elhal would take several years for the Demon King to achieve, the first month after the disposition of Emperor Arenth was a chaotic time, especially for those who lived in the Imperial District of Arelean. Arelean was the core of the corruption that would soon spread throughout the land. For those in the Imperial District this was a terrifying time. People went missing frequently and executions, both public and private, were...
Nothing lasts forever. For the Empire, its reign of over one thousand years was about to come to an end. Not even the favor of the All-Father would stop its fall. Today we are going to focus on the major events which we refer to as the Fall of the Empire. In its duration, the Fall lasted about six months. Having lived during the Fall, it was not clear at the beginning that the Empire was...
It is hard for me to remain an objective educator for these next few lectures. Despite the years that have passed, the Fall of the Empire is a time which remains etched into my mind. It is a time when all we as Humans had built was toppled. There is a certain feeling of loss, when a foreign force conquers another: powerless and defeated. That feeling would be more bearable than what had happened. Rather...
Welcome again, faithful students. We are going to jump ahead now, skip over the bulk of the Imperial Age and look at the time before its Fall, referred to as the Twilight of the Empire. We are going to start by setting the stage, looking at the Empire and its Last Emperor. The State of the Empire The Twilight period of the Empire starts in the year 1000. The Empire has been in existence for a thousand...
Our last few lectures covered the formation of the Empire. In the thousand years that would follow, the Empire would see its good times and bad times. Overall, the age of the Empire was the best period in our recorded history. I could spend an entire lecture class covering the events of this period, but this class is only a high-level discussion. I want to use this time to talk about some of the accomplishments...
Continuing where we left off in our last session, we will now take a closer look at the Precepts of the Empire, the divinely inspired foundation for the Empire. The Precepts are what convinced the four kingdoms to relinquish some of their sovereignty and form an Empire to rule over them. For sure there was an advantage to this, and we will discuss that in more detail as we look at the Precepts. But, before we begin,...
Let’s continue where we left off, and discuss the Four Days. These days would be some of the most critical days for humanity as we know it. Its success rested on one woman, First Mother Kinera. Her wisdom and insight was able to keep Elhal from sliding into war. Rather from the brink of war would come the greatest period in human history. Setting The Stage As a quick summary, a grain blight in Kotkala had prevented...
Greetings, students. In this lecture we continue our discussion about the Four Kingdoms and what lead to the formation of the Empire. It has been just short of 50 years since the Fall of the Empire, but it still remains one of the greatest achievements we humans have ever created. For over 1000 years the Empire ruled Elhal, and with it brought forth prosperity to all its citizens. It was just one of two paths...
Greetings fellow scholars. In the past several essay’s, we looked at the formation of the Church of the All Father, and how it spread throughout Elhal to form the predominant religion of the land. In this lecture, we are going to look at the formation of the four major kingdoms of Elhal, how they formed, and the influence the Church had upon them. The Four Kingdoms In the first lecture, I discussed the geography of Elhal, but...
Encoded Designs is just shy of its one year anniversary, but with it being the end of the year I thought it would be nice to look back at how we did in our first year. Wearing my project manager hat, I will write this update in the spirt of a Lessons Learned. So just what did we learn in 2014? What Went Well These are the things that we want to keep doing in 2015. We published...
Once again we come together, continuing our series of lectures on the early history of Elhal. In this lesson we learn about the Defenders and how they enabled the Church of the All-Father to spread throughout Elhal. In our last lecture, I discussed the two gifts of the All-Father: the Seal of Ceredome, the divine blessing which protected the home of the Church from all attacks; and the Kiv’uli, the living shadow guardians who watch over us...
Once again we meet to discuss the history of Elhal. Today’s lecture focuses on the early days of the Church of the All-Father, and how two gifts from the All-Father would allow the Church to spread throughout Elhal. In our last lecture, we talked about the formation of the Church of the All-Father. I explained how Jaalom, the First Believer, united the people under one central religion. I spoke of how the Church made it's highest priority...
Welcome again, students. Today’s lecture is an overview of the formation of the Church of the All-Father. This lecture is an introduction to this period of history, and provides the necessary foundation for us to have a deeper discussion at a later date. In our last lesson we talked about the worship of the Titan, Humanis, and then the arrival of the All-Father. We talked about the First Believer, Jaalom and how the All-Father came to the...
Welcome again, scholars, to our next lecture. Today I will continue from our previous lecture on Cosmology and Ancient History, and talk about the Church of the All-Father. I will discuss the time after the Eon War, the rise of the religion of Humanis, and the Origin of the Church of the All-Father. Post-War Elhal After the All-Father ended the Eon War, humanity began to thrive throughout the continent of Elhal. Humans believed that they had the...