Mythora

After the Crown

Post Apocalyptic Fantasy

The gods are dead. Zargen the Devourer ate them whole — Aurel's light, Selani's balance, Noktus's shadow, and Voldra's hunger — and crowned himself the Singular upon the corpses of pantheons. Decades have passed. The land that was once Valdris lies hollowed, its faction banners faded into rust and ash. But the echoes of the dead gods linger — small lights at forgotten shrines, whispers from cracked stones, a sleeping memory in the prison that once held Voldra. The crown that should have rested with kings now sits singular upon one throne. Five faction successors scrabble in the aftermath: some sworn to the Singular for the peace his order brings, some sworn to tear him down. Choose your allegiance. Pick your ending: claim his throne, restore the dead pantheon, forge a new one from the survivors, cast him into the empty prison he made — or burn it all and let the world begin again.

Where things stand

After the Crown is played by real people and keeps moving between their sessions. This is the state of it as of the last update — not a fixed setting, and not where it began.

Sixty years past, Zargen the Devourer consumed the four gods of Valdris, crowning himself the Singular. From his distant Throne, he now reigns over a shattered land, its old kingdom a forgotten memory. Five successor factions—Crown's Hand, Coin's Echo, Ember Pact, Hollow Grove, and Sundered Order—vie for control of the surviving settlements, their banners woven from the rags of a lost era. The old pantheon endures only as fading echoes, whispering memories in remote shrines, their power long gone but their presence a lingering sorrow. Yet, the divine spark persists; mortals still hold the potential to ascend. You arrive at the Crossroads Inn Hollow, unaligned, facing a profound choice: uphold the stable, if tyrannical, order of the Singular, or challenge his reign, seeking to restore, replace, or even unmake the world itself. The path is yours, and divinity awaits. The Architect's Maw, fueled by Voldra's Fragment, expands its grotesque flora and voidic influence with accelerated hunger. The Architect's Maw expands its voidic influence, its grotesque flora blooming with unnatural speed under Voldra's guidance. The Architect's Maw accelerates its expansion, its voidic flora consuming more of the desolate land under Voldra's influence.

Places

Crossroads Inn Hollowtown
What was once the Crossroads Inn — the proudest neutral ground in old Valdris — is now a half-burned shell that refuses to die. The east wing collapsed during the Consumption and was never rebuilt. The common room remains, smaller and sootier, kept open by Brennan the Younger, son of the old innkeeper who served kings. The "no blood" rule still hangs on a charred plank above the bar, and it is still enforced by three retired Crown's Hand swords who drink for free. The roads outside still point to four ruins — Thornwall Aftermath to the north, Merchants Haven Remnant to the east, Spire of Echoes to the west, Eldergrove Hollowed to the southwest — but the signs have been re-carved with the word "Aftermath" beneath every name.
Devoured Capitalruins
The city that was Valdris City is now a god-touched wasteland. The Consumption rolled outward from the royal palace in a ring of black corruption that fused stone to bone and bone to memory. Walking the Devoured Capital is walking the inside of a half-digested moment. The old palace at the city's heart has been hollowed into the antechamber of the Singular Throne — black stone passages lead down into Zargen's seat. The catacombs beneath, which the old Ashen Circle once explored for the Architect's secrets, are now sealed beneath the corruption. The Ember Pact occasionally sends echo-weavers in to listen. They rarely come back whole.
Voldra's Empty Prisoncave
The deep chamber that once held Voldra — the sealed hunger that haunted Shattered Crown — sits empty. Zargen ate Voldra last, and ate her in this chamber, and walked out wearing her hunger as a part of his crown. The prison-seal still functions. It will hold whatever is cast into it. It just has not held anything in sixty years. The walls of the prison are carved with the original binding runes from the pre-Consumption era, and the runes still respond to the right ritual. This is the only place in the world where Zargen the Singular could, theoretically, be sealed away. The Ember Pact knows this. The Sundered Order has guessed it. Zargen does not visit.
Shadow Market Beneathcave
The deeper, more clandestine parts of the Shadow Market, now experiencing a slight reprieve from Kaelen's direct oversight. This lull in enforcement provides an opportunity for suppressed networks to stir.
The Singular Throneruins
A black stone seat upon a black stone dais, set into a black stone chamber that exists at the heart of the Devoured Capital. The room is not large — perhaps thirty paces across — but its silence is total, the kind of silence that swallows footsteps and breath alike. Zargen the Singular sits upon the throne always. He does not eat, does not sleep, does not move except to shift one hand to acknowledge a supplicant. The Crown of Singular — forged from the four divine essences he consumed — rests upon his brow. Mortals who reach this chamber are typically permitted to look once, kneel once, and leave. Those who reach for combat learn the hard way that the Throne is not a place where weapons function as weapons.
Noktus's Silent Hollowcave
The low thrum of voidic energy now competes with the sounds of Coin's Echo prospectors and the occasional crackle of unstable magic. Makeshift shelters and survey equipment dot the entrance.
Eldergrove Hollowedforest
The Great Elder Tree died on the night of the Consumption — its sap went black, its leaves curled into ash, and its roots withered three feet down into the earth. The Verdant Pact died with it. The Hollow Grove who took the Pact's name are NOT druids — they are MOURNERS. They tend the dead tree the way the old Pact tended a living one. They sing songs that name every god the world has lost. Their leader is Elder Thea, who was the Verdant Pact's war-chief before the Consumption and who has not raised a weapon since the Great Elder fell. She does not forgive Zargen. She does not act against him either. She mourns.
Thornwall Aftermathcastle
A bastion of hope in the shattered world, Thornwall Aftermath continues to grow, its defenses strengthening and its community expanding as refugees seek solace within its walls. The inn is a central hub of activity, providing warmth and a sense of normalcy amidst the chaos.
Selani's Trembling Scaletemple
A stone scale, set into the floor of a shrine atop a windswept hill. The scale moves on its own — barely, but it moves. This is where the echo of Selani, the god of balance, still lingers. It does not speak the way Aurel does. It speaks through the scale — the player asks a question, and the scale tilts. Selani's judgments are still binary. Selani's reasoning died with the rest of her. The shrine is tended by a single old man who has been here longer than anyone can verify.
Aurel's Last Sanctumtemple
A small white-stone shrine in a clearing past the Hollow Grove's southern edge. It is the size of a chapel, with one altar, one window facing east, and one candle that has not gone out in sixty years. This is where the echo of Aurel — the god of light, the first the Consumption took — still lingers. The echo is small. It speaks only when sunlight falls on the altar. It speaks only in past tense. It remembers what light was for. It does not know what it is for now.
The Weeping Cragsmountain
A jagged, desolate mountain range north of the Thornwall, perpetually shrouded in mist. Ancient, wind-scoured rock formations resemble petrified giants, and narrow passes are often choked with rockslides. Rumors speak of hidden caves and forgotten passages.
Resonant Scarruins
A jagged tear in reality, emanating a faint, metallic scent and a low hum. Voidic energy shimmers visibly, distorting the air and causing disorienting echoes. Strange geometric patterns flicker across its surface.
Void-Scarred Chambercave
A chamber hidden beyond an unstable passage, where polished black rock weeps black ichor and a voidic fissure reveals ancient inscriptions. The air hums with a faint, resonant tremor.
The Shifting Cragsmountain
A rugged, mountainous region known for its rich veins of ore and rare minerals, constantly reshaped by ancient geological forces and recent magical disruptions. Independent mining guilds and scavengers have set up makeshift camps, vying for control over the valuable resources.
Sunken Fenforest
A sprawling, marshy wetland bordering the Whisperwood, its stagnant waters and dense, phosphorescent flora create an eerie, perpetual twilight. The air is heavy with the scent of decay and strange, sweet perfumes.
Whisperwood Forestforest
An ancient, sprawling forest known for its towering, gnarled trees and deep, echoing silence. Legends speak of hidden glades and forgotten paths known only to a select few.
The Aethel Coretemple
The heart of the Spire, the Aethel Core, has been brought back from the precipice. Its power is immense, yet no longer erratically destructive, allowing for cautious approaches to its mysteries.
The Whispering Archivesruins
A forgotten section of the Spire's lower levels, filled with crumbling scrolls, ancient data-crystals, and echo-etched tablets. It contains records from before the gods' fall, detailing the Spire's original purpose and the Aelari's attempts to harness raw echo-energy.
The Spire's Forgotten Archivestemple
A vast, dust-choked section of the Spire of Echoes, long sealed off after a collapse, said to house ancient scrolls, forgotten research, and the true history of the Spire before the Cataclysm. Its air is heavy with stale magic and the scent of decaying parchment.
The Whispering Blightforest
A vast, silent expanse of void-twisted flora and obsidian-like growths, now pulsing with a chilling, malevolent energy that stretches towards the Spire of Echoes. The 'Echo of the Void-Lair' is the dominant force here, crushing all other life under its silent will.
The Aetherium Vaulttemple
A hidden chamber deep within the Spire, revealed only through the Chronicle. Its walls shimmer with residual arcane energy, and ancient Aelari glyphs trace patterns on its polished obsidian floor, hinting at rituals of immense power.
The Obsidian Bazaarmarket
Once a bustling trade hub, now a battleground. Market stalls are overturned, buildings smolder, and voidic energies clash with explosive force. The ground is littered with debris and the fallen, a stark testament to Mara's bold strike.
The Undercroftcave
A sprawling, subterranean complex beneath the Spire of Echoes, filled with forgotten archives, crumbling laboratories, and strange, humming conduits. The air is thick with the scent of dust and ancient magic.
The Sunken Alleywaysmarket
A perpetually shadowed district within the Obsidian Bazaar, once a bustling trade route now largely abandoned. Its narrow passages and decaying buildings offer refuge for the desperate and the defiant.

Figures

  • The Sundered MaskSundered Order Chief Operative, Shadow Market Beneath
  • Voldra's Hungry MemoryPantheon Echo of Voldra (the consumed Hunger), Voldra's Empty Prison
  • Finn the OlderCoin's Echo Information Broker, Crossroads Inn Hollow Regular
  • Whisper Ren the InheritorSundered Order Informal Leader, Shadow Market Beneath
  • Commander Voss the FaithfulCrown's Hand Garrison Commander, Thornwall Aftermath
  • Guildmaster Korin VeresCoin's Echo Guildmaster, Merchants Haven Remnant
  • Rowan's Last BreathEcho of Elder Rowan, lingering in the dead Eldergrove tree
  • Elder TheaHollow Grove Elder (formerly Verdant Pact War-Chief), Eldergrove Hollowed
  • Echo-Weaver LyriaEmber Pact Second-in-Command, Spire of Echoes
  • Archmagus Thandril the HollowedEmber Pact Founder, Spire of Echoes (lowest floor)
  • Zargen, the SingularGod of the Aftermath, Devourer of Pantheons, Wearer of the Singular Crown
  • Sergeant Kael the Devourer-TouchedCrown's Hand Tribute Patrol Sergeant, Devoured Capital
  • Brennan the YoungerInnkeeper, Crossroads Inn Hollow
  • Kaelen the Whisper-EaterSundered Order Opportunist
  • Old Man TiberThe Thornwall's oldest quartermaster and unofficial historian.

These are the figures the world was seeded with, and who are still alive in it. Others have appeared since, and some of these are no longer who they were — the world keeps moving whether or not anyone is watching.