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| Picture something like this. Art by Dirk Terrell |
IN REALITY…
The Mizar system is a collection of 6 stars (or 7) about 83 lightyears from Earth in Ursae Majoris. It is composed of three binary pairs orbiting a common center of gravity.
IN THE GAME…
The violet-glowing super-jovian Mizar, also known as Nemesis in various cultures, and Tyche by the elves, wheels through the heavens with its myriad moons. It is lit by 3 pairs of stars, each suffusing the worlds of Mizar in weird energies. These worlds are teeming with life and choked with the ruins and treasures of a thousand empires from across the last million years of their barbaric history – and beyond.
A MILLION YEARS AGO
Long ago, the Serpentfolk descended from beyond the stars. They established their ophidian empire among the worlds of Mizar. Requiring slaves, the Serpentfolk uplifted a native species of savage ape into what we now know as humans. Humanity was an early success in Serpentfolk bio-thaumaturgy and were a perfect slave species: hardy, adaptable, and semi-intelligent. Humans formed the template for many later slave-races developed for more specialized duties. Serpentfolk mages further refined their success by breeding the prismatic races of man for use in their obscene sorcerous rituals in contacting and binding the Old Gods.
TIMEKEEPING AMONG THE MOONS
Most cultures among the moons measure the 41-day months by two orbits of the Fire Witch around the Red King, each taking 20.5 days. This is further divided into four half-orbit weeks of ~10 days each. These weeks end on either a hiding-day or a feast-day. On a hiding-day, the Witch eclipses the King, and her baleful gaze might curse you. On a feast-day, the aging king blocks the Witch’s power, and is a good omen. Since a Mizar year is 410 days, this divides the year neatly into ten 41-day months.
At least one of these months is a “dark month” where the King and Witch are eclipsed by Mizar, and the only light for weeks at a time is a lurid magenta glow. This time of the year is often the subject of fear and superstition, and for good reason.
The Beasts, true to their name, circle one another like stalking predators every 5 months, marking the sowing and harvest in most cultures.
Even more distant, the Reaper and the Forgotten One are often known as the “grave stars.” They orbit one another every 80 Mizar years (90 Earth years), marking the typical lifespan of the oldest humans. Many believe that anyone who can see the Reaper but not the Forgotten One will die by year's end. This associates poor vision with old age and accidental death.
HOW DID ALL THESE MONSTERS GET HERE?
I stole this wholesale from Joseph Manola, specifically here.
Serpentfolk are believed to be responsible for many of the bizarre anomalies of Mizar. Due to their potent sorcery and science, they were capable of warping animals and worlds to suit their inhuman whims. During this infernal age they bred most of the creatures of the worlds as we know them.
DEMIHUMANS
Halflings were bred from human slaves genetically modified for doing delicate jobs on the inside of giant machines.High Elves were originally human slaves genetically and magically modified for use as laboratory and research assistants, and later became inheritors of the Serpentfolk empire. The Low or Wood Elves were a later development.
Dwarves were human slaves genetically modified for mining and heavy gravity construction.
Monstrous Races
Orcs were originally human slaves devolved closer to their apish ancestors with an admixture of porcine DNA, bred specifically for warfare. High Elf ethnologists speculate that this is why they are perpetually seen as minions of more powerful beings; they are always looking for a commanding officer, trying to fill an ophidian-shaped hole in their psyche.
Goblins were a defective castoff of the orc creation project. Their massive genetic defects, the result of their malfunctioning genetics, explains their very high rate of mutation and insanity.
Giants were thermodynamic anomalies bred from slaves for use as shock troopers. Multiple subtypes were created for different environments (cold climate operations, high-altitude operations, etc.), thus leading to a proliferation of sub-races.
Dragons were gigantic bio-engineered terror weapons and tax collectors. Genetically programmed to assert dominance over a region through displays of terrifying force, gather up all useful local resources, and then hand over the materiel thus accumulated to the Serpentfolk armies when they finally turn up.
Beholders were mobile weapons platforms designed for use against high-threat magic-using targets.
Vampires were recipients of a prototype immortality treatment which had reached the animal-testing (i.e. human) stage, though still exhibited an unacceptably high number of negative side-effects (blood dependency, light vulnerability, etc.) by the time the Serpentfolk empire fell.
There were many, many more beyond these. Creatures like the chimeras, manticores, harpies, and other 'crossbreed' creatures were the Serpentfolk equivalents of PhD theses: engineered by up-and-coming Serpentfolk biomancers as demonstrations of bio-thaumaturgical skill. Like PhD theses, the best ones were preserved for posterity in menageries which functioned as living libraries. After the empire fell, they escaped and established breeding populations in the wild.
