On this page, you will find a summary of the plot for each major arc of the Sirania adventure. Below each summary, you will find links to literary texts or game logs associated with that specific story arc. The Sirania games are a collection of a vast number of world-building and plot-driven ideas—perhaps some of them will inspire you!
I. Story: The Search for the Empress
Empress Siranna has died and, as is tradition in Sirania, a group of Seekers, guided by the riddles of The Listener, set out to find the new Empress. However, the Seekers vanished without a trace, and groups of adventurers were dispatched to find them. Master Súlin’s party eventually stumbled upon the Seekers’ trail and gradually uncovered the terrifying secret of their fate. At the end of their journey, in the depths of the caves beneath Mount Svapnagir, they were faced with a choice: whether to leave power to the current divine Emperor (The White Emperor), grant it to his displaced brother (The Black Emperor), remove both, or accept the proposal of the undead ancient Empress Siva and attempt to establish a balanced diarchy. The heroes chose the final option, and peace and the rule of law once again prevailed in Sirania.
– The Search for the Empress (poem)
II. Story: The Man of Two Faces
Peace in Sirania did not last long, as the Black Emperor could not accept an equal sharing of power after a millennium of exile and the dominance of the White Emperor. As the ruler of the waters, he unleashed an unending rain over Sirania and seized power in Sirgon. Siva saved her own “unlife” by hiding within a crystal, only managing to pass the Siranian Scepter and four of the seven rings—which can unlock the scepter when gathered in full—to Súlin’s company. Unlocking the Scepter allows for the summoning of the Man of Two Faces, who is said to be the only one with the power to establish balance between the two divine Emperors.
Master Súlin’s party travels through a Sirania afflicted by floods, witnessing the rampage of the Black Siranians possessed by the Black Emperor. They learn of the Great Splitting, the true reason behind the emergence of the two halves of the Siranian population, and the existence of The Ancients—the last group of original Siranians hiding on the borders of Adamas’s land. Alvar, one of the heroes, is a descendant of the Ancients.
During a visit to Adamas, they are invited to his celestial palace, where they witness the assassination of the architect Suvarna at the hands of the treacherous Saurahan. Saurahan is later tracked down and slain by Adamas. The heroes search for the remaining rings and forge the final one, which was destroyed long ago, in the Forge in the Realm of Death—a plateau where the “Strike” and the splitting of the lineages once occurred. The Scepter is unlocked; the entire land trembles. The Man of Two Faces is not a force of balance, but an agent of the Splitting. The powerful beings Adamas and Indar intervene; if Sirania is to survive, one of the heroes must step into the Scepter in place of the Splitter. Alvar, the descendant of the Ancients, volunteers, and his sacrifice is accepted. Sirania finally, at the second attempt, rids itself of the internal struggle between its two deities.
III. Story: the Flame and the Fountainhead
Master Súlin’s company is invited to an astrologers’ party in Sairis, where they witness the death of Gamol, Lord of the Moon, and subsequently investigate his murder. In his estate, they encounter a space consumed by the terrifying Inversion, which replaces the normal waking world with something akin to a living nightmare. Space within the Inversion behaves according to its own laws and is full of deadly traps and dark visions. As the investigation continues, cases of Inversion multiply, and eventually, a brief Inversion affects all of Sirania, leaving behind much destruction and living monsters. The investigation leads Omerin, of Súlin’s company, to the existence of the Star Devourer. This being intends to use the approaching solar eclipse to trigger a global Inversion, which will serve as a gateway for its entry onto the Qurand.
At the same time, Suvarna is reborn; the heroes find him in a river as a “Floating Child” in a basket. An adult Suvarna would be able to prevent the Inversion, so the company sets out on a race against time to Arkagas, where the sacred Aurán burns, in which Suvarna could mature to full strength in an instant. Their guide is the Roadman Anskar, who subsequently remains with the party. However, as they approach their goal, they discover that a second, “shadow” child is also approaching the Flame. This shadow child is aided by the Arkian house of Melissai, which has rebelled against King Punar and follows Gamol, who did not die but transitioned into life within the Inversion. The Melissai lineage, originally totemic to bees, transforms into a lineage of moths within the Inversion.
The company nearly loses the race against time, arriving at the Aurán exactly at the moment of the Eclipse. The Temple of the Flame is seized by the Inversion and transforms into the Temple of the Fountainhead, in whose waters the shadow child matures. It turns out that the second child is Saurahan, Suvarna’s murderer, who was killed by Adamas and has apparently also reincarnated with the help of the Inversion. All other Arkian clans participate in the battle, finally wresting the Temple from the hands of the Melissai, allowing Suvarna to enter the restored Flame and reverse the Inversion across the rest of the Qurand. Gamol, Saurahan, and the Melissai flee, and their entry into Arkagas is permanently forbidden by runic defenses.
IV. Story: The Steel Ships of Mantrin
The moment of the Eclipse and Inversion left Siva and the Siranian government with deep concerns that such a horror could be repeated at any time. Siva thus summons her ancient friend, the powerful mage Thalis of Xalgon, to develop The Net with him—a construct that will protect Sirania from the Inversion forever. At least, that is the official version. At the same time, Sirania faces another political crisis in the south: the hundred-year protectorate of Mantrin has ended.
The islands of Vaktar and Mantrin, the famous seat of technomages, experienced significant growth a hundred years ago. The Mantrinians built steel ships and threatened Sirania and Gandhara with their technology and expansionism. The result was a devastating war, which Mantrin lost. A Siranian-Gandharan protectorate was established, and the Mantrinians were forbidden from pursuing any technologies that could lead to warfare. After a hundred years, they regained their independence according to the treaty. The famous inventor Fillardus, The Seer, returned to Mantrin. Suddenly, the Siranian ambassador Aren was murdered under suspicious circumstances. Master Súlin’s company was sent to investigate the situation and received from Thalis the Black Gauntlet, a magical tool that allows for the slaying of one person without the act being preventable. Thalis feared that Fillardus’s power was beyond the party’s capabilities.
Even during the voyage to Mantrin, the party was confronted by strange illusions, and more mysteries appeared during the investigation. While Gamol favored the Inversion, Fillardus’s power was based on Mirror Magic. The Mantrinian mage Erdun becomes their guide across the islands. Ambassador Aren died because he learned too much about three secrets: the Lady of Ash, the Steel Ships, and the Amber Mountain. Agni, the Andal of Fire, apparently had two daughters: Scintilla and Ignis (Spark and Fire), with Ignis being a member of Súlin’s company. However, the truth revealed during the investigation was that there existed a third daughter, Favilla (Ash). Agni did not recognize Favilla as his own, and she was taken in by the Seer Fillardus.
The secret went even deeper: The original war was not fought because of Mantrinian expansionism, but because Fillardus had built the Horologium in the caverns beneath Vaktar, feeding it with the blood of his own son, with the goal of opening the way to the Primal Mirror. This mirror was to serve as a gateway to the Citadel of Amber, the blissful place from which he and the other Seers were once exiled or left without the possibility of return. The steel ships were the means to reach the Mirror across worlds. Now, Fillardus prepared to repeat the attempt. According to Favilla, he now intended to summon the Amber Citadel directly onto the Qurand.
The party finally succeeded, with Favilla’s help, in seizing one of the smaller steel ships and reaching the glowing Amber Mountain between Vaktar and Mantrin. There, Ignis sat upon the throne, believing Favilla’s words that it would give her the power to stop Fillardus. Favilla, however, was a traitor working with Fillardus. The Citadel was a product of Fillardus’s mirror illusions; Ignis ended up imprisoned in the heart of the new Horologium, her fiery blood used to spin the machine. The spinning did not last long, as the heroes, with the help of the Maghavans, struck the Horologium. The machine was destroyed and Ignis was saved. Due to the loss of blood, however, she ceased to be Ignis and became Favilla, the Ash. Fillardus fled, hidden within Mantrin, which turned out to be a giant steel ship itself.
V. Story: Secrets of the Net
While the party recovered from the wounds suffered on Vaktar, Siva and Thalis continued the construction of the Net. Its power seemed significantly greater than originally announced; besides suppressing the Inversion, it also dampened magic and had many other effects. Master Súlin’s company grew concerned that the Net was a means of unprecedented dominance by its authors over everything. They decide to continue working with Siva and Thalis but investigate their plans further. Soon after, they are sent to investigate several places where the Net has failed to take hold for some reason, and they use this opportunity to examine what the Net actually is. They discover that every Node of the net is powered by the strength of the two Emperors, and at every Node stands an ancient, noble, undead, incorporeal being who remembers Old Vezan and performs its service in accordance with an ancient oath.
During the investigation of one of the dysfunctional Nodes, the heroes discover a boy struck by a Mirror Shard, Jinotaj, who remains with the party under the protection of Omerin. Increasingly, the name Lord of the Net emerges, though it is unclear who is meant. The Net also collaborates with the Palladin Order, and the Palladins allow themselves to be possessed by undead guardians during battles at the Nodes, which improves their coordination. As a result of these events, the party feels that the old protectors of order and peace (Siva, the Palladins) may have lost their moral compass and that help sometimes comes from unexpected places (Gamol). The climax of the long tension is the activation of the Net, where all magic users within its territory lose most of their powers, and the world finds itself under a lid of control. Siva kills Gamol, who this time dies for real.
The heroes venture beyond Qurand into the dream worlds to obtain the Pearls of the Past, which allow them to discover what Siva truly is and what her real intentions are. Their guide on this journey is Orm, a pure soul born in the dream world. Along with each pearl, they uncover chapters of Siva’s past, learning that she is substantially older, born in her current form along with Thalis during the “Strike” a thousand years ago from a trio of Seers. It appears that Siva and Thalis are possessed by something similar to Fillardus and are preparing their return to the Amber Citadel at the heart of the Net. The company decides to prevent another catastrophe by reaching the Heart of the Net and shutting it down.
The truth, however, is somewhat different. In the Heart of the Net in the Free Land, there is a kind of “eye of the storm” where the Net is not and cannot be, because it is the last piece of primordial chaos—the Eternal Battle—which cannot be entirely erased from the Qurand. Siva and Thalis are merely agents of order (though somewhat Machiavellian) rather than monsters like Fillardus. But ultimately, the company decides against the order, which they find corrupted after their experience with the Net. Omerin uses the Black Gauntlet to kill Siva, and the Net collapses, including the circle guarding the Eternal Battle. Infinite armies of barbarians erupt from the heart of the Free Land into the entire world under the leadership of Zandar, commander of the outlaws. The old age ends; a new one begins.
– Part I: Death and Rebirth
VI. Story: The Arrival of War
As the armies of barbarians surge across the world, one force emerging from the Eternal Battle is particularly powerful: The Lost Legion, which has wandered through other worlds for ages and is hardened by life in the Eternal Battle. The Legion is composed of powerful knights, mages, and dragons and appears to be an unstoppable force. Master Súlin’s company is captured by the Lost Legion and temporarily marches with them. When the Legion turns toward Arkagas—the city of which the party members are adoptive sons and daughters—they decide to protect their home. Help comes from an unexpected quarter: one of the legionnaires, Versenis, himself once recruited against his will, is the bearer of an ancient prophecy. The party escapes the camp, follows the words of the prophecy, and finds a mountain in the middle of the plains north of Arkagas and a quiet mining town in its shadow. The mountain turns out to be a sleeping entity from the beginning of time—a being with many tentacles that slumbers as hunger grows within it across the ages. Despite risking death or madness, the heroes wake the being and give it a vision of rich grazing to the north, where the Lost Legion is currently marching.
The entity sets out for food, leading to a terrifying battle between two invincible forces: the Awakened Entity and the Lost Legion. The result of the conflict is a rift in the fabric of reality. A dark Zone is created on the face of the Qurand in the space between Arkagas and Sairis. The company sets out to investigate the results of their intervention and, with the help of the Arkins, attempts to build a bridge across the Rift to enable communication between Arkagas and Sairis. Inside the Rift, they find one surviving dragon who partially remembers what happened during the clash, and then a giant spherical formation composed of undead Vezan guardians holding the Devourer in their grip. The party completes the bridge across the Rift, connecting the cities of Sairis and Arkagas. The barbarian armies continue their advance; the city of Sirgon will soon fall, and Sairis is already under siege. To the west, the armies are already within sight of Garion, and in the north, Tagaris has felt the first attacks. Qurand prepares for the Age of Barbarism.
VII. Story: The Elixir of Vision
At the same time that Master Súlin’s company is captured by the Lost Legion, several messengers from different corners of Qurand arrive in the town of Maghon. Each of them brings a rare ingredient to an unknown client who has paid more than well for their journey. It turns out that the client is the mayor-mage Talantius, who, thanks to his mantic knowledge, predicted the fall of the Net and the arrival of the Age of Barbarism. Since the harbingers of the Age appear to the inhabitants of Qurand as apocalyptic beings that cannot be resisted, he developed an Elixir; upon consuming it, the Newcomers appear in their natural form and do not evoke cosmic horror. The Elixir thus gives the inhabitants of Qurand at least a fair chance in the clash with the Newcomers. The messengers witness not only the production of the Elixir but also the arrival of the Age, which encircles Maghon from all sides and advances further. The messengers are asked to bring the finished Elixir to one of the two cities where there is enough skill and resources to produce the Elixir in larger quantities—either Xalgon or Sairis. They escape into the forests and underground tunnels in an effort to avoid confrontation with the Newcomers.
(Detailed chapters can be found by clicking on the title above.)
VIII. Story: The Tide of a New Age
Talantius, the mayor-mage of the town of Maghon in the Free Land, was able to predict the fall of the Net and the arrival of the new Age of Barbarism through his mantic knowledge. To give the inhabitants of Qurand an equal chance to face the Newcomers of the new Age—who otherwise appear as apocalyptic beings—he had messengers from various corners of Qurand bring rare ingredients to Maghon, from which he created the Elixir of Vision. The messengers subsequently set out with the Elixir on a long and arduous journey north to the city of Xalgon to deliver it to the university there, where the Elixir could be produced in larger quantities and distributed to all other parts of Qurand. After completing their task, the messengers each set out on their next mission. Only Klaes of Yller, Daran of Arkon, and Fox took up the Xalgon University’s offer to rest and regain their lost strength. However, they will not enjoy much rest. Shortly after their arrival in the city, they must attempt to obtain the Elixir for Sairis as well, as there is a risk that Xalgon will leave its long-time urban rival at the mercy of the incoming barbarian armies of the new Age.
(Detailed chapters can be found by clicking on the title above.)
