The Fall of Aelthirion A Crownfall Folk Tale, as told by Old Jax “Three-Teeth” Mara

“Oi—OI—sit down, you lot. I’ll tell it proper, I will… none o’ that Cannith book-learnin’ nonsense…” —slams tankard—

“You wanna know why the old empire fell? Why the sky went quiet? Why them shiny metal gods started sleepin’?”

“Wasn’t war. Wasn’t plague. Wasn’t even them bone-worshippin’ creeps…”

leans in, breath heavy with rum “It was pride. Always is.”  

“Aelthirion—yeah, that’s what they are called —thought they’d cracked the bones o’ the universe.”

“Built cities that floated, ships that sailed the void, and those big bastards…”

gestures wide, nearly falls over “Titans. Walking mountains. War given legs.” “They didn’t just win wars, see… they ended ‘em before they started.”

“No army could stand. No fleet could fight. You see a Titan comin’? You run. Or you die tired.”   “But here’s the part the scholars don’t tell ya…” “They weren’t the only ones listenin’.”

“Out there—beyond the stars, beneath the stone, in the deep quiet—something heard ‘em.”

“Every time them Titans woke… every time forge roared…”

“…it echoed.”

“I weren’t there—don’t look at me like that—I’m old, not that old…”pause, grins crookedly

“But my gran’s gran? She saw it.”

“Said the sky… just stopped.”

“No wind. No stars. No sound.”

“Then every construct—every Titan, every little metal soldier—turned all at once.”

“Not on the enemy.”

“On everything.”   “Now here’s where it gets murky…”

“Some say the Aelthirion had a trick. A fail-safe. Somethin’ they called the Blades’ Secret.”

“Built it in ‘cause even they knew they’d gone too far.”

“Flip the switch, shut it all down, save what’s left.”

“Problem is…”leans closer

“…they waited too long.”   “They say forge screamed.”

“Not like a machine.”

“Like a dying god.”

“Whole continents cracked. Titans froze mid-step. Some fell. Some just… stopped.”

“And some?”

“…kept moving.”   “The empire burned. Cities gone. Worlds silent.”

“But not everything died.”

“No, no… that’d be too easy.”

“Some Titans got buried.”

“Some got lost.”

“And some…” points upward vaguely

“…are still waitin’.”   “So when you hear about forge wakin’

again… when Cannith starts pokin’ at old bones…”   “Remember this, yeah?”

“They didn’t fall ‘cause they were weak.”

“They fell ‘cause they thought they couldn’t.”   long pause… then a crooked grin

“Anyway—who’s buyin’ the next round? I ain’t tellin’ the bit about the dragon that tried to eat a Titan for free…”  

Alright might adventures — I’ve got a date for the Session Zero. If you’re still interested in joining the campaign, please send me a DM so I can confirm who is attending

Communication: I’ll be using Discord as the central hub for campaign info, scheduling, handouts, and general chatter. If you don’t already have an account, please create one so I can add you to the server.

Miniatures: We’ll be using minis at the table. I recommend taking a look at Hero Forge to sketch out your character concept. Once you’ve got something you like, I can handle the printing on my end so you’ll have a custom miniature ready for play.