The Argentari Empire

Long before the world was shattered into floating islands and treacherous wastes, the Argentari Empire spanned the vast oceans that once covered the world. The Argentari were a magnificent people, distinguished by their shimmering, silver-hued skin and their innate connection to the ebb and flow of tidal magic.

History and Downfall

In the age before the Shattering, the Argentari built immense coastal cities of coral, pearl, and white marble. They mastered hydro-thaumaturgy, allowing them to shape water, harness the power of the tides for energy, and commune with the deep sea leviathans. Their society was highly stratified, ruled by the Tidal Sovereigns who were believed to be chosen by the ocean itself.

When the cataclysm known as the Shattering struck, tearing the landmasses apart and boiling the oceans away into the aether, the Argentari Empire was seemingly wiped out in an instant. The loss of the world's oceans meant the loss of their power source and their home.

Legacy and Myth

Today, the Argentari are considered a lost, mythical empire by most scholars of Aethervale. Ruins of their magnificent cities are occasionally discovered on the undersides of floating continents or buried deep within the earth where ancient seas once lay.

Artifacts of Argentari make—such as tridents forged from unbreakable pearl, or amulets that allow the wearer to breathe underwater (a rare and strange ability in a world of sky)—are highly prized by collectors, the Arcane Ascendancy, and scavenger guilds.

Rumors persist among deep-sky sailors of hidden enclaves of Argentari survivors who have adapted their tidal magic to manipulate the currents of the aether, waiting for the day they can restore the oceans and reclaim their lost glory.