The World of Archontos is the world in which the saga of Ardis Vala takes place. Its pantheon is described as “Byzantine + Melniboné”, and the ancient Archontean Empire left its mark on the fallen city of Ardisvala.
| Type | World |
| Houses of the Cycle | ☷ House of the Descent |
| Spanish entry | Mundo de Archontos |
Pantheon
- Byzantine: after the medieval Eastern Roman Empire — a layered Christian-pagan-arcane pantheon, golden iconography, intricate church politics.
- Melniboné: after the island-empire of Moorcock’s Elric cycle, adding a decadent, alien and cruel dimension.
The result is a ruling pantheon with its own lineage (the Archons), open to the twelve Egyptian gods of Ardisvala (Thoth, Set, Kauket, Sekhmet). The world is governed by figures of order.
The Archontean Empire
The Archontean Empire flourished about 1,000 years before the present; its capital, Ardis Vala, is now a fallen city. In the strata of the mega-dungeon, Archontean construction is the third layer: after Heqeti (~3,400 years) and Rudishva (~3,000), before modern Varumani. Why it fell is unsettled; the Magical Schism between the Sortians and the Theosophists of Thoth’s clergy is a canonical hypothesis.
Recorded components
Pantheon, political geography, world history, nations and their politics, trade and economy, a calendar, and languages.
Relation to Vala
The world is absorbed into Vala without being erased: Ardis Vala = Vala + World of Archontos. Continuity with Ancient Vala (~2019) and Medieval Vala holds; the four strata are archaeological layers of the same world. It is known through the journeys of the Seekers of Ardis Vala.