A golden sun below a white sword and scale, on a crimson field bordered with gold.

The Peoples of the World Before the Conquest of Syros (Borders of Empire at death marked with purple dashes.


1: Calydon
Syro's homeland.

2: Dominions of Astelesia
The first conquest of Syros the great. It's capital, Melida, was pillaged and razed during the conquest. It has been part of the Empire for fifty years.

3: Hycadia
Was once series of city states. The conquest of Hycadia was completed forty three years ago. Hycadia is a forested land who's woodlands fed the construction of the Calydonian fleet.

4: Ivas
The larger of the three Ivanese isle's. A merchant republic before the conquest. Ivas entered the empire forty two years ago.

5: Ibara
Composed of the two smallest Ivanese isles. A merchant republic before the conquest. Ibara entered the empire forty two years ago.

6: Sjarram
Sjarram was a nation of mystics who were said to practice magic against their enemies. They are a darker skinned people who live in spired cities. Sjarram was conquered thirty eight years ago.

7: The Ebon Lands
Home of black skinned people. The Ebon lands are largely inhospitable and very little of it was conquered. Syro's campaign in the Ebon lands ended thirty seven years ago, though local fighting and shifting alliances has caused the border to move back and forth ever since.

8: Transepruxia
A wild, forested land. Transpruxia was brought into the Empire during a difficult campaign by Syros that ended twenty six years ago.

9: Sepruxia
The grassy plains of Sepruxia eventually give way to the open foothills and mountains at the core of the continent. Sepruxia was originally colonized by Calydon thirty four years ago, and slowly conquered afterwards.

10: Prucksa
Prucksa is a boggy lowland inhabited by pale skinned traders. They were brought into the Empire thirty four years ago.

11: The Qarima Empire
Related to the distant, wealthy empires of the West, the Qarim are an olive skinned people with peculiar ways. Their lands vary in temperature from Mediterranean in the south to cold forests in the north. The first campaign against Qarim was twenty five years ago. After several campaign by years, the Qarim finally fell four years ago.

12: The Copsid Empire
The Copsid Empire is believed to have been founded by the same pale natives that now inhabit the Cedar Coast. This era in Copsid history is known as the Old Kingdom. The Copsids of the Old Kingdom did not practice writing, but instead used a form of picture-glyphs to communicate thoughts. They were eventually conquered by people from the west related to the Rhumids who founded The Great Kingdom. The Great Kingdom is believed to have, at one point, ruled the entirety of the northern continent along the sea. Eventually, five hundred years ago, they were displaced by an invading Calydonian family known as the Copsid's who would give the land its current name. Their era was known as the Young Kingdom, and saw the birth of a Cosmopolitan society based around their newly founded city of Serapium.

The Copsid Empire fell twenty three years ago after a relatively quick campaign. As a Satrapy within the Empire, Copsus was handed to the Milatid family, who continued to conquer into the interior.

13: Colcaro
The small city state of Colcaro is a distant cultural relative to the Calydonians. It was conquered twenty years ago.

14: The Gorgorrans
A tribal hill people distantly related to the Astelesians. Though campaigns were held against the Gorgorrans as far back as during the war against Astelesia, Syros didn't launch a campaign until nineteen years ago. The campaign was finished ten years ago.

15: The Pale Desert
Syros never launched a campaign into the sparsely populated pale desert, but it's scattered city states and oasis-dwelling peoples slowly entered the Empire's politic through trade and diplomacy.

16: The Cedar Coast
Dotted with small states and tribal peoples, Syros never visited the Cedar Coast aside from Colcaro. A sliver of the coast has entered the Calydonian Empire through campaigns by neighboring Satraps.

17: The Rhumid Waste
The Rhumid campaign has been slow due to the construction of a road to connect with the western nations beyond the mountains. Syros meant for the annexation of the Rhumid tribes to be little more than a way to access the riches of the far western nations. The Rhumid people are short, thin people with skin often described as a grey-brown. They wear bright clothing and live in tribal societies. Some tribes are nomadic, while others are anchored around oasis's. Rhumid warriors fight with yak-hide shields and heat-hardened wooden spears. Their lifestyle is centered around the native Yak's, and they revere the animals.

AFTER the conquest of these territories, they were divided into easy-to-govern satrapies and given to families loyal to Syros the Excellent. The borders of these nations don't neccessarily reflect the borders of the satrapies that would replace them.

The organized polytheism of the Calydonians, a practice called "Deoism", involves the worship of a non-communicating godhead through the echoes of power he has left behind. Deos, the central Godhead, is unable to directly observe the world in any way and is reliant on his daughters to relay the needs and prayers of the world. These daughters, the Goddesses, represent different aspects of the world.



Deos and the Deoschism.

Deos created the cosmos in his youth. Unlike other beliefs where creation is separate from the Gods, or the creator is an all-wise being, Deos created the cosmos in order to learn the essence of life. Life, a force of existence, is the one mystery even Deos doesn't completely understand, as Deoistic beliefs do not separate the nature of the consciousness of the Gods from that of humans. Even though he cannot die, Deos is enthralled to this mysterious concept of life through the very act of existing.

All the beasts of the earth were formed by Deos as he explored his own power. This age, in which Deos interacted directly with the world, is considered the Legendary Era of history. Humanity was formed alongside hundreds of different species, and Deos lived among humans for a time. He took the form of a young man and eschewed his godly powers so that he could explore the way his creations lived. He fought alongside them, battled monsters and raised great civilizations from nothing tribes. Calydonian myth are peppered with stories about Deos and his adventures on earth seeking the truths in his own creation.

In the end, however, he could not eschew his immortality, and he began to realize that he could never truly understand what it was like to be human. A spark of wisdom grew from this truth, though no being other than Deos knows what this truth was and it is considered futile to try and understand it. Deos responded by dividing his physical body into eight pieces, rendering himself completely blind and disconnected from the earthly plain. Each of the eight maimed pieces of his body took with it part of his life force and strength, forming into the eight Goddesses that would be his daughters. This event is known as the Deoschism. As they were made from him, the eight Goddesses are the only beings that can directly communicate with him, and all prayers are siphoned through them. Deos can still effect the world even though he cannot communicate with it, as his words become true when he speaks with will.



The Eight

The Eight are the goddesses representatives of disembodied Deos to the realm of Earth and vice versa. Deos relies on The Eight for all of his information. Because of this, the Eight Goddesses are the central figures in sacrifice and prayer. Each one of the eight represent a different focus that was given to them during the Deoschism. Though the word of Deos holds the ultimate power over all, each Goddess reigns over their focus almost absolutely.

The Eight Goddesses have more human personalities than Deos did when he walked the earth. Stories tell of their petty squabbles, not only amongst themselves but also with humanity, nations, families, or sometimes just individuals. It is common for smaller cities to have a temple to only one of the Goddesses, and the choice of what Goddess differs depending on the nature of that town. Even the larger cities usually have a patron Goddess whom they favor.

The Eight are as such:

-Hypatia, the Goddess of Life: Hypatia is the Goddess of Life, Birth, the Family, and Wisdom. According to legend, she was the favorite of Deos and was given control of his most precious duty; The world of the living. She is usually portrayed as a crowned Queen.

-Diantha, the Goddess of Nature: Diantha is the Goddess of Nature, Fertility, and the Seasons. Out of all of the Goddesses, more spirits and lesser-gods are attributed to her. These include the Nymphs and the Nyrids, who are the spirits of the wilds and sea respectfully. She is usually portrayed as a busty woman clothed in flowers.

-Adrasthea, the Goddess of Peace: Adrasthea is the Goddess of Peace, Order, and Law. She is especially popular with members of the bureacratic middle class often found in larger cities. Adrasthea is often portrayed as a stern-faced woman holding a scale.

-Iphygenia, the Goddess of Industry: Iphygenia is the Goddess of Industry, rather that be artisan crafts, construction, mining, and virtually everything else related to work. Iphygenia is often as a woodswoman wielding an axe or adze and wearing a straw hat.

-Shesahle, the Goddess of Celebration: Shesahle is the Goddess of Celebration, Leisure, Love, Sex, and Luxury. Large temples to Shesahle are rare, though most cities have a shrine to her that houses a sacred brothel. Shesahle is usually portrayed naked and grinning.

-Dryca, the Goddess of War: Dryca is the Goddess of War, Violence, Revenge, and Anarchy. She is popular amongst warriors, pit fighters, and young men who dream of these things. Dryca is usually portrayed wearing a bronze breastplate and crested helmet, wielding a shield with either a spear or sword, and decorated with the images of ravens.

-Khryseis, the Goddess of Turmoil: Khryseis is the Goddess of Turmoil, Suffering, Sadness, Famine, Disease, and Crime. There are few who worship her, though alters are often built so that sacrifices can be made to appease her. She is often portrayed as a twisted, almost demonic looking woman dressed in black.

-Dys, the Goddess of Death: Dys is the Goddess of Death and Hell. Though stories usually tell of her being offended by Deos' preference of her sister Hypatia, she is otherwise described as being outwordly cold and mostly indifferent to humans. Dys is usually portrayed as pale skinned and wearing a hooded black robe that conceals most of her face.



Spirits, Monsters, and lesser Deities.

Though the eight are given primary authority in their respective focuses (behind Deos), there are other entities that have powers and sway in the universe. Lesser Deities refer to a variety of entities. Some are humans who were made into immortal deities with power after death. Others were the children of one of the eight. Some, even, are described as having originated from some discarded aspect of Deos's powers. In the latter case, they could be born from drops of blood lost by Deos during the Deoschism, or a child born to Deos during his time on earth. These deities usually serve one of the Eight, and sometimes they don't. Their powers are much more pointed and specific, and they often change from family to family or town to town. In some places, Phophis might be the considered God of clayworking and pottery, while others recognize the Goddess Potaria in the same position.

Spirits also hold sway. Some of these are the essence of a place in nature, whether it be a forest or a river. Others are human souls who have taken up residence in a specific location. I both cases, they often have conscious control over their place in the world. Ancestors are oftentimes revered as the spirits of their families, and are called upon to bestow blessings on their living decedents. Other spirits, particularly those of humans who died in bad circumstances, or those nature spirits who dwell in dangerous places, are considered malevolent and evil. Things that other cultures attribute to demons are usually attributed to evil spirits in Calydonian culture.

Monsters also oftentimes have near godlike powers. This was particularly true of those monsters reported to have existed in the Legendary era. This is why Deos is portrayed as having difficulty slaying some of the more potent beasts. After the Legendary Era, the more powerful and godlike monsters become less frequently discussed. Still, monsters with more animal or human like qualities are still common in Calydonian legend. Some serve the Eight, or even lesser deities. There have also been tales of monsters serving Kings, Patriarchs, or Heros. Witches, and even everyday people, also occasionally appear as holding the leash of some horrible beast. The origination of these animals differ signifigantly. Sometimes curses explain them, and other times it is blessings. Not all monsters are completely explained - they just seem to exist when the storyteller needs them.

Some of these include...

-The Sirens: Feared by sailors, the Sirens are believed to rule the deep sea and do not like human vessels in their domain. Sailors who find themselves sailing the open waters often make sacrifices to the Sirens so that they may pass. Historically, this has included animals and possibly humans, but modern Calydonians primarily sacrifice jewels and precious metals to these deep-sea spirits.



Minor Theological Considerations

-Futilism: Futileis, a priest and writer from 1349ME in the Second Era, wrote that the truth Deos understood that led to the Deoschism is available to humanity and spend his life's work trying to find. He proposed several ideas, most of them proverbial statements or traditional religious tenents, but none were ever excepted. After his death, his beliefs were declared immoral and his teachings were shunned by the priesthood. From then on, all religious teachings deemed sinfully wrong were called "Futile".

-The Sun: The nature of the sun is one of the greatest arguments in Deoism. There are three especially popular beliefs, and each have a signifigant following. In the past, conflicts over this tenant and it's relevance to the larger priesthood have caused accusations of blasphemy and futilism to be tossed by one side toward the others. Wars have broken out over the question. The Second Era is especially defined by these "Solar Wars".

These positions are as follows:

-Helioschizism: This is the belief that the sun is a small sliver of Deos's divinity. According to Helioschizists, Deos either shed a small portion of himself in the creation or accidentally lost a portion while forming the earth. In this belief, the Sun is accorded divinity while the moon is seen as being a counter-balance to its power and a lamp to ensure its light continues to bath the earth.

-Heliodeoism: This is the belief that the sun is the throne of Deos where he reigns now in perpetual blindness as the disembodied spirit of creation. Heliodeoists hold the moon in the same esteem that Helioschizists do. In Heliodeoism, the sun is an object of worship for being Deos himself rather than just another part of him.

-Heliogynism: Heliogynism is the belife that the sun is the throne of Hypatia, Goddess of Life. In this system of belief, Deos has no specific location in the universe and Hypatia is the one that sits the solar throne. According to Heliogynists, the moon is the throne of Dys and the pearl of the underworld.

(LE=Legendary Era. ME: Mortal Era.)

Legendary Era: 10000LE-0ME

First Era (The Time of the Princes. Calydon was divided): 0ME-1100ME

Second Era (The Time of the King. Calydon united under a King. Starts with the foundation of the capital): 1100ME-3124ME

Third Era (The Time of the Emperor. Starts with the ascension of Syros as King): 3124ME-3178ME

Current time: 3178ME

Calydonian culture is ruled by family structure. In the average Calydonian family, control of family life is handed to a Patriarch, who is a male member of the family considered to be the most commanding or powerful. This lack of a specific order of inheritance translates into noble families as well. With most property aside from personal effects co-owned by the family, it is the personality that commands the most respect who ends up controlling the family business.

The major families in Calydon trace their histories back to ancient heroes. These heroes were said to have near super-human abilities. They fought enemies, slew monsters, and oftentimes got the girl, retiring to found a great city that would rule the surrounding area for all time. The cities that they built continued to be ruled by their claimed descendents.

The conquests of Syros have changed the amount of power these families can enjoy. Some have been granted old kingdoms that dwarf the small spheres of influence they had carved out at home. The informal system of Patriarchal power that worked in the small bubble of Calydonian politics is now a potential source of instability within these new realms.

Calydon is split into two climate zones - the wet plains and forests of the east, and the dry highlands of the west.



The east is the most populated of the two regions. The soil is better for farming here than it is in the west, and villages thrive as a result. The easterners are considered more cosmopolitan and educated, though westerners see them as soft and feminine.



The west is dry and sparsely inhabited. Along the lake Titania, farming is fairly common, but the rest of the highlands rely on sparse gardens and livestock for their sustenance. The westerners are considered more hearty and traditional, but easterners see them as dumb and brutish.

Called the "City of Faces", Heliocarsus (Solar-Wheel) was the spot of the holiest site of Deoism. It's Acropolis sits on the mountain where Deos broke himself into the eight pieces that became his daughters. Throughout the Time of Princes there was nothing but a monastery and pilgrimage temple on the site. It wasn't until the first King was established and crowned on the sacred hill that he chose it for his capital.

Modern Heliocarsus is a massive city. Water is brought to it from the nearby mountains using aquaducts held up by the statues of muscle-bound titans. The city walls are thick limestone shells with statuesque images of heroes and soldiers holding up the crenelations. A granite colossus with brass decorations guards the gate. It is four hundred feet in height. It's legs straddle the main gate, and it's body serves as a watchtower and barracks for the sentries and city watch. When its brass genitals fell during an earthquake, they were set aside and now houses the gate-guards.

The road to the modern Acropolis is known as the "Sister's Way", and the prong of the Acropolis that holds most religious functions is known as the "Mount of Eight" This is where the original monastery was constructed, and it is the center of Deoistic worship in Calydonia. The sisters way passed through rich marble-columned shrines, playhouses, and bathhouses and is lined with alabaster statues depicting the Goddesses. The Sister's Way switchbacks up the Mount of Eight until it reaches the top. At one point it passes through a tunnel known as "The Pilgrim's Passage".

The Pilgrim's Passage, as described by Gorgenmast:
" In between the torch sconces upon the dew-slickened walls were great alcoves hewn into the rock. On the smooth walls at the back of the alcoves were giant frescoes each devoted to one of the eight sisters borne by Deos upon this very mountain. Offerings of stacked coins and withered flowers left by pilgrims on their way to the summit were piled at their feet. Iphygenia, the Goddess of Industry - a buxom maiden with swirling tongues of flame for hair who hammered out a horseshoe on an anvil from glowing iron - seemed to command the most offerings of the eight. Near the opposite opening of the Pilgrim's Passage, Dryca and Khryseis, the sisters of war and tumult respectively, looked down upon the wagons bearing Syros and Galos. Dryca rode atop a rearing warhorse, holding a mighty claymore to the sky and Khryseis held her hands aloft - summoning an earthquake that destroyed the surrounding cityscape in a maelstrom of dust, rock, and fire."

The Acropolis is a religious city of sorts, dotted with shrines and smaller temples. The Primary temple on the Acropolis, as described by Gorgenmast, is...
"It was a circular temple crowned in a dome of polished lapis-lazuli stone held upright by a concentric ring of columns decorated with flourishing swirls from whence carved hoplites, demons, titans, and mythological beasts burst forth. Swaying poplars danced about the steps of the temple where a corps of elite guards stood and waited to receive the fallen prince and king"

Calydon is split into two climate zones - the wet plains and forests of the east, and the dry highlands of the west.



The east is the most populated of the two regions. The soil is better for farming here than it is in the west, and villages thrive as a result. The easterners are considered more cosmopolitan and educated, though westerners see them as soft and feminine.



The west is dry and sparsely inhabited. Along the lake Titania, farming is fairly common, but the rest of the highlands rely on sparse gardens and livestock for their sustenance. The westerners are considered more hearty and traditional, but easterners see them as dumb and brutish.



Calydon is divided by the Pelepos mountains, which marks the central spine of the Calydonian highlands. The Pelepos range is sparsely populated and the houses that rule it often command larger spaces of land than the ones in the more populated east.



The River Helos cuts through the fertile eastern part of the country and serves as both a source of agricultural fertility and a roadway that allows trade to move toward the center of the continent and the mighty fortress cities that include Heliocarsus. The Helos River is a slow moving, dependable river that swells in the spring. The oldest settlements in Calydonia are on the shores of the river.

The Rhumid Mountains, often called the "Rhumid Wasteland" or "Rhumid Wastes" by southerners, are the divider between the distant western civilizations and the pale lands of the east. The mountains are a cold land, it's air fed by the glacial winds of the north.



The Rhumid Mountains themselves are a mixture of rock formations and craggy plateus. Snow and ice form on the peaks during most of the year, and winter finds the passes through the mountains blocked. They are inhabited by species capable of surviving the cold conditions, with the most prominent being the hearty Rhumid yaks.



The Rhumid Salt flat is a long stretch of white nothing. You can see for miles across the flat, making it an easy place to guard but a hard place to survive. At the edges of the flat, the powdery red soil of the Rhumid wastes mixes with the white salt to create a pink soil that takes to the air and stings the eyes.

The cold, dry northern continent has been inhabited by many peoples. So many different cultures have ruled this land that no one name has ever stuck. The Efernii knew it simply as the South, while the Hamanid ancestors of the Rhumid peoples named it for themselves. When the Copsid dynasty of Calydonia sailed across the sea and conquered this land, they named it "The Pale Lands", a name inspired by its colorless desert and wan sun.



The Pale Desert that covers most of this land is a mixture of white, grey, and beige sands that stretch on forever. It is a cold land where the temperatures can drop well below freezing. Caravans made up of Yaks and shaggy two-humped Camels crisscross this land, stopping the wells and pools that dot the land.



The Enverne River, at is mouth, is the widest river in the known world. It feeds the fertile south of the Pale lands, allowing for wide spread agriculture that feeds the country to exist. The grand majority of people living in the pale lands live along this river, and the majority of them live around the mouth. It is fed by the glaciers of the north and the Hamid river that flows from the west.



The Hamid River flows from the Rhumid mountains in the west and meets with the Enverne river. Though less fertile then the mouth of the Enverne, the Hamid feeds the local peoples well enough to keep a sizable population.



The Cedar Coast is the stretch of coastline that runs east of the mouth of the Enverne. It is a rocky, difficult place that is often the home of pirates.



The Glacial north isn't technically considered part of the Pale Lands, but little is known about it. The Glacial lands are home to the Efernii, who somehow manage to thrive in underground communities. The inhospitable nature of the place makes it a rare visit for anyone but the natives.

A golden sun below a white sword and scale, on a crimson field bordered with gold.