“In this sacred grove there grew a certain tree round which at any time of the day, and probably far into the night, a grim figure might be seen to prowl. In his hand he carried a drawn sword, and he kept peering warily about him as if at every instant he expected to be set upon by an enemy. He was a priest and a murderer; and the man for whom he looked was sooner or later to murder him and hold the priesthood in his stead. Such was the rule of the sanctuary.” The Golden Bough, Chapter 1, James Fraser
Empires rise and Empires fall. Men with ambition march onto the field, and fall to the dust. Time marches onward. Water falls languidly on the gray stone, droplets mingling with flecks in the granite. The great high mountains scratch the Earth. Their breasts dressed in a green cloth. The deep woods creak and groan. All around, time marches on. People come to be forgotten, languages drop away. Fact becomes legend and monsters stir in the dark maw of the cavern.
But from the ruins rise again, unstoppable life. Man, dwarf, and other creature; all social animal, all political. Gather now, raise up a standard, and plant it in the Earth. Turn the soil and bury the dead. Plant the corn and fell the tree. Create great thunder from the clouds for the Gods have given you much, but demand much from you to do it. Let coin change hand and the knight raise the sword.
From pauper to king, the cycle of the world will move ahead. But is this new? No, hardly not. For who can speak for the old tribes? The ancient kings? None speak but ruins for them. How many more will be left to bare witness to our fables?
So I adopted this RolePlay from Kipsateking since he had to cut out for real-life reasons. So what is this RP? Well it's a fantasy Nation RP, set in an alliterative time comparable to the middle ages, 12th to mid-late 15th century. Or earlier even if you're insane like that. Intermixed across the region are kingdoms and polities of dwarves, elves, orcs, humans, and any other race or species. There is magic, which flows through the land and the life-force of every person. While all are capable, study and practice is required however to harness the skill; and with cost all the same.
That said, given there's magic in this world I should present to you the Law of Magic:
All men have an innate magic. Thy pool of magic is in proportion to thine Will of Life. To use thine magic is to use thine Will. The sapping of the Will, is a sapping of thine's luster of life and a given turn to melancholia and of death.
Aspixos of Catha
Map:
One thing you might notice on this map are the dotted lines. That is because I am tracking and noting language groups in this RP. What is a language group? A language group or family is a collection of languages that share a common spoken ancestor. Think French and Spanish to Latin, or English, German, and Swedish to Old German. The purposes of this is to theme like nations within a geographical region and the marked areas indicate current regions of shared spoken heritage; these are either the remains of ancient Empire or the range of ancient tribes.
I am at present concerned with characterizing the languages of current nations, if anyone would like to figure that out so I can draw more lines. This does not necessarily make anything a Lingua Franca or universal “common tongue”, that is a whole other issue. When it doubt, I would like it if you could talk to anyone within the region or next to where you want to set up to determine anything like shared title names when applying.
Name of the nation: Confederation of Maztica Name of the leader: Catequil, chieftain of chieftains Capital: El-Dorra. Located deep within the Maztican jungle. Ethnicity: Tabaxi. Tabaxi are a race of anthropomorphic leopardlike people that life in the endless jungles of Maztica. Tabaxi are mostly referred to by other races as Mazticans and mostly perceived as underdeveloped and savage.
Characters:
Catequil, the Chieftain of Chieftains (male)
3 years ago at the age of 25, Catequil was elected by the council as the new Chieftain of Chieftains, leader of the tribal confederation of Maztica. Catequil is an intelligent young man who looks to the world with an open mind. He was given the task by the elders to lead his people away from isolation and into the world. Catequil has taken up the daunting task of leading his people into the modern era. In order to transform his nation, the Chieftain of Chieftains need to make tough decisions that go directly against the culture and conventions of the Maztican people. Needless to say that
Ayar is what the people of Maztica consider a runaway. A person who left his tribe to travel the world. To run away from your tribe is considered to be a grave sin, those who leave their tribe no longer helps out their family. Catequil defied conventions and took him into his advisory council due to Ayar’s fast knowledge of the world beyond Maztica.
Ayar left his tribe at a young age and traveled throughout the world for 25 years before returning to Maztica. During his travels Ayar build up an extensive network of contacts with merchants, nobles, thiefs and common folk throughout the many nations. Ayar serves as Catequil’s primary advisor on foreign affairs.
Ayar is a surprisingly smooth talker and fluent in many different languages. He’s generally perceived as a likeble and easy going fellow but never really shows his true intent. What’s truly on his mind remains a mystery to most.
Huanca is the grand Shaman of Maztica. Effectively she’s the highest religious authority in all of the tribes and her connection to the ancient spirits is unmatched. Like all Shamans she’s a calm and wise woman who’s duty is to advice the Chieftain of Chieftains on all religious matters. Also she oversees the education of new shamans.
In Maztican culture, the position of Shaman can only be held by women. Due to her deep connection to the ancient spirits, Huanca possesses powerful magical abilities and extensive knowledge of the plant and animal life in the Maztican Jungle. It is very rare to ever see a Maztican male to develop magical abilities. Not because they lack the talent but because their culture forbids them to pursue that path.
Apaec is for many of the Mazticans a national hero. A famous warrior who defeated a strong foreign invasion force. In the past he was considered one of the strongest warriors in all of Maztica but old age is getting the better of him. He has a pragmatic attitude towards his function as warchief and advisor. Shaped through the battles he fought Apaec is well aware of the strengths and deficiencies of his people. He knows how to utilize the limited resources of Maztica and is well aware that his warriors would not last long in any form of open combat.
Maita is the former chieftain of the Inzca Tribe. He is well respected throughout the confederation for his former prowess as a warrior and his fast knowledge of the Maztican traditions. Maita advises Catequil on how to deal with the various issues and problems the tribes of the confederation faces these days.
Atoc is without doubt the most controversial advisor to the Chieftains of Chieftains as he was not born in Maztica. Atoc is the 2nd son of a couple of runaways that eventually settled in Sorenio Republiqa duo Azula Coatl. His father acquired a decent som of wealth as a merchant and Atoc would continue that line of business together with his elder brother Amaru. In the republic they became known as the Quehuar family with a somewhat infamous reputation for shady deals.
Atoc is rather opertunistic. When Ayar asked him to come to Maztica and sit on the advisory council he didn’t have to think long. If the stories about the temple city of El-Dorra are remotely true, there would be plenty of business opportunities to take.
Ozcollo is a young warrior who is the protégé of Apaec and destined to lead the warbands the day that Apaec retires or go on his final journey. He always accompanies his master whenever he goes to train warriors of different tribes, go on border patrols or when ceremonies take place. Being the secondant to the warchief is a position of great prestige but also one that draws a lot of attention. Often other warriors would challenge him so that they can show to the warchief that they would be more suitable for being his secondant.
Culture and society: The Maztican society and culture is what other nations would describe as backward, barbaric and even savage. They care clearly far less developed then other nations. Their society is organized primarily in semi-nomadic tribes of hunter-gatherers that sustain themselves in the endless jungles of Maztica. Tribes range in size from a few dozen people up to around a thousand. Throughout Maztica there are hundreds of different rimes. Activities such as agriculture, mining and industry are extremely rare in Maztican lands. Well refined tools and clothing are if found as all from foreign making and common clothing is made of pelts and leather.
Family bonds are extremely important in the Maztican culture as families are the cornerstone of every tribe. Leaving your family is considered the greatest sin a Maztican society. Most Mazticans life in small semi-permanent villages build in the large trees of the jungle. These villages serve as the center of their lives. Wood and leaves are the primary building materials and stone buildings are generally only found in the temple city of El-Dorra.
Mazticans are very dedicated to their family and tribes. They rely on their brothers to have their backs while hunting and on their sisters to keep the kids fed and the houses clean. In Maztica there are clear gender roles where men serve as hunter-warriors and women as healers, craftsmen, artisans and shamans.
Mazticans have always been very weary of strangers from beyond the jungle. Their creation lore states that Mazticans where born to protect the Jungles from the outside world and thus have shunned away from other races for a long time. Often killing explorers who entered the jungles of Maztica. However times are changing and a new Chieftain of Chieftains is opening up the once secluded societies of Maztica to the world.
Religion and magic: For the Mazticans religion and magic are the same thing. The Mazticans worship the spirits and believe that everything has a spirit. In Maztican folklore, the one spirit of Tabaxica used a small portion of her own spirit to form the earth and the sky. The sea and the mountains. The animals and the trees and finaly the races of sentient beings. Seeing how sentient races started to cut down the trees of the great Maztican jungle, Tabaxica bestowed the Leopards of the jungle a conscious spirit. These where the first Tabaxi that where tasked with safeguarding the jungle of destruction. From these Tabaxi eventually the tribes of Maztica would be formed.
Mazticans worship all kinds of spirits, tree spirits, mountain spirits, the spirits of the deceased, spirits of animals and of course the one spirit Tabaxica. Within the Maztican religion shamans form the bridge between the material realm and the spirit realm. Due to their connection with the spirits, shamans can create many magical effects. The shaman rituals and knowledge is passed down from one shaman to another.
Military: The Maztican confederation does not have a formal standing army. However all men capable are trained as Hunter-warriors, fierce combatants that excel in defending their homeland, the Maztican jungle. In times of war, every Maztican tribe must send a warband, a group of warriors under the command of a chosen commander or chieftain. Warbands differ in size based upon the size of the tribe and how much men they can miss for the hunt.
Maztican weapons and armor are considered relatively simple. Warriors are often armed with bows, javalins, shortswords and/or daggers. Metal armor is extremely rare and not wel suited for the wet conditions of the jungle. Most warriors wear some type of leather armor or no armor at all.
The Maztican’s are fierce warriors who are extremely skilled in fighting in the jungle. They are masters of ambushes, hit and run tactics and guerrilla warfare. Combine that with a land that consists almost entirely of jungle, a total lack of infrastructure and you have a very hard place to invade. Invading armies often get lost in the thick jungles, wandering aimlessly around looking for an enemy who won’t give decisive battle while their foraging parties are getting picked off.
Geography and climate: Maztica is known for their tick rainforests and tall mountains. It’s wet and yet hot climate made the lands very fertile resulting in very dense vegetation that covers the mountain peaks and river valleys. For many who are unaccustomed to the dense vegetation and unforgiving climate Maztica is a green hell. However for those who’ve grown used the the climate, conditions have found ways to navigate the dense jungles, survive the humid conditions and often dangerous and unforgiving wildlife.
History: Since the birth of the Tabaxi race in the Maztican jungles they have always been divided between hundreds of tribes, competing over hunting grounds and water supplies. Conflict between the tribes was a regular occurrence. Next to fighting among their own the Mazticans regulary fought against orc tribes entering the jungles from the north. However all these conflics where small in scale and even smaller in Impact. That would remain the same until two hundred years ago when large bodies of Lizardmen started to migrate towards the Jungles of Maztica. Individual tribes where easily overrun by these invasive spiecies and a need for unity arised. It was Chieftain Aiqui-Mata unified the tribes into a confederation and rallied the largest force of Maztican warriors the world had ever seen. During the next 100 years the Mazticans would fight a bitter conflict with the Lizardmen over control over the jungle. The war ended when the last remnants of Lizardmen where expelled from Maztica.
The time after the 100 year conflict was a relatively peaceful one. Occasionally skirmishes would erupt along the Maztican-Azuri border. Not because a desire for conquest but rather out of unclearity of where one nation would end and the next one would begin. The most notable event happened 8 years ago. Hernan da Silva, a wealthy merchant from the Sorenio Republiqa duo Azula organized an expedition of 500 mercenaries to Maztica in an attempt to find the legendary golden city of El-Dorra. A day after entering the Maztican jungle Chieftain Capac Yupanqui A of the Yupanqui tribe met with Hernan da Silva, telling him that he and his men where not welcome in Maztica and that they should head home instantly. Hernan responded with beheading the Chieftain and raiding the villages they encountered.
When word of the incursion reached El-Dorra, the Chieftain of Chieftains sended his own warband under the command of Apaec and over the course of 3 weeks they fought a campaign of attrition in the jungle. Apaec employed small scale hit and run tactics, ambushes against foragin parties and denied to give his opponent any form of decisive battle. The Mazticans maintained their pressure until the expedition collapsed. It is said that only a handful of people from the expedition managed to get out of the jungle alive.
Government: The confederation of Maztica is a tribal confederacy of dozens of tribes. In general each tribe manages their own affairs. There is very little centralization within the confederacy. However for foreign relations and managing problems that goes beyond the one tribe the council of Chieftains elects a Chieftain of Chieftains. A leader to represent their interests beyond the borders of the Maztican Jungle. The Chieftain of Chieftains often selects his council of advisors. Members from the tribes who advise the Chieftain of Chieftains on all kinds of matters ranging from foreign affairs to religious ones.
Twice a year, during the summer and winter solstice all the chieftains of the different tribes meet at El-Dorra in what is called the Convergence of Chieftains. The Convergence lasts for two weeks and consists of discussions, religious festivities and warrior competitions. During the Convergence the Chieftains discuss the issues they face with eachother and the outside world. These happenings are the most important political moments and are also used to pass judgement on those who have committed crimes that exceed the boundaries of one tribe.
Main sources of income: Maztican tribes have a simple lifestyle that relies on what the jungle provides. They mostly hunt and gather for their own needs. Because this simple lifestyle they can survive in the harsh jungle conditions but are at the same time severly limited in what products they can produce themselves. The Mazticans mine some iron in the area around El-Dorra but the tools and weapons they make are often from low quality compared to the outside world.
Gold: Near the Temple city of El-Dorra are large gold reserves. The true extent of these reserves are unknown as the capabilities of the Mazticans to mine it are limited.
The Maztican jungle provides various plants and fruits for which could develop an extensive market marked abroad. Maztican women often search the jungle to gather coffee beans, cacao beans and coca leaves. Occasionally border tribes trade such products for iron, tools or other commodities.
How the rest of the world would perceive them: Maztica is a place that is surrounded by lots of myths and legends. Some legends tell about how the jungle eats everone who enters while others tell about the legendary golden city of El-Dorra. The truth is that Maztica is an inhospitable place that is hard to travel and its people are unwelcoming of strangers. Many nations and individuals have send expeditions to explore the jungles of which many never returned.
Most factual knowledge from the place comes from runaways, Mazticans who’ve abandoned thei tribe and homeland in order to live a different life beyond the jungle. Their tales and legends have shaped the collective knowledge of what lies deep in the jungles. Tales of simple tribal life, lack of technology has shaped the image of a backward and uncivilized culture of savages.
Current goal: Catequil has been chosen as Chieftain of Chieftains to transform the tribal confederacy into a more open and modern nation-state. The former Chieftain recommended Catequil for the position and campaigned heavily for the support among the Council of Chieftains to gather support for a course that would be a departure of what the Mazticans have been doing for centuries. Catequil has been elected with the absolute minimum support and must balance many interests.
The job Catequil stands for is a daunting one. He must open up the nation, create meaningful relations with the rest of the world while radically changing the way their society has worked for centuries. A road that would create many opertunities for both the Confederation of Maztica, her neighbors but is also a dangerous one.
Isabella de Guzman, Representative of Commerce - Middle-aged, corpulent, and magnificently dressed to make up for her lack of physical attributes, Isabella de Guzman is a firm believer in the power of money and free enterprise to bind together disaprate religions, creeds, and even species. The main financier of the League's armies, Isabella de Guzman is known for hard business practices that extract maximum profit from a situation. Despite her grasping nature, Isabella claims not to pursue wealth for its own sake; she wants to use it to unify the world and end petty conflicts over matters of land and honor. And to some observers, she actually believes this.
Juan de Maldonado, Representative of Defense - Isabella de Guzman's counterpart in the army, Juan de Maldonado is proud of his accomplishments in molding a once-divided coalition into a cohesive fighting force. A better logistician and strategist than a tactician, Juan is nevertheless loath to admit that it was Isabella's wealth and actions that had made his victories possible and prevented his men from mutinying more than once, same for admitting that he owes anything to anyone other than himself. Nevertheless, these feelings rarely go beyond respectful rivalry, even as he is scornful of Isabella's beliefs.
Carol Padillia - The ideologiical heart of the League of Cities of Sapientkind, Carol Padillia is a Magus whose willpower is fuelled by her determination to secure a fairer world of less suffering. But this willpower and determination makes her more brittle as well, and less likely to compromise in foriegn affairs as Isabella and Juan. Like Isabella, Carol started off as a commoner, but she feels a stronger bond towards Juan as both are military people, and it is Juan that persuades her to adopt more pragmatic policies for now. However, her belief in the 'common soul' and 'innate rights' of Sapient Beings easily brings back her militant mood, especially when faced with atrocities occuring elsewhere...
History: The lands around the Great Inner Lake were rich and fertile, and from those lands, a civilization sprang. This civilization consisted of many cities that either formed a great empire, or were conquered by said empire; past records are murky. Nevertheless, the collapse of the Empire caused the cities to be independent again, warring with each other and outside invaders. And on the easternmost shore of the Great Inner Lake, where a river flowed from unknown lands, was established the city of Valladolid; Vallis Tolitum, Valley of Waters. This city became rich, producing glasswork and crossbows, swords and furniture.
But with wealth came peril, as a great horde from the east took the mountain passes by storm, and forced the city to pay tribute or be sacked. This horde then pressed on to the rest of the cities, extorting tribute when they can and brutally sacking those that refused. And when that horde passed, another came, and another, each army larger than before. So the cities knew that before their wealth was lost, they had to put aside petty rivalries and band together. Juan de Maldonado and Isabella de Guzman were part of those early efforts, with the latter financing an early effort to ambush the hordes of the east as they came through the mountain passes.
They failed, and Valladolid was besieged, only to be saved by Carol Padillia, a young woman who had manifested magic powers of unusual strength. Carol belived that she had gained powers from the Gods to banish the enemy, and so she did, allowing Juan and Isabella to make another try, recruiting armies from multiple cities to give battle against the eastern nomads. This time, they won, but the war that followed was long, even with the cities' new innovation; the Hand Cannon. It also didn't help that one of the Hordes brought in its own infantry recruited from vassal tribes and petty kingdoms. Stalemate loomed over the horizon.
It was Carol who saved the situation once more. She observed that the nomadic horde's vassals were 'lesser' races; Orcs, Ogres and Goblins who were treated badly by their human lieges. So she proposed that overtures be made to them, overtures of liberation and equality. It would take some time for this to be accepted by the nascent League, and even longer for the resulting proposals to be accepted by the non-human races in the enemy ranks, but in a final, climatic battle, the nomadic horde that threatened them all was betrayed by its vassals and subjects, who joined the League in destroying their masters.
Isabella and even Juan proposed betraying the agreements made with the 'greenskins' there and then, but Carol would have none of it and she had the non-humans, as well as plenty of Juan's own men who were loyal to her on her side. And so the Orcs, Ogres, and Goblins were allowed life and liberty, and in time, proved themselves to be deserving of equal citizenship in a mere decade and a half. Now, the League of Cities of Sapientkind stands tall and strong, ready to trade in gold and blood all across the world...
Culture: The Prinċipalità ta 'Maltempati rests to the north of the Flowering Republic and the two are similar in many ways. The Prinċipalità shares the same eternal summer and rich abundance of resources that allows even the poorest among them to live comfortably. Festivales are common among the Island communities, though those differ even between the individual islands which have their own local deities. The never ending cycle of warm weather and four growing seasons makes for a rich kaleidoscope of colours and traditions.
Meat is rare in the Prinċipalità and the locals specialize in ocean going dishes, there are few places in the world you can find such a wide and delicious variety of shellfish. Wine is popular here, grown in the rich volcanic soil that can be found all across the islands.
The Prinċipalità speaks one main language, thought various dialects are found between islands. Merchants are the main source of contact with the outside world as the Prinċipalità's merchant fleet sails the oceans in search of new markets to tap. At some time in the past the Islands suffered conquest by a race of Elves who subsequently left their mark in ship building, architecture, language, and genetics as many in the Prinċipalità are taller and fairer than their neighbours.
Through the existence of their fleet they have dominated much of the worlds trade and their ships are a common sight the world over. The Prinċipalità has gone to great lengths to maintain its neutrality and avoid involving itself in military action against anyone, unless their trade interests are threatened.
Banking and education are major institutions within the Prinċipalità and one in particular, Tħabbar u Joqtlu, has huge coffers that it invests the world over. The Prinċipalità's golden trident, is often referred to as the Golden Cavalry of 'Maltempati, and wages most the Prinċipalità's wars.
Religion: The Prinċipalità maintains various local deities between individual islands and has no centralized religious centre or leader. All are tolerated as long as they are peaceful and promote harmony within the Prinċipalità.
Attitude to magic: Where the Flowering Republic has leaned toward technology, the Prinċipalità has maintained a strong control on magic and its various uses thanks to their Elvish history.
Brief History: The Prinċipalità, like the Flowering Republic, was born of the collapse of an ancient Empire. As the Empire decayed and began to fracture the Prinċipalità and it's surrounding islands were subject to invasion by a Race of Elves from across the seas who ruled the islands for some 400 years, their culture, language, and magical abilities becoming an integral part of the populace. For hundreds of years the Elven ships came and went to the West until, quite suddenly they stopped, and nothing was heard from the distant homeland again.
Those Elves who remained in the Prinċipalità still hold positions of power but wisely gave up much to the local population in order to preserve their lives. The local population, now more half-elf than true human anymore, showed an infinity for the sea and began to forge a wide spanning trading empire, guided by the teachings of their sea faring Elven ancestors.
That love of the sea brought with it the knowledge of naval warfare and the Prinċipalità became well known for its excellent fast warships, smaller than many traditional human navies, but swifter and far more dangerous. The ever present threat from their south and the Flowering Republic has kept the Prinċipalità ever aware of its weakness in population and bodies to wage war should any enemy manage to defeat their navy.
Military: The Prince himself collects taxes from all the islands, and so provides the Navy that protects the Islands from outsiders. Beyond the existence of the Navy and its attached Marines, the Prinċipalità has no standing army. Any number of powerful Wizards and Mages can be found within the Islands who make up the only real combat power that could resist a landing.
Location: Island chain north of the Sorenio Republiqa duo Azula Coatl
@Dinh AaronMk The Dunfender and Karaki dwarves share a common linguistic ancestor, they diverged to form their own distinct versions of this language, but none the less similar.
Also, can you further explain how will of life and magic works? I just want to be perfectly clear on the rules so I don't muck it up later.
@Dinh AaronMk The Dunfender and Karaki dwarves share a common linguistic ancestor, they diverged to form their own distinct versions of this language, but none the less similar.
Also, can you further explain how will of life and magic works? I just want to be perfectly clear on the rules so I don't muck it up later.
Gotcha. I'll do something with that then if Golem wants to chime in and make any pointers he has to me on this.
As per magic:
The basic idea is there's an energy in life in the world, or something closely related. You can think of it like Magicka or Mana or whatever magical-state pervasive in other fantasy titles but it doesn't really recover or not that much. It's not strictly associated with something like stamina where you might cast a bunch of fire-balls and just need to lay down and take a breath. At a basic description it saps a person's life in such a way depression might over extended use. Time-to-time spell casting might not do much for a person but sustained perpetual use would crash them spiritually and emotionally until they just sort of die.
You can read various implications into this and reasoning, like magic being directly tied to an individual's life energy or like experiencing something intangible while doing it that doesn't make the world seem any more exciting. It's a thing that ultimately demands something from the user.
Keeping it in thought and I'd be willing to advance the understanding of it, but over time. I'm not about to suddenly start haphazardly throwing exceptions on it right now. I think the only exception I have tossed into it was to help keep Drunken's nation in play on the suggestion that it's possible to figure out how to drain that energy from someone or somethings and achieve a sort of lich status. At the moment I would venture to say it's only faintly understood by the rest of us if known at all and I'm willing to give Drunken the liberty to explore it further in his posts should he chose to post.
By the way, I'm waiting for the rest of you to too.
@Dinh AaronMk I like the idea of a shared basis for dwarven language.
Also, does anyone want to have some current business or dispute with Karak? I need something to get things going, like a border dispute, or a trade deal. Maybe someone wants a Munitorium? Any takers?
@Dinh AaronMk I like the idea of a shared basis for dwarven language.
Also, does anyone want to have some current business or dispute with Karak? I need something to get things going, like a border dispute, or a trade deal. Maybe someone wants a Munitorium? Any takers?
You could be dealing with Constant border raids from us. The Sorcerer-Kings are always looking for more slaves
