A basic overview on the races which inhabit your nation

A brief or long and complex(preferred) historical piece which gives a reason as to why your nation exists in the world as it is, and perhaps even relations to surrounding nations.

A examination of the nation's culture. How the people appear, how the people feel about others, their views on slavery, their craftsmanship and architecture, how they entertain themselves, their traditions, exc

A overview on the military of the nation from it's most common soldiers to it's most elite legions, along with a brief examination of navy, ship types, recruitment, and organization

What the government of said nation is like, how it runs, who runs what, and how the bureaucracy keeps the nation together or hinders it.

An overview of religion, who run the temples, who are the main gods and belief systems, and this is also a place where you will explain the kind of magic and how it is viewed in the nation, and how it is regulated or revered.

Your nation's tax system and trade regulations/philosophies are explained here, along with what is grown, mined, and created in the nations, it's imports and exports.

How territory is currently divided up in the nation, mostly being a catalog of internal states. You do not need a map for this.

The lay of your nation's land, it's special spots and mountain ranges, it's most important rivers, and all the wonderful and dangerous beasts which are unique to their region if applicable.

A summary of internal factions such as rogue organizations, guilds, mercenary groups, political factions, and separatists.

This is where you will place your characters. The only rule being no god modding or weird shit beyond reason. Other then then that, there are no rules when it comes to describing characters here, these are characters either partially or fully associated with the nation, including the rulers of the land, their families, and just heroic characters lallygagging.

Miesenfrylk (Eisenfolk - Human)
The people of the Eisen, descendents of the great people of Myornabralk, the Sons of the Belt, a people of the Southern Deserts. They were forced to flee at the behest of vast armies and legions spawned in hellish lands in the south. Whether their ancient enemy be exterminated or prevalent still, the people of the Eisen have no idea, but they fled during the great exodus to the river Eisen, a mighty powerful torrent of waters originating at the foot of the Miesentûrm, the Tower of Iron, the mountain of which now lies upon their Southern border. They made their home here, through war and conquest waged in desperation against the great kingdom of Tyric, now long since devastated. The father of the river, impressed by these visitors' power and ability, placed his faith in their hands, and such their contract with Rhûn, the father of the Eisenreich, was created. Since then, the people of the Eisen have seen grand campaigns and golden ages, as well as troubled times of foreign invasions. They have pulled through it all, however, and now stand at the apex of their power, dwarfing even the splendor of their former Southern ancestry.

Tyrelbralke (Sons of the Tyric - Human)
A diminished and hated folk within the Eisenreich, these are the ancestors of the former kingdom of the Eisen, the Tyric Kingdom. The Tyric Kingdom, meaning the Kingdom of Lords, was a nation of unrivaled wealth and power during ages past, they now face extinction at the hands of the brutal men of the Iron and Blood Church for their connection with the past, and their heretical abomination of a religion known as the Faith of the Lords, or Tyraenakrog. Forced to flee into the vast wooden realms of the Eisenreich's northern most territories, they now live a limited life with little attachment to their past wealth or authority.

Aelfenkrynbralkefrolk (The Half-Elf people of the Great Village - Human)
In the eyes of the Eisenfolk, the Half-Elf are a sight of oddities, for they claim descent from the Aelfs of the North yet show no sign of their heraldry. The sight of the elves in the eyes of the Eisenfolk is a hated icon, but the Eisenfolk can barely bring themselves to hate the charismatic and fair people of the Half-Elfs who live in their Northern Protectorates, for they were subjects of the elves, and claim their descent, but are entirely human. They hold a clueless written language of many secrets, one of which remains undescipherable by the greatest of the Scholars of the Eisenfolk and others alike. During the Second Crusade against the Aelfs the Half-Elfs of the Great Village of Uthwënet became subjects of the Eisenreich at the culmination of the righteous conquest. Since then they have faced a new life, one of which is predominated by increasing urbanisation and opportunities to make a fair living otherwise alien to their elitist rulers of times past.

Uthermarcfrylke (Utherfolk - Human)
The people of the Uthermarc are a powerful ally at the behest of the Eisenreich. Annexed into the greater realm during the third northern crusade, they adopted well to the culture and languages of the Eisenreich, gaining favour at the hands of the Eisenreich elite. Allowed self-rule at the helm of their Eisenfolk Crusader-Governor. The people of the Uthermarc, the underplain, is a marshland of unparalleled ferocity and difficulty, home to mighty beasts and ravaging weather. The Utherfolk are a barbarian kind with little former care placed in who their territory belonged to so long as their culture could live on. With great importance placed upon beastslaying and "true utherhood", the mark of a true Utherman. Since the dawn of the Eisenreich however, they placed more care into the vaster political landscape of the world, and have since become a far more political identity in combination to their traditionalist approach.

Kragmarcbralke (Sons of the Kraag - Human)
The plain of the Kraag was a great realm ruled by a powerful people of sorcerors conquered by the unrelenting ferocity and zeal of the Eisenfolk. With their Mage-Kings now cast into oblivion, the people face a crisis of identity, with their past unity formerly placed only by their true sovereigns. The Domain of Kraag had once ruled over vast lands and a great many peoples, but now they are subjugated and disciplined by the men and women of Iron and Blood.

Aelfwenfrylke (Elvenfolk - Elves)
A hated enemy of the Eisenfolk ever since their conquest of the Tyric Kingdom, the elitist realms of their northern border have long since faced ruination at the hands of the greatest of warriors shepherded by past kings. Now they face alienation and repression unthinkable during the ages of their most splendid of eras. Put to the blade by the ruthless doctrines of the Eisenreich elite, extermination seems all but inevitable. In their despiration, they contacted the remnants of the Tyric peoples and entered a desperate contract with their leaders. Now they operate together in opposition to the vastly more powerful state of the Eisenreich in hopes for freedom and independence. Their dream seem all but distant however.

Landtaelfwer (Urban Elves - Elves)
During the conquest of the elves, there were those who faced adversity through resistance, and those who submitted to their indomitable new masters. These elves are the latter, and during that time they faced a cultural schism unrepairable in todays climate. Alien to all realms but their own, they now live in secluded districts of the cities of the Eisenreich, predominantly the capital, and make their living through both dignity and despairing work alike.

Halfmannefrylke (Half-men - Dwarves)
An industrious and stubborn bunch, a typical characteristic of dwarven identity. They belonged once to the greater dwarven realm of the North Mountains, but had been forced into exile for their unworthy behaviour by their northern siblings. Ironically facing more prosperity than their northern counterparts since their exile, the Half-men have created great industry and prosperity for the nation of Iron and Blood due to their compatability with the strange culture of the Eisenfolk.

Prehistory -
Long before there were nations, cities, and even less empires, humans were born from whatever cavernous crawl they deemed themselves as home. During these dangerous times entire tribes and clans often found themselves at the door of death, facing extinction. However one tribe in particular, the Äka, were able to survive in their fights against rival tribes and foreign peoples and races. They built themselves their legend, a legend of a mighty people, and their great king Äka, namesake of their peoples.

However even with their victories they always faced ruin but mere steps ahead, for the great deserts of the south were home to little provisions and supplies, especially during these times. They hoarded themselves around the divine trees in face of this danger, and faced unceasing prosperity. However, unwilling to share this gift with others, rivalries began to form. Especially with the people of Kübäkhaan. This rivalry soon manifested into the everlasting bloodshed, with the two clans ceaselessly facing eachother in combat for sole dominion over the divine trees.

Legends -
The archrivalry of the Äka and the Kübäkhaan would lead to thousands of deaths at the foot of the divine trees of the past era, being one of the first peoples to wage war in the entire world. These wars were nothing alike to the conquest of the modern era, however, for they were savage and brutish. Bestial and unchivalrous, lacking in appetite or finess, with 'swordmasters' using wooden clubs and 'knights' wielding the mighty weapon of the stone.

This past era however came to define the future usage of words, their meanings, and the cultural foundations of the descendents of the Äka, the Eisenfolk, however their story lies yet in the future. The war between the Äka and the Kübäkhaan led to victory under the visage of the King of Äka, Aka himself. Whether he lived for thousands of years, or his descendents bore the same name is one of several mysteries belonging solely to the past, however through his victories, Äka stood dominant amidst the divine trees, the people of Kübäkhaan exterminated in absolute ruthlessness whose purpose had been forgotten over centuries of bloodshed.

With this gift of the trees the Äka prospered, built settlements out of the hardened sands, creating tradition and worship surrounding the divine trees, and living off of their seemingly endless bounty. This age of joy would soon end, however, for in the greed of humanity and the Äka, would see the divine trees felled and great cities erected in their place. These cities faced initial prosperity, but would soon have to be abandoned for a life of a nomadic people as their food supplies from the trees ran thin. They fled their great cities and sought oasis after oasis in hope of survival. They remained firm in their ways and survived through sheer force of will along with their physique and well-adapted bodies.

The cities of which they abandoned however, saw new vistors, the long-thought dead descendents of the mighty Kübäkhaan made their home and brought with them strange knowledge of cultivation and worship. They turned the sand-covered cities of the Äka into truly prosperous settlements once again, all the whilst the nomads struggled their ways through the many trials of nomadic life.

The Scouring -



It would not take long before the ancient war of peoples would rekindle the flame, the one disadvantage lied however on the people of Äka, long since adopting the name of the Myornabralke, for they were cut off from all outside influence, and thus remained ignorant whilst the Kübäkhaan, now known as the Atraici, revelled in their domineering insights. Their cities became golden, whilst the golden dunes of the desert scraped the flesh of the Myornabralke off of their formerly prestine mortal vessels.

The faith and worship of the nomads saw no fruit fall at their feet, and their former zeal was long since diminished as they waded helplessly along the desert wastes. Their culture warped and their minds disturbed by the endless exodus. It would prove no advantage to them as they were beset by incredibly vast legions of gold and silver, demons of the dunes, who slaughtered their kind and forced them to flee endlessly and without vision or hope.

These desert demons were the Atraici, one of the first great empires of Ophad. Warped by their unconditional contract to divinity, their minds and bodies were changed, and their personalities warped for the sole purpose of eliminating the descendents of Äka. Now an accomplished task, the Emperor of the Atraici would hunt the Myornabralke to world's end, and so his and his descendents' war against the helpless Myornabralke would see endless deaths on the side of the Myonrabralke with none whatsoever on the Atraici whilst their enemy fled from the Desert world.

Having accomplished their task, the sovereign of the Atraici faced his vengeful and cruel glare to other peoples in the desert, subjugating and exterminating them without mercy.

All the whilst the Myornabralke made their way up north.

The Settlement -
It would take centuries before the Myornabralke found their new home, but once the discovery was made, of a fruitful and bountiful land centered around a mighty river they named the Eisen, their gazed would be forever fixed upon it. As if bewitched by its glory, the desperate people waged a conquest of desperation, one of which they would name the Kreusekrieg, the Crusade. Whilst this name, built around the word Kreuse and Krieg, meaning desperate war, would see a widely different use in the future, it was based upon this truly legendary event.

For seventeen years the warriors of the Myornabralke would see their nature change and distort as their desperation would see ever-changing boundaries as they faced a truly superior opponent in the Tyric Kingdom. However, in their war they gained a new admirer, one of which would play unparalleled importance in the history of the Eisenreich. This admirer was Rhûn, the Lord of Iron and Blood, Great Craftsman of the Abyss. He placed the conditions of his contract at the feet of the Crusader-King Kraafh Myorn in the runic scripture of the ancient Äka, one of which remained dominant amongst the Myornabralke yet to this day.

King Kraafh, faced by unceasing death and hopeless odds accepted the terms of the contract and initiated a cultural change that would see the Eisenfolk prosper under the code of Iron and Blood. Having spilt the blood required for the God's interest, it was now the duty of the God to place upon them the gifts of iron and metalurgy, the power of steel and plate, the might of forging and creation. With this new discovery the bond of Iron and Blood was forged, strenghtened by the ceaseless resolve of the Myornabralke. Wearing their new titular name of the Miesenfrylke, the Iron Men, they crafted great weapons and armours in demonic rituals who would see even the most hardened of foreigner screaming in fear. Their contract with the Abyssal Smith was complete, and their duty to spread the faith was now engrained in their bodies along with increasing power and a will of steel.

With these weapons of doom they placed the once grand kingdom of the Tyric into ruination, and subjugated the local peoples with a power and authority previously unseen and yet still unequaled by any people or individual who had placed their feet on the grounds of the earth.

With their acquired land, and subjugated workforce, the cities of the Eisenfolk, and the Eisenreich, was established in earnest. The capital of Eisentürm, named in the honour of the mighty mountain in the South, was placed in the very waters of the ruthless torrents of the river, a testament to the resolve of the Eisenfolk and their devotion to Rhûn. From the completion of their grand city and monument, their eyes placed outward, and saw many villages and cities fall under the Iron Banner. During an era of extermination and settlement, the Eisenfolk murdered millions and placed their own settlers in their vacant homes.

The Establishment -
Now having settled the lands and having begun the true population of the realm, the eyes of their King were placed on the true establishment of an empire once more. A task only sought by the men of legends past, Kraafh Myorn saw it upon himself that he would be the first ruler for millennia to establish a true nation of peoples, and the first ruler of a Rhûnic Nation. Through the use of Iron and Blood, extermination and gifts alike, he created a true government apparatus centered around the nobles of ancient lineage, and the Generals of the Crusade.

He founded, most crucially, the Blood and Iron Church, a strange religious institution of Abyssal-Smiths and Forgecasters who had recieved the gift of Iron directly from Rhûn. Through their hellish creations they established authority and obedience amongst their subjugated subjects, and mighty and hope amongst their kinsmen.

These were few of many accomplishments that the First King would deliver, and few of several creations that he would create during his century of rule.

The Era of Conquest
With the nation established by her predecessor, Queen Elise-Luthria Myorn succeeded King Kraafh's throne of Steel, and brought into being an era of conquest and expansion. The faith of Blood and Iron Church would see new heights, and the Eisenfolk would revel in a rekindled pride in their citadels of steel. With cruel machinations and constructions they invaded the northern lands and extended their southern borders past horizons old and new.

New methods of war were devised by the genius of the Warrior-Queen, Hierophant and Knight-Monarch of this new Empire risen from the ashes of past nations. They built vast cities upon the ruins of recently ruined cities, burned the corpses of their enemies in the kilns of their demonic workshops. They saw new inhabitants, both welcomed and dispised in the wake of their new conquests. They benefited and profited off of their bounties recently claimed.

During the most fair reign of this truly Iron Queen, Elise-Luthria, the fledgling nation of the Eisen truly claimed its place and accomplished its desires; it crafted a most prestine creation, an Empire of peoples; an Empire built in devotion to Rhûn.

This Iron Banner, created from the black pits of the capital Eisentürm, the one who would stand victorious over endless corpses of nations, would sway in its arcane might as the steel threads of this mighty flag saw the sun kneel before it.

This Iron Banner brought night to the ceaseless sun, dark smoke to the golden glow of prosperous realms. It brought a Demon-God to the worshippers of Hope and Light, but most importantly. It brought faith and desire, goodness and accomplishment, justice and order to the people of the Eisen.

Whilst they stepped on carcasses, they enveloped themselves in the goodness that they had taken, stolen, from others. The Blood and Iron contract made manifest.

The Modern Era -
Having conquered, stolen, and razed many nations and subjects from their homelands, the great workshops and machinations of the Eisenreich screech tirelessly from their cities and haunt the dreams of their neighbours. Their gaze is a most feared object in the hearts of northern nations, and the southern realms sit aching, waiting for this Iron Giant to launch its maws at their borders.

The Crusaders of the Iron Realm are eager, the Church is ready for new worshippers, and the Iron Monarch Mars-Luther is amongst the greatest of monarchs to ever reign over the nation. With world-leading industry, and religious fervour alike, the world lies open for their grasp, and their marches and protectorates stand stalwart.

The culture of the Eisenfolk is a strange artifact of both ancient and alien influence alike to the sight of foreign onlookers. Celebrating the night, as opposed to the sun, revelling in bastions made from steel as opposed to wood and stone, and burning willing sacrifices to fuel their infernal workshops to full effectiveness, there is truly nothing relatable to be found with their neighbour in this dark land. This is just what the Eisenfolk desire, for their hostility towards foreign cultures, but more especially their foreign religions, leads to their mystical appearance in the eyes of others. They sleep during the night, just like most other humans, but not due to fear, but due to safety. The night symbolizes the time of which Rhûn watches over them, so they sleep because they are protected.

Sacrifices are common within the culture and nation due to their blind worship of a particularly ruthless and dark God whom seems ever-hungry for power. This contract is believed fair by the Eisenfolk however, and offer up themselves willingly to their patron and 'father'. Due to this patriarcal view of Rhûn, the common cultural adoption of patriarchy is absolute. Few women ever see power in its true form within the Empire, with few, but great, exceptions.

Subjugation of peoples, better known to the world as slavery, is also common. Vast slave-forces build ceaselessly as the ambition and desire to create runs endless in the willful folk of the Eisen. It is believed by foreigners that each crusade is fueled by a depleting supply of slaves, however it is not entirely the case, as regular people often assist the slaves in the erection of newer, greater monuments and buildings. Nay, the crusades against foreigners is fueled by something simpler, more arbitrary, and that is the will of the Iron Monarch, the Knight-Sovereign of the Eisenreich, and the Hierophant of the Blood and Iron Church. What their will is swayed by, however, is largely unknown.

Feasts and celebrations are always performed during the night, as well as the dark rituals of the Rhûnic faith and the traditions of the Blood and Iron Church. This is due to their great faith in their patron god and patron-deity, one of which distorts their personality and mentality from the norm of most of humanity.

They worship the art of smithing, creation, and the sanguine divinity of blood and the darkness. Their trade surrounds mostly this aspect, with blood being a central commodity and highly expensive luxury item often purchased by the high-nobility of the Eisenreich. Products forged from iron, hardened into steel, or refined into plate, is found in an overflow, often being smuggled by other nations out of the Eisenreich due to its prestine and commonality.

Several holidays exist within the Eisenreich in addition to regular celebrations such as birthdays and weddings. Each Crusade becomes a holiday, celebrated on the day of its initiation, with the War of Desperation being especially celebrated. Rhûn is also celebrated greatly, especially in relation to the seasons, as well as the Blood and Iron contract. Such a celebration is performed by the cutting of one's flesh, and the exsanguination of one's blood into the river Eisen, an offering to Rhûn.

Each Black Pit, the abyssal forges of which the demon-smiths of the Blood and Iron Church create their diabolical machinations, is regularly improved by the burning of willing sacrifices in their Kilns. With each soul sacrificed, their forge becomes more powerful, and their power also increase, leading to greater creations, and improved arcane technique.

A overview on the military of the nation from it's most common soldiers to it's most elite legions, along with a brief examination of navy, ship types, recruitment, and organization.

The armies of the Eisenreich are proportionally small in comparison to its vast size as a nation-state, yet not entirely underwhelming. This is mostly due to the quality of their mainline soldiers and military forces. Whilst they wield a mainstay of slaves as a form of meatshield, the Eisenreich army does this to later close in with their elite melee elite forces. The Eisenreich has mages, but these mages are unlike most other form of magic casters, as they are siegemasters and creators; wielding metalurgic magic to form swords, spears, and axes (etc.) and hurl it at their enemies, all the whilst wielding their own personal weapon to slay individual, or groups of soldiers.

Organization -
The organization of the armies of Eisenreich are doubly layered, maintaining both professional elite regiments or orders who swear fealty to the Blood and Iron Church, and also conscripting levies from zealous villagers along their crusade. This is due to the fact that the Eisenreich only wages crusader-wars, this is due to their zealous faith and the belief that only blood of an Eisenreichian may be done in zealous purpose. Each Army, or Horde, is assembled by a Eisenkaiserliche Feltherr, or an Imperial Field Lord, a warrior-noble chosen by the Iron Monarch themselves. These lords swear fealty to the Blood and Iron Church, which is subservient to its lord, the Hierophant, who is also the Iron Monarch, who only answers to Rhûn. It is the purpose of the Field Lord, or Black Lord, to create an army through whatever means they deem necessary, to provide forces for future crusades. Each Crusade is lead by the Iron Monarch, who wields the title of Black Herald of Rhûn ceremonially during crusader-times. The Black Herald commands each individual Black Lord strategically through the Iron Court, a royal court which only exists during war-times, whose purpose is the creation of military grand strategy and tactical developement.

Hierarchy -
The armies of the Eisenreich is divided amongst numerous ranks with gradually increasing authority in the actions of the grander military organism of the Eisenreich. Something important to note is that the military organization is a religious entity loyal to the Blood and Iron Church, and operate through it. As such, war is a religious exercise in faith, and is done with zealous intentions to please Rhûn. This act of faith is lead by the Black Herald of Rhûn, the Iron Monarch of the Eisenreich. Beneath him is the Iron Court, the collective entity comprised of individual Black Lords who are the ones who wield each individual army. Each army beneath the Black Lords are distinctly different, but follow the same hierarchical outline created at the very dawn of the crusader history.

Fältermarschalke, or Field Marshals, are the second-in-command to each Black Lord, and wield vast power within the individual armies. Lording over sub-armies, or Miltherde (Vassal Herds). The Field Marshals, referred to as Steel Marshals, comprise the Steel Court, which is the Black Lords' military tactical developement organ used to develope tactical movements during localized battles or field engagements.

Knechterherr, or Knight-Lord, are subservient to each Steel Marshal, and act as their vassals. The Fältermarschalke is a a feudal duke, with each Black Lord acting similarly to an archduke. The Knight-Lords have a similar authority comparable to Counts, and as such are referred to by outsiders as the Iron Counts. These lead individual troops on a tactical level, as opposed to the otherwise strategical authority of the higher-ranking authorities. As such, these are usually the only form of nobility seen on the fields of battle.

Reichteknechter, or Righteously Royal Knight, are the highest tier of Knights without being true nobility. Each title of authority within the Eisenreich is titular and can be granted to anyone, however the Iron Monarch seldom grants the highest of offices to rabble, even if Eisenfolk rabble. Each Knight leads an individual force of warriors.

Gleureknechter, or Glorious Knight, is the second highest tier of knighthood within the Eisenreich without approaching nobility. The distinction is ceremonial and given by distinction, however they do not operate any military forces superior or inferior to other knights.

Feursteknechter, or First Knight, is the lowest tier of Knighthood within the Eisenreich and is a distinctional title acquired through effort and accomplishment. Each knight is given riches and authority within the military hierarchy, but do not wield vast strategical authority, only gaining tactical authority during the time of actual combat. It is their duty to perform orders given unto them by those of higher authority.

Landtesoldner, or Field Soldier, are those who are given authority over two groups of four-men troops. Twenty Landtesoldners are fielded under each Knight. The authority of their office is granted unto them by their Knightly masters.

Marcsoldner, or Plains Soldier, are those who are given authority over an individual troop of four men. Each Marcsoldner is given authority by their Knightly masters.

Roster -
Rhûkereiden-Schmedt vant Rhûn - The Abyss-Smiths of Rhûn comprise the entity of the Blood and Iron Church's upper echelons. Unparalleled warriors of might and magic, these warmages wield their black magics on the battlefield to great effect.

Rhûnische Knechterlische Brudtherhûd derk Skalleschwerdet - The Rhûnic Knight's Brotherhood of the Skullsword, is a legendary force of almost mythical status within the Eisenreich and even throughout the continent. These cavlarymen are brutish in their approach, slaying thousands throughout their history, and wielding mighty lances of war imbued with the apocalyptic magic of Rhûn. Comprised entirely of mighty Mage-Smiths endowed with their own armour and weaponry, the Knight's Brotherhood is a force of legend.

Rhûnische Kaesarlische Unterhesse Knechter - The Rhûnic Imperial Dismounted Knights are the Iron Monarch's own personal guard, employed in the royal palace and throughout the Reich dispatched on personal imperial missions. Recruited from the mightiest of Knights throughout the Reich, and beyond, these employed Knights are taught the sacred bond to the point where no other existence, beyond the bond, exists within these hallowed knights. Sometimes known as the Abyssal Guard, their renown and ability are epic to say the least.

Schwartzerknechter vant derk Meisenrecht - The Black Knights of the Eisenreich, powerful combatants and skilled swordsmen, they wield their greatswords whilst clenshing the ground with their heavy iron boots. So great is their skill, that they are even able to wield their colossal blade with one hand whilst employing the use of their iconic steel tower shields.

Unterknechter vant derk Meisenrecht - Lesser Knights of the Eisenreich, a far more common variant of the Knights of the Eisenreich, these lesser knights are equipped with powerful equipment, armed with sword and shield. They wear a great helm with a symbolic representation of the Iron Crown, the symbol of authority and power wielded only by the Iron Monarch.

Untermarceknechter Bästeslagter -Uthermarc Beastslayer-Knight, heralding from the marshlands of the Uthermarc, bringing to the Eisenreich the arts of beastslaying and savage warfare. These warriors were given arms and armour in show of faith for their devotion, and given the gift of murder to perform during their time as warriors for the Eisenreich. With this gift, they bring skull and bones upon any settlement they wage war upon.

Schwartzerkrieger - Black Warriors, the mainstay of the Eisenreich warriors, these men of dark cloth and suits and weapons of iron and steel, bring to the field of battle their zeal and faith, their skill with blades, and their will to destroy all who oppose their righteous quest.

The Iron Realm
The Eisenreich adopts a government form of which names the nation itself, and defines the people throughout. It is an absolute monarchy with linear succession based on the oldest of the reigning monarch's children, be they male or female. The Iron Monarch then places their faith in their subjects, divying out duties to their subjects to perform justly.

Each title can be destroyed or abolished, renounced and reduced, by the will of the Monarch. Should they, themselves, deem it upon themselves to rule over everything within the realm, then they can do so with absolute authority.

The Monarch stands as the absolute hierophant, the rule of the church and religion, answering only by their divine mandate to Rhûn, of which all their authority is based. Rhûn is able to place his will upon anyone, and they will be given absolute ability to rule over the Iron Realm without question.

At present, the nobility and administrative powers are as follows, ranked based on their absolute authority:

Meisenkaesar, or the Iron King, the Iron Monarch, or the Iron Emperor, is the absolute authority within the Realm. All power in the mortal realm stems from them, and all can be renounced at will.

Kreuserherr, or Cross Lord, sometimes referred to as Crusader-Governors, are subject rulers of protectorates and marshes who answer solely to the Iron Monarch and the Blood and Iron Church. These territories follow a similar, albeit unique, hierarchy based on cultural customs, and operate semi-idependently from their overlord, waging independent wars and conquests, whilst tributing to the greater dominion of the Iron Realm.

Knechterherr, the Knight Lords, are the second administrative ranking, dwarfed only by the Field Marshals and the Iron Monarch. Unlike the Field Marshals, however, the Knight Lords are given their own administrative districts to rule, whilst the Field Marshals are granted territories of which they may recruit.

Allesknechter, or All-Knights, is the universal term for all forms of knighthood. Each Knight is granted dominion over a single city or village of which they may administer.

The Blood and Iron Church plays a dominatingly essential role in the regular society and life of the Eisenfolk. Whilst this may seem overbearing and threatening in the eyes of those whom do not follow the faith of the Eisenfolk, they themselves encourage religious predominance in their society. For reasons beyond reasonable, the Eisenfolk revel in the exchange of emotions, such as taking fear from those without joy, and swallowing joy with those without fear.

This darwinian social interaction is based on social dominance and domination in the social setting, because each Eisenfolk is emotionally empowered if they overpower someone else. Through the church, they are able to dominate an immense amount of nonbelievers, thus gaining faith and happiness.

This is believed to be through the influence of Rhûn, known by foreigners as the Inverted One, for his ability to invert the nature of peoples, and 'bless' them with powers beyond their fathom. This is said to have happened to the people of the Eisenreich. Nevertheless, the actual Eisenfolk care not for what truth may be, they care only for their wellbeing.

For they have always been and will always remain, a willful people. Bent on survival.

However, whilst some aspects of their culture remain, others have changed drastically. As such, their contract with Rhûn did change their destiny forever.

However through this worship, they gain insight otherwise unconsidered, knowledge not yet discovered in the realms of metal, and strenght previously unsought from the might of their blood. Through sacrifice and willingness, they acquire power to increase their might.

Mages sacrifice their own, or others', lives or blood in exchange for power. This is a welcomed exchange in the blind eyes of the zealotry of which the Eisenreich resides. There were those of the true folk, however, who did not welcome this most privileged exchange. Those were the Khaanafrylke, the Khaanites. The Khaanites remain a people of the Rhûnic lineage, but have been severed, intentionally and not, from the rest of their kin due to their lack of faith.

The lands of the Eisen and surrounding area are rich with minerals and inedible resources, however the flowing tide of the mischievous river flow inadequately to support long-lasting crop farming. Therefore hunting takes center stage for food and provisions, with the torrents of the river Eisen standing for the water consumption necessary to sustain humanoid life. For the noblekin, however, this watery substance remains inadequate, for whatever purpose, so the consumption of blood acts as the main refresher for those wealthy enough in murder may yet still sustain themselves.

As such, crime is prevalent within the Eisenreich, but it is not seen as crime in its most common and conceptual form. No, it is instead a religious ritual, the taking of lesser life, where the one consumed is weak, and the consumer is strong. It is a common occurence amongst the Eisenfolk to adopt ritualistic cannibalism, done in honour of the glorious abyssal smith itself. The Iron Monarch, as deemed pseudo-divine by the eyes of their subject, is granted the free right of murder, an unlimited privilege allowing them to consume any man or woman, no matter position of power, or religion. This is a ritual made in honour of Kraafh, who ate the defeated king of Tyric during his march of victory.

This strange custom creates the prevalence of slavery and its trade, with most slavery rings centralizing in particular around the Eisenreich for the purpose of cheap glory, consuming the flesh of the weak for a meager sum of irrelevent currencies. For this purpose, coin circulates actively around the Eisenreich, even though it isn't used to barter. The Eisenfolk instead purchase their foreign goods without care for its price, as the concept of civil trading and bartering is utterly foreign to these peoples.

Those whom do not follow the religion instead utilize this custom to take advantage of the money-throwing habits of the Eisenfolk to purchase foreign wears at a more reasonable price, supporting their anti-eisenreich causes. The Tyric people, those that remain, and the elves, are especially skilled tradesmen and tradeswomen, having adapted this trait out of mere idealistic and religious necessity. Most of the hidden rebellion is therefore funded out of the coffers of slave buyers, a necessary evil in the eyes of the idealogically blind.

Territory within the Eisenreich, and therefore in their lesser states, is a haphazard, yet somewhat organized administrative mess. Each region being governed by a local overseer, with several regions standing tribute for the regional military development lead by their distinct Dark Marshal.

At present, the Eisenreich consists of 12 larger cities, five of which take considerable presidence over their lesser subjects. These cities are granted the honorary distinction by the Iron Monarch as Grechtestaater, or Greater Cities. They recieve numerous distinctions that make their power within the greater reich more prevalent and obvious within the eyes of an Eisenfolk.

In addition, the Reich also has authority over five seperate protectorates, of which the greater state of Eisenreich recieves resource tributes and whatever aid deemed necessary by the Iron Monarch. There has yet to be any form of rebellion against this iron clad obligation due to the absolute authority of each protectorate is placed on the shoulders of a Crusader-Governor loyal only to the Iron Monarch and the greater Eisenreich and the Eisenfolk.

Greater Cities - Greater territorial urban settlements given specific distinction by the hands of the Supreme Authority.
Eisentürm - Lord Eischtyr Pentrad.
Tryr - Lord Yrmer Aelfslagger.
Kësaar - Lord Kraal Macht.
Myrn - Lord Meüsr Urd.
Kraap - Lord Grüscht Draaker.

Regions - Undefined reaches of land designated under the authority of the Marshals in question, without interference from the Supreme Authority, and dictated beyond the reach of lesser local authorities.
Ortemarcer - Marshal Trekt Reikret
Grechtermarcer - Marshal Orten Krüss.
Kreusemarcer - Marshal Trüberrecht Thûrn.
Rhûnelandt - Marshal Allemarc Tôôr.
Kaesarmarcer - Marshal Gleurchte Rheen.
Alletslandtsmarcer - Greater Marshal Körper Meûseer.

Crusader States - A pseudo-arbitrary territorial region operated by a locally Supreme Authority answerable only to authorities greater than them for purposes of easier protection and spread of the Rhûnic faith.
Uthermarc - Crusader-Governor Maleryck Lyrt.
Rhûr - Knight-Governor Ryscht Brotter.
Grëchten - Crusader-Governor Adelbret Haater.
Krecht - Crusader-Governor Marecht Krygg.
Mürr - Crusader-Governor Graaf Thyreen.

Eisen -
The Center of all things Eisenreich and Rhûnic, the river Eisen is one of divine and holy significance. The place where their God is said to inhabit, the capital of Eisentürm was built on its rapids and hazardous waters at the cost of a great many souls in a brutish show of dedication and faith. Now the Iron city stands as an icon for all of the truly faithful, home to the Black Pits of their most holy sites, embedded deep under the bedrock, cavernously dug into the surface over the passing of centuries. The abyssal forges now utilize the power and force of the river's sonic waterflow to power their hellish inventions of which they use to craft their otherwordly constructs.

The River has its origin in the southern-most mountain whose name was chosen as the capital's, a towering colossus of rock and snow, the mountain stands almost alone, with another peak as its neighbour reaching half of Eisentürm's height. From its frozen peak intermittened gusps of unbearable heat find their way, leading to the snow quickly melting, and freezing in unceasing repetition, thus giving the river's further flow a chaotic pattern.

Inremarc -
The most central area of terrain is known as the Inner plain, or Inremarc. This territory is dominated by flat surfaces with an interval of deep crevaces holding their origination to the first forming of the primordial river Eisen, as its flow has changed drastically over the passing of eons.

Found most prevalently in this region, aside from flat lands and forests, are the ruins of fallen nations. Not only those left by the Tyric Kingdom, but also those even older than Eisenreich records recall, home to unknown peoples of ancient ancestry uncatalogued by the marinette-scholars of the Eisenreich.

Yttermarc -
The distant lands beyond the inner plain are known as the outer plain, or Yttermarc. This area is far denser in forestry, being distant from most forms of the Eisenfolk's civilization, or civilization of any kind. These lands were once home to the ancient forest-loving elves, those elves who disdain the far more 'modern' statesmanship that past elven civilizations adopted. As such, the lands act as refuge for outcasts for centuries, making it no different at the present date.

Home to the rebel cabals who wish to avoid the watchful eye of the Blood and Iron Church and its vengeful ways, these lands act as the home to idealists who desire nothing more than to ignore the extremes of their present situation.

Uthermarc -
A territorial boundry distinguished not for its protectorate area, but for the terrain features of the marshlands, this area is home to the most wild of beasts perhaps even across the continents. These beasts, equaled in ferocity only by the brutish people who inhabit its boundries. The geographic area of the Uthermarc stretches across the boundries of the Crusader State, inwards towards the outer-center of the Eisenreich, and further northwards. A large area with curious origins.

Thaalmarc -
The furthest northern bounds of the Empire's influence stretch across the Thaalmarc, or Pine Plain. This is a forest area stretching vast distances. Covered in snow most of the year, the region is home to two seperate crusader states and the northern-most areas of the Eisenreich, giving unique issues having to be handled by its local rulers, as the Iron Monarch sees little worth in the solving of issues of lesser peoples.

Sollermarc -
The southern-most influences of the Eisenreich stretch over the Sollermarc, or Sunny Plain. A temperate and desert landscape dominated by the states of Krecht and Mürr. Vast desolation intermittened by dense rainforest define this landscape. Whilst it should be a familiar environment to the Eisenfolk, cultural and traditional superstitions makes any southern land or realm an unlikely trip for any free-willed Eisenfolk, leading to the area being home to fortresses and little else. The sparse populace is a plus for those stationed there, however, leading to little difficulties in the acquiring of rare necessities all the more easier.

The Sollermarc is home also to the Rhûnic Order of the Dark Star, a religious order that operate the Crusader State of Mürr. They follow the belief that when a great monarch acquires the throne, the crusades will no longer flee northwards, but lead towards the Southern lands, towards the home of the ancient Äka and thus, per automation, the ruination of the ancient enemy.

Traltermarc -
The western shores of the Eisenreich and its subject states and peoples are known as the Traltermarc, or the Salt Plain. A dune-infested strip protected by dangerous waters and layers of forestation on its land border. Home to the past realm of Kraag, this area used to house the great cities of the Mage-Kings, but during the Sorcerer War, their cities were leveled and the bodies of the kings were buried into its soil. It is said that this great fall, from the emerald heavens to the abyssal underground, allowed the hollow forests dominating the Traltermarc to grow tall and well-fed. It is the home of beasts and lesser men: ancient slaves turned feral as the passing of time furthened. The arcane abominations of the Mage Kings also wander the hollow woods, said to guard the graves of their long since fallen overlords.

Österlandt -
The Eastern shores, the Österlandt, is a flat landscape of increasing elevation. An unnoticable increase of height from west to east, ultimately leading to the large dagger-like cliff faces that define the eastern land bordering the sea. The Östervall, or Eastern Wall, protects the old landscape of the center-continent from any would-be invaders across the eastern route. To pass into the Eisenreich from the eastern sea, one would either have to follow the Eisen against its ravenous flow, or mount the sides of the eastern cliff face and ascend its heights, both of which are arduous tasks beyond the expectation of ordinary mortals.

The Iron Realm is divided both out of choice and inadvertent schisms. Through the barbarous actions of the Eisenreich it has created many foreign enemies, both of fallen and persevering realms alike. The elves and the Tyric peoples are a central icon of this inadvertent division, as these rebellious groups operate beyond the visage of the Eisenreich and its lawful inhabitants. Their existence is not a foreign concept, but their actions lie enshrouded beyond the reach of their oppressor. There are many other cabals of rival peoples in direct opposition to the desires and will of the Eisenreich and its Eisenfolk, but the Brotherhood of Lords and Elves, or the Tyril Morde Uthwërii Adi, is the most successful amongst them.

Tyril Morde Uthwërii Adi -
The Brotherhood, or Siblinghood, of the Tyric peoples and the elves, is an old relationship forged during the dusk of the elven era in the Mitterlandt, or Middle Realm. During this trying time, the elven ruler-caste localized willing cooperatives amongst their iron rivals, those being the ancient outcasts of the Tyric peoples. Bonded by an unseperable oath, these two races now fight to dethrone the iron giant from its throne through whatever means deemed necessary.

Miensenrüm -
The Iron Court, an alliance of Warlords distinguished for their mastery of the Iron Way of War, these Warmasters are unified by their bond of war, both in peace and without. An alliance of powerful individuals unequaled by all except the Iron Monarch, this faction has great sway over the nobility and their decisions, dividing the sub-factions of the nobility distinctly based on conflicting interests or unified decisions made within the hallowed halls of the Warshrine, the monolithic tower upon which the Imperial Court of Iron resides during its assembling before and after a crusade.

Grechterfrylk -
The Greater Folk, or Greater People, are the faction consisting the nobility within the Iron Realm. It is the unified center for ideological and political discourse amongst the administrators of the Eisenreich. Interestingly enough, the Faction Quarters are unvisitable by the Iron Monarch, by order of the Iron Monarch themselves. Through some form of moral display, or grand political strategy, the true purposes of this particularly distinct decision remains unknown.

Miesensvärde -
The Ironsworn, loyal subjects of the Iron Monarch, are the religiously loyal practitioners and subjects of the Iron Realm and its influence. Followers of the Hierophant and Monarch, these consist of the majority nobility and a sizable portion of the Reich's total population. Expected amongst the Eisenfolk, some loyalists also harbour different ethnic identity than those of the Eisen, most notably the dwarves who inhabit the land, as well as the Utherfolk.

Kreusesvärde -
The Sworn of the Cross, or the Cross-Sworn, are the loyal subjects of the Eisenreich's satelite states. Whilst they often stand for a minority amongst the Iron Realm's outpost-nations, they inhabit the higher echelons of authority, allowing the safe operation of administrative and religious practice for would-be Eisenfolk settlers. Kreusesvärde are defined by their foreign uppbringing, as thus a Kreusesvärde may never attain the status of a Miesensvärde except through honourable distinction by knighthood. The division of these peoples are done through the enacting of socially seperative laws.

Miesenkreuserüm -
The Court of the Iron Cross, a unified court assembled initially through social cooperation between Crusader-Governors, the Iron-Cross Court has since then become the haven for unified and planned aggression and the spreading of faith. An exclusive group of individuals, only the Crusader-Governors and their Overlord may discuss within its secret halls.

Rhûnische Brutherbandt -
The Rhûnic Fellowship, a landless order of zealous faithful who cross the realms of foreign and familiar faiths alike to spread the message of Rhûn. Often regarded as an exceptionally well-equipped band of highwaymen by foreign eyes, the brutal deeds and their messages are often defined by their inhumane remains left after the conclusion of their religious practices. Whilst the faith garners little foreign support, it is not unheard of for villagers to go missing in combination with the passing of this "noble" fellowship.

Rhûnische Knechterlische Brudtherhûd -
The Rhûnic Brotherhood of Knights is a religious institution centered in Mürr. Acting and functioning as the ruling caste of the religious order that owns the Crusader State, the Brotherhood is well-armed and supplied by the personal coffers of nobility from their homeland. Suppliers and operates of the Grand Vault, the Brotherhood of Knights is the supplier of most of the "Sanguine Drink" consumed by nobility across the Eisenreich.

Grechter Kabaal vant derk Freischenheit -
The Greater Cabal of the Free and Fresh, a secretive organization of like-minded idealists within administrative authority throughout the Eisenreich's many domains. This small, but essential anti-governmental organization is half of the reason why the anti-establishment efforts are swept in thick veils. Whilst independent from any other rebel cabal, these men of authority have, through some mysterious method of conversion, become sympathetic to the cause of the freedom fighters, all the whilst gaining less and less faith in their Rhûnic faith.

The Dark Herald of Rhûn, Iron Monarch and Supreme Hierophant of the Faith.


The Forgemaster of the Black Pit, Marshal of the Secrets of Rhûn, Wielder of the Ebonflame.


The Foremost of Marshals, the Dark Beast of the Iron Realm, Bringer of Night.


Bearer of the Sword; Rhûn made manifest, Vanguard of the Titan.

Irafarate (Human)
The common descendants of every progenitor family of Humans to originally be exiled upon Indignor. Not properly distinguished by any particular racial trait, the Irafarate are simply any Humans who do not bear the traits of the other common Human races upon Indignor. They are common folk and people from every walk of life, and are as varied unto themselves as the variety of all other peoples upon the island. Although commonly mocked with the assertion that they lack any true culture of their own, they form a tentative majority upon the island; most of Indignor's merchant and noble elite are Irafarate and they occupy a large portion of the Regenecy's administration.

Gresihdra (Human)
The descendants of marauding Human Pirates and Raiders who sailed and terrorized the oceans and far-off coasts in longships. Gresihdra are distinguished by their stout torsos and ill-proportioned, lanky arms and legs. Their bodies ripple with distinctive cords of muscle, and their complexions are swarthy and tanned. Their eyes are naturally adapted to salt-water, and they possess the uncanny ability to peer through harsh sunlight (though they still cannot stare directly at the sun). Their palms and soles are notably calloused to an exaggerated degree, and it is not uncommon to see them walking about in public without shoes. Their culture is marked by their own hate for each other; the stereotype of the Gresihdra is that of two fighting each other in the streets over dirty fleece. They exist as highly insular houses which detest each other, constantly engaged in bitter mercantile and actual bloodletting.

Sartzteike (Human)
In stark contrast to their pirate-descended cousins, the Sartzteike are the descendants of nomadic Human colonists who lived upon the ocean along with the Sarmtymske in massive ocean-faring Arks. They possess notably smaller builds than most of their kind, and their feet are more flexible, akin to the feet of chimps (giving birth to an obvious variety of demeaning insults). Their culture is even more insular than that of the Gresihdra, and they prefer the company of the Sarmtymske over that of other Humans. Characterized for their skittishness, they are hyper-vigilant and rarely speak. Their culture is highly communal in nature, and they tend to live in massive ramshackle slums with thousands of other Sartzteike and Sarmtymske; this is not indicative of wealth but of cultural practice, as it is not unheard of for them to build oddly-placed and structured manors amidst their hives.

Iwadwtschi (Human)
The collective offspring of Warlocks, Mad Sorcerers, Insane Mages and Power-Hungry Wizards who generally could never tolerate the company of anybody except each other after being banished to Indignor. The Iwadwtschi are a somewhat inbred minority of families attempting to produce children with Drenched Souls, mostly unsuccessfully - although this has not deterred them from claiming habitual magical prowess amongst their lineages. They are distinguished by their unusually long necks, hunched backs, and unsettlingly long fingers. After the historical formation of the Regency their insular practices were deliberately broken up, and as such their genetic line is gradually being assimilated into that of every other Human race on the island, making them rarer and rarer sights over time. Individuals still maintain various cultural, occult-inspired practices including hermetic meditation, fetish and (mostly non-functional) relic crafting, and (usually) ineffectual ritual evocation.

Naught (Human)
The wealthy minority of descendants of nobility originally exiled to Indignor in ancient times, they are more commonplace than most would expect, and each one claims the same relative status as the rightful ruler of some far-off foreign land, or at least as an heir within the succession. Intermarrying, wealthy nobility and what few retainers they were permitted to bring with them created the first foundation of wealth upon Indignor around which the first semblance of true civilization began. In the present day they make up an innumerable number of wealthy merchants families, or else ruling houses of the external cities and townships. Many of them claim noble titles ranging from Barons to Dukes. A scant few claim to be Emperors. This amuses precisely nobody. Distinguished by their indigo-hued eye coloration, pale features, and purple lips, what was once a small minority has increased in number since the establishment of the Regency. The various warring Nobles that had been involved in the conflict during the reformation were mercilessly purged, with the rest given a leery 'Do not make me come back here again' after divesting them of most of their material wealth. The progeny of the remaining families turned to more traditional professions and practices and began marrying amongst the common people, leading to the modern day where their number are as commonly seen in Brothels are they are in marketplaces. Disparaged as haughty and snobbish by the other races, they often wear veils in order to accommodate their pronounced olfactory sense, which is particularly sensitive to toxins.

Inclishet (Human)
Descendants of the original leper colony founded upon the island, theirs are the people who were always too visibly sickly to be considered suitable for marriage. Although they enjoy a profound resiliency and robust immunity in the present day, as a consequence of their somewhat altered physiology they are known to vomit blood whenever afflicted, even in the instance of minor colds. They also bruise readily and accumulate sores across their backs and arms from simple bedrest despite keeping regular hours, and their eyes have pronounced red veins. Other species and Humans are highly averse to them due to misconceptions and suspicion of sickness; Inclishet are commonly blamed for the occurence of plagues and are periodically lynched during severe bouts of illness. They live in ghettos and communes, and are often expected to travel swaddled in lepers' robes should they ever venture about in open public.

Barwhett (Elf)
When Indignor was a blighted waste, it was considered a hellish punishment to be exiled there for Wood Elves. Those that were formed wasteland tribes which endeavored to grow something, anything, from the barren wastes. These efforts proved unsuccessful, but resulted in a lineage of nomadic, ashen-skinned elves known for traveling under cover of dust storms, raiding settlements and harnessing nature magics over the weather and earth to their advantage. There was a brief period where their kind raided and took slaves from the various peoples of the coast, making warlords of themselves and proliferating in an era of personal prosperity circa 8300 FE, becoming nearly as commonplace as the Irafarate in the present day as a result. Although their practices have become more diluted over time, traces of their original culture can still be seen in their clothing and furnishings. Their feet are particular sensitive to vibrations, and they are known to be able to discern the presence of others nearby from their footfalls, no matter how silent.

Nary (Elf)
The descendants of exiled Elven royalty. Unlike their Human counterparts, they never enjoyed any great revivals of wealth and power resulting from frequent remarriage combining of assets. Their kind would arrive in splendor, live in squalor, and perish as beggars. What remains of their lines is due in part to their highly pronounced and peculiar (some suspect arcane-influenced) genetics, such that even carried down over a hundred generations it is barely diluted, if at all. Nary blood is known to completely dominate the expression of most other racial and species traits; Nary who interbreed with Humans or other races of Elf simply produce more Nary. They are always tall and willowy, with faintly luminescent skin. Their hair and eyes always possess metallic sheens to them, and their complexions are always notably flawless and sculpted. Due to the largely insular nature of many of the other races and species upon Indignor, Nary are seen almost like vermin as any sort of dalliance with them inevitably dilutes the bloodline of whichever family they lay with. Despite most Nary living in destitute conditions, and despite the other peoples possessing little unity or cohesion amongst themselves, most other races and species unite in, if nothing else, despising the Nary. The Gresihdra in particular are noted for their scorn and contempt of the Nary, as they blame the Nary for 'stealing all the young folk' and disrupting family business. Commonplace resentment has prevented the extensive proliferation of the Nary despite their beauty and grace.

Largraun (Dwarf)
Indignor, being located in the middle of nowhere of the Asifa Sea and having originally been completely devoid of Trees of Anar, featured absolutely no mountain ranges or cavernous depths of note, never possessed any indigenous dwarves. The Largraun are a line of them who, if cultural myth and oral tradition are to be believed, dug their way to Indignor from the other side of the world just to see if they could circa 7000 FE. They are the only race of Dwarves in Indignor who still possess natural, permanent cave adaptation and grow sickened by exposure to daylight. It was their undercities, carved out beneath hills and ridges, which served as the shelters and refuges necessary combined with the wealth of exiled Human nobility, which gave rise to the first large settlements upon Indignor. The Largraun form the second largest majority on Indignor just behind the Irafarate, living in the foundations of every settlement on the island. Their very existence is the sole reason as to the absence of any above-ground roads on Indignor, as all settlements are connected by their underground highways. The majority of all Human and Elven industry upon Indignor exists specifically to service the maintenance and expansion of the Largraun undercities, making the Largraun Dwarves' cultural mores, practices, their food, goods, and needs the most commonly accepted and catered to on the island. Despite this, everyone knows that all rumors of Ens, The Great Road, are complete bullshit. _{Although one is forced to wonder how they got here at all then...}

Sarmtymske (Dwarf)
Settling upon Indignor along with the Sartzteike Humans, the Sarmtmske were sea-faring Dwarves who originally lived on massive Arks. They can only attain light cave adaptation and are largely unbothered by exposure to sunlight, although as a consequence their vision in low-light conditions is much closer to that of a Human's. They can hold their breath for extensive periods of time, upwards of an hour in the case of practiced divers. Their hands and feet are larger and possess a more oblong shape than is normal for Dwarves, which is conducive to swimming rapidly through water, but they are otherwise similar to and commonly mistaken for Largraun dwarves. They live amongst the Sartzteike in ramshackle slums built either on the surface or in the undercities, and due to a matter of simply having better nerves are generally relied upon to speak with other races and species on behalf of any Sartzteike present.

Nadir (Dwarf)
Exiled Dwarven nobility, sent to the middle of nowhere in the Asifa Sea to an island where there were absolutely no caverns they could use to escape. In theory _{thanks for nothing, Largraun.} Their families were largely forced to subsist in the overworld, integrating with tribes and settlements of Humans and Elves prior to the arrival of the Largraun. They possess moderate cave adaptation that affords them the best of both worlds; permitting them fully enhanced low-light vision or tolerance for the sun with an adaptation period of only a few days. They have copper or gold colored eyes, and possess immense physical strength that would shame the strongest of Humans. Like the Nary, they did not experience any great revival of wealth or influence, although they avoided living destitute due to their physical strength and willingness to get their hands dirty. Also unlike the Nary, their bloodline proved to be fickle. It lies dormant but undiluted in the bloodlines of other races of Dwarf as well as other viable species, skipping half a dozen or more generations before arising again, which can result in no small amount of occasional awkwardness amongst certain Human and Elven families. Also as with the Nary, the Nadir's bloodline is suspected to be influenced by arcane forces, supposedly manifest in their native talent for geological sounding. They are not particularly more sensitive to seismic vibrations than any other dwarf, but few can deny that they are somehow always experts at feeling at the land, be it the overworld or the subterranean realms. The Nadir live in a few small families of land-lords and guildmasters who own many of the external overworld plantations and most of the subterranean highways in Indignor, and they wield vast influence amongst the Largraun, whose own nobility intermarried with those of the Nadir many generations ago.

Refik (Beastfolk)
The shallows around Indignor, originally, were barren and lifeless. Once the first Trees of Anar began to grow upon the island, their effects spread out and enabled life to thrive in the waters. As coral reefs and tidepools began to crop up, the Seafolk moved in, carving their own settlements out of the living rock beneath the waves. As inland rivers began to form and reach out to the sea, so too did the Seafolk reach island as well. The Refik are amphibious sea-serpents capable of breathing air, with large, adapted pectoral fins ending in grasping, claw-like extremities near their tips - resembling to a degree the wings of bats. Although the Refik can breath air, they are not able to do so for extended periods of time, and if they spend too long out of the water they can perish due to oxygen toxicity. Originally preying upon the various islanders of Indignor, as fortified coastal settlements began to spring up, with neither the Seafolk nor the islanders possessing any reliable means of waging war with each other, they grudgingly began to tolerate each other’s' presence, leading eventually to exchanges of goods and services between each other, culminating in the modern-day presence of Refik coral dens amongst every coastal city and port in Indigor, where they act as shipwrights, fishermen, sea-tenders, sailors, architects, merchants, and more - adopting many of the trappings of civilized life in the process. Although most Indignor Refik are 'civilized,' insofar as such as distinction goes, it is not unheard of for Refik sirens to lure unwary islanders to their doom using their innate ability to mimic the voices of land-dwelling creatures.

Ambucane (Beastfolk)
The only form of sentient life that could exist on Indignor prior to the emergence of the first Trees of Anar, the Ambucane were opportunistic ambush predators who could rest in states of torpor for weeks waiting for prey to wander close. The Ambucane are long cold-blooded serpents with six limbs, capable of burrowing in sand, ash, and dirt. They have poor light-based vision, but make up for it with excellent thermal vision, enhanced olfactory nerves, and sensitivity to seismic vibrations. They are more than three and a half meters in length from the tip of their snout to the end of their tail, and pound for pound they are the strongest living beings on Indignor, able to overpower even the tremendous strength of the Nadir. They habitually lived in centralized dens that would service a dozen or more Ambucane over an area of a hundred kilometers. Ambucane traditionally consume rocks to help them digest their prey, and upon returning to their den, regurgitate the contents of their stomach as a putrefied morass of fluids into a clay urn which all of the Ambucane would then feed from, relying on the sheer toxicity of their own guts to keep the rancid mess free of any contaminants other than their own. Due to the Ambucane's slow metabolisms, they are extremely long-lived, and there are a few Ambucane of note who have been alive since the beginning of the second era. Ambucane are extremely languid and slothful, and despite possessing unmatched strength can only exhibit it in brief bursts due to their metabolism. They were originally enslaved by the nomadic Barwhett tribes and used as beasts of burden and as burrowers for excavation, which led to their eventual integration with the Langraun Dwarves. Ambucane largely reside in Largraun undercities, working as burrowers and laborers, but live in dens close to the surface where they can bask or swim in thermal baths. Due to their patience and their willingness to work and share with one another almost without questions, dens of Ambucane generally engage in private industries that they then operate through a market front, and so many Ambucane are actually immensely wealthy despite working as 'mere' laborers for their day jobs. The wealthiest individual in all of Indignor is, in fact, an Ambucane who has been hording wealth and influence with market guilds for over a thousand years.

The Haggard (Undead)
There are many gods that pervade over death. One of them, whose name is whispered by the fearful and the foolish in Indignor and known as The Haggard Lord to everyone else, will raise the body after death, bearing a simulacrum of a soul to live a second life. The Haggard bear the body the worshiper had in life, which will quickly become emaciated, with skin drawn taut, thin, and bloodless over the bones. All bodily fluids dry away, and the individual becomes afflicted with a boundless, insatiable hunger. The Haggard may consume food and drink normally, which their body will ingest in an internal process too gruesome to describe. The Haggard may also directly absorb biomass they make contact with, siphoning away flesh and lifeblood into their body as if it were strands of fabric being pulled away. The Haggard may regenerate and heal themselves with any biomass they assimilate this way. Despite bearing an insatiable hunger, the Haggard remain lucid, and are far from mindless, as the Haggard Lord intends that they properly suffer their emptiness rather than receive the mercy of madness. The life of the Haggard, such as it is, is to eat. They work and labor tirelessly in order to earn bread, meat, cheese, water and wine and all manner of delicacies that they can procure to try and sate their horrid appetites. The Haggard are regularly exploited as cheap labor, paid a pittance to perform back-breaking and dangerous work that would kill a living man. They are treated as vagrants and beggars by most, and readily purged en-mass if one should ever grow so desperate as to prey on the living. Their continued presence on Indignor is something of a mystery, as even the living beggars know better than to evoke the Haggard Lord, but more and more of them continue to appear with time. They are singularly difficult to permanently kill, as so long as a morsel of them is left, it can absorb microscopic and small wildlife and slowly regenerate over time, requiring that every last trace of them be incinerated and burnt to ash. However, a single drop of Ambrosia, the nectar of the gods, will instantly expurgate the Haggard upon contact and cause their body and false-soul to disintegrate.

Circa 5500-5700FE - A small leper colony consisting of a dozen hovels is established on the Northeastern coast of the island. Over time, this colony expands into a small village. It produces just enough crop to attract the attention of pirates, who raid the village. Most of the colonists flee with whatever they can carry, establishing a new colony inland, in the wastes. The pirates convert and use the old village as a base of operations, storing stolen goods, prisoners, and slaves there. Over several decades, the small village transforms into a pirate port. The port and the new settlement see some exchange of trade; the colonists from the wastes have by now scouted the entirety of the island and, by word of mouth, the news of an island in the middle of nowhere of the Asifa Sea with no Anar Trees spreads first around port, then from ship to ship, and eventually to the mainland.

Circa 5700-6000 - The pirate port is sacked by a small fleet of longships from unknown lands (some historians speculate they may have come from continental Asifa, but there are several contradictions and problems with this theory) the pirates based out of the port are marooned there, without the resources or materials to build new ships. News of this returns to the mainland, various powers make note of the island's existence. An Elven kingdom populated by Wood Elves sends ships laden with untouchables to the island in order to get rid of them without killing them; the island is used to dispose of untouchables in this manner for nearly two-hundred years.

Cira 6000-6100 FE - After a violent revolution by Elven and Human untouchables in an unknown land, the Elven kingdom's throne is toppled, along with the thrones of several other kingdoms. Human, Elven, and Dwarven Nobility threatening divine retribution are exiled to Indignor rather than being executed in order to avoid the wrath of the gods and as poetic justice. The nobility are exiled with a number of their retainers and some of their personal possessions befitting their station, but without any resources of note on the island and with only very limited subsistence farming possible, there is no possibility of escape without outside intervention. The Human nobility immediately begin intermarrying and pooling what little wealth, possessions, and manpower they have between them. The Elven royalty is largely abandoned after several years, left destitute as beggars. The Dwarven nobility scatter across the island, integrating with the tribes of Dust Elves, the few Human colonies, and the remnants of the marooned pirate fleet.

Circa 6100-7000 FE -The population explosion of Humans, Elves, and Dwarves on the island leads to a reciprocal population explosion of the indigenous Ambucane, who prey upon and steal from all three species. The nomadic Dust Elves begin worshiping new gods, harnessing natural magics to conjure dust storms used as cover for raids upon Human settlements. Fighting between nomadic Elves and the colonies, combined with the absence of any Trees of Anar, prevents any true civic progress. Association by way of race with the Dust Elves instills the colony populations with contempt for the remnants of the bloodlines of the Elven royalty. The new revolutionary order from the mainland and various other powers from surrounding territories begin using Indignor as a dumping ground for various malcontents, inconvenient figures, and madmen. Warlocks, sorcerers, and wizards marooned on the island fail to integrate with populations of the colonies, and form their own private enclaves where they could go quietly mad with power and delusions of grandeur with each other. Coincidentally, occult knowledge of The Haggard Lord begins to spread amongst the colonists. The first of The Haggard begin to appear.

Circa 7000-8300 FE - The Largraun Dwarves appear on Indignor, although how is unclear. Racially distinctive from nearly every other member of the Dwarven species, they clearly did not originate from continental Asifa, Pehan, or Kevica, no records exist of any mass expulsions of Dwarves sufficient to explain their appearance. According to oral histories, the Largraun dug their way to Indignor from the other side of the world, creating 'Ens, the Great Road' in the process. No reliable evidence or records that might confirm this theory have been found as of the present day. The Largraun Dwarves readily carve vast settlements out beneath the surface of the island, having appeared with the tools and knowledge necessary for sophisticated architectural accomplishments and able to use the earth itself for most of their materials, obviating the (immediate) need for Trees of Anar. The bloodlines of the exiled Human Nobility, rallying the colonies behind them, establish rapport with the Langraun and begin initially limited barter with them. The foundations of what will become the first true settlements on Indignor are created. With fortification to ward off the Dust Elf tribes and opportunistic Ambucane, the local Human populations begin to rapidly expand, despite the limitations of the barren land and subsistence farming. After several hundred years, the first Indigo Child is born. The first Tree of Anar sprouts in the wastes of Indignor.

Circa 8300-9600 FE - The nomadic Dust Elf tribes and the descendants of the Dwarven nobility amongst them exploit the Tree of Anar, developing tools and weapons that enable them to overcome settlement fortifications and raid once more. Ambucane dens become easier for the Dust Elves to assault, and indigenous Ambucane flee the wastes to parlay with the settlements for shelter due to the ferocity of the Dust Elves. Charismatic and brutal tribal leaders arise amongst the Dust Elves, who demand the taking of slaves from settlement raids. These warlords create vast, nomadic hordes that live amisdt drawn wagons, their numbers sustained partly by the Tree of Anar and raids upon the settlements. Numbers between all of the warlords and the respective tribes are limited by their rivalry, nomadic natures, and the slow regenerative powers of the Tree of Anar. However, with the number of Dust elves rapidly proliferated to match those of the Humans and Dwarves living amongst the settlements, additional Indigo Child are born within a millennium. Additional Trees of Anar sprout, and the tribes of the warlords all simultaneously fracture as their lieutenants try to take advantage of the occurrence. The nomadic tribes split apart into hundreds of groups, and the settlements claim the lands around the new trees. Over centuries, the nomadic remnants of the Dust Elf tribes are assimilated by the settlements. During this period, as significant resources are finally made available to the noble Human bloodlines, new factions begin to form amongst them, dividing the settlements once more. Seeking an edge over each other, the noble families call upon the enclaves where the descendants of exiled mages reside, seeking arcane and divine power with which to establish a new sovereign rule. By this point, the remainder of the world has learned of the emergence of Anar Trees upon Indignor and cease treating it as their dumping ground for troublesome belligerents; wandering parties from the island are regardless universally treated as criminals and degenerates by the mainland powers. Although the odd individual manages to successfully escape to the mainland realms over the centuries, several attempted mass-exoduses by large groups end in massacres. The people of Indignor remain largely isolated and cut off from the remainder of the world, despite access to the resources necessary for shipbuilding.

Circa 9600-10800 FE -
The rivaling nobility eventually settles into two opposing factions, one led by elements of Human nobility and another led by a single charismatic Dwarven King (though both sides were represented by diverse populations), spread across the island, engaged in a cold-war centered around the Trees of Anar. The Dwarven King makes contact with seafaring peoples living aboard vast Arks, promising them residence upon the island now that it was livable and that settlement around certain Anar Trees would be guaranteed to their people if they could help overthrow the rival faction. At approximately the same time, the Human Nobility contact the arcane enclaves and enlist the assistance of the descendants of the establishing mages. Great privilege, personal power, and resources are afforded to a number of powerful sorcerers amongst them, who begin devising great and forbidden arcane methods of waging war for the Human Nobility. The Dwarven King eventually mustered his forces and began a great war between the two factions, with the Ark-peoples spearheading his forces. The Human nobility immediately strike back with overwhelming arcane might, and the Dwarven King is slain in the first great battle - but in the chaos of the conflict their leashed mages abandon all pretense of loyalty and attempt a coup against the Human nobility. Both factions splinter, and at this point in time few intact and coherent records of the turbulent people exist that shed light on the events that led to the eventual arcane igniting of the Crest of Yearning, Indignor’s Caldera, leading to the Great Eruption of 10800 FE. The eruption was so great that ash blanketed the skies over the island for several centuries, and large, dark storms of soot swept across the remainder of the world – though not sufficient to blot out the sun, for several centuries a number of mainland powers are seasonally inconvenienced by ash storms causing days of perpetually overcast skies.

Circa 10800 FE - 0200 SE - After the arcane eruption of the Crest of Yearning, which eradicated nearly a quarter of all life on the island, the remaining peoples abandoned the volcanic wastes and sought shelter within the Dwarven foundations of their settlements. It was during this era when the great underground highways between the settlements are carved out beneath the Earth, both as a means of survival by the people and in order to continue waging war upon one another. Towns and cities are raiding and sacked with abandon and great ferocity during this period, and to this day Indignor is littered with the remnant, ruined foundations of settlements that were wiped out to the last child, the stones scorched by flames leaving little in the way of historical accounts behind. The most reliable records that remain of those times originate from the Shadowgate Regency itself, formerly known simply as the Indignor Regency. They originated as a splinter group of the Human Nobility’s forces, who determined that as long as there were Kings and Queens of any kind on Indignor, there could be no peace. Seizing upon the icon of an eternally vacant throne as their symbol and appealing to the common people to unite under their common histories as exiles and nomads, the Regency was led by a commoner of unremarkable birth acting as a Regent, wielding the sovereign authority of Kings but with no hereditary line of succession. Attempting to exploit the lack of a clear line of succession, rival powers have the first several Regents assassinated, one after another. Much to their dismay, this merely resulted in the emergence of exceedingly more extreme and violent Regents who continuously spur the people to violent revolution against the remnants of the Noble forces, even amongst the Noble-led peoples of the island. This results in a centuries-long reign of terror by the Regency as it waged war against the fractuous Noble houses, culminating in the Regency’s complete dominance of the island near the turn of the era. A counter-cultural revolution begins amongst the remnants of the Noble houses, calling for an end to the dogmatic witch-hunts for Noble families and their immediate execution in the absence of any war or external conflict. The common people, now used to violence and easily roused to look for new victims to fall upon, readily begin to revolt en-mass against the Indignor Regency, which retreats to the island’s caldera, now dormant millennia after the Great Eruption. Fortified therein, the Regency sues for peace, promising an end to slaughter and violence as long as the descendants of the Noble lines promise in turn to never again seek to rule over the people by right of blood. The Exile’s Concordat is signed in 200 SE, with the Regency officially designating common-born governors for the settlements of Indignor and issuing clemency to the remaining Noble families. Although the common people accept the governors chosen from amongst their own to lead, they largely reject the return of the Indignor Regency as the dominant authority on the island, restrict its power to what remains of its forces within the Crest of Yearning.

Cira 0200 SE – 900 SE – The Indignor Regency abides by the sentiment of the common people and little more is heard of them again for centuries as they consolidate their power within the Crest of Yearning. They build a great wall ringing the Caldera, and name the territory Shadowgate. Then, in 500 SE, they announced they would be making a limited return to governance of the remainder of the island. They begin by revealing a previously secret means of transplanting live trees of Anar between different locations, and as a show of good-will established a ring of Trees of Anar around the Caldera, permitting the growth of new settlements, and offered several other existing prominent settlements the procurement of additional Trees of Anar if they would accept the authority of the Regency. After a brief period of negotiation, most of the island settlements accepted the Shadowgate Regency as the ruling authority upon Indignor. The reformed Regency began to distribute a new form of minted currency known as Exile’s Fleece, lengths of cord transmuted into unearthly materials, and broke up the families of the inbred descendants of the mages’ enclaves to the overall approval of most of the island people. Less popularly, they formally acknowledged the existence and rights of the undead Haggard, ending their previous widespread prosecution and purging – but conditionally refuse to acknowledge the worship of the Haggard Lord, or to sponsor or protect any form of worship thereof. As a showing of protest, a number of religious parties refuse to accept Exile’s Fleece as legal tender, a practice which devalued the currency and resulted in its irregular acceptance up until the present day. Although Exile’s Fleece is now largely (if grudgingly) accepted as the regional currency, a few stubborn hold-outs still refuse to accept it simply due to the historical and cultural irregularity of its acceptance.

900 SE – Present Day – Near the turn of the second millennia of the second era, the Shadowgate Regency formally sponsored the construction of naval merchant fleets, harbors, and guilds, and officially made contact with numerous mainland powers to declare that Indignor was at peace and officially led by the Regent of the Exile’s Throne, possessing the sovereign authority of a Monarch in the absence of a Noble line. (To be developed further).

The land of Indignor is one of ruin, abandonment, wild diversity, and hidden life. From the smoldering and dark lid of the Crest of Yearning, to the ashen and desolate coasts of seething, twisted stone to the dim, bustling intensity of the underground cities, Indignor is unapologetically alien.

Every settlement in Indignor is built around one or several Trees of Anar, in vast circular blocks surrounding internalized fields, and resemble unusual and quaint countryside villages and mining towns built around vast plains, meadows, and groves. While these realms can be vast unto themselves, they are small and inconsequential compared to their roots: The vast Dwarven-carved undercities are where the vast majority of the people on island (or more accurately under it) live. Indignor has never had any natural cavern systems of note prior to the arcane eruption of the Crest of Yearning; most of the subterranean cities are networks of great tunnels spiraling outwards from the central mining hubs, beneath the roots of the Trees of Anar. While individual passages and chambers tend to have limited height, the overall verticality of these realms tend to be immense, with cities diving nearly as deep as they are wide. The causeways and passages mirror the arrangement of traditional streets, albeit with the absence of any common, large plazas or forums. Most markets are arranged in wider, grid-like matrices of passageways (for structural safety, so it is often claimed), and a common complaint by claustrophobic surface-visitors is that Indignor undercities are more akin to overgrown, aggrandized burrow runs. Oil and other fuels is a commodity and not often used for lighting, and instead the cities are lit by way of widespread cultivation of bioluminescent, subterranean plantlife and fungi, occasionally supplemented by enchanted lighting. The confines of the cities are stygian and dim; most surface-dwellers can become easily lost or hurt themselves trying to navigate the abyssal corridors. Foreign visitors are thus readily identified by their torches and lanterns, which are sold aboveground at steeply overcharged prices for their benefit. In the absence of the sun, there is no nighttime lull in activity; people come and go and work at every and odd hours. Time is kept by a combination of waterclocks, mechanized pulley-systems, aqueducts, and groups of municipal laborers. It is entirely possible for many individuals to live out their entire lives underground without ever seeing the surface. Beyond the confines of the surface-dwellings, a primitive ecosystem of grasses and small shrublife exists, dotting the island barrens in volcanic soil. While most plantlife takes root readily enough, Indignor has not been fertile for long enough for there to be any great diversity of plant or wildlife; most wild specimens are in fact escaped plants or animals from above-ground plantations, walled compounds where crop and cattle are grown and raised whenever natural sunlight in required.

The people of Indignor are insular and xenophobic, generally mistrustful of each other as well as foreigners. At the same time, the diverse species and races intermingle and interact with one another on a regular and inevitable basis. The very atmosphere of most social interactions is grudging and bitter contempt, and fuck you too. Since space underground is at a premium, few species or races live in confined ghettos or burroughs (the exceptions being the Sartzteike and the Sarmtymske, who mutually live in ramshackle slums). Multiple families of the same species or race generally live with each other in a single dwelling, typically with neighbors of other races or species living in similar conditions. Most businesses and markets specializing in goods and services do not discriminate, but local taverns, commonhouses, and trade guilds often do so freely and openly. Race riots are unheard of, but fist-fights breaking out between separate groups in an everyday occurrence. Local militias uniformly draft Dwarves and Haggard who were Dwarves in life, as they form a majority within Indignor and are generally the least disliked species and thus are less likely to incite retaliation or resistance while keeping the peace. Foreigners are typically less subject to outright discrimination, but the treatment they receive is typically measured in direct proportion to their wealth – or at least, of the wealth a given vendor they might barter with is willing to accept.

As the different species and races of Indignor exist in a perpetual state of cold war with one another, they have no issue with slavery or exploitation. The Regency proscribes it harshly, but as its rule is largely hands-off, flesh markets and indentured servants are not unheard of in the larger cities, run openly and ignored by the militia and governors. A vast array of narcotics are widely accepted and used, with several trade guilds and surface plantations dedicated to their production. The common people and the Regency itself are accepting, or more accurately apathetic to, a large number of practices that might otherwise be deemed taboo, although anthropologists theorize that this may just be due to it being easier to hide signs of occult practices underground in the dark; that the people are no less hateful of it and more that its symptoms are harder to immediately identify on sight. The Regency’s policy of legitimizing undead with false-souls as actual people, in and of itself, in addition to the large diversity of species and races, has also made the common populace more accepting of taboo practices and otherwise monstrous creatures than might otherwise be advisable.

The only officially sponsored religions on Indignor are the worship of the Triumvirate of the Shadow, Zuuldrick, and Ishala. The Regency’s official stance is that as the sprotectors of the world and mortal-kind, these three beings are to be honored much in the manner children are expected to honor their parents. The remaining pantheons and gods are all selfish, destructive beings who would see the world destroyed if they had but the opportunity, and until proven otherwise are untrustworthy and unworthy of anything but mortalkind’s contempt. If they are dealt with at all, for any reason, it is only to be done on mutual terms and any bargain is to be approached with great skepticism. It is due to this very position that the Regency refuses to acknowledge or sponsor any other god or form of worship. The common people of Indignor largely ignore this sentiment and freely worship anything they please under any number of terms; the Regency does not openly proscribe such worship despite its noted disapproval for it.

The central realm of Shadowgate, within the Crest of Yearning, is somewhat of a different story from the remainder of Indignor. Most of the construction in the caldera is relatively recent (constructed within the last two millennia). Most subterranean structures are built into the cliff-faces of the caldera, or into the sides of ravines, and the Regency otherwise prefers to build more traditionally – and they prefer high-flown aesthetics. They build their fortifications and settlements atop plateaus and mesas, lone structures on top of raised foundations, and their roadways – some of the only aboveground roads in all of Indignor – are all built atop aqueducts, connecting distant points along a raised structure. Large, airy towers are commonplace, and the dark spires of the Regency spearing out into the sky from over the lid of the caldera create a starkly beautiful atmosphere within the Crest of Yearning. Although the Regency has different preferences in where and in what manner they build subterranean structures, the few they have made are of a similar scale.

The Shadowgate Regency is ruled by a hypothetical Monarch known as the Exile, perpetually in abesentia from the material realm. The Exile’s Throne is empty and has been empty since its inception, no bloodline or lineage has ever existed which may lay claim to it, and no mechanism of ascension or succession of the Exile’s Throne exists. However, the hypothetical entity of the Exile is supposed to possess the full sovereign and divine authority of any King or Queen. Immediately beneath the Exile’s Throne exists the Regency Council, a group of twelve common-born administrators and officials who nominally serve as advisors to the Exile. In their absence, the council elects from amongst their number a Regent to represent the Exile’s Throne in the Exile’s absence. The Regent possesses the full authority of the supposed Monarch, capable of issuing royal decrees and mandates as though their word alone was law. Their power is only limited by the Regency Council beneath them, which by a mere plurality vote may dismiss the Regent – but only if, by formal lower election, the Regency Council has already elected an immediate successor Regent. The balance of power is kept in check as the Regency Council itself controls and governs most aspects of the Shadowgate Administration. There are no safeguards that protect the authority of the Regent themselves, who must always be able to convince the Regency Council of the merit of their commands and intent in order to retain power. Any form of refusal or defiance contrary to the Regent’s commands is formally considered a tacit vote for dismissal until rectification or abeyance. There have been several points in Shadowgate’s history where an unpopular Regent has been dismissed simply because nobody amongst the Regency Council would follow their orders.

The individual members of the Regency Council are senior administrators drawn from six realms, known as Aedes, with two members representing each realm. The six realms which an Aede may represent are Sovereignty (Diplomacy & Public Relations), Worth (commerce & trade), People (Domestic and Land affairs), Peace (Law Enforcement), War (Precisely what you imagine it is), and the Occult (Arcane & Religious issues).

While the Aedes of War are senior administrators regarding military affairs and logistics, they can never be members of the actual military, in order to preclude the possibility of an internal armed coup.

Outside of Shadowgate, evidence of the Regency’s power is present but subtle. Beyond the regular rounds made by tally-men, the Regency maintains an office in each settlement from which decrees are issued and legal affairs are handled. Additionally, soldiers under the banner of the Exile’s Throne may enter the settlements in order to secure and maintain peace in times of revolt.

(To be developed after consultation.

The state-sponsored religion is the simple worship of the Triumvirate of the Shadow, Zuuldrick, and Ishala, but there are no official temples or sites of worship erected for the purpose of the honoring them. The Regency administration limits itself to the construction of perfunctory and humble shrines, sometimes as simple as small wall alcoves, within the administrative structure of Shadowgate. This is also coupled with several brief but omnipresent traditional prayers integrated within commonplace greetings and farewells, as well as in the executive language of several administrative functions. It is customary for guards to invoke the Triumvirate whenever there is a shift change, for example, and for baggage train drivers to exchange a blessing with supply depot overseers upon concluding their business. Outside of Shadowgate, the only temples, shrines, and sites of worship that exist are those which the common people have seen fit to erect. Although there are many temples to the Triumvirate, they are largely outnumbered by the plethora of diverse structures dedicated to the worship of other gods and entities.

(Under development - stay tuned) The Regency taxes the external settlements annually, and their methodology is simple. Tally-men, usually accompanied by a squad of bag-men, operate out of the Regency offices in each settlement and keep a private record of every dwelling, spending most of the year simply having men explore the reaches of the settlements and thoroughly mapping them out. Near the end of Summer, the tally-men head out with a list of specific dwellings to visit one-by-one. Taxation is applied uniformly, citizens living in a city pay the same flat rate for the simple privilege of existing within Regency lands. It is paid per-head, and may be paid with most forms of legal tender including foreign currency. If an individual or family cannot pay for everybody present, the bag-men divest them of property until the Tally-man deems the needed worth has been met. If they cannot pay and have no belongings, they are typically sent to Debtor’s Prisons. If the squad comes across a dwelling that appears to be abandoned, it is searched to ensure there are no inhabitants. If they come across a dwelling which is clearly inhabited but when nobody is at-home, the squad leaves and returns on another day after posting a notice. This period of Summer, referred to as Tally-week, is often treated as a pseudo-holiday, with many employers permitting workers to take days off to ensure at least one person can remain at home to pay taxes. If, for any reason, a family cannot manage to have a member at home to render payment, they can send somebody to the Regency offices to pay. If they cannot or will not do even that, eventually the Tally-squad will simply post a notice of forfeiture and then steal any money and possessions they find within the dwelling until the due is considered paid.

There is no apparent taxation applied by the Regency to any form of sales or services; although local trade guilds can and do tax entrepreneurs independently, as do to occasionally local Governors. However, all other forms of taxation beyond the Regency’s annual collections are unique and limited to specific regions of Ingidnor.

Horizon’s Stead: Although not home to the largest ports in Indignor, Horizon’s stead features the smallest stretch of coastline with some of the largest and most accessible ports and harbors, and consequently the region sees the most foreign traffic, sea and otherwise. So-named due to the proliferation of desperate islanders crowding the docks and taverns, seeking work or to stow away aboard a foreign vessel so they may depart from Indignor for good. Since few foreign nations will permit the free entry of islanders into their borders, few captains are willing to take on crew or passengers from Indignor. Horizon’s Stead is also home to the largest Overland City Complex in Indignor, which is an overland extension of the Raanaxis Undercity which extends throughout most of the region. Both the Undercity and Overcity have some of the largest markets on the island, with the greatest influx and circulation of foreign and exotic goods. Additionally, Horizon’s stead also sees the greatest amount of cultist, heretical, and arcane traffic – as foreign mages and scholars flock to the island, chasing rumors of ostracized pursuit of taboo magic and practices, or else seeking to dig through the ruins of the island’s enclaves in search of the secrets of the bygone Iwadwtschi sorcerers, and there just-so-happens to conveniently be a large remnant of one such enclave in the middle of the region. Few visitors ever turn up anything interesting, but the rumors of powerful artifacts and sites in the depths of the enclave persist even after centuries of abandonment.

Menard: The region of Menard is so-named after a Nadir dwarven family, which owns most of the overworld plantations in the area. The local undercity is almost wholly owned by them, and it exists almost solely to service their plantations and businesses. While the settlement is not quite a company town, every year the settlement becomes progressively more and more inaccessible to those who do not work directly for the Menard family in some capacity.

Kraden: Despite being the second-largest region upon the island, Kraden’s undercities have the smallest population densities on the island. The overworld is noted for being one of the few areas of Indignor where wild flora and fauna have been successful, and features the only forests in all of Indignor. It is the only palce on the island where wild game is hunted, and features several populations of native Ambucane which have returned to a simpler way of life, having dug out barrows in the forest depths. There are common rumors and claims that these ‘feral’ Ambucane prey upon unwary travelers in the forests due to the tendency for people to go missing therein. The local undercity also features several luxury districts, and a large percentage of the Shadowgate Regency’s upper management and their families live there primarily when not pulling stints within the Crest of Yearning.

Wraenkt: The region is home to Tyretemo, the largest undercity in Indignor, both in terms of actual size as well as population density. Most of the people live to the East and are laborers or lower management employed by the Regency, and make up most of the population that services and manages Shadowgate, resulting in extremely large and frequent amounts of foot and carriage traffic through the Southern gatehouse aqueducts of the Crest of Yearning. The Western end of Tyretemo along the coast features the largest ports and harbors on the island, along with the largest populations of Gresihdra humans and Refik beastfolk. The ports are extremely unaccommodating towards foreigners due to the cutthroat cultural practices of the Gresihdra and their near-automatic contempt for foreign people. The Indignor black markets are most active in Tyretemo specifically due to the piratical tendencies of the Gresihdra families and the aquatic habits of a number of nefarious Refik lures, and the Western city districts rightfully have a reputation as a pirate haven.

D’nartri: The D’nartri overlands are rife with plantations featuring artificially cultivated soil and transplanted Trees of Anar. Most of the lifestock reared on the island are reared in this region, along with a large number of secondary crops and cereals. The region is seemingly blessed, as plagues and drought seem not to touch the land. The local people regularly live suspiciously long and hale lives, miscarriage and complications during childbirth and hatchings are almost unheard of, and the region has the lowest rates of accident and violence-related death. Entirely by coincidence and most assuredly not related in any way, the region is home to the greatest population of the undead Haggard. Most do not originate from within the region (or so they would claim), but to have migrated from other areas on the island, with many saying they feel compelled and drawn towards D;nartri. Local residents just put it down to the lifeless inherently seeking out the prosperity and bounty of life and the region, and are generally (but not greatly) more accepting of the Haggard in general than elsewhere – although, pointedly, the region produces more Ambrosia than any other realm on the island…

Shadowgate: With a central palace carved out from the magma dome of the Crest of Yearning caldera, Shadowgate is the seat of the Regency and its base of power. All of its wealth and influence is concentrated here. Unlike the remainder of Indignor, Shadowgate is completely barren volcanic waste and blightland, and no plantlife of note grows within the Caldera. There are seemingly no Trees of Anar within, leaving the terrain between Regency installations and settlements utterly empty and desolate wastes, where one can see over the jagged expanse of volcanic rock for kilometers up until the caldera walls. What passes for society in Shadowgate is something of a mystery to the outside world; few outside the employ of the Regency have stepped within the confines of the Crest of Yearning since the construction of the walls lining the caldera. Foreign agents, spies, seers, diviners and simple voyeurs all describe that the lands are still, tranquil, and silent. The structures are eerie, seemingly emptied and devoid of the bustle of life that should be present in any structures of their size. Only work and labor crews are present, alongside clerks and various officials who toil day and night, all of whom live outside of the crest of Yearning but possess temporary lodgings within so that they may work for days or weeks on-end for a given period before having to leave again. Shadowgate has been described as a bread-basket by many, supported externally but with a populace wholly absorbed in work and production. Individuals take leave in the external settlements, and otherwise everybody within the caldera is considered to be on the clock and working. Culture and society practically does not exist, and the only social interactions that exist beyond rote, terse logistical dialogue is the breakout of fights between laborers, wrought with tension from overworking. Even in the domestic living blocksliving space is cramped and diversions scarce. The consumption of narcotics is the most popular and, by large, only form of popular recreation, although most drugs must be brought in personally since the Regency Guard crack down on independent dealers (although the sale of narcotics is not proscribed). It is clear that it is the Regency’s intent that Shadowgate remain an administrative zone with as few amenities as possible. Moreso within the Crest of Yearning than anywhere else on the island, the Haggard are employed in many areas, and they are a common sight in most labor crews.

The actual function of most of the structures within Shadowgate are obscure and esoteric to outsiders; foreign agents who have lived within the complex for years confess more or less continued and complete ignorance no lesser than when they first arrived; with Shadowgate seeming to be no more than a gigantic palatial mess of storage facilities, warehouses, barracks, temporary living quarters, and foundries. Supplies, foodstuffs, and currency are moved endlessly from point A to point B seemingly without purpose, shift and work schedules seem intentionally confusing and paradoxical, and almost nobody ever seems to know exactly what is going on or what the Regency’s current internal objectives are. All information seems to be tremendously compartmentalized between tasks, and cooperation to piece together what is going on just reveals a tangled mess of apparent economic busywork, the Regency’s wealth and resources continuously if slowly building up over time. The Regency’s internal bureaucracy is rudimentary and directly beneath the Regency Council is simply two levels of management-by-proxy, with new members of the Regency Council always drawn from senior upper-management – and judiciously screened in advance, having precluded efforts at infiltration thus far. All information of any true importance is theorized to therefore be limited to the knowledge of the members of the Regency Council.

Menards: A tremendously wealthy family of Nadir dwarves, the Menards have an entire region of the island named after them, and a sizable chunk of the island’s population works under them. Members of the family are eternally barred from setting foot within Shadowgate due to their noble lineage, but it is rumored they have multiple agents within the Crest of Yearning and that they have members of the Regency Council in their pocket.

The Naught Guilds: So named as they are run by several powerful, allied families of Naught humans. They take different forms in every region, but are all implicitly interconnected. They share information with each other about commerce in every city, they run their own taxation schemes alongside those of the city governors and the Regency, and they own perhaps four fifths of all shipping on the island. Altogether they are possibly the second most powerful agency just behind the Regency itself, but their divided nature and the wary attention everyone else affords them prevents them from ever pulling too far ahead. As tends to be the case with merchant guilds, they are rife with ambition and wealth. Some of their members would do anything at all in order to reclaim some of the power they once had.

The Phantasmagorian Pirates: An unapologetic Gresihdra pirate family, headed by the barbaric self-styled Commodore Chalafair. They are the largest single insular family of Gresihdra humans in Indignor, and own a fair percentage of the remaining ships behind the Naught Guilds – though their ships are known and infamous Q-boats, with concealed siege artillery mountings. How they manage to disguise and hide the weapons from port inspectors is something of a mystery, as none of their vessels has ever once failed to pass inspection with flying colors. They have strong ties with the Governor of Tyretemo, as well as with the Refik seafolk who live in the ports and reefs.

The Haggard Union: An organization dedicated to the advancement and suffrage of the undead Haggard population. Not overly-popular, but peculiarly wealthy and resourceful. They have eyes and ears all over the island, even within the Naught Guilds, the Menard family, as well as Shadowgate itself due to the attractiveness of the Haggard as cheap labor. The Union is deceptively powerful; they have the wealth, the numbers, and the resources to make a difference, but they lack the necessary popular regard and moral high ground usually necessary to win the hearts of the people. They are largely relegated to attempting to curry favor with the regional governors with blatant bribery, but are known to pop up and poke their noses into the business of others when it is least expected.

Rasrafraqratari: A group or society amongst the Refik seafolk, enigmatic even by Indignor’s standards. They have curious dealings with the Regency, and are known to attack and prey upon their own kind. There are theories that they exist to spread worship of the Triumvirate to the seafolk, or that they are simply the equivalent of municipal sewer workers, or that they are tenders of rarely-encountered aquatic Tees of Anar. Readily identified by the Shadowgate ring-crest they wear across their midsections, they are commonly seen in most ports but seemingly only ever have time and words for Shadowgate officials…and other varieties of seafolk.

Exiles, pariahs, beggars, thieves, heretics, and degenerates. Surely, nobody of any import might dwell in such a rotten place…as far as you are aware.