East Ouroborasian Empire
The Empire of Ouroborasia stretches across a wet, miserable land that throughout its history has been constantly invaded, settled, and then divided. Infested by monsters, home of witches and ancient cults - Ouroborasia is the dark, forsaken edge of the Justinian world. Once, before the civil war, witches hid across Ouroborasia's east, gathering in the hidden black forests, marshes and hamlets. They alongside pantheonist cultists practiced the old ways despite the presence of the Justinian crusaders that nominally ruled them. Now, they no longer hide. The Witches have usurped the empire, seducing and bewitching lords and orators. Heretics have risen behind them, Some seeking retribution for past wrongs against them, others wishing for a desperate escape from the cruel and unforgiving world, even if it meant apostasy. To these forsaken peoples... Anything, even bowing to these new occult masters is better than the misery they suffered before in silence.
NATIONAL INFORMATION
The witches and their cult familiars convene for the year 297AWH's Ceremony of the Red Effigy, here as the Justinian POWs inside the effigy burn alive, the true masters of the Empire decide on national policy.
Population: 23 to 25 million. No census has been performed and the actual number is erratic due to the fact that both a civil war is actively being waged and large numbers of Homunculi and Ghouls are being created or are entering the country.
Faction: Red Pantheonist
Capital (De jure): The Old Capital, Sepulchravest
Capital (De facto): The New Capital, Xur'valău Mare
Government Type: Feudal Monarchy (Under the control of Cabalistic Witch Oligarchy)
Government Description:
The Empire of East Ouroborasia maintains the illusion legally of a traditional feudal monarchy, maintaining the pretense that the old pre-civil war government was entirely unchanged. The Emperor sits on his throne, legal power to rule is delegated among the many feudal vassals of the Emperor who in turn rule over their many serfs. With that said, this government in truth no longer functions as it once did. With the rise of the Witch Covens and beginning of the civil war, witches have since monopolised much of the power of the Empire into the hands of secret societies and religious cults - many of these secret societies no longer even secret, acting blatantly and in the open for all to see.
Witches rule over private demesnes known as “Witchedoms”, usually circular territory carved out of former feudal lands held by now dead/traitor Justinian aristocrats, in each of these territories centrepoint exists a large tower - often black and saturated in magic. The Emperor acts as a figurehead for the Supreme Witch Nenepheni, the mastermind behind the witches rise to power and corrupter and usurper of many of the empires Justinian institutions such as the Oratory. The Supreme Witch heads the Hecataphrim Coven, a council of the most powerful Witchedom-controlling witches (Often ancient foreign witches) that make all the true decisions of East Ouroborasia. As for the traditional powers of the nobles? Many of them have either been sidelined, bewitched or seduced to essentially refer their powers to the covens.
Head of State (De Jure): Emperor Vasilius I Dragcumir
Head of State (De Facto): Supreme Witch of the Hecataphrim Coven, Nenephni of Terra Incognita
Currency: Imperial Gold Leuri (Includes other legal coinage, The Kasaboi Ducat included)
Languages: Ouroboran(majority), Aemerine, Sancthiyin Elvish, Kasaboi, Old Eudakar, Grey Eudakar, Ghoul Speech, Many local ethnic dialects
UNIQUE ATTRIBUTE INFORMATION
The Blackguard Mihai Negrescu leads a contigent of the Imperial Army of the East into the breach during the Siege of Morticia
- Wretched Empire of the Witches - Witch. A word that means many things. A user of heretical magic. A heathen worshiper of false gods, rejecting the light of Justinian. An evil woman. In East Ouroborasia the name has taken on a new meaning; Master. for many apostates and wretchkin since the civil war begun, the witches are the chosen children of the Goddess Ephemem (or other Red Gods), blessed with the 'witch curse', and as such a blessed chosen people. For the Anathema Justinians of the Radiant Cult, they are enlightened materialists, exemplars of the ways of the Verum Codex and its holy principle senses. Regardless, because of this magical and religious authority, Witches dominate the government and army of East Ouroborasia. Their numbers grow into the hundreds of thousands. They are trained in shadowy covens and elite academies from early childhood. Corrupted paladins - now blackguards serve them by choice. Familiars - men forced by geas to obey serve them regardless. No longer do they hide in decaying hovels but rule atop black towers of marble, stone and the blood of countless sacrifices.
- Rot Within, Rot Without - When the witches took control of the empire, they did not merely usurp the government and its institutions but twisted them to their will. The first to fall, the Oratorium now serves the witches, finding witches to be trained or protecting them rather than hunting them as they once were supposed to do. Ex-paladins seduced by the witches have since become blackguards, turning the martial, magical and ascetics of the paladins against them. Even the Clerisy, though most stayed loyal and fled west to fight in the civil war has now fallen in line. Heretics named anathema have been made clerics by the witches, preaching new heretical and Anathema forms of Justinianism, ranging from arbritray syncretism to the contrarian anti-Justinianism of the Radiance Cult. Where heresy has not been used, blatant cults have taken their place, moving their cult activities into public view, ranging from sacred prostitutes of Ishnanneh wearing the robes of Clerics and performing orgies in old cathedrals to 'priests' performing mass sacrifices to Axohaan.
- Wretchkin Grudge War - Ouroborasia has forever been in turmoil over ethnic groups fighting over the region, but now Ouroborasia has to deal with a whole new concept of 'ethnicity' to wage war over. The Wretchkin or 'bad blood' are the blood relatives of witches. They are the mothers whose wombs were where fetus' were given the witch curse. They are the fathers and brothers of burned and drowned sisters and daughters. The husbands of hanged wives. The Purges and Ouroborasian Genocide that followed the Witch Plague gave all the reason in the world for generations of Wretchkin to rise up violently, many declaring themselves apostates or adopting Anathema Justinianism. When the government itself fell to the witches, with a great deal of irony, the Wretchkin ended up becoming the governments greatest asset, willingly joining the ranks of the army and militia if it meant vengeance. Isolated peasant villages, foresters, merchant pedlars. The Wretchkin represent a new dimension of the Ouroborasian Civil War, as the people's militias in the West also showed. A popular and widespread Peoples War.
- Lord Swampland - Ouroborasia's not particularly secret weapon O'Lord Swampland, the greatest commander of Ouroborasia for millennia. He is always defending the country though is stronger in certain seasons. With him comes harsh and constant rain, ever obstructing mud, insidious murky water and creeping mangroves in the wetlands, and shadowy black forests in the hinterlands. Invaders fear him, for their cannons sink into the mud, their powder becomes useless. Disease and illness; Lord Swamplands faithful squires strike them down as they cower, huddling around fireplaces that refuse to start, so wet is the wood. Those who seek to besiege castles fear this great defender, for he is the weather, and while invaders have come and gone, Great Lord Swampland has never been defeated.
- Monstrous Homunculi - The creation of homunculi is a feared magical art perfected by the witches of the Red Pantheon. Using transmutation on biological forms and people, those that are transmuted can have their form twisted and changed to newer, more grotesque and often more combat capable forms. Werewolves now roam the black forests of Ouroborasia where men once hunted game. Giant twisted Wendigoes with the deranged forms of humans molded into hunt, even the natural Wendigo beasts fearing their new, magically twisted cousins. The ghoul armies of Uudin march through the marshes and hills of East Ouroborasia, the surreal part-man, part-animal mismatched monsters of Axohaan having fought here for millennia. Ouroborasia has long been a land beset by monsters, but now the people of Ouroborasia must contend with a land where they too may one day become monsters.
- Phantasmal Miasma of the Witch Goddess - The Witch Goddess Ephemem, the greatest of East Ouroborasia's patron deities often performs her miracles in these lands. While her acts range from flocks of animals to the moving of waves and magical curses, her most famous gift to East Ouroborasia is a miasmic fog, one crafted from and made of magic, an often long-lasting divine intervention. This fog conceals and obstructs, further aiding Lord Swampland against Ouroborasia's enemies. It saps the will of those within, illusions and phantoms of doom harassing those within it. It corrodes the bright armour of paladins and burns skin, while healing and protecting the Witch Goddesses own. Where the miasma goes, the eyes of the Goddess go, the purple deathly fog announcing the goddesses dominion over this land.
- Solomonanţă, The Black Academy of Witchcraft - Witches are often stereotyped as elderly crones that lurk in the darklands of Uudin, or as ancient shapeshifters, having long changed forms to whatever pleases them. The truth is however, the vast majority of East Ouroborasia's witches are young. The witch plague that struck the country 25 years ago ensures that the vast majority are witches are below that starting year point. Many of them are still teenagers or children, thrust into a brutal civil war due to their Witch Curse. Those who are more fortunate; whom avoid becoming magical child soldiers, instead are taken on either privately with cabals/covens or sent to the Black Academy. Solomonanţă, one of the greatest Red Pantheonist magical institutions in the world. Solomonanţă will gladly accept the young witches of Ouroborasia and teach them the arts of the Goddess of Witches or other Red Gods, being an interfaith school. Even the Anathema Justinians are present - to a degree. Regardless, there they will learn how to bend the world, monsters and mankind to their will, they will learn the arts of proper ritual sacrifice and casting. Of catalysts and dark, secret knowledge. The Black Academy, a dark-stoned fortress of a school is filled with occult knowledge, monsters and enthralled familiar slaves, an irony and hypocrisy that a supposed goddess of rebellion and self-determination seems to ignore. In the eyes of the East, all the dark experiments that take place in the school and classes range, activities that range from learning how to shape-shift cats to forcing prisoners of war to kill and torture each other to death can be perfectly justified. They are being prepared for the Sacrilege War where all weapons and means are permitted. Those who emerge from this school are prepared as true witches, eager and ready to face a harsh world filled with death and holy war.
- Dark Covenant Of The Six Gods - East Ouroborasia has always been a sanctuary and staging ground for Red God Rebellions. For centuries before the Justinian crusaders conquered this land, the Red Pantheon ruled supreme across both East and West Ouroborasia. Numerous Red Gods have made Ouroborasia their favoured hiding grounds in the material plane, and as such have been forced to coexist and cooperate if they are to survive Justinian and Yuwan's onslaught. The Dark Covenant as such is the loose coalition formed in the south, revolving around Axohaan and Ephemem as its ringleaders. Other Red Gods, either by choice, opportunity or by force have joined this southern pact as both a means of survival and to enhance their own power. While this agreement is tenuous and often a cause of internal strife and disagreement, it also represents East Ouroborasia's strong diplomatic position and power of alliance building between Red Pantheonist states.
GEOGRAPHIC INFORMATION
The Gravecoast of the south-eastern provinces is as infamous as it is ancient. An old Axohar tradition, the Eudekeshan people either floated their dead into the ocean or buried them on the coastline, the latter of which continues even today, its origins.
- Sepulchravest - #1, The former capital is on the frontlines of the civil war, having switched hands numerous times between the east and west. The city was attacked by Crown Prince Istvan (now the ‘emperor’ of West Ouroborasia) in the first day of the civil war, however was driven off by monstrous creatures summoned by the current Witchfinder-General of the Maleficar Oratorium (and champion of the Turquoise Lord). Since then the city has become a half-ruined hellhole and is saturated with the influence of the Turquoise Lord. Most of the city's inhabitants are now either Turquoise monsters or witches and their homunculi or familiar tools.
- Xur'valău Mare - #2, The new capital of East Ouroborasia. Xur'valău Mare is a Gothic and gloomy city infamous for being built atop the ruins of Xur, the old citadel of Axohaan during the Axohaan Rebellions. Xur was perhaps once the very headquarters and centre of the entire worlds Red Pantheonist movement, with ghouls calling the former citadel their capital. Today the city is said to be cursed by the wrathful presence of the Salt Prince and other Red Gods. Vast catacombs under the city still house feral ghouls and Axohar cults, while the dark city and fortress above house the government of East Ouroborasia and numerous witches of Ephemem, meeting among within the spires that tower over the city, decorated with gargoyles and other forms of grotesque art.
- Witch-fortress of Nazaimae - #3, Primary military headquarters of the ruling Witch coven, the Hecataphrim. Nazaimae was originally a local dukes fortress that was 'confiscated' during the beginning of the civil war, and has since been retrofitted to be a suitable seat of power for the central Witchedom of East Ouroborasia, made in the likeliness of the Xur and Azagôde citadels of old. Nazaimaes central keep has since been augmented, black stone and a great spire towering from the middle, more smaller towers circling it and numerous curtain ring walls expanding outward. Nazaimae besides being a central command structure is also a training area for blackguards, having a blackguard academy built into the fortress. It also acts as a smaller school to train witches, often the personal apprentices of the Hecataphrims elder witches, as the majority of young witches learn at Solomonanţă.
- City of Vansanguira - #4, regional capital of the Archduchy of Vlachia and seat of power for Archduke Cosmin Dragcumir.
- Lázárfieran Citadel - #5, regional capital of the Grand March of Upper Cilistria, seat of power of Grand Margraf Ostorius Răceanur, Marshal of the Army.
- Solomonanţă - #6, black academy of witchcraft, the great magical educational institute of the southern Red Pantheonists. The academy is a magically fortified castle built on an island surrounded by a lake formed from a passing river.
The towering spires of Xur'valău Mare look down upon East Ouroborasia, a constant and grim reminder of the Red Gods deep influence in these lands.
Cities:
-Sepulcravest
-Xur'valău Mare
-Vansanguira
-Mare Danub
-Darazgamor
-Mare Romagave
-Requiemaria
-Mare Vilistruvia
-Vanra Zajorvo
-Morticia (Occupied)
Castles
-Sepulcravest Palace
-Lázárfieran Citadel
-Slavăvest
-Nazaimae
RACIAL INFORMATION
Majority race: Humanity is the majority and ruling class of the East Ouroborasian Empire. Technically its ‘ruling’ status is debatable as while the vast majority of witches of the empire are of human origins, a number of them are either foreign elves or have performed auto-homunculus metamorphosis on themselves, turning themselves physically into other beings. Humans have been the majority species of Ouroborasia for millennia, though originally this land was populated by ethnic Eudekeshan humans. The Eudekeshans were pushed or bred out of most of their ancestral homelands of Ouroborasia 1200 years ago first by Wolfraum's Aemorian Imperium, then by its Old Pantheonist successor states and finally by the Justinians 150 years ago. The actual Eudekeshan ethnic group survives in parts of Lamashi-occupied Eudaz, Uudhin and isolated communities of Far-east Ouroborasia, though both have also been corrupted culturally by the Gushawari Gusho-Aemarine people and Axohaan. The majority of Ouroborasian people today are Aemorian ethnically, though there remains dozens of sub-races and ethnic groups as well as hybrid cultures that have grown over the centuries and millennia due to constant invasions. It is said that because of this, Ouroborasia will never have peace. There are around 17.8 million humans living in East Ouroborasia, or around 71% of the total population)
Minority races:
- Ouroborasian Homunculi - Creations of the Witches of East Ouroborasia. Unlike the Ghouls of Axohaan, usually Ouroborasian Homunculi are born through the transmutation of other living beings, particularly humans and wendigoes. Ouroborasian Homunculi are usually sterile, either by their flawed creation or intention by their creator, though some freak examples can actually breed or even interbreed with other species. As Homunculi are a category of beings rather than a specific species, there isn't any unified appearance or biology, though most are fierce and typically designed to terrify enemies and fight in the witches wars. Notable Homunculi include Werewolves, Uberwendigoes, Gretchlings and Coalescent Homunculi, the former two being large furred beasts and the latter being grotesque mockeries of human form, the Coalescents typically being inhumanly pale, humanoid-shaped beings with additional limbs and organs.
- The Ghouls of Uudhin - The Ghouls of Uudhin (See Grijs nationsheet for details concerning the species itself): The ghouls of Uudhin once, during the Axohar First and Second Rebellions, found their headquarters in Ouroborasia, then the homeland of the Eudekeshans, who were loyal to the same pantheon that Axohaan once served under. While Axohaan was defeated and the Eudekeshans pushed out, the ever tenacious warrior-race crafted by the Salt Prince held out defiantly, residing in the badlands and mountains of Ouroborasia to this day.
- Centauroids - Centaurs are a demographic newcomer into the ethnic mess that is Ouroborasia. While there are stories of ancient centaur nomads trying to conquer Ouroborasia numerous millennia ago, the actual centaurs of Ouroborasia descend from Justinian crusaders that arrived 150 years ago, when the Justinian crusaders conquered Ouroborasia in its entirety. The centaurs of East Ouroborasia today are a isolated minority, living in a hostile environment that is not particularly hospitable for centaurkind. Once the fanatical religious zeal of the crusades wore off, the centaurs became bitter though still too stubborn to leave. Those in East Ouroborasia mostly live in the rural areas and farmlands, avoiding the swampy and forested areas Ouroborasia is most infamous for. Centaurs have like humans also been used as 'bases' for homunculi, having their own grotesque cousins in the form of the Bicortaur Homunculi, an oversized horned and fanged centaur with demonic features.
- Wendigoes - A believed to be native inhabitants of Ouroborasia, the Wendigoes are actually immigrants, having swarmed into the region millennia ago during a great war, and were then conquered by the ascending Eudekeshan people, continuing the cycle of Ouroborasian invasions. The Wendigoes are mostly intelligent however are a on average barbaric people, having socially regresssed since their civilised era millennia ago. They are notorious carnivores that intentionally eat other intelligent beings, particularly humans, sometimes even incorporating such feasts into religious sacrifical ceremonies. Avid survivalists and ancient practitioners of the Red Pantheon, Wendigoes were mass persecuted by Justinian crusaders, who undertook pogroms and massacres against them after many failed attempts at converting them. While they have taken the opportunity to rise up behind the witches, they also resent them and all humans, for they know that they are a dying ancient race that will likely see many more massacres before their last days come.
- Riglers - Something crawls in the deep.
RELIGIOUS INFORMATION
The Anathema Justinian Cleric and witch Iulia to the left meets with the Ishnannehi witch and priestess Mariana at the Xur Cathedral
State Religion: Red Pantheon (Also includes heretical Anathema Justinianism)
Patron Deities:
- Ephemem - Ephemem, also known as the Goddess of Witches, and less commonly the Goddess of Heresy. She is a Red God that rose with the fall of the Ancient Pantheon in 1300BWY (1300 years ago), A remnant of the days of Eudeye. With the fall of her old master, Ephemem turned against the new order by embracing the Turquoise Scheme, rejecting her fellow Eudeye disciple Yuwan and the Old Pantheons belief in harmony between Materia and the Celestial Plane, seeing the Celestial Plane as the root of all evil in the universe and thus must be destroyed. Having been the one responsible for unleashing the Turquoise Lord and Axohaan from their celestial prisons, Ephemem as been instrumental in sowing chaos and war across the world for over a millennia in her war against the heavens. To some, Ephemem is a goddess of freedom, defiance and independence, allowing dissidents, outcasts and rebels to break free, a patron of new ideals and those who lived on the periphery. To others, she is an agent of chaos, and like Axohaan a force of destruction hellbent on bringing nothing but anarchy for its own sake. she is often worshipped by those who reject the two grand norms of Justinian and Yuwan; by outcasts and rebels, by those who hold grudges or seek revenge, those bitter and resentful as they are filled with the belief they are oppressed or exploited. This has thus made her a particularly favourable patron of the Wretchkin, whom she conspired to create with the Witch Curse. Though little known by those outside the Eudekeshans and her followers, Ephemem once upon a time was a naive and idealistic Angel of the completely unrelated celestial duty of Healing of the Ancient Pantheon, and thus is also the patron of doctors and healers. How she went from a healer to a chief patron of militant rebels and heretical ideas is unknown. Ephemem is a primary supporter of the Radiant Cult of Anathema Justinianism, not only because they weaken Justinianism but because they perfectly embody her own opinions and ideals... seeing as her own ideals are what the radiant are built around - with a Justinian context.
- The Anti-Justinian - The Anti-Justinian, also known as "The True Justinian" contra to " The False Justinian" of Sacrosanctia. The Anti-Justinian is the 'deity' of the Anathema Justinians of East Ouroborasia, particularly the Radiant Cult from which it originates. Unlike the vast majority of deities worshipped or followed in Materia, the Anti-Justinian is not an actual deity as much as it is a concept. Known as the Radiant or Grand Heresy in Sacrosanctia, the Radiants believe that The Justinian of Sacrosanctia is a false god, a mirage formed in the celestial plane following the War In Heaven. They believe The Justinian was and is the true god of the universe, but its divinity was polluted by its formation in the celestial plane - The domain of the Demiurge. They believe the True Justinian is trapped within an interstice or limbo of souls, engulfed under the weight of its own collective consciousness, corrupted by Demiurgic Entities like the ones it slew. As such, they believe that all messages delivered by The Justinian following the War In Heaven are in fact demurgic lies, corruptions to lead the trapped mortal souls astray from true salvation. Their solution and what they perceive as the true goal of The Justinian is as such for it to become free from its celestial prison and returned to the material world, where from the holy material plane it will bring about the Great Reconvergence - As a material paradise rather than a spiritual Empyrean one. As such, as written in the heretical pages of the Verum Codex - The Most Noble Apocrypha of Radiance, all true Justinians must wage war against The False Justinian of Sacrosanctia so to free the true god from its chains and accomplish its divine mission of utopia on Materia. The Anti-Justinian is particularly popular among Wretchkin who could not comprehend that despite their belief in Justinian they were suddenly enemies of their own god following the civil war. Of particular interest is the meddling of Ephemem and the TQLR in the Radiance Cult, the former being the cults creator is particularly interested in it, as it is essentially the same as her own goals.
- Axohaan - (see Grijs' sheet for details) The Salt Prince, the devil figure of the Ancient Pantheon, thrown in the celestial prison for crimes against the Ancient Pantheon, with his gods long dead, now a rogue Red God. A brutal and direct figure that has long since embraced his reputation and role as a great antithesis and force of darkness, Axohaan has become another patron of rebellion and defiance across the world, long before Ephemem left her path as a benign healer, Axohaan was raging against the heavens. Axohaan once was the traditional god of Ouroborasia, having taken over the role of the Eudekeshan peoples patron following the fall of Eudeye, from there waging constant and futile war against the Old Pantheon. While the Eudekeshans have long been pushed out of their own ancestral homeland, Axohaans followers remain in the form of ghouls and Neo-Axohar cultists, once again embracing the Everlasting War against the universe and powers that be. Axohar followers are often ethnic, cultural and even nationalist romanticists. They dream of one day restoring the days of Eudeye and the Ancient Pantheon; a world they believed was far more just than the one today.
- Ishnanneh - The Goddess of Many Delights is a new Red Goddess, having risen with the fall of her old mistress Ashyeiha, the Old Pantheon Goddess of Fertility, Love, Hearth, Home and Motherhood. Following The Justinian's killing of Ashyeiha during the War In Heaven, Ishnanneh has since abandoned the traditional ideals of her own mentor and embraced the rabid materialism and nihilism often associated with Red Pantheonism. Her cult is one of pleasure and hedonism, praising the basest nature of all souls as the truest and purest form of life. On a more idealogical note, Ishnanneh could be considered a positive Utilitarian. She truly believes that since the world is hellish and meaningless place the only thing that matters is happiness - any happiness, it just so happens that physical pleasure is the lowest common denominator. She is often associated with beauty, putting her at odds with 'the little upstart' Mastrix, who she sees as a fake and is often insulted by the comparison between herself who aspires to spread happiness across the world to Mastrix who to her only exists to feed her own empty pretense of narcissism. Ishnanneh is a powerful goddess despite being constantly underestimated by her rivals and allies. It is often suggested by her cultists that if they weren't so busy spreading 'joy' and 'happiness' they would be leading the southern Red Pantheon.
- TQLR - The unnamed god of the Turquoise Scheme, often known as the Turquoise Lord, Turq or TQLR. An incredibly ancient Red God whose origins are long lost to history, a being that even Yuwan, Axohaan and Ephemem know not of his origins, only that he has spent an incredibly long time in the celestial prison, only unleashed by Ephemem 1300 years ago following the fall of the Ancient Pantheon. Regardless, the Turquoise Lord has no real worshippers, only pawns and tools for which to use to enact its grand, universe-spanning scheme to remake the universe in its image. Today, it is deeply involved in the Ouroborasian Civil War, having formed a diabolical pact with the Witch Goddess, his surreal overlays springing up across the East. Due to TQLR's obscurity and the general ignorance of the average Ouroborasian peasant, many mistake him for Axohaan the Salt Prince, or also mistakenly known as 'Axehand the Pepper King".
- Longthirung - Longthirung the Inheritor. Dragon God. 'Long' is a Red God, once demi-god dragon child of Sirrišushan the King-of-gods of the Ancient Pantheon, then angel under his father after he ascended. Over two thousand years old, Lonthirung saw and survived the fall of his father to Ashenlur, wielding the Dragonslaying Sword Agur, and in turn saw and survived the fall of Ashenlur and his Old Pantheon to Justinian and his Godslaying Epilogeon Sword. A survivalist to the core, Longthirung is 'famous' for being the only Red God to have survived a personal battle with The Justinian in its full Avatar form, mostly because he fled half way through the battle as his allies were obliterated. While surviving, Longthirung was horribly wounded, including being half-blinded, burned (despite dragons supposedly being immune to fire) and afflicted with a form of unique radiation poisoning and cancer common to those in the presence of Justinian's full Avatar. Forced into servitude by Ephemem in exchange for medical treatment, Long now mostly hides in Ouroborasia and occasionally kidnaps princesses from Aberys since attacking Gushawar would likely cause a war he cannot win. These days he has been reduced to a pathetic shadow of his former self.
- Uturr - The Lord of Slaughters influence while slight after his lands being occupied, does still reach across from Aberysia and Weshland, his dominion over strength, fighting, brutality and survival in harsh times appeals to many a starving peasant. To the most desperate of East Ouroborasia's peasantry, those living in the most flooded, war-torn and desolated areas, wracked with famine... The simple promise of a filled belly is the greatest miracle any god could possibly provide, greater than Ephemems revenge and power, Ishnannehs pleasure and carnality, Axohaans defiance, even Justinians justice and order. Uturrs faithful desire only one thing: Survival at any and all costs.
Religion Demographics:
-48% Red Pantheonism
-35% Anathema Justinianism
-17% Orthodox Justinianism
Holy Relics in Possession:
Holy Sites under Control:
- Xur Cathedral - The Xur Cathedral is the largest operating Justinian cathedral in East Ouroborasia with the destruction of the Apostle Sepulchravia's Cathedral in Sepulchravest. From here, the heretical and arch-Anathema High Cleric Septimus Justinescu watches over the doings of the Radiant Cult, representing the followers of the Anti-Justinian and the teaching of the Verum Codex. Xur Cathedral is also a major religious centre for Ephemem's cult. Besides administrative tasks, pregnant cult members have their fetus' blessed by the Witch Curse, important sacrifices are performed, Effigies are burned and various rituals are performed to communicate with the Witch Goddess. Both the Radiant and Ephemite cults practice numerous ceremonies that venerate the physical world and denouncement of the celestial plane, syncreticism between the two is quite common.
- Danub Cathedral - The Danub Cathedral is a formerly Justinian place of worship that has since been converted into the centre of the Ishnannehi Cults operations, alongside the more economically orientated Temple of the Covenant. The Danub Cathedral now hosts a vast pleasure cult, sacred prostitution, virgin sacrifices and other 'services'. The Danub Cathedral is notable for having an idyllic garden/grove built into the Cathedral's grounds which have now been repurposed for Ishnannehi ceremonies, of particular note was when Ishnanneh's own personal avatar laid with a particularly valuable champion, giving birth to a demi-god.
- The Catacombs of Xur - The Catacombs of Xur are an intensely magical and sacred place for the Eudekeshan, Neo-Axohar Cults and Ghouls in particular, as the Catacombs contain the last ruins of the old Xur Citadel, Axohaans personal seat of power in the material world during the Great Rebellions. In these dark catacombs, the Neo-Axohar cultists give their vows of eternal defiance, to carry on Axohaans endless war against the universe.
- Longs Hoard - The personal hiding hole of Longthirung the Inheritor, Dragon-Red God. Dug deep into the Coschapathan Mountains, Longs home is a glittering tunnel filled with gold, gems and other treasures collected over Longthirungs two thousand years of existence. A place of intense theurgia and importance to the Longist cult - being the residence of their gods personal avatar in this world. Only the highest of Longs cult minions may approach the tunnel entrance to give tribute in return for an audience, unless either chosen Eunuchs or various kidnapped trophies (nearly always Aberysian or Ouroborasian maidens, preferably princesses)
- Temple of the Covenant - A new temple, the Temple of the Covenant was built a few years ago to represent the Southern Red Gods and the pantheon as a whole. The temple was built in the coastal city of Vanra Zajorvo, a major trade hub in East Ouroborasia, particularly betwen Ouroborasians and the Kasaboi. The Temple of the Covenant includes Axohar, Ephemite, Longist, Ishnaanehi and Utturish cult wings. TQLR does not have a cult wing, and instead has a small overlay built in the temples catacombs. The Temple is unique for being frequented not just by witches and cultists but also regulars of the city, merchants and traders. It is a powerful hub of economic, political and religious power in the city of Vanra Zajorvo. The Sacred Prostitutes of the Ishnaanehi cult are said to operate their 'silk road' to Gushawar from this temple, and Axohar witches organise movement between Ouroborasia and Uudhin from here as well.
- Witch Demesnes - The various witch towers and magical fortresses personally ruled by the witches are often all sacred places to whichever god acts as the witches benefactor - usually Ephemem or Ishnanneh. Of particular note is Solomonanţă the Black Academy and Nazaimae the Witch Fortress.
Notable Magical Institutions:
- Hecataphrim Coven - Cabal of foreign and often very elderly (though do not appear as such) witches headed by Supreme Witch Nenepheni. This cabal while a political body is made up of very powerful magic users who in turn usually personally train apprentice witches of them own, either found on their own or poached from Solomonanţă's elite.
- Witchedom Demesnes - The personally ruled territory of witches. Beyond being political entities, the Witchedoms are often magical institutions as the witches collect knowledge, artifacts, ingredients and other related things concerning magic.
- Solomonanţă - The Black Academy of Witchcraft, see attributes for more information.
- Maleficar Oratorium - The former Justinian Oratorium of Ouroborasia, now a corrupted shadow of its former self. The combined effort of Ephemem and TQLR saw many Orators corrupted either via magical or nonmagical means. Either way, the Orators are now essentially anti-Orators and anti-Witchhunters, tasked with hunting down other Orators, protecting witches as well as hunting down witches to be brought to Solomonanţă or other institutions to be trained properly.
- Rite of the Ouroboros - The former Justinian Paladin order led personally by the Emperors younger brother, Archduke Cosmin. They have since been corrupted, becoming the infamous Blackguards of East Ouroborasia. Blackguard training has remained relatively the same as before, with focus on melee combat, magical barriers and counter-curses, however they have now taken on a new, 'interesting' perspective to various Paladin vows. Many Blackguards are known to have sworn themselves to specific witches, even becoming willing familiars in a kind of twisted 'Lady and Knight' companionship.
MILITARY INFORMATION
The infamous Red Purge of the Imperial Army of the East. on the eve of the Ouroborasian Civil War, as the Imperial Army withdrew from the Eudaz front, the Istvanite Justinians were slaughtered by their former comrades.
Total Military: 250,000, though the actual official army has around 110,000 soldiers while the rest are either peasant militia, homunculi monsters/ghouls or private witch retinues.
Listed Heroes:
-Supreme Witch Nenepheni of Terra Incognita
-Princess Astaszia Dragcumir
-Szilamir ‘The Witch Bastard’ of Vlachia
Military Doctrine:
Military Units:
Wretckin Peasant Levy: Common serfs, either levied by their feudal lords to fight in the civil war, or populist rebels revolting against Istvanite-aligned lords, either way, they are essentially normal people armed with farming tools and spears.
Wretchkin Militia: Violent and aggressive, many Wretckin have a personal vendetta against the Justinian state for the pogroms and genocides that preceded the civil war, willing to fight autonomously and of their own accord. Others are simply eager for blood or to set themselves free of all feudal contract through war. Either way, Wretchkin volunteer militia are the brutal vengeance-hungry counterparts of the Istvanite Citizen-Militia. They are raiders and hunters, pillaging the outskirts and burning Justinian temples.
Cult Levy: Wretchkin or not, these peasants have been fully induced into one of the Red Pantheons numerous cults as lesser members. Some have willingly taken the Familiar Curse while others fight entirely of their own will. Their higher grade equipment is mostly scavanged or donations from the cults for service, including access to polearms, maces, some lesser grade swords and occassional firearms. They are not professional soldiers other than the fact that they are usually more active than normal levies and are usually of higher morale than average. Cult levies will act differently depending on their assigned deity, such as Uturrite cult levies practicing cannibalism and occasionally losing themselves to berserker rage when cornered.
Sergeant-Familiars:
The Sergeant-Familiars are the semi-professional bread and butter of the Imperial Army of the East. Typically former peasant and urban levies, through years of experience fighting in the Eudazite/Gushawar wars as well as the seven years of civil war they have become relatively good at soldiery, abandoning their seasonal warfare to an occupation of war. Nearly all of them have been put under the Familiar Curse, contracted under regimental witches, who act almost like religious commissars and field mages. Some of them are loyal to their witch commanders, others are loyal to the Marshal Ostorius Răceanur who has led for so long, others to the emperor or their new Red Gods. Many others are bound by force, essentially puppets on strings, compelled by the curse against their will. Either way, they are well armoured and often wielding polearms and pikes.
Sergeant-Familiars are often trained in using crossbows and cumbersome arablests, with guns being less common due to the Ouroborasian environment being detrimental to the use of gunpowder based weapondry. Pavise shields are however a common addition to crossbows.
Mounted sergeant-familiars are surprisingly common, as many aristocrats died during the early days of the civil war, uprisings, pre-civil war purges and other events that forced the raising of experienced sergeant man-at-arms as cavalry, usually light cavalry wielding swords or small crossbows.
Ouroborasian Knights: While the civil war has been a dangerous time to be an aristocrat, the eastern aristocracy has survived significantly better than their western Istvanite counterparts, mostly by adopting the various private cults. The witches found corrupting individual aristocrats easier than masses of Justinian peasants, after all. Ouroborasian Knights are experieced by foreign and civil wars, heavily armoured in full-plate and armed with swords, maces, polearms, flails and various other weapons. Chivalry as found in Aberys is a dead concept, the Ouroborasian Civil War being a vicious ethno-religious conflict with no place for things like romanticised honourable combat. Ouroborasian knights even before the civil war were particularly renown for their pragmatic fighting styles, including half-swording. Ouroborasian knights while honourless are usually quite eccentric, wearing elaborate religious symbols, naked Ishnanneh idols on headresses and so on.
Some Ouroborasian aristocrats become deeply involved in their respective cults, enough so that their religious affiliation rather than their title and station defines them, being more like a religious order member than simply a knight - though not trained and magically trained enough to be considered a blackguard. These knights besides apparel and behavioural differences depending on their faith also tend to have cursed weapons and armour, blessed by various witch curses to aid them in battle. Some are willing familiars and serve as retinue to senior regimental witches.
Ouroborasia's knights have more than enough wealth to pay for their own armour and mounts, and have the lifetime training required to act as heavy shock cavalry. While not the most famous cavalry/mounted force in the world, Ouroborasian knights are respectable.
Neophyte Witch: The Regimental witch is what East Ouroborasia is famous for. An army of curse-flinging, familiar-holding sacrifice taking magic users, dedicated to various Red Gods. Either witches born with the Witch Curse or made witches later for certain actions of sacrifice, the vast majority of witches are girls and women, particularly Ephememite and Ishnannehi witches. Conscripted from villages, kidnapped as young girls to be trained in Solomonta, aristocratic hostages trained in witchcraft, daughters of cultist families or wretckin willingly handed over - who believe they are doing what god commands... even volunteers, eager for revenge, power or to serve their deity who blessed them at birth.
The lowest ranking regimental witches are essentially child soldiers, 'neophyte' girl witches sent out from Solomonta or private tutoring to experience the Sacrilege War, or otherwise child witches brought up in the Imperial Army of the East. They are not usually actually given command of large formations of familiars and instead act as squire adjutants to more experienced regimental witches, or a units designated magic user if it is low ranking enough to have a child as one. A neophyte witch will usually have at least one familiar bodyguard though, and nearing the end of their service period will be expected to hold a small group of familiar soldiers under their will.
Innominate Witch: A professional military witch who has passed her passage of trial but has not yet joined the Hecataphrim and so taken on a 'witch name'. Of those who do not pursue research, religious or political aspirations, the remainder continue fighting with the army as familiar-commanding officers and designated magic users. Many are graduates from Solomanta or private tutoring and have chosen to continue fighting the Sacrilege War as a military witch, others have grown up in the army and it is their home and 'family'.
The Innominates are often witches who while have not created their own unique personal legend or image, are instead experienced military fighters, used to large scale battles and formation based combat, as well as mass scale curses and support magic.
Witchknight: Some Innominate witches never end up joining the Hecataphrim, instead choosing to remain with the army. In the last seven years of civil war, these coven-deniers have instead decided to immitate the order of Blackguards, becoming colloquially known as "Witchknights", heavily armoured witches, often riding monsterous mounts or bicornes, unicorns or pegasi.
Witchknights are particularly popular among the Imperial Army of the East and its commanders, who see them as professional and serious soldiers, who usually forsake the impracticalities of the coven for harsh military logic and pragmatism.
Coven Witches: At the upper most echelons of the Witch hierarchy there can be found a select and exclusive group, a society known as the Hecataphrim - The coven of the witches. Those who have become members of the coven have been 'named', given a name by the coven deriving from the ancient sorceresses of Ancient Pantheon times. The Covens members include mostly ancient pre-civil war witches, remnants from the Axohar Rebellions that have prolonged their existence beyond the natural human or even elven lifespan via complex magics. Some coven members are young East Ouroborasian women, invited into the coven usually for significant achievements, patronage of the gods or clear exceptional potential.
The Coven besides being the ruling political elite of East Ouroborasia are also prominent military assets. Coven Witches are often extremely proficient at curses, spellcasting and various magic attacks and support buffs. Their efficiency of casting is often very high, and they have the wealth and resources of the empire to provide them both larger rituals and more research funding.
On the other hand, Coven Witches often becoming increasingly eccentric and individualistic after joining the Coven. Many tend to work alone or as commanders of their own private retinue armies. They rarely fight in conventional battles. Many Coven witches also tend to forsake armour and equipment during their time with the Imperial Army of the East, instead taking on either proper witch robes or the more 'eccentric' attire associated with their god (of particular note, Ishnannehi Witches).
DRAMATIS PERSONAE
- Emperor Vasilius Dragcumir I (First top left) The corrupted and prematurely aged 53 year old Emperor of West Ouroborasia and the legitimate ruler of the formerly united Ouroborasian Empire. Once an honourable if strict authoritarian man, decades of internal strife, court intrigue, ethno-religious genocide and the fact that his daughter was born a witch has since drastically changed the man, leaving only the strict authoritarian man left, now an unfettered dictator and dedicated military commander. Vasilius was once faithful to Justinian, having passed the Epiphany of the Perfect World however now has become mostly irreligious, his alliance with Ephemem and the Red Gods one built on circumstances, that said he has been officially been declared Anathema by Justinian in Sacrosanctia and thus has been excommunicated from the Justinian faith.
- Empress Edwynia Dracgumir (nee Angris) - Eldest daughter of King Alaric Angris of Aberysia,
Edwynia was married off to the then Crown Prince Vasilius of the Ouroborasian Empire when she was just seventeen, being torn away from her beloved siblings who she cared for as a surrogate mother ever since her own mothers death. While resentful, she knew her father meant best for her and the realm, so she left behind her mothers garden to her little sister Amberly, she left behind her strolls through the woods on her faithful mare and the glamorous balls and went forth to become Empress of the Ouroborasian Empire. For a time, it was good. She enjoyed visits and letters with her family, and while her husband was always emotionally distant - once upon a time he was respectful and fair, rather than emotionally and mentally abusive. It all fell apart however when the Witch Plague came, and her daughter too was born a witch, Edwynia forced to constantly hide her daughter due to her "chronic illness" and betray her god Justinian. Now a 36 year old Empress of a civil war ridden nation, with her eldest son fighting the rest of his family, her second son on the cusp of death, her eldest daughter a sex-crazed Ishnannehi cultist and her youngest daughter both a witch and destined avatar of a Red God she has become dangerously depressed, quiet and inactive, on the brink of completely losing the will to live.
- Crown Prince Ruslin Dragcumir - Formerly the Second Prince, Ruslin was jumped up to heir after his elder brother Istvan was disinherited following Istvan's siding with the west when the civil war begun. Ruslin has always resented his elder brother for his betrayal as well as being a middle child in the shadow of his elder brother. Only fourteen years old and the twin of his sister Astaszia, Ruslin joined the civil war two years ago as a squire with the hope of facing and defeating his elder brother in battle. While brave, determined and a relatively good swordsman for his age, Ruslin had no chance against Istvans honour guard and was cut down. Today while still alive, he is mortally wounded. The witches refuse to heal him unless Astaszia, his sister and also a witch does so herself - essentially blackmailing her into performing magic she is not yet prepared to use.
- First Princess Silviu Dragcumir - Eldest daughter of the Emperor, Silviu has come to embrace the Red Pantheon in a way unlike her siblings and parents. A dedicated Red Pantheon cultist and follower of Ishnanneh, Silviu has compensated for her lack of inherent magical power as with her witch-cursed younger sister by taking part in the rituals and sacrifices that Ishanneh's Cult performs. Spoiled and envious of her far more powerful younger sister, Silviu lacks either the predestined or self-made destinies of her relatives like Astaszia, Istvan or Szilamir and instead lives a life of nihilistic hedonism, presenting herself as a perfect and courteous royal while living for the moment and whatever pleases her whim at the time.
- Second Princess Astaszia Dragcumir - The Witch Pricess of Ouroborasia, Astaszia is the predestined and cursed harbinger of the Dark Gods. Cursed in Empress Edwynia's womb by Nenepheni, Enmity and other agents of the Red Pantheon, Astaszia was born a witch via the witch curse. Her cursed birth and powers were kept secret by the Dragcumir Dynasty, locked up in the palace tower under pretenses of 'chronic illness' even as the emperors own Orators performed genocidal witch hunts across the empire. Eventually, Emperor Vasilius brought in Nenepheni, a mysterious foreign courtier who knew of Astaszia's magical power and promised to help her control it, a promise the emperor accepted as his daughters powers became more and more erratic and difficult to hide.
This decision eventually enabled Nenepheni to take control of the imperial court from within, which in turn instigated the Ouroborasian Civil War. Astaszia herself since the beginning of the civil war has become Nenepheni's personal apprentice and witch-in-training, while deeply hesitant and mostly still an innocent girl with little understanding of the outside world, Astaszia has been forced by Nenepheni and fate to practice increasingly dark magics, with the goal of one day preparing her for her destiny as the avatar of the Witch Goddess Ephemem herself.
- Archduke Cosmin Dragcumir of Vlachia - Archduke Cosmin is the younger brother of Emperor Vasilius.
Born as a spare to the throne, Cosmin was born in his brothers shadow. At a young age, Cosmin was desperate to distinguish himself, enormous ambition and a bitterness shaped by an inferiority complex forming his early life and eventual decent into sociopathy. He inherited the Duchy of Varman from his father, however the titles land was mostly left underdeveloped due to the Imperial family focusing their fundings on Sepulchravest. To compensate, he joined Marshal Ostorius' war against Eudaz (then independent and not occupied by Lamash), becoming a renown commander in that theatre. Still, every time he succeeded, Vasilius would restrain or counterman him. The loot he took from a sacked Eudazi city was divided up rather than used to fund Varman. Vasilius and Ostorius said this was fair, Cosmin saw it as theft. He would be suddenly recalled from a major and prestigious offensive for tedious meetings. He once had to restart his Paladin training due to a sudden changing of dates for his marriage, a full four years earlier. Growing bitter and resentful overtime, Cosmin eventually conspired secretly, searching for obscure and occult means to gain power over his brother. Cosmin would become the first of Ouroborasia's highest ranking elites to fall to the sway of the witches, early on into the Witch plague, some twenty years ago. His late wife, suddenly perishing, was discreetly replaced by a new mistress, a foreign witch of incredible power and similar disposition to the Duke Cosmin. His young and powerless legitmate daughter was sidelined, replaced by the terrible influence and power of the witch Cimerenei, a confederate of Nenepheni. Cimerenei had little to corrupt, as Cosmin was more than willing to covert to the Witch Goddess' faith in secret, Justinian's epiphany of the perfect world long forgotten. He formed a dark union and pact with the witch, and ever since his fortunes have reversed and shined through. He through political ploys and sudden accidents inherited a number of neighbouring duchies, forming the Archduchy of Vlachia. He is now technically Heir Presumptive with Prince Ruslins severe injuries and so to be death. His bastard son, formed from his union with the witch is a champion of Ephemem and prophecised conqueror, destined to bring the world to its knees. Cosmin has always been underestimated as simply the magical blackguard in the wings, but he knows that soon his time will come.
- Archduchess-In-Waiting Cassiopeia Dragcumir -
- Szilamer the Bastard -
The ancient witch Nenepheni, who though appears eternally youthful is an unknown number of centuries old. A master of metamorphosis (auto-homunculisation), Nenepheni is no longer bound by her old form, instead only bound by the entropy of all souls. She has come and gone and numerous names in many lands, from Ouroborasia to Zul, Gushawar, Aberysia and even in the Central Overlay of TQLR. Her past is mostly unknown, few connecting the dots between her and numerous witches of historical events of note, including both Axohar Rebellions.
Regardless of her mostly unknown past, what is known is that a beautiful maiden in the form of a Justinian saint, white wings of feathers and glowing honey hair appeared in the Ouroborasian Empire twenty or so years ago, first as a discreet secret figure controlling the witch plague, conspiracies and cursing of the fetus that would be Astaszia, then nine years ago as a courtier of the Imperial Court, given a position by the emperor in secret to teach Astaszia the secret witch princess how to control her powers, after revealing her powers to the desperate monarch. Ever since, she has manipulated, seduced, intrigued and indoctrinated her way to become the de facto leader of East Ouroborasia. After the former Crown Prince Istvan revealed that she was a witch, she has publicly taken on the role of Spymaster and adviser to the Emperor, as well as proclaiming herself publicly the Supreme Witch of the Hecataphrim Coven, a now public secret society of the worlds most powerful Red Pantheonist witches. Essentially, she is the true ruler of the East Ouroborasian Empire.
As her past is mired in secrecy and lost history, her goals and motivations are mostly unknown, how it is known that she is a champion of Ephemem and clearly represnting the Witch Goddess' will in Materia. She has also taken on the role of Princess Astaszia's teacher of magic and mentor, bringing the naive and sheltered girl in the tower to the real, cruel world of witchcraft and holy war. Preparing her for her destiny as Ephemems own avatar.
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