The General Rules Ophad is a magical nation based world, which is open to anyone who is willing to join on in. There is really no limit, and this is meant to be a long and relaxing RP. The only major requirement is that there you show up and RP and when you must leave, be sure to inform me or the Co-host so we can work your nation in a way that is capable of being turned into a formal NPC nation. This RP is mostly nation based and requires a nation. These nations interact with the world around them and have their own internal and external issues, and due to the nature of the RP, your posts are expected to be realistic and capable of putting out a lore and story which reflects the nation you built. You aren't here to win, but rather you are here to tell your nation's story, and thus like any nation which can rise, it can also fall. You are fully allowed to have a myriad of surrounding NPC nations, but please be sure to confirm with the hosts about NPC nations of size or abroad.
In the beginning, there was only the created and the void which it dwelled in. This created being, a being of light and sound, gave itself the name Lesphod, and built itself a great kingly city of white fire and clouds within the blackness, filling it with his creations. He forged himself a wife who was equal but opposite to him, and together each created 7 sons and daughters each, forging the first pantheon within the White City. Yet, as the white city extended its brightness to the corners of the darkness, the very shadow for which it created formed its own life, a power equal to the mighty creator. This creature, who's touch destroyed the creations, was hunted relentlessly by the gods of the White City, and conquered the darkness piece by piece, building and creating vast quantities of worlds, beacons which would become stars to fill the darkness with light, and populated these worlds with gleaming palaces and vast arrays of servants to guard these worlds against the shadow which haunted the void.
The two most fair of Lesphod's sons, Anar and Pelon became rivals of one another, and who's rivalry would shake the very heavens. Anar, the favored and most fair and beloved of his brothers and sisters, led great campaigns with his hated brother Zuuldrick against the shadow, but Pelon was tasked with planting the world and guarding them from the decay. Pelon created the first creations upon the celestial body of Ophad, but these creations were found out by Anar and were seen as abominations, and he destroyed them utterly and shamed Pelon for creating them. Pelon flew into a rage, and went back to his mother, who whispered the first sins into his ear, compelling him and the rest of his mother's creation to react. A great war broke out, in which Pelon and Anar slew one another over the world of Ophad, shattering their immortal souls. Anar's soul landed into the world, while the body of Pelon and later his traitorous mother, slew by Zuuldrick, would form from their decay the hellish landscape of fire and demon kind.
The Shadow, once hunted, claimed the Ophad as its own and guarded over the divine soul and took with it two great elder gods to guard it from the wrath and devouring hunger of the other elder gods and their children. The cultivation of Ophad formed the first true sentience of true creatures born free of all gods and capable of true free will. The Shadow, all powerful and great, guards the world along with Zuuldrick and his wife Ishala, from true divine interference.
Magic, The Divine, and Rules
Gods, in some way or form, are all related to one another in either weird ways or are direct kinsmen, but that doesn't mean they often like or enjoy one another. Gods are mostly independent, and are about as numerous as the stars. Each god lives on one of the many planets in universe, where the spend their days in stagnancy. Gods are immortal, and cannot physically die in their own realms, but they can die in the void and way from the light of their creator (which is amplified by the suns of the solar system). Dying for a god is technically impossible, since their consciousness is their life line to the world, but gods can be cut asunder into pieces and their souls can form the basis of other souls, such as in the case of Ophad's sentient creatures and the demons which inhabit the burning abyss who form from Pelod and his mother.
Gods in Ophad have Domains, which is a special creation they have power over. For example, a god who has a domain of fire, earth, and metal can manipulate all things fire, earth, and metal to their desire. However, as the number of domains increase, the less powerful individual domains get. For example, a god of fire with seven other domains performs less powerful fiery spells then a god with only the domain of fire. This is important because this also translates to their mage worshippers.
Gods cannot physically enter the world of Ophad, because it is guarded by the Shadow, but they can communicate vaguely with their followers, grant mage followers who swear their souls to them the unlocked potential to use their domains as magic, and can directly punish those who disobey their commands or swear to other gods which often has fatal consequences.
Gods normally do not have interest in the eternally shattering souls of Anar, but the pantheons of gods who do often find it within reason to collect these souls through worship. Sentient creatures worship a god who in turn has bonded their souls to said god, but this bond is fragile and can be shifted to any other god at a given time. The strongest bond is between mages and their gods, which is why often in Ophad many mages are apart or closely related to the priesthood of nations. Souls empower gods by very minuscule amounts, who enjoy eternal conscious bliss in return for eternal service. Once a soul is in a domain of a god, it is nigh impossible for them to shift realms unless through the use of intense divine intervention. The Shadow acts as a gate master for souls of Ophad, who allows the divine servants of gods to subtly remove the souls of their followers and take them to their heavenly abodes.
Sin is an existential threat to the divine. Sin is more like decay which affects the divine more profoundly then sentient mortals, but mortals can acquire more of it then anything else. Sin is pretty much a self-destructive behavior which effects and blackens part of the soul, engaging them to do new things which does not fully benefit them. This can include everything from eating too much to showing wrath in battle. Sin is a poison to the divine for it can force them to seek out something beyond their stagnant lives and into a ambitious frenzy, much like Pelod, which is why they do not venture far from their worlds to begin with. Sin, if it encrusts a soul far too much, becomes permanent and can for others into demonhood, which makes them targets for demons and the maggot gods who can feast on their divine essence. The only way to remove sin is through painful and violent purification, much like cutting out a growth through fire. Sin is regularly avoided by gods, but will not sacrifice the souls of others, which is why gods tend to find ways to purge the sin off the soul of sentients through painful means before they enter their domains.
Demons are powerful figures which dwell in the Inferno Abyss, an ever decaying expanse of fire and warped decay made from the rotting forms of two powerful gods, and from their bodies forms demons much like Anar's soul had formed sentient creatures. Demons are only partially conscious, but are more or less creatures of pure sin and emotion. Their nature is naturally that of curiosity and experience, often they embody emotion itself in many ways, but often they can also embody concepts such as time or war. Demons feast on sin, which the Inferno Abyss is essentially one giant feast for them, but their hunger is often limited and they seek out more powerful sources, such as divine creatures and sentients. Demons cannot physically exist for very long in Ophad, or really anywhere in the universe above them, without being utterly destroyed. When they are killed, they are killed for good since demons are not immortal but are rather aberrations. The greatest of the demons are known as the Maggot Gods, powerful demons who ever are devouring other gods currently and thus also creating their own twisted domains for which can be worshipped, or have eaten or enslaved so many demons they have become powerful enough to embody their sin as a domain, functionally gaining a immortal soul for themselves which is only sustained so long as the Inferno Abyss remains.
All things that are living in Ophad has a conscious soul. The Souls is what gives life to someone who is sentient or non-sentient, the only living things without souls are demons. A dead thing has no soul, but a reanimated corpse has what is known as a 'false soul' which mimics life. Souls are granted automatically from the Black and White Trees of Anar which are normally near by, and automatically provide from a infinite distance. The Soul of a Sentient, unlike the soul of a god or a divine being, can become unconscious or go to sleep but can also be encrusted with sin. Normally, doing something that is self destructive both physically, emotionally, and physiologically will endow the soul with sin, but this sin is 'shaken off' by doing something of the opposite nature.
Magic can only be performed from Drenched Souls. A Drenched Soul is a soul which had inherited far more from Anar's shattered soul then others, capable of them using the most basic forms of a god's domain. At first, the magic is formless and without much to it, only capable of blasting a gust of air of moving something slowly towards themselves. When a mage gives their soul to a god through worship, the god grants them the power of their domain, and their magic is given form as a result. For example, if a god of death and decay grants their power to a mage, that mage can perform only magic related to killing someone or decaying them. Mages will have problems switching to new gods to get granted new powers, as the god who takes back the power from their former worshipper can be a violent and painful process since a mage's soul is more bound to a god then a normal soul. To have a Drenched soul is a very rare characteristic, in which only 1 in 10,000 may have.
The Black and White Trees of Anar are strange trees with black trunks with white leaves, who's wood produces a pink water which heals poisons when drunk, but burns those who dwell in it's waters. When the elder god Anar was destroyed over Ophad, his souls shattered all across the world, forming the first trees which stored only portions of his conscious. These trees are an important part of Ophad, as they are rare and provide important services, such as acting as conduits which allow souls to divide themselves to create new life, and acting as a barrier against demons who upon entering Ophad are instantly destroyed in searing psionic fire. The trees also dampen magic significantly, making sure that magic doesn't destroy landscapes or the world entirely. The Trees also have a passive effect, as wherever they are found, their presence restores the minerals of the earth, making lands grow back the minerals, forests, and fertile lands which nations take from. In short, the lands of Ophad rarely if ever run out of resources or are generally incapable of destroying the landscape. Where the trees are not found however, there is normally wasteland, desert, or blight. The trees are very much alive, and are fully conscious and can commune with each other across vast distances. The trees, as powerful as they are, are also very vulnerable. The trees can be cut down, which causes the great shield around the world of Ophad to weaken, which makes magic more powerful but also allows demons more immunity to enter the world. How new trees are created is a rare and very morbid process, often in which a new child is born into the world who's soul was super saturated, to the point that crystalline protrusions grow on them as they do, unable to perform magic or even to physically die, these poor souls are drawn out by the will of Anar into the forests in which they die, get buried, and near instantly blossom into their 'true' form, a new Black and White Tree.
How magic works for mages is rather simple, its a mixture of skill, willpower, and concentration. Skill of a mage is knowing what spell needs to be casted and to know if it's effects, the Will to conjure forth from their bodies the domains and magic of their god into the physical plane, and the concentration to keep the spell in check. If the mage is not skilled, they do not know the advanced forms of magic, if they lack willpower they cannot cast magic, and if they cannot concentrate, their magic withers the most it is unleashed. Magic is often only as powerful as their patron god's domain. While powerful magic is appreciated to out perform a fellow mage, variety is often just as important. Magic, even with necromancery or even delving into the black arts of the Maggot Gods, is never truly corrupting.
The World
The Current Start date is 2200 SE (Second Era), with a combined 12,000 of civilized pre history of the First Era, with a lot having changed since then. In the beginning, races on Ophad were docile and never changing, with rare and dangerous discoveries eventually leading to the progress of the modern era. History is slow due to the eternal abundance of resources provided by the Black and White Trees, but as population expands, so does a need for new things and a thirst for conquest by all peoples. Before 6,000 FE (First Era), the most common weapons were stone spears and sharpened sticks. The first great empires would not spring up still, and would eventually fall apart, whether by the divine intervention of the Shadow's early rule over Ophad or by internal conflicts not yet realized.
Technology on Ophad by 2200 is entirely medieval and partially into a renaissance period in some regions, but most of the world is Feudal or tribalistic. Concepts such as national pride or machines are utterly foreign to most. The first guns are making the scene in some distant workshops and used by some imperial nations, but these inventions are rare, used for entertainment, or for siege rather then open battlefields. The most terrifying thing on the open field is armored horsemen or a skillful mage. Most people by this time in Ophad are superstitious, and the common person has more in common with their local kinsmen then their own cultural heritage. While there are many ways to be healed by magic in Ophad, the common man is more likely to die by plague then by the sword.
Important note: This template is more of a guideline then a requirement, you do not actually have to fill in as much detail as I do with my own nations, but writing these nations that are deeply detailed is greatly appreciated. Name of Nation Some fancy picture, like the nation's flag or some fancy thematic music, idk =-=General Information=-=
Put the most basic info humanly possible, easy to read.
For example, the nation's language
It's government type
Religion
Just really general stuff
Also a reasonable population, but don't worry about that until map is actually workable
Army needs to be reasonable, so 5-8% of your nation's populations will = your total army size
Races
A basic overview on the races which inhabit your nation
History
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.
Culture
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
Military
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
Government
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.
Religion
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.
Economy
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.
Territory
How territory is currently divided up in the nation, mostly being a catalog of internal states. You do not need a map for this.
Terrain
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.
Factions
A summary of internal factions such as rogue organizations, guilds, mercenary groups, political factions, and separatists.
Characters
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.
Magic is a presence felt in the world, perhaps heavily due to the Black and White Trees of Anar, also known as Anarian Trees. Magic is a well known factor, something that the majority of people acknowledge exists, whether or not they believe it to be a miracle or an abomination against nature. Despite the fact that the existence of magic is common knowledge, the ability to use it is rare, as only Magi, also known as Drenched or Enlarged Souls, are capable of using it. -Magi, The Drenched Souls- Magi, Wizards, Sorcerers, Warlocks, they go by many names, some even calling them Drenched Souls, Divine Souls, Enlarged souls. They are those mortal races that were born with souls more powerful than others, as they are born with a greater share of Anar’s soul, making them more godly than other mortals. This supposed godliness grants these mortals the ability to use magic, allowing them to unnaturally bend the mortal realm to their desires. However, this power isn’t given freely; even with their more powerful souls, mortals cannot cast any spells past the cantrip tier on their own due to their general lack of power. It is for this reason that Magi pledge themselves to the Gods, as they, in exchange for worship and often service, will grant the Magi their power, allowing them to cast higher tiers of spells. -Divine Power- Mortal Magi, if they wish to cast any spells of significance, need to enter into a covenant or pact with a god or pantheon of gods in order to cast spells greater than cantrips or parlor tricks, as gods can unlock the capabilities of Magi the stronger their bond to each other is. It is for this reason that Magi are often closely tied to the priesthood of their god or act within their interest. However, even with a god lending their strength and unlocking the true potential of a Magi, a Magi’s powers are limited to the domains of their god. Not only are they bound to their god and their domains, but a Magi that wishes to convert often has a much more difficult time than a mundane mortal, as their connection to their god or gods is much deeper. This often results in a Mage writhing in agony and torment as their former gods retaliates in vengeance for their betrayal, commonly resulting in curses and blights upon them until their connection to their new god is strong enough to remove them. -Domains- Light- The Domain of Light encompasses not just physical light, but also the inner light of thinking beings, representing the light of good, mental fortitude, willpower, and endurance. It is for this reason that the domain of light cannot only be used for illusionary magic, but also for healing, enchanting, and fortification, and to some extent even more damaging spells, delivering radiant power against one’s enemy. Nature- The Domain of Nature encompasses all things natural and living, taking into its power; plants, animals, growth, but even things such as poisons and toxins. Nature can be both beautiful and calm, yet also merciless and dangerous. Those that control the powers of nature can typically heal and control the beings of nature, communing with animals and plants, and even able to shift themselves and others into them, yet also capable of spreading disease and poison. Arcane- The Domain of Arcane encompasses Magic, Spellcraft, and the Mind. It is the domain of learning, discipline, intellect, and telekinesis. Arcane is the raw energy of the world Fire- The Domain of Fire encompasses Flame, Heat, Lightning, and raw energy. It also encompasses more mental aspects as well, namely passion, which in turn encompasses things such as hate and love. It is for this that the domain of fire is not only used for destructive power, but also to fuel and empower both objects and living things. Water- The Domain of Water encompasses Water, Ice, and Cold, but also represents the tranquility of mind, discipline, and logic. Water magic can be used for many things, such as healing, casting calm and rationality on enraged beings, or forming objects of ice, as well as many other untold possibilities. Earth- The Domain of Earth encompasses all things brought about by the earth, namely Stone, Metal, and Gems, but also lava and magma. The Domain of Earth is mainly useful for the manipulation of these elements and thus is useful for transmutation and the creation of physical items such as fortifications, tools, or weapons. Celestial- The Celestial Domain, also known as the Domain of Sky, encompasses all things heavenly, such as Starlight, Sunlight, Lightning, and Air and Wind. It is heavily based on the mind as well, as it is to experience beyond the earthly world, and combined with air, allows for such things as telekinesis and premonitions, as well as scrying and looking beyond the mortal world. Dark- The Domain of Dark encompasses Darkness, Shadow, as well as the darkness of the mind, such as fear, doubt, and anger. It is a domain of mystery, illusions, and manipulation. It is often used to hide and obscure, to torment or manipulate the mind, or even to disguise oneself as another. Death- The Domain of Death encompasses Decay, Death, Dying, and Dead Things such as corpses and spirits. While these are typically seen as evil, the Death Domain is also capable allowing communion with the dead, looking beyond the mortal realm, and even resurrection. It also encompasses rot and decay, not just of flesh but of mind, metal, ideals, anything that can stagnate and crumble in time.
=Capabilities of Magic=
Magic is a source of boundless power and energy allowing those that wield it to simply point out their finger and destroy entire armies and castles with a single thought. Or at least that is what the mundane and uneducated believe and fear. To the learned and the practitioners of magic, they know magic to be a science, one that must obey a set of laws and must be studied and learned and properly understood to be put into practice. Different spells require different levels of understanding in their complexity, raw experience, willpower, and mana to cast. Because of this, spells and magics are separated into different tiers of casting, which are commonly known by many different names to many different civilizations, such as circles, ranks, levels, and so on. -Cantrips- Cantrips are the most basic of spells, commonly little more than parlor tricks, and are the first spells that any magi will cast until they pledge themselves to a deity or set of deities of some sort. These spells often include simple things, such as produce a small fire, making their voices more radiant, creating dazzling and blinding lights, causing objects to glow, or causing small objects to levitate. Unlike later tier spells, the domains of one’s deities does not matter, as cantrips do not require the power of a god to cast. -Novice- The beginnings of a true mage, novice tier spells are the more basic spells and are dependent on the domains of the caster’s deities. These spells are typically of small and direct effect, and are never in large scale. Examples of novice spells include creating a bolt of elemental energy, creating a magic barrier or shield, conjuring a dagger or axe, shooting out flames from one’s hand in a tight cone, simple healing spells, summoning vines and roots to entangle a foe, and temporarily commanding some one’s mind. -Adept- The tier that most magi will eventually reach and many even remain at, the Adept tier of spells are often more powerful and larger in scale than that of novice spells, being able to conjure forth larger items or making temporary enchantments upon them. Adept spell casters are able to, among other things and according to domain; shapeshift, turn invisible, temporarily enchant items with elemental effects, remove curses and diseases, as well as inflict them, breath fire in large cones, control the minds of others for longer, and can even conjure entire suits of armor temporarily. -Expert- Rather uncommon, as many magi do not reach this tier or are only able to cast a few spells from it at a time due to the larger consumption of mana they require. Expert tier spells are more capable of warping reality and casting more extravagant effects. Expert magi are able to cast such spells that can make them fly, teleport, fire large exploding fireballs out of their hands or call down bolts of lightning on their foes. They are also able to alter themselves, others, and the world around them to much greater affect, being able to make the skin of themselves or others turn to stone for extra resilience, or even to turn their foes into statues, or can cause the land around them in a moderate radius to grow fertile and quickly grow plants such as crops, trees, and other plant life. It is expert casters that are also capable of complex enough enchantments and spells to be able to create undead creatures or golems. -Master- Rarest of the Magi are those that are able to cast Master Tier spells, and have reached this power through hard study and well earned experience. Their spells are much more capable, able to affect large radiuses of people, being able to create greater and large things, and even resurrect the recently dead. More examples of their spells include being able to dominate the minds of several people or beasts, being able to disintegrate a target, creating stone walls, letting out a wave of fire, disease, or pure destructive force, as well as being able to heal, enchant and curse people in a large radius around them or of their choosing.
=Application of Magic=
-Knowledge- Magic, while mystical and to most people, unknowable, is a science that must be learned and understood before a magi can cast sells, even if they’re simple cantrips and tricks. In order for a magi to use magic, they must study and understand the fundamental of how magic works, how it interacts with the world, and how to properly utilize it in order to create spells. Magi must know how to weave different magics together and how to direct them together into making spells. The More powerful the spell the more complex the weaving of magic is, as casting spells requires weaving certain magics in varying amounts together in sequences. This is most commonly accomplished through the use of words of power, speaking sequences of words and even sentences to summon forth the magics required for a spell and weaving them together to create the spell. Learning and memorizing these words takes study, much like learning a new language, and even more study to create or experiment with new spells. -Will- While magic is a science that requires intense study, intellect, and memorization in order to weave magic and words of power together, one also requires the willpower to call forth that power into being to weave it to begin with. Not only does one require the willpower to call forth magic, they also require it to bind it and maintain it while weaving it into spells. This requires what is known as mana, the natural energy provided by to Magi by their larger soul. Magi have mana pools, and they increase over the years through practice, experience, and general usage of magic. This is exceptionally important due to the fact that more complex spells of higher tiers require greater willpower, and thus mana to conjure the magics necessary to not only weave the spell but also to maintain the magics while the spell is being woven. -Healing- To the mundane, the art of magical healing, also known as Thaumaturgy, is a quick, and effortless form of healing wounds, curing disease, or restoring ailments of the mind. The truth of healing magic, or rather applying healing magic, is that one requires and intricate knowledge of the anatomy of the being they are healing to know how to properly close wounds, or know of the disease in order to properly purge it from the body. This means that those magi devoted to the healing art must effectively be doctors and physicians, or at least be trained in the art enough to heal basic wounds and diseases. -Resistance- The use of magic against on unwilling targets is not always a simple task, especially when it comes to spells such as curses, charms, or other spells that do not affect them as directly as a fireball or lightning bolt. As all living beings, being born with a piece of Anar’s soul, hold some magic in them even if they are not magi. Because of this, all living creatures are capable of resisting a spell to either diminish its effects upon them or even resist it entirely. This is often based on many things, primarily the victim’s own will compared to the will of the caster, or perhaps just pure endurance.
=Schools of Magic=
Magic can be classified into various types, known as schools, each encompassing various aspects of magic such as healing, cursing, enchanting, destruction, and so on. Most spells can be placed into one of these schools, although many are also capable of being in multiple schools at once. Most importantly however, due to the need of domains to cast spells, some schools are unavailable. It is for this reason that religions or pantheons with a variety of domains are typically favorable for spell casters. -Evocation- The art of calling forth energy, Evocation is the school that handles the use of more destructive and chaotic powers of magic, and is primarily used to conjure forth raw power for attacks or to charge items. It conjures forth flame, lightning, ice, raw arcane power, sunlight, the raw powers and energies of the world, made manifest in various forms so that the caster may use it to strike out against their enemies. -Augury- Augury is the school of sight and mind, producing not only false images, but also false sounds, sensations, and smells as well as casting spells that affect the mind. It is the art of deceiving the eyes and ears, tricking others into believing what is not truly there or manipulating their mind. As it is also the school of sight, it is capable of letting the caster see things that the mundane cannot, such as invisible or concealed creatures, visions, or scrying. -Thaumaturgy- More commonly known as healing magic, Thaumaturgy is the art of healing wounds, curing diseases, as well as fortification and enhancing of the mind and body. It is the magic most commonly used by priests, miracle makers, prophets, and others that seek to help people or win them over due to its more benign nature. -Conjuration- The Magic of summoning, Conjuration allows a mage to bring forth items or creatures from other worlds, and even banish them. In its most typical form however a mage cannot simply create items or creatures from their imagination or will, as these are the powers of a more skilled mage. Rather, magi that are able to cast novice and adept spells will often have to take an already existing item or creature, and “store” them in a pocket dimension so that they can summon them later. -Enchantment- One of the more common magic schools to be seen much like Evocation, enchantment is the modification of objects to produce magical effects. This can range anything from enchanting a sword to be on fire, or a helmet to provide water breathing. However the most important aspect of enchantment to note is that most enchantments are temporary, as it requires transfering a potion of one’s own soul into an enchantment to make it permanent. -Transmutation- Also known as the school of Alteration, Transmutation is the school that allows a Mage to take already existing items within the physical world and alter or change them to something else, such as turning a steel ingot into a blade within seconds, or altering the color of a flower or even making the flower bigger. However Transmutation has rules, and lower tier Transmutation spells cannot change one material into another material. For instance a Novice Mage cannot change stone into metal, but a Mage of Expert skill or more can, albeit only temporarily. -Necromancy- Often considered to be a forbidden art, Necromancy is the school of magic that manipulates the forces of life and death, as well as blood magic and the creation of simulacrum to create undead constructs. It is a most foul magic that allows the user to manipulate the corpses of others, as well as their life force, commonly being used to drain the life force or youth from others to repair or improve one’s own. Truly powerful master necromancers are even able to capture and manipulate souls.
=Enchantment and Magical Items=
Enchantment in the world of Ophad is a fickle thing, as most enchantments are not permanent, and so are separated into two categories, Temporary and Permanent enchantments. -Temporary Enchantments- The most common type of enchantment, temporary enchantments are the most common place simply due to the fact that enchanted items require a permanent source of magic to continue functioning as a magic item. Most enchantments are spells cast by magi to temporarily give themselves or others around them a spell effect, such as lightning on their weapons, or an arcane barrier on their armor. These sorts of enchantments usually last as long the mage’s mana permits or for a certain amount of time depending on how powerful the spell was. However, magical items are different from spells, in that they were enchanted by a mage to be semi permanent. Magical items are items that are enchanted to have a continuous spell effect without the mage needing to cast it or be present to be used. These items, much like enchantment spells, require a mana pool to draw from, and so typically only draw from that pool when activated, however, this mana pool is finite and depends on the skill and power of the mage that created the item. This is the major drawback of temporary magic items, they require recharging by a mage in order to use continuously because each usage drains the mana pool placed into the item. -Permanent Enchantments- Permanent enchantments is a truly rare form of enchantment as the cost of creating them is too great to many magi. Unlike temporary enchantments, which require a continuous source of magic or mana to be made, Permanent enchantments are able to provide this. However, the only continuous source of magic is a soul, as only souls can produce mana. It is because of this, that magi have learned, that the only way to create a permanently enchanted item is to sacrifice a portion of their own soul, so that an enchanted item will permanently have a source of mana being produced from within the item itself. However, sacrificing a portion of one’s own soul does have its toll, as it will make the mage weaker for it, power that is not easily regained. Powerful necromancers however are able to forcibly take a portion of another’s soul to use instead, although this act often infuriates the gods. -Creation of Servant Constructs- Creating servile constructs, namely golems or undead creatures such as skeletons and zombies, requires a “false soul”, also known as a Simulacrum to the practitioners of magic. While any mage can use enchanting to place magical effects on an item or person, simply infusing a construct or body with magic is not enough to make it an autonomous being capable of fulfilling tasks. For this purpose, a Simulacrum is created, a fake soul, that is capable, to varying levels, of moving, comprehending commands, and carrying out those commands. For all intents and purposes, it is an artificial intelligence needed to ensure that the construct is capable of doing anything other than simply sitting immobile. Much like other magical items, constructs require a mana pool to maintain them, often requiring recharging from a mage.
=Miscellaneous Rules=
-Resurrection- Resurrection is a rare and powerful magic and is only capable of those that are able to cast Master Tier spells, and commonly requires various components and objects. In order to attempt the resurrection, the target must have no signs of decay upon them and so must be committed within a day of their death. It requires a ritual in which items cherished by the dead individual are presented and those dear to them are present to help tie their soul closer to the mortal world. Should the connection to the soul be strong enough with offerings and words from their loved ones, and if their god is willing to return the soul to the mortal world, the deceased can be brought back to life, albeit often weak and drained until they are properly rested. However, even this is an uncertainty, as the recently slain are in a stupor, as though someone being woken from a deep and desired sleep, and so are not always willing to return, or the connection is not strong enough to wrest them from death’s grip. Those who died wanting death, and unwilling to return automatically cause such a ritual to fail. -Time Magic- Time magic itself is a rare magic that even gods rarely touch and is only capable of a Master Mage. However, even then, time magic has severe limitations: for instance, time magic is incapable of sending one back or forwards in time, as time magic itself is only capable of manipulating the flow of time rather than altering it. However, as a mage cannot alter history by opening portals to the past or future, they also cannot stop the flow of time, simply manipulate it. This means that time magic can only be used to slow or accelerate time, whether in an area, on a person, or an object. For instance a mage might be able to cast slow on a target, causing them to physically slow compared to everything else, or the mage could speed up the time of an arrow and make it travel faster, causing it to have greater velocity and strike with greater impact. However, the altering of time often only works on a target, or within a radius of the caster’s choosing.
Under advisement, I've removed casual from the tags. I don't really know how casual people can get in the forum, but I guess in hindsight I do have a advanced preference.
The Realm of Iron and Blood lies bedded along the coast of the Eastern sea in the north-central realms, with coastlines on the eastern-most quadrant of the Great Salt Lake.
It is predominantly a human realm with several racial minorities, ones of which face great hardships.
The Blood of the Eisenfolk runs red with faith, and they are a crusading people with a nomadic past.
To spill the blood of the Eisenfolk is just only if done in faith, as such they are an incredibly zealous folk with little acceptance of foreign religions.
The government of the Eisenreich is one of feudal ties, but it governs several tributary states enacted and created through religious conquest. The people of Eisen refer to their grand nation as a crusader state.
The people of the Eisenreich are members of the Rhûnic cultural group, a nomadic people from the south who wandered after the passing of their former homelands at the hands of "otherwordly" invaders.
The People of the River Eisen are known as the Eisenfolk, and adopt the religion of the Blood and Iron Church, where they worship the Father of the Eisen, Rhûn, the lord of Metals and Blood, Great Craftsman of the Abyss.
The people of the Eisen speak in akrabrüd, an old language originating in the Southern-most parts of the continent. They adopt a runic writing known as büdabad, a fascinating written language of symbols.
The population of the forest realms and vast flatlands of the Eisenreich have been severely diminished from their past splendor, with ruins of great civilizations encompassing its vast stretches of land. This is due to the war of which the Eisenreich bedded its history upon during their exodus up north.
It houses a population of 7,560,000 individuals, many of which are of the Rhünic culture.
The Hordes, or Armies, of the Reich amount to a considerable 470,000.
The Greater-Magic of Rhûn wielded on the battlefield. The Sword, a Symbol of Rhûn, is prevalent throughout the entire Eisenreich, with palaces and bastions formed and built in its image.
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.
The First Crusaders, marching towards the Tyric Kingdom, and towards the river Eisen in hopes of a new home.
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 -
The Legions of Legend, Golden Soldiers of the Atraic Empire.
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 Vast Cities of the Eisenreich dislodge the foundations of which they are built upon, leading to monstrous cavernous settlements extending seemingly endlessly into the surface.
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.
The Dark Mask, a prevalent symbol amongst Eisenreich nobility. It is supposed to channel Rhûn's entity through them, and are used as a sort of protective charm.
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 Blood and Iron Church has many followers, the ceremonial garbs of which place fear in the hearts of non-Eisenfolk.
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.
Rhûn, the Abyssal Greatsmith, Lord of all Metals and Marshal of the Sanguine.
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 economy of the Eisenreich made manifest; a bloody affair lacking finess and civilization. The dark ritual of purchases is done in blood, as opposed to with coin.
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 Banner of Rhûr, identified via the religious center-symbol, the Twin Wolves (a symbol of the Blood and Iron contract), and the insignia of its Crusader-Governor, Ryscht Brotter.
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.
Mars-Luther
Rêschterrhûn
Meisenkaesar vant Meisenrekt Iron Monarch of Eisenreich
Born of the river itself, Mars-Luther was discovered by the then-reigning Sovereign of the Iron Realms swept by the torrents of the river Eisen's rapids. Seen as a manifestation of the will of Rhûn, Mëfter Rêschterrhûn took the child as his own son, and blessed upon him the greatest of knowledges possessed in all the Iron Realms, and as the child became a man of true Eisenfolk qualities, the Iron Monarch abdicate the throne in a faithful sacrifice. He thus gave the office of supreme authority to his son, Kricht-Laether Rêschterrhûn. Through his years as the Iron Monarch of the vast realms within his greater domain, wisdom unbeknownst to mere men and women befell him unlike any other.
Through the great reforms of his ancestors, the realm was operable, and it had seen victory and defeat alike. It had a long history, and had embedded itself in the hills and heights of the middle realm through sheer determination and unceasing effort. Kricht-Laether thus declared his first crusade, one of which saw great success, and unified the otherwise uncertain subjects of his subject-nobility beneath his grasp. Having accrued great fame and infamy from his crusades which would culminate in the establishment of Rhûr and the adjustment of the norther-states' territorial boundries, the Dark Herald of Rhûn became known as War. A simple name with great weight, the Monarch quickly adopted it as his own banner and name, becoming known as Mars-Luther. Written and spoken in Tyric, Mars means War, and Luther means Someone who Brings, or bringer.
A symbolic evolution, the nobility quickly adopted the tradition, using their own "names of power" written in foreign languages for the sole purpose of breeding fear and feeding upon these negative emotions harboured by would-be subjects. However within the familiar courts of the Eisenreich, these foreign names proved an issue in regular social interactions, having born foreign names of power for so long the lord of the Eisen had forgotten their own names.
As such, each lord once again adopter newer names in addition to their names of power, Mars-Luther going by the simple name of Rêschteröök, or Apocalypse. Fitting name, for such a dark culture, the other subjects quickly followed suit, however making sure to never forget their "names of true power", the subjugation of foreign languages to serve their nefarious desires.
This perhaps unattractive culture does not lead to a lot of offspring amongst the high courts of the Eisenreich. As such, the Iron Realm and its master declares their heir upon their moment of death, or their "Reuniting" with it. Mars-Luther is an only child, lacking siblings or relationships of any meaningful sort which could eventually lead to the further of his bloodline. He places, instead, great faith in his steadfast ally, Körper Meüseer and Ryscht Brotter.
The Forgemaster of the Black Pit, Marshal of the Secrets of Rhûn, Wielder of the Ebonflame.
Ûthërkhaar
Äkabrëlst
Veilenkrescht Graaleifer Supreme Forgemarshal
To be born with the gift of the abyssal rituals and dark magics of Rhûn is not seen as a possible thing, instead the accumulation of knowledge otherwise unbelievable and the refining of these words of wisdom blessed upon them by their Great God Rhûn is the path of acquiring mastery over the untameable gifts of Rhûn's own desires. These beliefs are founded in the memoirs of the first dark smiths during the War of Desperation, immortalized in a stigmata forged from their own flesh, offered as a sacrifice during the creation of the first dark-forged arms and armour. Since then, the methods and techniques have been ever-refined, and their creations ever-improved.
However, whilst the arts secluded with the dark pits, and their practitioners, have improved and diminished both during the passing of the Reich's history, one thing has remained forever. From the founding of the Blood and Iron Church to the present moment, Ûthërkhaar Äkabrëlst, the Supreme Forgemaster of the Black Pit. For through the dark arts of Rhûn, and his ability to process its secrets, he has gained and given all there is to give, and thus attained all there is to attain. Lacking form, for he has given all to Rhûn, this veiled shadow now commands the abyssal kilns and forges throughout the black pit and its darkness. It is within the darkness that the magics of the great God work, never gaining strenght when done so in the sight of the Sun, and as such, it is essential that Smiths may only bring their bare in war if they have attained knowledge sufficient to return back into the pit.
The Forgemaster is the apex of this iconic distinction of power, greatest of the Smiths, and creator of the greatest of machinations, he remains on the Earth through no will of his own, but through the will of Rhûn. To spread the faith, to expand its boundries. As such, he has given his soul, will, and body to the cause, traversing the mortal realm only through the arcane prowess of which he now possesses.
The Foremost of Marshals, the Dark Beast of the Iron Realm, Bringer of Night.
Körper
Meüseer
Grechterältermarschalke vant Meisenrekt Greater Dark Marshal of Eisenreich
To walk into legend during their first moments of true life is a rarity inconcievable enough to be impossible. However, Körper Meüseer is one of few exceptions. In his own words, "the first day of my life was in Ferrum". Born from the Uthermarc, the man appeared out of nowhere during the apex of Mars-Luther's grand crusade. From the bushes he slew countless warriors veteraned by their countless encounters with bloodshed. The man quickly became the prime target for most field-commanders on the Crusader-side, however avoiding their grasps and gaining ground where no Eisenfolk could fathom his appearance.
It was this quality, this force of will, this domination, that garnered him the unequaled gaze of the Iron Monarch, the only man capable of recruiting this opponent into one of the greatest of allies. Through use of diplomatic and aggressive methods alike, the man was eventually coersed into the Iron Court under the authority of the Sovereign themselves, an unheard-of occurence.
Since those moments, be it through magic or through skill of verbality, the Beast of Ferrum has joined the side of Mars-Luther's innermost companionship, shared together with the fewest of peoples.
Bearer of the Sword; Rhûn made manifest, Vanguard of the Titan.
To bear the cross, the symbol of the Sword, Rhûn's personal manifestation of his identity made manifest, made simple, is the greatest of honours. Each Crusader gains the cross during their journey of faith into foreign lands to symbolize their faithfulness and zeal, their beliefs and ideals. To become an individual from a great horde is the most arduous of tasks, to make themselves stand out from hundreds of thousands. It requires extraordinary circumstances of skills, abilities beyond the reach of others whom you'd consider equals.
The Crossbearer, most honourable of Knightly title, a name of power given greatest of weights, is the result of this extraordinary privilege found within a rare few peoples, and rarer still who make it known. Ryscht Brotter made his prowess known on the battlefield, made himself anew in the crimson glow of this way of war. Reborn and the Crossbearer, his accomplishments met a swift reward as piles lie still at his feet, surrounded by the awe of comrade and foe alike.
In equal events to his first, altars of dead would lie baking in the sun's blinding rays as tributes of faith, he rose the ladders of power. Knighted, Lorded, and Marshaled, Ryscht broke past all limits, and attained the apex of his heraldry, the rights of Crusader-Governor. And so, Sêphärkhaal was born.
@Archetype Zero I like interconnected histories, so lemme ask you something.
You mentioned that the Miesenfrylk fled past the Eisen river from the south, "at the behest of vast armies and legions spawned in the hellish lands in the south."
By coincidence, my nation will be based in southern deserts around that area and has a barbaric past, plus a large orc population. So would you mind if I mentioned that the orc armies previously pushed some of the humans to flee to the north?
The ones who fled could be your Eisen, and the ones who remained could be the humans who live in my nation.
I have a very WIP info sheet I am working on. Though it is far from complete, I am posting here as a tangible demonstration of interest.
Regency of the Veld
=-=General Information=-=
The Veld is a large feudalistic realm situated in northeastern Kevica, on the prairies situated between the River Veld and the Eastern Sea.
It is a predominantly human realm with a smattering of beastfolk settlements - mainly Otem - found in the hinterlands and areas deemed unfit for men. It is an agrarian society, with two major settlements situated on the River Veld and a smattering of settlements in the interior of the realm ranging in size from modest towns to tiny hamlets.
The Veld is Getic - a culture that originated from the tundras of Endikigo like many societies in northern Kevica. The people of the Veld speak a language known interchangeably as Veldan or Getic, although the more pedantic scholars would argue that Getic refers to a range of tongues and dialects of northeastern Kevica while the term Veldan is specific the dialect of the Veld. Veldan is written in the Noromad alphabet borrowed from the neighboring Norovar, and the two languages are quite similar in many respects with numerous cognate words and similar grammatical structure.
Veldans mostly worship the Getic pantheon, a collection of gods and goddesses with obvious similarity to those of Noadam, owing to their shared religious origin in Endikigo before the two cultures diverged in antiquity. Most of the Noadamic deities have a nigh-identical counterpart in the Getic cult although Hogi, Lomki, Got, and Rogt are missing from the Getic pantheon. True Noadamism is tolerated in the Veld - as are most foreign religions - and is quite prevalent in the western marches of the Veld.
The population of the Veld is estimated to be 12 to 14 million souls, based upon the last census of the realm nearly 70 years ago.
Races Getic (Human) Like the Norovar in northwestern Kevica, the Getic people originated in Endikigo and migrated south at some point in ancient history. The Getic people went south earlier than the Norovar, following the coast of the Eastern Sea down from their homeland in Endikigo. Whereas the Norovar settled the Northwest of Kevica, the Getics inhabited the eastern coast of the landmass. Getics are white-skinned people, much like the Norovar. Their hair is typically black and coarse, although brown hair and even blondes occur among the Getic due to centuries of intermarriage with the Norovar.
Norovar (Human) Norovar are quite common throughout the Veld, particularly in the west. These populations tend to speak Ceviserian rather than Veldan, and are more likely to adhere to the reformed Noadamic faith.
Belga (Human) A seafaring people of Getic persuasion. They are the descendants of those ancient Getic migrants who did not settle in eastern Kevica and instead continued to lead semi-nomadic lives plying the coasts of the Eastern Sea. The Belga are most commonly fishermen and whalers, although they are known to resort to piracy and raiding when times are hard. The Belga have no permanent settlements in the Veld, and instead establish crude camps of tents and driftwood huts on suitable coastlines alongside their beached longboats. These camps attract merchants and local serfs, who barter with the Belgan traders for fish, whale oil, pearls, or foreign trinkets. The Belga do not typically stay on one beach for long; usually they sail off within a fortnight or two before Veldan knights and tax collectors arrive.
Frygga'Hol (Otem) Otem settlements in Velda are concentrated in the northern hinterlands and coasts of the realm. Their warrens and hamlets were very common along the banks of the Velda in ancient times. When the Getic settlers arrived in these lands, however, the Otem were hunted en masse by ravenous Getic reavers for their flesh and pelts. Despite stern resistance the Otem were pushed out of their ancestral lands, relegated to the northern woods and coasts. The stronghold of Frygga'Hol was established to the north by Otem refugees fleeing the Getic invasions. Several half-hearted attempts by Getics and Belga raiders were repulsed. By the time the Kingdom of the Veld was established, the men of the Veld had lost interest in the remote Otem stronghold. With the rise of Lord Davgul the Usurper in the Veld, another wave of refugees has come to Frygga'Hol - humans this time. The Otem tolerate the human refugees in Frygga'Hol, welcoming their coin and hoping that their rebellion against their frightful despot weakens their perennial foes to the South.
@Archetype Zero I like interconnected histories, so lemme ask you something.
You mentioned that the Miesenfrylk fled past the Eisen river from the south, "at the behest of vast armies and legions spawned in the hellish lands in the south."
By coincidence, my nation will be based in southern deserts around that area and has a barbaric past, plus a large orc population. So would you mind if I mentioned that the orc armies previously pushed some of the humans to flee to the north?
The ones who fled could be your Eisen, and the ones who remained could be the humans who live in my nation.
If you conquered a previously glorious nation then everything sounds swell. They fled south indeed, but to the River Eisen. Not really out of their own behest, but it sort of turned into that given how prosperous the land was and how brutishly they wanted it to the point of schackeling must of themselves to the area in the current era.
Sorry for my late reply.
It is essential, however, that it is not orcs who force my men and women to flee, but the Altraici people. Well, not really essential, but as they are a human people much related to the Miesenfrylk, it would both make sense and not make my NS incorrect.
The Veld is a large feudalistic realm situated in northeastern Kevica, on the prairies situated between the River Veld and the Eastern Sea.
It is a predominantly human realm with a smattering of beastfolk settlements - mainly Otem - found in the hinterlands and areas deemed unfit for men. It is an agrarian society, with two major settlements situated on the River Veld and a smattering of settlements in the interior of the realm ranging in size from modest towns to tiny hamlets.
The Veld is Getic - a culture that originated from the tundras of Endikigo like many societies in northern Kevica. The people of the Veld speak a language known interchangeably as Veldan or Getic, although the more pedantic scholars would argue that Getic refers to a range of tongues and dialects of northeastern Kevica while the term Veldan is specific the dialect of the Veld. Veldan is written in the Noromad alphabet borrowed from the neighboring Norovar, and the two languages are quite similar in many respects with numerous cognate words and similar grammatical structure.
Veldans mostly worship the Getic pantheon, a collection of gods and goddesses with obvious similarity to those of Noadam, owing to their shared religious origin in Endikigo before the two cultures diverged in antiquity. Most of the Noadamic deities have a nigh-identical counterpart in the Getic cult although Hogi, Lomki, Got, and Rogt are missing from the Getic pantheon. True Noadamism is tolerated in the Veld - as are most foreign religions - and is quite prevalent in the western marches of the Veld.
The population of the Veld is estimated to be 12 to 14 million souls, based upon the last census of the realm nearly 70 years ago.
Races Getic (Human) Like the Norovar in northwestern Kevica, the Getic people originated in Endikigo and migrated south at some point in ancient history. The Getic people went south earlier than the Norovar, following the coast of the Eastern Sea down from their homeland in Endikigo. Whereas the Norovar settled the Northwest of Kevica, the Getics inhabited the eastern coast of the landmass. Getics are white-skinned people, much like the Norovar. Their hair is typically black and coarse, although brown hair and even blondes occur among the Getic due to centuries of intermarriage with the Norovar.
Norovar (Human) Norovar are quite common throughout the Veld, particularly in the west. These populations tend to speak Ceviserian rather than Veldan, and are more likely to adhere to the reformed Noadamic faith.
Belga (Human) A seafaring people of Getic persuasion. They are the descendants of those ancient Getic migrants who did not settle in eastern Kevica and instead continued to lead semi-nomadic lives plying the coasts of the Eastern Sea. The Belga are most commonly fishermen and whalers, although they are known to resort to piracy and raiding when times are hard. The Belga have no permanent settlements in the Veld, and instead establish crude camps of tents and driftwood huts on suitable coastlines alongside their beached longboats. These camps attract merchants and local serfs, who barter with the Belgan traders for fish, whale oil, pearls, or foreign trinkets. The Belga do not typically stay on one beach for long; usually they sail off within a fortnight or two before Veldan knights and tax collectors arrive.
Frygga'Hol (Otem) Otem settlements in Velda are concentrated in the northern hinterlands and coasts of the realm. Their warrens and hamlets were very common along the banks of the Velda in ancient times. When the Getic settlers arrived in these lands, however, the Otem were hunted en masse by ravenous Getic reavers for their flesh and pelts. Despite stern resistance the Otem were pushed out of their ancestral lands, relegated to the northern woods and coasts. The stronghold of Frygga'Hol was established to the north by Otem refugees fleeing the Getic invasions. Several half-hearted attempts by Getics and Belga raiders were repulsed. By the time the Kingdom of the Veld was established, the men of the Veld had lost interest in the remote Otem stronghold. With the rise of Lord Davgul the Usurper in the Veld, another wave of refugees has come to Frygga'Hol - humans this time. The Otem tolerate the human refugees in Frygga'Hol, welcoming their coin and hoping that their rebellion against their frightful despot weakens their perennial foes to the South.
History In ancient times before the arrival of men, the Veld was inhabited by beastfolk. Beryul occupied the hill country in the north, the Otem had settlements along the River Veld and the shores of the lake, and the northern coastlines belonged to the Tusaeb. These beast societies were partitioned by their preferred habitats, and excepting the occasional quarrel in those areas where these habitats overlapped, peace prevailed. Separation between the races preserved tranquility in the ages before the arrival of man.
When men first arrived in these lands, they upset the equilibrium between the indigenous beastfolk who lived in long-established domains. Man was adaptable and had little preference for his habitat, for he is just at home on the prairies of the Veld as he is in the wooded hill country, the riverlands, or the coast. Man could not be satisfied with any particular niche as the beastfolk were, and so would always overstep their boundaries sooner or later. Conflict flared between man and beast, but in ancient times man was held in check by the multitude of Beryul and Otem. Men eventually learned to sow grains and harvest them, and when they did they proliferated at a rate unsurpassed by any beast. Men gradually became more numerous than the beastfolk and came to dominate them.
Centuries later more men arrived in the Veld; not in a gradual, piecemeal fashion from the South as the first men had, but this time in a sudden and violent wave from the North. Traveling south on longboats from the grim northern reaches of the world, the Getics fell upon the Veld with terrible savagery. Though they wielded only axes and spears of crude arsenic bronze, the Getics made up for their unimpressive arms with remarkable ferocity. Beastfolk and indigenous men alike were raided and killed by Getic reavers as they tore a bloody swathe south and west into the interior of Kevica. The Beryul and Tusaeb societies in the Veld were lost entirely, the first men assimilated into the Getic society and the Otem fled to the northern coasts.
After their brief initial scourging, the Getics settled down and established settlements throughout the Veld. When hunting and pillaging proved unfruitful, the Getics adopted the indigenous practice of sowing and reaping grain. As the Getics took to sedentary civilization and farming, their society stratified into a feudal society. Thaines became lords, hauskarls became knights, and the unremarkable rabble that followed greater men to this new land in Kevica became the multitude of serfs who would work the soil. Lords established a number of petty kingdoms - too numerous and unremarkable to mention - that squabbled over the best harbors and choicest farmland for several centuries.
Lord Dalan Adalvolf the Eisenman, ruler of the kingdom of Solleck situated on the headwaters of the River Veld on Lake Eisen, discovered the secret to forging iron weapons from the Eisenfolk south of the lake. In those days, iron weapons and tools were rare and coveted items in Kevica, and the technique for forging iron was unknown to the people of those lands - save for the Norovars who jealously kept the method to themselves. With iron swords fashioned in the style of the Eisenfolk, Lord Adalvolf subdued the neighboring realms along the River Veld, and then swept north through the agrarian lordships on the prairies of the Veld, reaching the foothills of the Teeth and scattering the barbarous hillfolk into the deep woods. Lord Adalvolf, upon reaching the mountains, declared himself King Adalvolf of all the Veld, establishing an expansive Kevican kingdom ruled from his seat of power in Solleck.
King Adalvolf's declaration, while highly significant, hardly marked the end of the unification of the lands now known as the Veld. Rebellion and insurgency plagued the first King of the Veld until his death, which incited further unrest. The first three Veldan kings spent much of their efforts on putting down endless insurgencies. But as more time passed, and more rebel blood was spilled, Solleck's rule over the Veld was solidified.
The following three centuries of Veldan history were fairly unremarkable, with little of note occurring save for occasional Norovar incursions, Belga and Otem raids on the coast, and the construction of the Great Castle - the King's primary residence and seat of power - on a headland overlooking Lake Eisen. This historical doldrum ended a little over sixty years ago, when King Barad was deposed. The King's warlock, Davgul, determined that the King had been possessed by a demon, and declared that he was unfit to rule. King Barad ordered his sorcerer arrested and beheaded for his outrageous claims. When the King's knights and men-at-arms came to execute the warlock, Davgul either persuaded them that the King was in fact a demonic pawn, or cast some mind-domination spell upon them. Whatever the case, Davgul returned King Barad's court with a contingent of supportive fighting men, and ordered the King burned alive so as to dispel the demons possessing him. A tremendous skirmish broke out between the loyal guards and the knights and warriors under Davgul's spell. The Davgul's fell magic tipped the balance in his favor, and he and his men were able to kill the loyal guards to the last man. King Barad fled the throne room, gathered his queen, children, and the surviving guards, and withdrew to a spire of the castle. Davgul and his men cut through the guards and found King Barad in the top of the tower, wielding his sword standing between Davgul and his cowering family. Davgul cast a spell of hellfire upon them, setting the King, his wife, and his children ablaze. Davgul summarily declared himself the Lord of the Veld, acting as regent of the realm in the absence of any valid contenders.
Word of what had transpired was slow to leak out to the wider kingdom. For years, only confused rumors reached the ears of even King Barad's vassals. But after three years of King Barad's absence, it was apparent that Davgul had committed regicide. Rebellion broke out across the realm, as dukes and barons threw either declared independence or committed themselves to avenging King Barad and bringing Davgul to justice. Davgul took advantage of the confusion, and rallied support among the superstitious, who would believe that his slaying of the demon-possessed king was in fact justified. A decade of warfare broke out across the Veld. Over time, Davgul's persuasion and fell magics tipped the scales in his favor, and he was able to subdue his opponents and offer some power to the disillusioned and ambitious barons and dukes. Davgul the Usurper's rule over the Veld eventually became absolute. With his authority unquestioned, Davgul wished to legitimize his rise to power and the only way to do that was to erase any memory of how it occurred. Davgul appointed his barons to seek out demonic pawns throughout the populace of the Veld - a euphemism for any person deemed to possess unfavorable attitudes regarding their new master or anyone who even spoke of Davgul's rise. Davgul's men-at-arms now roam the countryside, tasked with ferreting out unfaithful subjects of His Majesty.
It has now been sixty years since Davgul's rise, well beyond the natural life of any mortal man. Hushed rumors now spread through the Veld and beyond that the Usurper is now an aspiring lich, using dark magic to prolong his life. These rumors also attest that such techniques are not sustainable, and that soon the Usurper will need to find a magical font from which to draw more magical power, or he will wither away. This belief has generated hope of late, and talk of rebellion is whispered throughout the realm. Beyond the Veld, this rumor portends opportunity. The human refugees in Frygga'Hol plan to retake their homeland from the diminished warlock, and the Eisenfolk zealots see an opportunity to dispose of the horrific Davgul and spread their faith through his ill-gotten dominion.
History looks good, but could you give a brief in this nations culture, religion, military, and territory? Joining the discord could perhaps be very helpful.
I'm probably joining with a very high-fantasy, high medieval, lightbound kingdom in the West. Think templars and knights, all sworn to a pantheon of 'light'-deities.
The Isle of Dra-Makra is the collective name of the island of Dra-Makra as well as the surrounding waters and minor islands of the Great Salt Lake. Often shrouded in mists and covered in swampland the island itself is spotted with a number of minor fishing hamlets and swamp settlements, with the only major towns being the port towns of Tushina on the north western coast and the island's namesake Dra-Makra on the south eastern coast.
To outsiders, three major facts are known about Dra-Makra and the people who live there. The first is that the residents of the island many just be some of the greatest sailors and fishers in the world, somehow able to sail the dangerous waters of the Great Salt Lake safely while obtaining massive catches of fish that fishermen of other kingdoms that share a shore of the Lake simply cannot match. The second is that due to the strange currents and tides of the Lake, all ships that sink in the Great Salt Lake tend to wash ashore on either the Island of Dra-Makra itself or along a number of shallow sandbars and minor islands that are easily accessible to those who live there, allowing the islanders to have very lucrative salvage operations that give them access to wealth and trade goods they normally wouldn't process.
The third is that all attempts by foreign powers to lay claim to the island and the waters around it have ended in mysterious, ominous disaster. While the human population of Dra-Makra is generally fairly private and proud in their personal affairs, they are generally fairly friendly to outsiders and tend to accept any kingdom that invades them as their ruler without a fight and often prove to be ideal subjects who quietly work hard, pay whatever taxes or tribute is demanded from them and are generally welcoming towards priests and missionaries that arrive to try and win them over to their respective faiths.
Despite this, things always seem to go horribly wrong fairly quickly for those occupying the island. A variety of strange illnesses tend to sweep through the ranks of the invaders regardless of social standing, only abating if the victim leaves the island to return to their original kingdom or generally dying from the illness. The generally dangerously indifferent waters of the Great Salt Lake seem to turn outright malevolently hostile to any ship belonging to the occupying kingdom, resulting in many ships being caught and sunk in a variety of freak storms or tragic accidents. Nearly all attempts to send taxes back to the home kingdom fail with the wrecks of the ships carrying the cargo generally washing back ashore on Dra-Makra, often resulting in the governor or overseer of the occupation having to try and awkwardly explain to the powers that be that they are gathering the requested taxes but are just unable to get them back home safely.
This state of affairs will normally continue until the cost of trying to hold onto Dra-Makra simply outweighs any benefit of actually holding the seemingly cursed patch of swampy rock, generally abandoning it back to the locals peacefully and leaving with their tails between their legs and just trying to forget about the whole damn mess ever happened. While the Isle of Dra-Makra has never gone to war, more then one kingdom began its decline due to attempting to claim the island for themselves and losing so many resources and people in the attempt that they are ill equipped to handle further crisis or invasions.
Government
The island doesn't have what many most peoples would consider a ruler; Instead most administrative duties and decisions are made by the mayors of Tushina and Dra-Makra, each holding sway over their respective half of the island and working together for the benefit of all alongside their respective councils. The position of mayor of each respective port town is decided by a gathering of representatives from all the swamp hamlets and fishing villages within the sway of the port town in question, the representatives discussing and debating among themselves for a time whom would be best suited to take over the duties of mayor and when a decision is reached, the new mayor is elected and will remain in that position until they either die, grow unable to perform their duties and willfully step down or are deemed unfit to continue holding office and are... requested to step down.
Occasionally an official looking report and a ship baring some sort of good such as fish or treasure that has washed ashore is sent towards one of the various kingdoms that 'owns' Dra-Makra in the way of taxation, but for the most part they are simply left to their own devices.
Culture
Due to centuries of trading with/being under control of the various kingdoms that have risen and fallen along the shores of the Great Salt Lake, the people who live in Dra-Makra and Tushina understand a variety of languages that allow them to communicate with those that come to trade with them. The fluency of which these languages are known and understood by the population starts to degrade the further away from the two major ports, where the local tongue of Makrina tends to hold sway. That isn't to say that those who live in the two port towns don't speak Makrina, but they prefer to use other languages to do business with outsiders.
An interesting quirk of the people of Dra-Makra is their refusal to write Makrina down on paper or leather. Whenever they have to write using their native tongue, they will use clay or stone tablets. This is further considered weird due to the fact that they are more than willing to write on paper or leather for other languages, but still refuse to do the same with their own. They will never explain to outsiders as to why they do this.
The Dra-Makra economy seems to be primarily based on fishing, salvaging the wrecks that wash ashore and the occasional hunter or herbalist from the swamps that comes into town to trade what they have managed to locate that season. While objects like gold and other treasures are saved for dealings with outsiders, among themselves the people of Dra-Makra seem to favor the cowrie shell as the basis of their currency with each other; They're durable, they're impossible to counterfeit and they are rare enough that inflation isn't a concern. Since other kingdoms don't really want them in the form of tax or tribute, the local economy tends to survive 'tax season' rather easily.
Religion
Religious wise, the people of Dra-Makra don't seem to have temples or churches of their own. They do maintain some shrines dedicated to the ocean, but these are generally personally made by individuals or families rather then as a communal effort. There is evidence of other faiths that have tried to establish churches and chapels in the past, centuries of attempts to convert the local population to the cause of one god or another. Such buildings have either been re-purposed or torn down for resources after the kingdom that tried to push their religion had abandoned the area and the missionaries and priests had either left, passed away or died from one of the various illnesses that seem to plague all outsiders who intend to dominate the island.
There do not appear to be mages among the local populations; No Dra-Makra mage has ever been recorded in history, which is considered a side effect of the fact that they do not seem to have a god of their own, nor really care about the deities of others.
Politics
No one is actually sure who owns Dra-Makra at this point. Because of the various kingdoms that have laid claim to it over the centuries before withdrawing resources and abandoning the place to its own devices, at least three current kingdoms claim to own the island even if they don't actively have a presence there. Despite the tactical and strategic value that owning the island would give to controlling trade on the Great Salt Lake and increasing ones sphere of influence in the area, for the most part it is ignored by its supposed owners due to the general agreement that its not worth the effort to try and hold a plague ridden, storm prone cursed piece of swampy rock inhabited largely by inbred weirdos outside of the two major ports.
Occasionally an attempt is made to turn the island into a tactical naval base/trade hub every three or four decades or so, when the memories of the last attempt have faded into myth and superstitious stories. Outside of these often doomed attempts, Dra-Makra seems to be little more then a backwater that no one really cares about that ships occasionally stop at for shelter from the common storms of the Great Salt Lake and to resupply on fresh provisions.
The Storm of the Disappearing Hobbit
Several generations before the modern day, several kingdoms around the Great Salt Lake banded together against a common thorn in all of their sides; That of the hobbit. Small, disgusting creatures that drained more from the food stories of a kingdom then most famines while offering little in return, a number of kingdoms at the time decided to rid themselves of the humanoid vermin in their midst and made the decision to 'relocate' them to the island of Dra-Makra with the hopes that if they didn't just all starve to death, they wouldn't need to think about them anymore.
The locals didn't take kindly to boat after boat of hobbits being dumped on their island who didn't really do anything expect eat all their food and steal everything that wasn't nailed down. This situation came to ahead in what historians have labeled the 'Storm of the Disappearing Hobbit': A series of massive storms consumed the Great Salt Lake and lasted for almost a week, completely stopping all water craft from sailing, destroying countless ships and killing many poor souls that were caught in the opening days of the storm.
When the storms finally subsided and water travel was possible once again, there were no longer any hobbits on Dra-Makra. There wasn't even any evidence that the hobbits had ever been there, all the makeshift shanties and shelters missing alongside their builders. The locals said nothing about what had transpired during the week long storm or why the hobbits were no longer there; The powers that be at the time didn't really push that hard either and just considered the whole thing a job well done, but the question still remains unanswered.
Population
Dra-Makra has a great many secrets, but one of the biggest is that there are very few actual humans living there. Sometime during the first age, the human fishermen of the island encountered a race of aquatic humanoids called the Merkuria. At first their relationship was that of liege and vassal, but over time the two races started to crossbreed with each other until they had completely integrated with each other and they were one and the same. The results of this crossbreeding varies from family to family but in the modern era all of the locals born in Dra-Makra have a set of gills growing along the sides of their chest that allows them to breath underwater.
While those who can pass for human live on the land of Dra-Makra, only the most human like live in the port towns and the smaller villages that are visited by outsiders. Those who are still human enough to pass for human but process traits like webbed feet and fingers or have scales covering parts of their body will favor living in the more isolated hamlets of the swamp away from prying eyes where they are more then equipped to survive with ease.
Those who cannot pass for human at all don't live on Dra-Makra itself; They live in the underwater city of Hy-dri and a verity of minor towns and villages located under the waves of the Great Salt Lake. Statistically only five percent of the population actually live as islanders on Dra-Makra itself, with the bulk of the population living underwater in the sea. The secret to the Dra-Makra's success at fishing has much to do with the fact that their underwater kin assist them by herding fish together to be easy pray for nets.
Religion
There are many myths and legends about the creation of the dread leviathan Lo'tan but no one really knows where it came from; Relics from before the dawn of the Merkuria as a species exist that depict Lo'tan raising from the darkness of the deep trenches of the world oceans, clashing with (and normally consuming) rival ocean gods and goddesses, their names long forgotten to time. There are even theories that Lo'tan existed before the world did, swimming through the darkness of the void and consuming all that it encountered before it discovered oceans.
No statue or work of art has ever been attempted to depict Lo'tan in full simply because such a feat has long been considered impossible. Lo'tan's body is traditionally believed to be made up of every sea monster that does exist, has existed and could exist, all bound together in such a way that each individual monster is little more then a limb to the greater whole.
The Merkuria don't view creatures like kraken or sea serpents as individuals; They wholeheartedly believe that each one of them is a part of Lo'tan itself that it has cast into the mortal realm as an avatar to grow bigger and more numerous, while also reminding other powers that the seas are their domain and it will tolerate no rival there.
The Merkuria believe that they themselves are also a piece of Lo'tan that was cast into the mortal realm as well to grow stronger as individuals and in numbers many, many years ago. When they die, it is believed that they will return back to Lo'tan become a part of his whole once again. This isn't viewed as a positive or negative thing by the Merkuria, it's just a fact of life to them.
To the hybrids on Dra-Makra through, the chance to join with Lo'tan is viewed in a somewhat different manner. Humans were never apart of Lo'tan's being, so no one is actually sure if the hybrid, land dwelling Merkuria would join with their god when they die; As such, they strive to be worthy to join with Lo'tan and thus introduce a new element to it that wasn't there before.
Lo'tan is the god of the ocean and storms, thus mages of Lo'tan are generally divided into two branches: The Dancers of the Depths and the Storm Singers. The Dancers of the Depths focus more on the ocean side of things, establishing their homes as deep down in the depths as they can go before the pressure starts to cause problems. Their rituals and spells take the form of 'dances', the mages performing graceful performances as they glide through the water and effect the tides themselves.
The Storm Singers prefer to live up near the surface, normally setting themselves up in underwater caves or tunnels near where they like to bask in the sun above the waves. Like their namesake, the Storm Singers favor using the medium of song to cast their spells and influence the world around them; They tend to be beautiful singers and they have actually been labeled as sirens by more then one crew that has heard them sing and survived the poor weather that followed. The poor weather around Dra'Makra almost all year round is largely due to their practicing as individuals, with larger and more dangerous storms only forming when a choir of them gets together.
The Storm of the Disappearing Hobbit
The presence of the exiled hobbits on Dra-Makra was very quickly deemed a serious threat beyond the risks of their boundless hunger and rampant theft. Their natural curiosity and desire to poke their noses into places they didn't belong was deemed too grave a risk of them discovering the Merkuria or the true nature of the humanoid hybrids that made up the population of the island; Sooner or later they were going to uncover secrets they didn't want outsiders to know and thus action had to be taken before it was too late.
The 'Storm of the Disappearing Hobbit' was created by the combined efforts of every single Storm Singer and Depth Dancer combined in the largest ritual that their people has ever performed to make the Great Salt Lake impossible to travel via ship or air; The goal being to isolate Dra-Makra from the outside world while what had to be done was done.
During the following six days without fear of outside interference or discovery, the hybrids of Dra-Makra banded together to slaughter every single hobbit that they could find, shattering those that fled into the swamps were patrols of hybrids and Merkuria warriors using the waterways hunted them down to the last. When it was deemed that all of the hobbits were dead, their bodies were painstakingly gathered up and dragged out into the sea by the Merkuria to serve as makeshift chum for the ocean lift while the hybrids went to great lengths to eliminate all trace of the Hobbits from their island and any evidence of what had happened there.
When the task was considered done, the ritual that created and sustained the storm was brought to an end and the hybrids were silent about what had transpired on their island home during it.
I'm not finished yet, but I wanted to see if what I have in mind was acceptable.
The Regency motto, approximately translates as 'Absence perfects the heart.'
-888- General Information -888-
The Island of Indignor was once the dumping ground of choice for criminals, degenerates, expatriots, inconvenient nobility, mad mages, power-hungry sorcerers, and exiles from all over the world. The entire population has roots tracing back to a leper colony established circa 5500 FE.
The island originally was noteworthy for the complete absence of any Trees of Anar, little more than a desolate waste of ash and blight, making it the perfect spot to maroon the unwanted and pariahs. Over thousands of years, the births of Indigo Children resulted in the inevitable sprouting of new trees which transformed the island's topography and made true civilization possible.
it is common knowledge that the Regency has invested heavily in arcane means of uprooting and transporting Trees of Anar without killing or disrupting them, although precisely how this is accomplished is unknown. The Regency is coy regarding the capability, and the only trees thought to have 'gone missing' are those located in untamed wilderness, and as such no foreign powers have yet found cause for alarm. Over a thousand years have passed since this knowledge became public.
The Shadowgate Regency is an Absolute Monarchy in absentia, on purpose. There has never been a Monarch, just a line of regents unrelated to each other by blood, all usually self-proclaimed by merit of political clout and wealth. There is no line of succession nor any recorded mechanism for the installation of a new Monarch, and the Regency gets rather touchy about inquiries into the matter. They still insist on being treated as a full and proper Monarchy, with the Regents assigned the full sovereign authority of a King or Queen.
The language sponsored and used by the Regency is Ranoi, a creole spoken commonly by most islanders. There are more than fifty other languages spoken by island residents as primary languages, scattered about without rhyme or reason. Fluency in Ranoi is necessary for even routine affairs on the island.
Although the Regency rules over the entire island of Indignor, the coastal towns and cities are largely left to their own devices, with the full administration of the Regency residing in the The Crest of Yearning, the arcane caldera at the island's center. The surrounding peoples pay taxes if they know what is good for them and otherwise both they and the Regency are content to ignore each other. The cities even have governors claiming to be unaffiliated with the Regency, although the truth is a matter of speculation.
The officially minted currency used by the Regency, Exile's Fleece, takes the form of measured lengths of transmuted twine, formed of twelve materials not found in nature and only possible to conjure via sorcery. Fleece is used only irregularly by the peoples without the Crest of Yearning. Some of the external settlements operate on trade and services for their commerce, and while Fleece is grudgingly accepted by a majority of the population it is somewhat devalued on average, and a few refuse to accept it at all. Foreign currencies circulate through the settlements with more or less the same effect, and as such visitors to the island often find themselves frustrated with their inability to reliably pay for anything with standard fare.
The state religion is simply worship of the Triumvirate of the Shadow, Zuuldrick, and Ishala. The Regency refuses to acknowledge, but does not prosecute, the worship of any other entity. The external settlements often self-regulate their own religious practices, which vary widely. Demon worship is seen slightly more frequently on Indignor than in many other places simply due to the Regency's apathy, although the common people still do not take kindly to it.
Due almost entirely to the Largraun Dwarves, there are few major overworld roads in Indignor. All settlements are connected by a network of immaculately maintained underground highways; the surface of the island outside of settlements is largely made up of plantations and untamed wilderness.
Although the Regency maintains a census of sorts, the actual population of Indignor is uncertain to most other realms for the time being (to be updated).
The Regency's armed forces are furtive and hard to gauge in number, at least for the moment (to be updated).
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.
