[CHAR] The Fading Light of V'landriel: An Industrial Fantasy RP [Like a phoenix from the ashes we rise!]

[Meiyuuhi]

This is the thread where completed, approved sheets (either for nations, organizations or individual characters) will be posted.

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[Meiyuuhi]

Yllendyr Imperial Sovereignty

Tha prostatéfsoume tous echthroús mas apó ton eaftó tous... we shall protect our enemies from themselves.

Nation Sheet

Type of Government: Absolute Imperial Monarchy

Head of State: 75th Emperor Naerzo Vyalviur (age 167) pre - February 17th, 76th Emperors Ecruir Vyalviur and Olarth Vyalviur (age 60) afterwards

Economy (Specific to the Crownlands):
- Was one of the world’s foremost pioneers of industrial technology (4920s-4950s), rapidly developing
- This development met backlash/competition from incredibly strong medieval guild organizations/artisans
- As of 4907, can be classified as a mix of the two economic systems (industrial/feudal)
- Yllendyr culture prioritizes quality over quantity, leading middle/upper classes to almost universally choose artisan products (also a status symbol in society)
- Industrialization remains strong, but narrow in scope, and serves lower classes/markets abroad
- Other nations catching up in economic output, but Yllendyr products remain synonymous with quality
- Due to slavery, Yllendyr largest producer of agricultural products, at extremely low prices
- Slaves reduce expenditure on large projects such as dams, fortifications, palaces, etc.
- Powerful nobility remains a huge economic power, which in turn supports the monarchy
- Huge focus on technological supremacy, especially in agriculture, industry, and military, economy boosted by patent royalties
- Major investment in applying magic to industrial pursuits

Major Exports:
- Agricultural products and livestock
- Luxury goods (jewelry, ceramics, magical accessories, etc.)
- Heavy industrial products, machinery, steel, and cement
- Metals (mainly silver, titanium, gold, tungsten)
Major Imports:
- Raw manufacturing materials (iron, coal, lead, etc.)
- Timber
- Consumer goods

Primary Species: Yllendyr (Dark Elves)

Population: 814 million total (~644 post-succession, minus most of Avalia, Vaspen & Otomazu)
Crownlands alone: 147 million
- Citizens: 119 million
-- Yllendyr: 111 million
-- Silvyr: 4.5 million
-- Gehornyr: 1.75 million
-- Solendyr: 1.25 million
-- Avalyr: 0.25 million
-- Harpies: 0.1 million
- Non-Citizen Subjects: 28 million
-- Humans: 11 million
-- Orks: 9 million
-- Dwarves: 4.5 million
-- Valkyrians: 2 million
-- Wulfen: 1.5 million

Culture: The Yllendyr culture emphasizes four main aspects: love of nature, love of magic, love of fellow Yllendyr, and the elimination or removal of all that is foreign or destructive to those values. Aside from other dark-skinned elves which they generally treat with more respect, the Yllendyr are harshly elitist and discriminatory to other races, believing it as their natural right to hold dominion over them. As a result, martial culture is deeply ingrained in Yllendyr society, and major noble families compete over spots in the leadership of the Sentinels, the most prestigious of those institutions.

Imperial Policy of Discrimination and Racial Castes:
There are two main factors that Yllendyr use to segregate racial castes: darkness of skin and elven characteristics. Of those two, being an elf is most important, but the Yllendyr also discriminate against pale-skinned races regardless.
- Yllendyr - highest status
- Dark-Skinned Elves (Solendyr, Avalyr) - near equals, little to no societal discrimination, discrimination illegal
- Magical Creatures/Forest Denizens - seen as strange, but respected, discrimination illegal. Amreans also exist somewhere between here and the lower category due to their elvish characteristics and respect for their empire.
- Other Dark-Skinned Humanoids - slight societal discrimination, slavery illegal
- Other Elves (Gehornyr, Tsunindyr) - bizarrely mixed status, as some regard them as elves and others as abominations undeserving of the title. Discrimination varies based on the individual
- Other Non-Human Civilized Races (Vaspen, Valkyria, etc.) - considerable societal discrimination, slavery permitted
- Other Humanoids (humans, dwarves, etc.) - high societal discrimination, slavery permitted
- Barbaric Races (orks, goblins, trolls, etc.) - virtually total disregard for value of life, slavery permitted and typically much more brutal and harsh
Slavery in the Imperium is primarily used for agricultural labour, construction work (typically large public works projects), low-skill industry and domestic service. Domestic service is confined to non-barbaric races. Domestic servants are utilized by nobles/capitalists alike, even some in the middle class, as well as in the dominions.

Religious and Other Beliefs: The official religion of the Imperium is the Church of Eluna, which officially 70% of the citizen population adheres to in the Crownlands. This religion centers around worship of the moon goddess, or Eluna. However, half of this number are only nominally affiliated with the Church, usually only attending major festivals. The most important of these is the Festival of the Sealing. The Church also typically crowns the Emperor. Elsewhere, the Dominions are nominally secular, however the Church of Eluna receives some state support as a way of promoting assimilation.

Location/Territories: The continent of Onindyr, and the two northern island areas.

Climate (Specific to the Crownlands): Primarily temperate in the south-central regions with some cooler regions to the north with heavy snows, lightly forested with sparse grasslands and hills.

Military: The Yllendyr Imperium maintains three general army divisions: first, the Imperial Sentinels, second, the Imperial Army, and thirdly, the Imperial Navy. The Imperial Sentinels are strictly elven-only, and typically five legions (20,000 men each) are stationed equally in each constituent dominion of the Imperium, with a few exceptions higher or lower. They are highly disciplined and highly equipped, with the finest rifles, magically reinforced armour and sabres made in the utmost quality by the Armament Guild. The Sentinels operate under the direct authority of the Emperor, coordinated by the Grandmaster of the Sentinel Order. The Imperial Army is much larger and widely varied, and the vast majority of each auxiliary legion (auxilia for short) is composed of subject peoples. A strict rule is in place which prohibits more than 20% of a legion in a constituent nation from being citizens of that nation, to cut down on potential rebelliousness. Each legion regardless typically consists of infantry, cavalry, and a dedicated artillery team which recently also includes machine gunners. High leadership for the Army is exclusively elven as well, but many officers come from subject peoples and are extensively rewarded for their loyalty. Imperial Auxilia are under the control of their Dominion administration, and proportionally distributed by population to each at a rate of 1 per 5 million, with the remainder stationed in the Crownlands and the Crown Colony. The Auxilia allow volunteers but most are conscripted. Finally, the Imperial Navy is the pride of the Yllendyr, boasting over two hundred modern warships armed with artillery and sometimes flamethrowers of varying sizes and classes. The Imperium is the only country in the world which fields battleships, and it possesses six, split evenly between the Northern and Southern fleets.

Military Distribution:
- Crownlands - 30 Auxilia, 600k – 78 Sentinels, 1560k
- Vershellen - 6 Auxilia, 120k – 2 Sentinels, 40k
- Solynen - 12 Auxilia, 240k – 5 Sentinels, 100k
- Hrothgrad - 11 Auxilia, 220k – 5 Sentinels, 100k
- Avalyran - 8 Auxilia, 160k – 5 Sentinels, 100k
- Cragenland - 7 Auxilia, 140k – 5 Sentinels, 100k
- Old Forest - 5 Auxilia, 100k – 2 Sentinels, 40k
- Endaria - 11 Auxilia, 220k – 5 Sentinels, 100k
- Evrimalar - 13 Auxilia, 260k – 5 Sentinels, 100k
- Ahnr - 1 Auxilia, 20k – 0 Sentinels
- Lieria - 18 Auxilia, 360k – 5 Sentinels, 100k
- Otomazu - 14 Auxilia, 280k – 8 Sentinels, 160k
- Avalia - 12 Auxilia, 240k – 5 Sentinels, 100k
- Vaspen - 11 Auxilia, 220k – 10 Sentinels, 200k
- Crown Colony - 5 Auxilia, 100k – 10 Sentinels, 200k

Magic Prevalence/Usage and Elemental Alignment (Specific to the Crownlands): Significantly more common due to being elven, but mostly used for cultural and economic purposes rather than as a tool of war. The Yllendyr are water alignment.

History/Background Info: The Yllendyr Imperium traces its history back over nearly five thousand years, founded with the ancient kingdom of Ylleria from which the race takes its name. The Vyalviur dynasty which was founded there is said to have continued uninterrupted to this very day. However, the Yllendyr people were only finally unified just 250 years ago under Vyalviur rule, spending most of the time in periodic internecine conflict. The Vyalviur dynasty once unified the country a thousand years ago but only kept it together for thirty years before it fragmented again on the death of the conquering ruler. The major legacy of that time period is the Altairis Wall, built to protect incursions on Yllendyr territory by barbarous invaders from the south. This time period reinforced Yllendyr xenophobia and general disdain for foreigners. Under the newly unified Yllendyr Imperial Sovereignty, in 4677 the 70th Emperor advocated for conquest as the final solution to the threat of outsiders, so they could be kept under a watchful eye no longer to threaten the Yllendyr. A series of wars saw Yllendyr domains growing, but slowly, and their main rival in the West, the Vaspen Empire, attempted to keep them in check. However, rapid advancement in technology which far outstripped their neighbors led to the development of advanced firearms and later the first automatic weapon, the gatling gun. Using this new technology, the Yllendyr took themselves from a regional power to a global superpower, embarking on the Wars of Barbarian Subjugation in 4794. The Vaspen Empire slowly lost ground as the Yllendyr also used their navy to great effect in the subjugations of Endaria in 4827 and the Otomazu Shogunate in 4832. The last nation to fall was the Vaspen Empire, in 4840, and these regions have been under Yllendyr supervision ever since. Three nations, the Old Forest, the Kingdom of Endaria, and the Principality of Ahnr, were granted vassal state status due to various logistical factors, and the remainder were incorporated into the Imperium proper. An uneasy peace has persisted for the last sixty-seven years under the watchful eye of the Securitariat, the Yllendyr secret police, which maintains a large informant network across the provinces in pursuit of even the slightest whiffs of dissent. Still, unrest is inevitable, and with the sickness and incapacitation of the aging Naerzo Vyalviur the Conqueror, the political situation is as tense as it has been for fifty years. The status of the succession will likely make or break the Imperium's hold over the industrialized world.

[Grijs]

The Miranid Empire

Motto: IN RECTITUDE LIES SALVATION

The double-headed eagle was based on the eagle of Yllendir, whose colony the Miranids had come into contact with. Miran had adopted the double-headed eagle as coat of arms for his own aspiring empire; one to rival Yllendir.

Nation Sheet

Type of Government: Empire
Head(s) of Government: Pir Miran Shaykh Gurkani, abroad known as Miran the Lame, because he walks with a limp. He does not refer to himself as an Emperor, however, but as a placeholder for ‘the true luminescent emperor’… He uses the title ‘Gurkani’ (son-in-law)
Economy Exports: A lot of dairy, spices, carpets, cattle, animal pelts, mounts and in the mountainous regions minerals as quicksilver, lead and charcoal.
Economy Imports: The inhabitants of Transtulania have feverishly relied on Amrea to introduce newer and modern weaponry to Soiryndia. Though at times marauding warbands would make attempts to cross over into different lands to return with booty, particularly the colony of Yllendyr, the most technologically advanced region of the entire continent… Sometimes with success, but usually never to be seen again.

Primary Species:

Fararuals

Fararual Elves – If they can be considered Elves at all is up to debate. Within the Miranid Empire, they are a caste of clergy and magistrates. Fararuals are the fire kissed progeny of the Fire God, they are immune to burning and are naturally gifted fire sorcerers. For all their expertise however, they grow weak in the absence of sunlight and especially at night.
Historically the Fararuals built the first civilization in Transtulania with remnants of their Ziggurats and Fire Temples lining the steppes to this very day. They number few, and procreation is a great ordeal, for pregnancies take long, and miscarriages are all too common. This is because a Fararual womb is as a furnace, and a newborn spawn worthy of entering this world must literally pass a trial by fire before they may join their brethren among the living.
This excruciating breeding process ensures the potency of their offspring, at the very least.
The perpetually low birthrate of pureblood Fararuals and common miscarriages has for thousands of years opted male Fararuals to breed with humans, their slaves, which gave rise to the Üarim race.

When a Fararual dies, their bodies innate magical energies escape, causing the corpse to disintegrate to ashes.

Üarim

Üarim – Considered a race in their own right, they are technically humans of half or partial Fararual descent. Other cultures would consider them ‘halfbreeds’ or a ‘bastard race’, though the Üarim themselves certainly do not regard themselves as such. Rather as 'lesser Fararuals', for the pureblood Fararuals are regarded by them as a divine race of ancestors, venerated to the point of worship. To preserve their Fararual blood the Üarim breed only among themselves. They are physically more robust than humans, olive skinned, dark haired and with bright orange eyes resembling sundisks and somewhat pointed ears betraying their ancestry, they appear otherwise not too dissimilar from humans. They are famous beastmasters and huntsmen that have harnessed wildland spawn ranging from warhounds, warglar, golems, griffönlu and, most of all, the tremendous Oliphaunts; their trademark superweapon.
In the warmth of the sun is where they excel, as it genuinely makes them stronger and fiercer warriors. Because of their Fararual ancestry they are also naturally resistant (but not immune) to burning.
The Üarim people originally comprised the armies of the Fararuals. Today, with the Fararuals slowly going extinct and taking on spiritual & ascetic roles in Transtulanian society, the Üarim became self-serving and under Miran Gurkani, rose to the top in their own bid of empire building, and accordingly form the core of the Miranid Empire’s leadership.
Temperamental, aggressive and innately expansionist (let’s just say they have fiery temperaments); in the absence of powerful leaders or warlords, Üarim would go rogue to form marauding warbands and sell sword armies.

Humans

Tzücomen – Full blooded humans, the largest majority and natives to the steppes of Transtulania. Throughout history they’ve been serfs and roaming herdsmen, and in ancient times many were slaves of the Fararuals. They are distinguished from other humans by their swarthy complexion and artificially deformed cone-shaped skulls, achieved through ritual head binding. They have a long history of cooperation and kinship with the Üarim. Their warriors too fill the ranks of the Miranid army as auxiliaries. Militarily they have some uses as light cavalry and skirmishers, due to being lighter weight than their often bulkier Üarim cousins.
Many Tzücomen live abroad and are prone to adopting many aspects of foreign cultures. The Tzücomen living in Keychuria consist of a large minority, and are much more Amrean-leaning than their northern kinsmen, residing in sedentary, landed communities and townships.

Arier Galians - Locals to Ariers Haven, they are an offshoot of the Galians that sought their fortunes further north in establishing an independent colony. Isolated by wildlands infested by Gnolls, however, they are depended on maritime ties and relations with their cousins in New Galia. Being poorly armed against increasingly aggressive and cunning Gnolls, the Arier Galians were increasingly undermanned and their garrisons spread thin. As such the Arier Galians are one of few realms in Transtulania that willingly offered their vassalage to Miran to avoid a savage conquest and destruction of their property.

Monurchen

Denizens of Keychuria, depicting (from left to right) Zhuxi, Monurchen and Amrean-Tzücomen.
Monurchen – A Simian people with a proud martial tradition. Monurchen are aggressive, but not savage. Hot tempered, but not unreasonable. They share many aspects of Amrean culture, and even acknowledge the universal rule of their Empress. As such, a leader of the Monurchen dons the title of ‘Prince’, rather than crowning themselves Emperor likewise. There is but one sun in the sky, and likewise but one sovereign on earth.
They hail from the Principality of Outter Keychuria, with Inner Keychuria and their southern kinsmen being located across the Amrean border.
Today the Keychurian domain serves in Miran’s mighty army, some out of free will, most coerced by force.

Zhuxi

Zhuxi – A hog-people living as a minority in Keychuria along the Monurchen. The Zhuxi aren’t known as lookers. In fact, they are often reviled and looked down upon for their grotesque shapes. This is undeserved as the Zhuxi are overwhelmingly a wise and kind-hearted people, living simple rural lives and known as great agrarians.
They seldom travel far, and uniquely have no inborn taste for the lure of power, luxury or wealth. More often than not, they are perfectly happy living a simple lifestyle among friends and family.
Being so reliable and uninterested in the sinister dynamic of power, the Zhuxi have since ages past sometimes served as advisors, coaches and confidante’s to dynasts and viceroys in Amrea and Transtulania both.

Gnolls

Gnülonlar – Sapient canines resembling hyenas walking on two legs. Other cultures would call them Gnolls, and they are natives of the sandy northern wastelands of Transtulania.
They are less intelligent than their equally savage human and Üarim neighbours. But while being driven by the most base of instincts and generally dimwitted, they are also capable of acts of shrewd cunning. They make for excellent ambushers and surveyors, and more so than any man can analyze weakness and opportune moments to strike. Because they are arid creatures, and smaller and generally weaker than men, they require less food to sustain themselves and breed rapidly. However as they are carnivores native to an arid dominion, food is sparse, and thus for ages now the Gnulonlar were locked in endless cycles of tribal warfare against each other where they kill and eat other Gnulonlar; this having the effect of a self-imposed population control. They rely on numbers and savagery and make for excellent shock infantry and skirmishers.

Unique specimen:

Efreets

Efreets - Holy and revered entities that live between worlds, Efreets only appear in the confines of religious sanctuaries and other holy sites such as temples. They are conjured from the ashes of dead Fararuals, based on the Fararual's innate magic still contained in those ashes. They are not spirits of the dead, but rather an afterglow, a memory, of the dead Fararual magically given form. They often serve as oracles, and their words are always very cryptic. The meaning behind which (if there are any) is entirely up to interpretation.

Golems

Golems - Beasts of animated Stone said to have come into being through an ancient curse. They are native to the rocky dunes and canyons in the north where they are spawned through wizardry. The Golems resemble gorillas, and are barely sapient, but do understand war. The Üarim beastmasters had long since tamed them and used them as an integral part of their wars.

Literacy: The population, save for the Fararuals and high-standing Üarim, is almost completely illiterate. It is whispered that Miran himself barely knows how to write or read.
Population: some 70 to 80 million total, the vast majority of which conquered peoples. The heartlands of Transtulania are compared to surrounding lands arid and sparsely populated. Most of the population live around rivers and in the recently annexed territories closest to Amrea and Wulfram.

Fararual Elves: 40.000. Pureblood Fararuals are a dying breed. Most of them live in the Holy City of Aranagh; the spiritual centre of the Miranid Empire.

Üarim: 30 million, after the Tzücomen the largest majority of the Miranids and rulers of the Empire’s heartlands, namely the Fararu Luminescence (their ancestral place-of-origin) and the Satrapies.

Human Races:
Tzücomen: 45 million
Arier Galians: 2 million

Beast Races:
Monurchen: (monkey people) 7 million
Zhuxi: (pig people)80,000
Amreans: (fox people)50,000
Gnülonlar (hyena people): 22 million
Ukani (bug people): 2 million

Golems: 80.000

Culture: Patriarchal and warlike. Every man is expected to be capable of basic martial prowess, archery and life in the saddle of whichever beast they have mastered, a tradition that echoes bygone ages. In addition to the people's rogue lifestyle, very few leaders have been able to assert control over the unruly masses. Üarim respect strength above all, for strength and confidence are the measure of a man.

Despite increasing urbanization, the majority of the population live a rural and nomadic lifestyle, and less than a quarter of the population comprise of city dwellers. Most Üarim and certainly every Tzücoman, no matter how poor, herds cattle for sustenance and owns a steed.

Spicy food that burn your taste buds is a big deal in Transtulanian diet, and it is the spice trade (importation and exportation alike) what made Transtulanian cities wealthy. Chili and peppers Üarim people eat on a daily basis.

Religious and Other Beliefs: The Sun God (the same as Amrea's) with emphasis placed on the Üarim and Fararual’s own patron Fire God; Axbak Camen

According to ancient legend and oral tradition, many thousands of years ago Axbak Camen was the first Emperor of the Fararuals that ruled an Empire spanning every corner of Soiryndia. Upon death, the Fararuals believe his spirit ascended to Godhood, and in Transtulania he is revered as 'the Fire God, first son of the Sun God'. Beyond this key difference, their religious practices are virtually the same as those of Amrea.

Location/Territories: Much of the present Miranid borders comprise a land referred to as Transtulania.

Map of the Miranid Empire

Climate: Very diverse, though overwhelmingly (sub-)tropical and arid.
From north to south:

In the Keychurian Principality and Ariers Haven; forests and lush rolling hills

In the Gnülonlar Badlands and Uar-Ög; arid, mountainous with canyons everywhere

In the Fararu Luminescence, Tzücomen Beyliks, Ümre and Ushji-Dash; grassy steppes and flat riverlands


Military:
There is a tremendous emphasis on war beasts in the Miranid Army, and it is their harnessing of beasts that has been their truly distinguishing strength.

Oliphaunts

Oliphaunts - great Elephants native to the southern Transtulanian plateau. Indomitable and titanic creatures, their steps are a prelude to devastation. Few have the skill to tame and harness their power, and among the Üarim the secret has been passed down to befriending these monsters. For over a thousand years they have been the Üarim superweapon.

Griffons

Griffönlu - Great beasts, vaguely reminiscent of horses combined with eagles; since ancient times the chief source of Üarim power. When their enemies were confined to the mortal coil of land, the luminescent army took to the skies. Today, with competitors also having a similar access to aerial combat, this boon had been somewhat negated.

Cavalry Skirmishers

Mounted archery - In this day that largely means rifles and fire-arms, though there are some (namely from the Tzücomen Beyliks) that still use old fashioned bow and arrow, and lances for charging.

Gnoll Shocktroops

Or Gnüllonlar as they are known by the Üarim, are the relatively ‘domesticated’ Gnolls that have pledged their servitude to the Miranids . They are numerous, ferocious but ultimately expendable. The Miranids regard them as being more beast than sapient, and thereby account them as part of their arsenal in beastmastery.

The different races listed above give an insight to the purpose each race serves in the Miranid army, with Tzücomen and Gnülonlar being generally cheap levies and rank-fillers, the Golems as crude fantasy-tanks, and the Üarim as competently versatile professional soldiers.

Magic Prevalence/Usage:
Fire!
And conjuring tempests.

History/ Background Info:
Miranid History is linked to the warlord Miran Shaykh Gurkani, whose history goes back only a few decades; prior to then the lands of Transtulania (so named for the Tulani river separating it from Amrea) overseen by the Fararual Luminescence, with the Fararuals being regarded an aristocratic and priestly race to whom all lesser races pay homage.
It is known that in ancient times, Transtulania was part of the Amrean Empire and the first Emperors are to this day revered in Transtulania and considered as their Emperors as well.
Transtulania had been separated from the Southern Empire by a northern dynasty led by Fararuals two thousand years ago.

For at least the last millennium the lands of Transtulania had been ruled by a Fararual High Priest known as ‘The Luminescent’ from the Holy City of Aranagh. Though his authority was never absolute, and he was more of an over-arching spiritual leader over the various warring nations of Transtulania. The Arch Luminescent was commonly disobeyed and sometimes even opposed by the Üarim states.

The Luminescent’s sovereignty ended a century ago when the divine bloodline of the Luminescent ended without male successor. In the absence of a central religious authority, there was no incentive for the nations of Transtulania to show any further allegiance to another.
The Fararuals had become too weak and few to control their Üarim subjects. Tensions finally blew over when Üarim warlords made a bid to power to fill the power vacuum and effectively replace the Luminescent.
Among the most recent of these warlords to ascend to prominence was Miran.

The turmoil of Transtulania was exacerbated with the arrival of the Old World some 5 decades ago; the establishment of the imperial colony of Yllendyr carrying sinister and alien weaponry. Their coming was regarded as an omen, and prompted the Fararuals to prophecy the imminent fall of their world; a fall which only a new Luminescent could avert.

Miran’s career began when he was charged to lead a continent-spanning search for a new Luminscent. He was born Miran Shaykh, of lesser Üarim noble birth in a long line of Holy Defenders sworn to the Holy City of Aranagh. Ever since the passing of the last Luminescent, Miran’s family had no master to serve, and had been scouring Transtulania and beyond for any clue to a possible replacement.
He is a man strong in body and relentlessness in spirit, and though his career as a warrior painted for himself a font of a vicious brute and killer, he draws little enjoyment from his bloodsoaked deeds. His true passion is - (don't laugh!) - in writing poetry. In fact it was his writing that caused Miran from a young age to befriend the Luminescent’s Daughter; the Fararual woman Mulk Khamun.

Miran had opted to break tradition by favoring Mulk Khamun’s ascendency as the next Luminscent, however as she was a woman this was not supported.

One day a Magus aligned with the Unbroken Host had Mulk Khamun seized and brought to the monolithic city of Kand, of which Grand Temple he was Master of Rites, in a bid to sacrifice her to the Sun God. He was known as the Hierophant. This was to reverse the decline of the dying race of the Fararuals. Only one of such potent divine lineage would make for an offer powerful enough to invoke the protection of the Sun God.
Immediately Miran mustered his band of Holy Defenders and pursued the Hierophant to the gates of Kand. They prepared the investment on the City, however Axbak-Camen willing, one of Miran’s old friends was among the city guard, and agreed to smuggle him inside. At seeing the Holy Defender barging into his temple, the Hierophant mistakenly believed Kand had fallen, and he rushed into a hidden passage leading outside of the walls… Where Miran’s men had been stationed, and easily captured the Hierophant. Later that month he was presented in chains before Aranagh’s Grand Magus to answer for his crime against the divine bloodline.
This feat accomplished, the Grand Magus inquired what reward Miran desired most, to which the Holy Defender gave resolute response: the hand of Mulk Khamun, to whom his sword and heart was pledged. But this was not allowed, for his blood and birth was tainted by his humanity. Instead he obtained land grants as compensation, with the grand title of ‘Gurkani; meaning ‘son in law’ to the Luminescent dynasty.
However Miran Gurkani disobeyed the Luminescent, and he and Mulk Khamun agreed to marry in secret.

Husayim the Grey, named so for his grey skin, was another and mightier Holy Defender of Aranagh, and witnessed their secret marriage. He was quick to inform the Grand Magus of Miran and Mulk Khamun’s defiance of his wishes. The Grand Magus was outraged; to him this was the ultimate betrayal by disobeying the one thing he strictly forebade. As punishment Miran was stripped of his lands and titles and sent into exile to the desolation of the Gnülonlar, (this was considered merciful, for had it been anyone else the penalty would’ve surely been death then and there). All the while Mulk Khamun was placed under house arrest in the citadel of Quaraash.

Miran and a handful of Holy Defender defectors accompanying him, wandered into the wasteland. The absence of these defenders provided Husayim the opening he conspired to get, for he was a henchman of the Unbroken Host all the while, determined to enact the Hierophant’s scheme to revive Fararual Power in Transtulania. Swiftly, Husayim the Grey assassinated the Grand Magus and kidnapped Mulk Khamun from Quaraash back to Kand.

Immediately Miran and his band, accompanied by Gnülonlar auxiliaries that had joined them on the road, rode against Husayim in Kand. But they were too late, Mulk Khamun was cooked alive in ritual sacrifice committed to the Sun God.

In the subterranean halls of Kand, Miran defeated Husayim in single combat. During this battle, Husayim cleft Miran's foot, causing him to walk with a limp ever since. When at last Husayim relented to Miran's mercy, Miran showed none; in wrath he threw him to the Gnülonlar who ate him alive.
Then he retrieved the ashes of Mulk Khamun and interred them in the Holy Temple Axbak-Aranagh.

With the Grand Magus dead, most of the Satraps and chieftains of Transtulania regarded Miran as the most viable candidate to lead the Luminescence. …The Magus had made him a son in law (Gurkani) after all, even if that title had technically been revoked. But Miran avenged both the Arch Magus and the Divine Bloodline by capturing the Hierophant and killing Husayim the Grey.
Speaking of the Hierophant; he was still alive. And as a prominent magi of Transtulania, Miran begrudgingly turned to him for counsel. This he said:

‘’Conquer the world, and Mulk Khamun will be brought back from the ashes.’’

And Miran believed him. For at the very least, the thought of getting her back is a flame that keeps the aspiring conqueror to the path of conquest.
In Kand he was anointed the Sword of the Fire God, and received the Flaming Sword Zara-Thuster which he carries into battle on his relentless campaigns.

It was a hopeless quest, for how can a man actually conquer the world? Miran resigned himself to doom from the beginning when he accepted Zara-Thuster, but nevertheless he is resolute to carry out his given duty as Chosen One of the Fire God.

Over ten years have passed since then, and though there were other warlords, it was Miran who pulled firmest at the threads of fate to come out on top. Many atrocities had been committed: his armies of Üarim and Gnülonlar swept across the land, and with sword, scores of cannons, pillage and fire the nations of Transtulania and the northern steppes were brought to heel. This became the foundation of a nascent Empire of the north, which has been dubbed the Miranid Empire – the subjects of Miran Shaykh Gurkani.

[Ben1730]

The Vaspen Empire

I Am A Vaspen. Quietly I Will Endure. Silently I Will Suffer. Patiently I Will Wait. For I Am A Warrior. And I Will Survive.

Nation Sheet

Government:

Constitutional Monarchy where the sovereign retains most powers, and the prime minister is primarily an advisor with some power to make decisions.

Heads of Government:

Queen Lucina Vaspen (25) Currently in hiding.
“Herr General” resistance movement leader.

Economy:

In the past 60 years since Vaspen’s subjugation by the Yllendyr, Industrialization has been embraced widely across the dominion, leading many older shops to modernize with the times. Historically Vaspen was a Craftsmanship oriented economy. However with the new techniques introduced by the Yllendyr that view has died out over the years. This, in combination with frequent economic depressions over the past decades have led modern Vaspens to value what is useful, with very few luxuries. Even though Vaspen has been recovering economically in recent years the people still hold on to this idea.

Imports:

• Clothing
• Livestock
• Luxury goods
• Explosives

Exports:

• Raw Metals
• Gold
• Heavy Machinery
• Copper Wire
• Communications Equipment
• Railroad Equipment
• Steel

Industries:
Most industrial complexes have been converted to civilian use after the take over 60 years ago. Many of these Industries continue to produce consumer goods today. Over the years as new industries have appeared, some of these corporations find their niche in the market and expand exponentially. Two that particularly stand out are Karsten Steel Works, and Maik Radio & Telegraph (MRT) which lead the Railroading and Communication industries. Providing the logistical support for their Yllendyr overlords. The state is also funding many smaller engineering firms that specialize in naval ship building to work with the Yllendyr on their naval designs.

Technology:
Before the Invasion the Vaspen Empire was considered one of the leading states in concerns to military theory, and alternative power sources such as steam, electricity and Gasoline/Diesel. While the military theorists have been “Integrated” into the Yllendyr research departments, other researchers have been progressing smoothly leading to innovations in Internal Combustion Engines, Electrical breakthroughs, and Steam Efficiency boosts.

Primary Species:
Wolfen, Humanoid-Wolf like, typically 5.5-7ft tall, well built. They Appear very wolf like, large ears and muzzle like nose, they also have a large amount of hair covering their arms, legs and torso to help them survive the harsh winters. They have the lifespan of a normal human, but do possess some enhanced senses of their wolf kin such as: Enhanced sense of hearing, smell, night vision, and cold resistance.

Population: 56,604,567

• 60% Wulfen,
• 19% Dwarves
• 10% Humans
• 4% Horned Elves
• 3% Dark Elves
• 4% Other

Culture:
The Vaspen culture dates back to 1650, when the country was established. The culture while still focusing on olden traditions, is still modern to some degree. The core of the Vaspen culture revolves around the state, and it’s monarch. The state is the protector of the people, and the monarch is the great leader that united the people to stand against tyranny. After the state the next group of importance is the family unit, in which traditionally the father provides for the family. However with the rapid industrialization women are beginning to find work in factories, gaining some independence from this reliance. Finally the core personal beliefs of the people revolve around the lack of a class system, they are only limited the amount of effort they choose to put in to advance in society.

Spoken Language: Ripuarian, Similar to Middle High German

National Religion:
Alaephy, based on the belief that each race has a trait that is embodied by a god. The gods themselves can each be considered two entities, one for each side of the coin, a benevolent, and malevolent version of themselves. These gods are constantly embroiled in mortal affairs, using their respective peoples as proxies for their own battles. These conflicts between gods are the reason the mortal world came to be. After a great battle between the gods, and the near destruction of the universe they decided to create a world which they could influence to resolve their disagreements. The Wolfen God represents Honor, and Stubbornness.

Location: Located on the western most point of the main continent in the old world.

Climate:
The empire is situated in a temperate forest climate with Cold Winters and cool summers, the mountains in the north force the arctic air to settle in this region, only coniferous trees survive the winters. Large numbers of forests dot the landscape between the rolling hills, and streams, cities and towns appearing occasionally as you look out across the beautiful landscape.

Military:
Other than garrison troops used by the Yllendyr in other countries the military is non existent. 4,683,021 men available for service as of the Yllendyr’s 1900 census.

Magic Prevalence:
Wulfen are Fire Alignment, While the Dwarf Population is Earth Alignment. Magic typically Appears in less than 15% of the population, and is considered a rare gift. Persons with the ability to use magic are required to notify their local government of their existence simply for safety purposes, this is typically done during the Census every 10 years.

History:
(Historically Vaspens have despised the Yllendyr calendar and prefer to use their own version. Since the beginning of the occupation the Yllendyr calendar is only used for Official Documents.) In 1650 Matthaus Vaspen founded the Vaspen Empire in its current location after the unification of all Wolfen states on the Western side of the continent. Throughout the next 250 years there have been many trials and tribulations within the Empire, but the most significant of which were the many Yllendyr invasion attempts. Initially the Yllendyr Imperium had a significant land border in the east with the newly unified Vaspen Empire. The First of these in 1697, again in 1746, and 1763, finally in 1840 they successfully invaded. Before they could take over the capital the ruling family escaped to exile in the human kingdom in the north. After the Imperium completed their invasion they took out their centuries of loss and frustration on the populace of Vaspen, deepening the already bottomless ravine of hatred between the two peoples. In the years after during the occupation, the citizens of Vaspen endured harsh treatment and even slave-like status within the Yllendyr’s new puppet state. Almost all government positions had been taken over by Yllendyr natives, and the industry was stripped of its military capacity. However many Nationalist holdouts escaped the wrath of Yllendyr, especially by hiding in the northern mountain range, they amassed firearms, and older weapons to resist and sabotage the Imperium’s every move.

Post may change as needed for consistency.

[Family187]

Name: Thatcher
Age: 17
Gender, if applicable: Male
Species: Human
Appearance (Height, build, facial structure, etc.): 6’2, Scrawny and half starved to death, Rough face with a long scar across the right cheek. With ghostly pale skin, Bright pink eyes and white hair after a experiment
Titles, if any: None
Background:As a child was sold into slavery and spent most of their early years as a farm hand on one of the many slave farms in the Vershellen Dominion. When he was a teenager he was marched out with the rest of the slaves and chosen by a group of doctors and put in a vehicle. After this he spent many years in a lab where he was prodded and injected with many unknown substances, until a year into his captivity where he was taken to the familiar operating room but with unfamiliar machines around him. He was tied down and attached to the unknown machine which pumped strange liquid into his body which over the next few days he noticed his skin turning more pale with the doctors checking on him multiple times a day during one of these check ups there was a disturbance outside the door as another prisoner struggled against a guard. Thatcher took advantage of this and attacked the scientist checking up on him, after knocking him to the floor he was able to escape the facility by joining the other prisoner and killing the guard by grabbing his sidearm and shooting him in the back of the head and releasing the rest of the prisoners. During the mass breakout Thatcher went his own way running faster than humanly possible so when the rest were inevitably recaptured and harshly punished for the guard he killed he was hiding a mile away watching the situation he then ran a few more miles coming across a Yllendyr patrol where he was shot at creating the scar on his cheek and managed to narrowly escape by hiding behind a wall and firing on the patrol easily taking them down with pinpoint accuracy. This surprised him after all he had never fired a gun before. He didn't know what to think but he knew that people would come to check the gunshots so he ran up to the patrol and grabbed their firearms running into the mountains.
Personality:Cold and calculating after long years of abuse finding it hard to trust others
Likes/Dislikes: Growing up he never found much he liked as a child he fondly remembers the sing alongs many of the slaves would have in the fields. But his time in the lab nearly broke him with the only interaction he ever received was the experiments performed on him by the Yllendyr scientists.
Strengths (including magical ability, if any):Has a very sharp eye for detail so is able to take advantage of the enemy's weakness. Also seems to have an enhance physique and skill for his body
Weaknesses:His long years of servitude has left a lasting mark on his life causing him to be underdeveloped mentally unable to read and write and only has a limited understanding of the language. The experiment has also left him highly noticeable unable to enter a population center without being noticed and reported to the local gendarmerie
Special Equipment/Tools/Clothing: The revolver he stole from the lab guard had an ornate figure on the bottom of the handle in the shape of the royal seal of Yllendyr.

[Predawnia]

Radiant Empire of Amrea

Motto : Steadfast in the Radiant Light

Zeiranöna-ni Punso-ari

Nation Sheet

Type of Government:
Absolute Monarchy

Head of State:
Empress Naryu Naosamu, the Kömyö Empress

Species:
The primary inhabitants of the Celestial Empire are the Amaripito, or to the people of the West, Amreans; resembling humans and light-skinned elves with fox-like features such as fur on their lower legs. a long flowing tail and canine ears. Amreans naturally live up to a century, but practitioners of magic frequently find themselves living up to two centuries on average. The ancient history of the race is itself not known, but oral accounts of the events of five millennia ago stipulate that the Amreans were once two separate races, one pure in essence, and another pure in form. It is said that those of pure essence descended from the Tunza mountains and settled in the forests of the Yin valley where they dwelled for three hundred years before those of pure form arrived. Whilst the origins of those of pure form are still a point of contention within Amrea, it is generally agreed by the Yllendyr Imperium that those of pure form were indeed elven settlers who fled from Endaria several thousand years ago. Likewise, the modern Amrean is neither truly elf, nor a mystical creature of yore, but something in-between, and split into several strands; the Zenko, Kapako, Areko and Ködzi.

Zenko (The Highlanders): Amreans hailing from the eastern provinces bordering the Tunza mountain range. They are considered the oldest of the Amrean groups and also the closest to those of "pure essence" recorded within the Empire's oral traditions. Their features are decidedly the least elvish, their ears firmly vulpine, and fur growing more easily as opposed to the spectrum that the remainder of the population run through. Being those closest to purity of essence, they also tend to make the best mages within Amrea, as well as hold the honour of being one of the ancestor-races of the Kapako, Areko and Ködzi peoples. They comprise roughly 9% of the Amrean population. Their dialects of Amrean most closely resemble a less terse variation of the Classical Amrean in use by the Imperial Court and government bureaucracy.

Yinko (The People of the Yin River): Descendants of Zenko settlers and those of pure form that colonized the Yin river valley, the Yinko are the first of two strands of the Kapako group, the collective name of the Amreans that had settled within the bounds of the Empire's two main rivers, the Yin and Kara. Owing to their greater age and position within the prosperous heartland of Amrea, they comprise a plurality of the Empire's population at around 45%.

Karapito (The People of the Kara River): The second strand of the Kapako, the Karapito are descendants of the Yin and Zenkö that went south to the Kara River. Comprising 30% of the population. They can be distinguished from the Yin people by their more gruff way of speaking and general rowdiness, a trait perhaps inherited from their proximity to the more savage Arekö of the southern jungles.

Areko (The Settler-Children): The descendants of Yinko and Zenko migrants who did not stop at the Kara river but instead went further south. The Areko are notorious for their reputation of being extremely unwilling to submit to the authority of the Kapako-based Imperial Government, with the Areko provinces of the southern jungles unable to go half a century without some revolt or another. Another group lumped into the descriptor of Areko are the inhabitants of the northern steppe on the frontier of the Amrean and Miranid Empires. The Areko residing within Amrea consist of 6% of the population.

Ködzi (Those of Pure Blood): As opposed to the Zenko, who are considered the closest descendants to those pure of essence, the Kodzi are considered the closest descendants to those pure of form. Whilst the origins of their forefathers are shrouded in myth and legend, they can claim two things; some sort of vague elvish descent, as well descent from the Amrean Sun God. The Naosamu Dynasty, as well as roughly 70% of Amrean nobility can trace or claim descent from this group. They account for roughly 8% of the population. They are seperated from normal Amreans by virtue of their longer lifespans, approximately 180 years on average and their distinct ear-shape, more clearly resembling that of an elf than a fox as well as a universal affinity for plasma magic, both considered marks of their true origin.

Apart from the Amreans, there is also a population of humans residing in Amrea's north known simply as the Myösin (The Civilized Guests) who account for 2% of the population. They are various groups of Tzücomen and Üarim that have over the past few centuries sought to settle within the borders of the Celestial Empire. Most of them are allowed to by Imperial authorities, on the condition that they adopt Amrean dress, customs and culture, embracing civilization and casting away the trappings of savagery.

Population:
312 million (± a few million)

Economy (Main imports, exports, industries, technology level, etc.):
Agrarian economy transitioning to an Industrial one. The Steam Engine was only introduced in the capital in the past decade, and the main industries consist of steel and textile mills in the capital. Amrean Engineers are always looking for ways to innovate however, and there are rumours of a backroom war being waged among the intelligentsia to build a revolutionary device that would earn its creator a one way ticket to noble status. In the cities, skilled craftsmen alike those of the guilds of Onindyr ply their trade, using their skills to weave fine silken textiles, forge sharp blades and reliable muskets and turning the produce of the land in works of more material value.

In the countryside, life continues as it always has. A small trickle of young men and women head to the great cities where pyramids and temples rise to pierce the sky to find work and opportunity. The vast majority remain in the countryside, growing rice, herding livestock and harvesting fruits and fish to feed the ever growing populations of the urban centres. The Empire is rich in natural resources like coal, iron, copper, lead and bauxite, but much of it remains trapped in the ground and untapped due to lack of investment or demand.

Main imports: Silver from the Yllendyr colony, assorted tribute from Galia and Al-Baqi

Main exports:
Limited amounts of tea, porcelain and silk to the Yllendyr colony. Gifts of assorted materials and weapons to tributary states.

Literacy:
Literacy in the Empire of Amrea is difficult to measure, due to the presence of a dual script system that mixes a conventional alphabet with the intricacies of a logographic writing system, justified by the Amrean language's overabundance of unrelated homophones and reliance on sensitivity to context to discern meaning from words. Whilst a majority of the population is familiar with the alphabet, and literacy in this regard is fairly high, the presence of over ten thousand unique logographic characters hampers literacy in the second script. Rural peasants may know simple characters like those for the sun, weather and animals, enough to get by in daily life but incapable of intellectual expression. On the other hand, the nobility are more likely to know all the characters labelled as 'common use', as well as additional uncommon ones.

Culture:
Amrean culture dates back to around 4500 years ago to clans of farmers around the fertile Yin and Kara rivers who migrated west and south from the Tunza Mountains, and based on ancient texts and principles established by the first dynastic reign of the Naosamu clan. Of these principles, those of Enlightened Compassion, Meritocracy and Nobility of Blood. Enlightened Compassion believes that civilized society is akin to a family, with the reigning monarch as its patriarch or progenitor, the nobility and scholar-bureaucracy as strict parents, and to the broad masses as children. As all under the monarch are considered as his familial relations, there is thus no room for bias, allowing for judgement to be passed in an impartial and enlightened manner.

Meritocracy is in and of itself simple, but serves both its intended meaning of allowing skill to triumph over birth, but also serves as a rejection of fatalistic pessimism. Thus, meritocracy within Amrea not only refers to the power of mortals to carve their own fate with the resources provided to them at birth and the denial of divine interference in the realm of mortals, but also that any who possess sufficient talent may rise to serve at the monarch's side.

Nobility of Blood refers to the species whose duty it is to civilize the savage races (their racial subgroup or geographical neighbours). Amreans have the duty to civilize what they consider to be the barbarian states that neighbour them, whereas a race such as the Yllendyr have the duty to civilize the peoples of their empire. Amrean Noble Blood theory is split into two schools, that of Mutualism and Hierarchism. The majority of Amrean aristocrats and the Naosamu Clan sponsor the school of Mutualism, believing that the noble races are equal to each other and that the savage races may eventually be made equal, after centuries or even a millennia of life under civilized rule. On the other hand, a radical minority of the Amrean nobility and scholar bureaucracy espouse the school of Hierarchism believing that the noble races are equal, but it is next to impossible for the savage races to be made noble. Hierarchism itself originates from the aftermath of the reign of the Weeping Emperor, where Mutualists who believed the presence of Strigoi within the Empire would eventually find themselves renouncing their savage ways were proven bitterly wrong.

Amrean culture can be fully summarized as thus; whilst hierarchical divisions exist within society, they are quite fluid, and the children of woodcutters may one day find themselves as an official in service to the Empire, an officer of the Banners or provincial governor if they choose the right path among the infinitely branching roads of the future. In lieu with the principle of Enlightened Compassion, the family and village unit is the building block of society, fostering a sort of collectivist culture as different bloodlines come to see each other as extended family. As a result, rural Amrean communities, and to some extent urban ones, tend to pool resources together to achieve their intended goals, whether they be agricultural, commercial or social.

Religious and Other Beliefs:
Worshippers of the Radiant Sun, the origins of the Amrean faith lay in the legend of the Sun and the Moon. It is said that since time immemorial, the world was locked in a conflict between the followers of the Moon, Öza-nami and Sun, Iza-ranö, entering a vicious cycle of rebirth and destruction as both entities sought to paint the world in their light. Such a conflict only ended with the union of the two sides, the Sun taking the Moon as its lover and bride, as did their respective generals, founding an ancient race of immortals. However, in the millennia that passed since this union, the gods fell one by one; some to petty grudges, others to intrigues of the Radiant and Luminescent Courts and bloody kin-strife, till one day their numbers were reduced to but a handful. It was in that time that the god Kagu-susi struck. Cast out of the divine courts for sparking innumerable kin-strifes with his rashness and fury, he had wandered into a path of exile, but sensing weakness amassed an army of beasts spawned from hellfire, seeking to make war upon those who had wronged him. The Great War that followed in his wake soon brought the whole world to conflict, ending only as follows:

"When the Moon Öza-nami fell, her luminescence forever extinguished, the Sun Iza-ranö took from the field to mourn.
As she laid her final rest, at the base of Mount Keshi amidst Tayeri and Zunira, twin lands standing vigil,
The Lord Kagu-susi followed. And so the Lord Iza-ranö gripped his two-point blade and brought it to bear.
The sparks from their blades struck the earth as lightning, the clash of steel as roaring thunder.
So magnificent was their struggle that each movement made the land itself quake, drowning continents and raising them anew.
And at the end with a mighty blow, the Lord Iza-ranö separated the kinslayer's head, freeing the divine souls consumed.
Together they sealed away the spawn of Kagu-susi, and with their blood watered the land, the lifeforce of the gods enveloping the world in light once more;
that which was destroyed in the Last Duel rising from rubble, like withered branches blooming again in verdant spring."

Thus, it is foretold that one day, the world shall once again be brought to ruin by the spawn of Kagu-susi, lest the Sun God Iza-ranö, the father of light, love and life be ritually renewed with the life-essence of those with magic potential, as it is believed that the life-essence of mages is a fragment of the blood of the Lord Iza-ranö, cast down to the earth to restore it after the death of the Kinslayer. Thus, as Iza-ranö gave his blood to restore the world, his blood must be returned to him in great sacrificial altars to renew his power and assist in staving off Kagu-susi's minions. To this sacred task, they defer to the guidance of the line of Naosamu, purported to be greatest of the mortal descendants of Iza-ranö's kin and by extension, descendants of Iza-ranö himself.

Military:
The Amrean Military is a juggernaut that is best divided into its main fighting forces, as well as its complementary specialized forces. The greatest of the Empire's military might lies in the eight hundred thousand serving in the Imperial Standards, or as they are more commonly called, the Imperial Army. Whilst the Imperial Standards are not the largest of the Empire's fighting forces, it is however the most well-equipped. Formed from conscript troops recruited for five year terms of service, they are also the main beneficiaries of military reform in the aftermath of the Rebellion of the League of Five Provinces. For combat, the Imperial Standards are armed with a mix of breech-loaded muskets; the Sösindyu, as well as the traditional muzzle-loaded muskets known as the Kösindyu. Backing them up is a combination of heavy and mobile artillery, namely cannons as well as the infamous Kamön Batteries.

Second to the Imperial Standards are the Provincial Banners. True to their name, the Provincial Banners are simply local militia forces though the title of militia is a misnomer. The men that serve in the Provincial Banners are more akin to serfs, tied to plots of land within military districts throughout the Empire that they cultivate when there is no call to arms. However, as a result of these ties to land, the Provincial Banners are not suited for long-term campaigning, especially east across the Tunza mountains or north across the steppes, leaving them as a defensive internal policing force. Consequently, they have not benefited much if it all from Amrean military reforms and are equipped with a mix of pikes, swords, bows, crossbows alongside the occasional musket. Artillery for the Provincial Banners remains in short supply, Kamön Batteries being entirely non-existent. At the very least, the Provincial Banners can call on three times the manpower of the Imperial Standards, allowing them to compensate in weight of numbers what they lack in firepower.

Aiding the Standards and Banners are two specialized forces. The first numbering twenty thousand, are known merely as the Manshu Braves, named for the northern province from which the vast majority of its soldiers come from. Armed with sabres, flintlock carbines, bows, fire rockets, as well as ceramic grenades, they fulfill the role of skirmishers, border guards and elite cavalrymen supplementing the iron discipline of the Bannermen with the ferocity and swiftness of the Steppes. The second force, known as the Sunriders are also elite riders, yet whereas the domain of the Braves is the plains, the Sunriders take to the sky. Riding phoenixes, rare and beautiful creatures barely numbering five thousand across the length and breadth of the entire continent, the Sunriders harness the flames of their phoenix mounts to rain destruction upon the foes of the Emperor. The Order of the Sunriders number barely a hundred, and answer only to the reigning monarch as their personal Honor Guard.

In addition to the conventional armed forces, the Empire employs the services of some fifty thousand mages, known collectively as the Sunguard. The Sunguard are seperated into five legions of ten thousand, each led by a Junior Commander with each Legion consisting solely of users of one magical element. The First Legion, consisting solely of Pyromancers is the most prestigious legion, with its commander granted the title of High Commander of the entirety of the Sunguard. These Amrean Noble Mages take the form of monster hunters, in particular being used to wipe out the ravenous vampires that occasionally encroach on Imperial territory and tributaries, but are also deployed in mixed battalions to assist the Imperial Standards in times of war.

Lastly, whilst command of the sea is something that the Empire finds itself deficient in, the coastal defense of Amrea is not something that has been neglected. Whilst paling in comparison to the Yllendyr Armada, the grand fleet of Amrea consists of over fifty copper-hulled steamships as well as several experimental Ironclads. Amrean ships are armed with smaller cannons and a small team of mages to provide heavier artillery support, taking advantage of mobility to evade enemy fire.

Climate:
Subtropical and Temperate

Magic Prevalence/Usage:
Present in about 30% of Amreans and considered to be the essence of the Sun God. Usage of magic is restricted to the nobility. They have a natural affinity to plasma magic, at around 60% of the population, and a 10% occurance of the other forms of magic. However, due to the heavy restrictions placed on magic use, it's usage in the military takes a far more even distribution.

Foreign relations:
Limited trade with Yllendyr colonials, and suzerain of various tributaries on the continent. Nominal suzerain of the Areko Principality.

History/ Background Info:
In ancient times, the area constituting the empire consisted of warring Amrean kingdoms and lesser states which had varied in power over the millennia. Ultimately, all were subsumed into the Empire. Ancient stories tell tales of other creatures; goblins, dragons and the like, but none of them have been sighted for over two thousand years and as thus, are presumed to have been destroyed in numerous expansionist campaigns over the centuries. The Amrean Empire of the Naosamu Dynasty has existed in some form or another for three thousand years, although at times it may have been reduced to but a single city and its surrounding territory. Led by the enigmatic House of Naosamu and it’s line of divinely descended monarchs, the Empire has expanded to its greatest historical extent in the present day and what it considers to be it’s natural borders. Under the dynasty's rule, only once had Amrea fallen to the control of outsiders. Eight centuries prior to the present day, the mighty Banko Emperor was defeated in a magic duel with the vampire lord known in Amrean history only as "The Weeping Emperor". His reign was a period known as the "Nights of Tears", with the vampire lord and his progeny ruling Amrea before his grief paralyzed his rule and allowed the commonfolk to rise up and restore the Bankuo Emperor's descendants to the throne. Whilst short and bloody, his rule was not without benefits. Numerous canals, roads and monuments headed by the newly-created Ministry of Public Works were constructed during his time to feed his thirst for blood and bring him closer to his grand designs. These were eventually repurposed after the Naosamu Restoration to transport water and irrigate agricultural land. Due to the relatively isolated position on the continent with the only easy way to access the Empire from the northern steppes and southern hills, the territory is almost entirely homogenous. Whilst wild vampires do occasionally intrude into the Empire's borders, reports of attacks are taken extremely seriously, and amount to the deployment of an entire mage battalion to exterminate the marauding beast.

For centuries, the Empire has remained in isolation, looking to its own defenses and maintaining a limited diplomatic presence with realms on its direct border. In 1881, the Myosin Empress began reformation attempts which were largely successful, expanding the power of the Imperial Court over that of the bureaucracy and the provinces. This policy has been continued by her successor, the Kömyö Empress. Since then, times have changed. In the north, the barbaric warlord Miran has arisen to wreak havoc amongst the states that once kowtowed before the Empire. In the west, dark-skinned strangers have broken through the ancient forests that once divided West and East. All the while, the Phoenix has watched and waited. Perhaps it is time for the Empire, the bastion of Soiryndian Civilization to strike out once more, to ensure the universal prosperity of the land's myriad peoples.

[Oraculum]

The Unbroken Host

Motto: From dusk we bring the Golden Dawn

Nation Sheet

Type of Government: Martial theocratic monarchy.

Head of Government: The God-Seer.

Economy: Diverse, but largely primitive; most exports have historically been pastoral, agricultural or artisanal produce, while relatively more mechanically advanced tools and weapons were imported from regions closer to Amrea. Currently, virtually all commerce has been choked by constant warfare.

Primary Species: Humans, with the majority being of Üarim and Tzücomen descent.

Population: Constantly fluctuating due to the Host’s military activity and rapid expansion, broadly hovers around 20 million. Comprised mostly of humans, Karaniü and northerner Saahra, with minorities of Gnülonar, Monurchen, Zhuxi and others.

Culture: A number of factors contribute to making the Unbroken Host’s cultural constitution a fragmentary, roiling maelstrom. Not only has the Innečerj, the region that it occupies, never historically been entirely unified, but its swelling progress of forced assimilation, driving socio-religious imperative and tremendous degree of militarization, along with the widespread change, not all of it for the best, that has overtaken the territory within the last century, have shattered what unstable equilibrium existed there into a state of chaos unlikely to be fully resolved for ages to come.

In some aspects, the roots of the pre-existing status quo are still reflected in the present situation. A sizeable part of the Innečerj has ever been a land of transition, vast, empty plains and path-beaten deserts, whose main feature of interest was its role as passage between the lands of the Fararuals and adjacent steppes to the north and the territories of Al Baqi to the south. As a result, sedentary societies within it have for long been scarce. Their peoples, having few stable points of reference, have developed cosmopolitan, opportunistic attitudes, refined by one of their main sources of income having been, since time immemorial, mercantile activity. Perhaps paradoxically, this has made their transition into the Host’s new order perhaps the smoothest of all, as the adaptable folk are by no means unaccustomed to sudden political shifts.

The achievements of these folk over past times, however, pale in comparison to the abundant heritage of the northwestern riverlands. Formerly the satrapy of Umar-Jahan, these territories were historically and ethnically a part of Transtulania, and the origin of Innečerj’s now-widespread Üarim population. Before the ruling Fararual dynasty was usurped and extinguished, the Umarites were in many ways alike to their kinsmen in the heartlands of the Luminescence. Just as belligerent, they made themselves known for several attempts, of varying success, to expand into the Innečerj heartlands, which contributed to the spread of their blood around the region.

The third group within the Host’s domain, and the more numerous by a good margin, is composed by the tribal hordes of the flatlands, collectively known as the Newhayé, or Plains Folk. There has scarce ever been a time when these nomads, made up of unruly, aggressive peoples like Tzücomen, gnolls and dire Saahra, far removed from their sedate southern cousins, have not been in conflict with each other or gone on marauding incursions into the holdings of their neighbours. The coming of the Host has brought their warlike ways to a new fever pitch, either under the banners of the Unbroken or driven ahead of it.

Indeed, the rise of the God-Seer has brought about a most radical change throughout both these populations. At his command, all but a minimal necessary fraction of the people of every city, with few exceptions in the cases of key strategic locations, have been driven forth to war if they are capable of bearing arms. Those who join the Host’s ranks willingly do so as eager would-be conquerors, raiders or champions of the divine; those who do not are made into battle-thralls who may only eat what they can tear away from the enemy. That such a state of things is far from sustainable and destined to eventually collapse from overextension if not opposition seems to concern its master little, though his interest in solidifying his hold over captured cities indicates that he cannot be fully unaware of this.

Religious and Other Beliefs: Once, the peoples inhabiting what is now the Domain were as varied in their spiritual beliefs as in everything else. The Umarites, naturally, followed the religion of Axbak Camen, as did a number of heartlanders and even Newhayé who began to take after them, while other peoples either maintained the creeds they had brought with themselves from their homelands, or adopted the southern ones that trickled up to them through trade or migration.

This came to an end with the accession to power of the God-Seer and his Unbroken Host. Proclaiming himself a deity on earth, fated to bring all the world under his sway, and cementing his boasts with demonstrations of supernatural might, the mysterious warlord turned tyrant abolished all religions that were not congenial to his supreme authority, putting their followers to the sword or forcing them into the servitude of his thrall armies. His teachings, known as the Golden Dawn or simply the Faith of the Unbroken, take their root in certain prophecies of the Luminescence, proclaiming the coming of the end times when the Fararuals will fade from the world; they foretell the advent of a new order under a divine ruler, who will scour the earth with holy war.

The air of dread born of such thunderous omens is perhaps the greatest weapon at the God-Seer’s disposal, more even than his fearsome magic or his armies. So broad are his words and so cryptic his figure that many a people in his path have glimpsed in him a prophesied forerunner of the end times detailed by their faith. Thus, for example, the worshippers of the Radiant Sun may see him as a spawn of the god Kagu-susi, broken free of his imprisonment and come to visit his wrath upon the earth. For his own part, the usurper seems all too glad to fan the flames of these rumours, shrouding himself in the dread mystique that grows from them and letting them sow doubt and fear among his foes before even his hordes appear on the horizon.

Location/Territories: The ends of the Domain of the Unbroken Host are as inconstant as the numbers of its population, being constantly pushed outwards by its progress and determined by the successes, or lack thereof, of its campaign. Presently, it extends across the region known as Innečerj, lodged between the Baqi northern reaches of Samermek and the portion of Transtulania held by the warlord Miran, and creeps slightly further south.

Climate: Temperate to subtropical, with the latter being mostly in the liminal zones to the south. Can be surprisingly dry the further away one goes from the western riverlands.

Military: As its name belies, it may almost be said that the entirety of the Unbroken Host is part of its army. Wherever it passes, farmers are torn away from their fields, city-dwellers from their slums and palaces, nomads from their travelling-paths, and made to march to war for the glory of the God-Seer. The exponential growth of this practice as the Domain’s boundaries are pushed further has resulted in the Unbroken’s front being an innumerable mass of what can only be described as chaotic rabble, maddened and reduced to near-stolidity by hunger and the fear of what comes behind.

For, in effect, the main strength of the Host is not this malnourished and barely armed mass, however numerous, but rather the forces that have pledged themselves to their new overlord and serve him willingly, out of either fanatical zeal or opportunism. Those include the legions of the Umarites, generally fairly well equipped, trained and organised, and the savage hordes of the Newhayé, who compensate for roughness through numbers and sheer ferocity. They are supported by what siege machinery the Host has been able to seize in battle, a motley assembly where bombards and mortars are pushed alongside primitive battering rams, as well as many beasts of the plainslands tamed by the mastery of the Üarim.

Magic Prevalence/Usage and Elemental Alignment: More so than in other lands, mages are exceedingly rare in the Domain, to the point of being almost nonexistent. This is because wherever they are discovered, they are imprisoned and slaved to the will of the God-Seer, who is said to exploit and drain their power and vitality until they are left as lifeless husks. The sole exceptions are the tyrant himself, an archimage so mighty that most are ready to believe his claims of divinity after seeing him in action, who has been known to perform supernal miracles of all imaginable kinds; as well as some of his lieutenants, among whom number even a few Transtulanian Magi.

History: The beginnings of the history of Innečerj, since fallen under the yoke of the Unbroken Host, are lost to time, with few records, written or otherwise, surviving of its origins. Some tales say that it once was the site of a mighty empire, called Akk’nun, which reigned during a legendary time and fell a time immemorial ago, and indeed now and again one finds, scattered over the plains, islets of corroded ruins of incredible antiquity, sometimes still holding the discernable remains of what might once have been priceless artefacts. But most hold those to be nothing but myths, and in truth it makes little difference whether they are truly such.

What is better known is that this land has always been first and foremost a connection between more thriving locales, and thus itself existed in a sort of uncertain limbo. With the exception of Umar-Jahan, which was to all effects an outcropping of Transtulania, ruled by its own minor Fararual bloodline, few powers of any note thought it expedient to lay claim to it. It was distant, liable to be contested, infested by restless nomads and not rich enough to be worth the while. Although the occasional campaigns of the Umarites provided some impulse for the formation of organised societies, their growth in the plainslands was largely slow and gradual. As those were the roaming grounds of the Newhayé, few settlements managed to take hold, albeit those who did soon found themselves burgeoning as the main steps of passage through the plains. Ever still, no true dominant power arose to unify them - until recently.

It is not known whence it was that the man, if man indeed he was, who became known as the God-Seer first came. Some whisper that he was a scion of the northern Fararuals, exiled for his ungodly sorcery, but there is no sure way of substantiating these rumours. It is known, however, that in the days of uncertainty that accompanied the decline of the last Luminescents, he appeared at the gates of the great city of Letyeh in Umar-Jahan with a large warband behind him that he named his Unbroken Host, wearing a perfectly smooth and blank mask of pure gold and surrounded by a flickering halo of light, and stormed it after breaching open its walls by conjuring a powerful groundquake. The flame-blooded rulers of the Umarites were usurped, and the conqueror soon drained them of life to fuel his mystical puissance.

Proclaiming himself the bringer of the dawn of a new world, even as the old one was doomed to crumble, the God-Seer went on campaigning at the head of his Host through the mightiest and most opulent holds of the region, his raiment growing richer and his halo brighter every time until he shone like a walking sun. Thrown into disarray by the demise of their rulers both spiritual and worldly, one after another cities fell under his sway, either in awe of his power or under the arms of his swelling Host. Others yet were deceived to his side by cunning, as time and again he went to meet exalted Magi in theological escrimailles and convinced a number of them that he was a true being of prophecy, who alone could give them salvation amid the decay of the fading old world.

Once his dominion had grown, in but some decades, vaster than the Umarites had managed to build it in centuries, the God-Seer brought his plans to culmination. He persuaded the Hierophant of the elder city of Kand, who had become allegiant to him, that the last of the Luminescent bloodline had to be immolated in order to spark the fires of rebirth in the Fararuals’ domain. Though their plot was momentarily thwarted by Miran and his fellow Holy Defenders of Aranagh, his agent Husayim the Grey ultimately managed to slay the Fararual Grand Magus and ritually sacrifice his daughter in Kand, though he himself was defeated and put to death soon afterwards.

With the last legitimate rulers of the north gone, the God-Seer issued a proclamation that he would reclaim all their dominion by fire and sword, and lead it to a new golden age. Thus was laid the foundation of the scourge that would become the latter-day form of the Host; the unworthy were driven as chattel before his marching ranks, spilling out into the outer plains. For some time, the God-Seer led his armies in person through southern Innečerj, swaying the wandering hordes of the locals with displays of power. After some time, however, he drew away to the north, where his armies had encountered the resurgent Miran and already been beaten back from Kand, leaving his masked lieutenants to act in his stead. Yet the fear of his name and the vastness of his legions had by then gained enough impetus, and still their advance continues to all sides, spreading over the land like a stain of oil over the sea.

[Skepic]

The Former Avalian Dominion
(Twelfth Dominion)

Quick Nation Overview

Government: Nonexistent, split between 6 warring factions.
Head of Government:-King Harold Holfgar the VIII, the former ruling monarch, deceased
Economy: Formally one of the stronger economies of the dominions, it is now in utter turmoil thanks to the ravages of the Avalian Civil War.
Dominant Species:
Humans
Valkyrians, Valkyria
Population: 61 million in total
Culture: In turmoil
Religious and Other Beliefs:
While many in this growing age of rationalism prefer to merely believe in the natural order of the world, some still speak of the ancient prophecies and traditions that swirl around the original peoples and the mysterious “King of the Skies”. Some call him a god, others merely think he was a powerful ruler of the time, but no one has yet known for sure what to make of it. This isn’t helped when a mysterious, magically powerful man appeared in the farmlands of Avalia, claiming to be the King himself. This unstable period has been a test of faith for all.
Location/Territories:
Dark Green on the map.
Climate:
Fair temperate, experiencing warm summers and cold winters.

The Avalian Civil War

Current Map of the Civil War

THIS MAP IS SUBJECT TO CHANGE

When the War of the Twin Emperors began, Avalia’s king was beheaded by a vengeful general, starting Avalia’s own civil war. The dominion had been becoming gradually unstable, with Miners going on strikes in the northern mountain ranges, Avalia’s domestic force becoming more and more loyal to the charismatic Adron, and political movements of all sides agitating for more freedoms, the king’s death was the spark that finally lit the massive powder keg that had been hiding in plain sight all along. Almost overnight, the dominion became a land of chaos, blood, and war as brother turned against brother. Below are the six major factions of Avalia, and pay close attention, as any one of them could decide the future of the 12th dominion:

Liberated Avalia, The National Liberation of Avalia

Introduction:
“A long time ago, long before many even remember, it was the Humans that came to the Valkyrians for aid when the hordes from the west and from the north came… It was them, who asked us to defend them. How our ancestors must be ashamed. These past centuries have been brought by nothing but shame! Shame to the Valkyrians who let those damned puppets they called nobles and kings rule our land! Shame on our Mountain Watch, who let those damn Imperialists come marching over our beautiful mountain peaks! No more! For our fathers, our mothers, our sons, and our daughters, we end this shame today! Today I bring with me liberation for all Valkyrians! For all Avalians! For the safety of our kind we shall throw back the corrupt monarchy, the foolish syndicalists, and the weak, indecisive Federalists!”

Leader/Important Person(s):
Tampo Kurtti, Leader of the NLAP, de facto ruler of the party
Adron, popular general and figurehead, slayer of the king.

Government Type:
Authoritarian Democracy, limited elections

Population:
18 Million

Military Overview:
Containing most of the professionally trained portions of the Avalian Military and being led by one of their most brightest generals, the NLAP has the greatest edge when it comes to their military. The discipline and training of an NLAP soldier will be on par with that of even the Legions of the Imperium, all the more so as their military even contains deserters from said Legions. Additionally, with the NLAP controlling some of the larger cities and ports of Avalia including its capital, Alolvi, they are often well equipped. However, this is all on a timer as the NLAP lacks the raw inputs for a large portion of their industrial base, and thus must safeguard every piece of equipment they have. Their military, quite literally, is irreplaceable.

The Communal Sovereign States of Avalia

Introduction:
Tired of the political suppression by Avalian and Imperial Forces alive, a small miner’s protest erupted into the modern syndicalist movement Avalia has today. Even in the years leading up to the fall of Avalia as a dominion, the northern hills of the nation were becoming a dangerous place of partisan activity and open protests within the many coal mines. When the collapse came full force, the workers and leaders of the syndicalist movement rose up and declared The Communal Sovereign States of Avalia (CSSA). The CSSA now seek to liberate all of the impoverished, downtrodden peoples of Avalia, being led by the seemingly jolly and compassionate union leader Gunner Hampus.

Leader/Important Person(s):
Gunner Hampus, leader of the largest labor union involved in the CSSA and elected leader of the party as a whole

Government Type:
Revolutionary Syndicalism

Population:
15 Million

Military Overview:
The CSSA military forces are a mix between a few elite shock units and a large amount of irregular militias. While not as disciplined or even trained as a professional army, the CSSA’s strength is its flexibility and mobility. With command decentralized, they can react fast and take hits without collapsing entirely. This combined with their knowledge base of the local terrain makes them a nightmare to deal with in indirect combat. This is all to buy time while a professional army is trained and raised.

The Mountain Federation

Introduction:
Otherwise known as "The Mountain Watch '', they are an odd curiosity in Avalia. Incredibly traditional and dogmatic, they have guarded the Northern border with their ancient enemies for many centuries, even after the age of Imperium came to Avalia. They stand as also the only truly neutral faction. They care not who rules the nation, so long as they are left alone. Their territory is often used as neutral ground for other factions, receiving support from nearly all of them, including even loyalists. While the Mountain Watch will allow even Imperial Legions to pass, the ancient enemy that is the dragons or orcs shall never pass their high peaks.

Leader/Important Person(s):
Catarina Ossler, senior leader of the Mountain Watch War Council

Government Type:
Martial Meritocracy

Population:
500,000

Military Overview:
Well trained, well equipped, and incredibly stubborn, the Mountain Watch hasn’t guarded Avalia’s borders for hundreds of years through prestige alone. The Volk Mountains are a cold, harsh place for fighting, and that's what the Mountain Watch excel in fighting in. This, combined with a well practice system of multilayered defense makes them a slog at best to dislodge from a position, and you will be paying dearly for every inch.

The Holy Sky King of Avalia

Introduction:
“In the legends, long ago, it is said that in Avalia’s greatest time of need… he came. With wings of brilliant white and gold, baring a bloodstained banner, he rose into the skies and with a swing of his flaming sword, countless invaders were vanquished before him.Thanks to those wretched heretics, enslavers in the Imperium, and the false kings of Avalia, much of this has been purposely lost to time and flames. But I have not forgotten, for how can I forget my own actions? Yes, it is I, nonbelievers, the rightful King of the Skies. In Avalia’s greatest time of need, I have come. When the Elves, dragons, and even orcs threaten our lands, I have finally come again. So long have my subjects languished under such cruel ruling. Even now, that cruelty has caused my own people to even doubt my claim, my word. But I worry not, for in time, all shall be swept away… as I have done before…”

Leader/Important Person(s):
The Revived King of the Sky, real identity unknown, sole ruler

Government Type:
Dictatorial Theocracy

Population:
10 Million

Military Overview:
The majority of the King’s forces would make one feel like he has traveled hundreds of years back in time. Peasant Levys armed with makeshift spears, hunting rifles, and other improvised weapons backed by better equipped “Squires' ' and “Knights' ', the elite among those calling themselves “The Knights of the Skies' '. This army is also supported by an infamous mercenary company known as “The Mad Lancers' '. Regardless, they are an odd, but ferocious army of religious zealots who will fight to the last man for the glory of their King!

The Greater Federation of Avalia

Introduction:
"Avalia can be a nation. A nation of vast opportunity and promise. It can be, because she is alive. Here in the west, the free cities of Avalia endure as a beacon of true freedom and prosperity. Kurtti’s strongmen in the capital claim to be liberators, but any man with a beating heart and any notion of what freedom is knows they are nothing more than oppressive thugs. Our fathers would turn in their graves to watch their children throw away the freedom they deserved and for what, security? In their pretense in protecting Valkyrians’ freedom, they have dissolved it. That mad man who claims to be the King of the Sky, he drapes himself in legend for any grasp of legitimacy to his insane campaign of destruction… it's a disgrace. Kurtti, King, Bennick, Hampus… their names change but their loyalties stay the same. Within this Federation, we will not be fooled by their thin veneer of ideology and petty justifications. They are warlords, plain and simple… I ask this of you, does it matter to a citizen whether a bullet in his head came from the rifle of a CSSA militia? The pistol in the hand of a Black Hat agent? One of NLAP’s notorious trigger men? No sane man would shoot his brother and claim it to be righteous under any creed, east of these lands, rationality seems to have been lost to the derangement of ideology. Through us, Avalia endures. Through us, Avalia survives! They call us cowards, idealists, and traitors. We call ourselves the Greater Federation of Avalia. We will rise up when history calls on us, and gladly throw down our weapons and return to the fields after war. We do not desire power. We desire life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness! Free people of Avalia! We stand ready in the west! When the wolves of the East are done tearing each other’s throats out, we will march out and stretch the Federation from the Volk Mountains to the Southern Seas!”

Leader/Important Person(s):
Albin Hescher, President of The Greater Federation of Avalia

Government Type:
Democratic Republic

Population:
16.5 Million

Military Overview:
One could say that the younger half the domestic Avalian army sided with the Greater Federation, as they are the only other conventional army in Avalia aside from the Liberation movement. A mixture of young officers and even younger volunteers, the Greater Federation’s army enjoys the benefit of being one of the only armies not just in Avalia, but in the world it seems to be fielding dedicated aircraft. This is thanks to much of the enlightened brain power of Avalia fleeing the more extreme ideologies and pledging to support the republic. As a result, Federal troops are equipped with some of the latest and greatest that Avalia has to offer, and more importantly, is backed with a comprehensive fire support doctrine. However, this army still is mostly made up of green volunteers, and untested young officers.

The Northern Loyalist Alliance

Introduction:
As the once great 12th Dominion collapsed around them, what few Imperial Legions within the dominion found themselves surrounded by a bloodthirsty and ravenous population. Imperial officials and loyalists left and right were being dragged from their homes, their businesses, and posts and being systematically slaughtered by the angry mobs. Various factions and players began making their moves against each other, but all shared one foe, and that was the Imperium. Many native Avalians within those Legions either deserted or outright mutinied, declaring their loyalties to whichever faction they believed in. Thus, the Legions were alone, trapped, and being pulled apart both from outside and from within. However one city, or more importantly, one woman, shined like a beacon of safety. Lady Agata Bennick of the northern city of Adrean foresaw the coming turmoil and made what preparations she could. With the aid of her private police force known as the “Black Hats” and remnants of the Avalian Royal Guard, she was able to secure her home city of Adrean quickly, and declared her loyalty to the Imperium, accepting all loyalist refugees who made it through the many hostile territories. This, importantly, included many remnants of Legions who wished to continue fighting against these new traitors.

Leader/Important Person(s):
Lady Agata Bennick, last surviving noblewoman of the Avalian nobility aside from many minor dukes and baronesses.

Government Type:
Traditionalist Monarchy

Population:
3 Million (Bolstered by retreating Legions)

Military Overview:
As a result of being a mixture of the remaining Legion forces, the remnants of Avalia’s Royal Guard, and Imperial loyalists, the Combined Loyalist Army represents the most experienced army being fielded in the Avalian Civil War. While not as numerous or even well equipped, they are battle tested and most likely the only reason the line has held against their hungry neighbors. However, as the War of the Twin Emperors escalated beyond the lands of Avalia, discontent, infighting, and outright desertion threatens to tear apart the Loyalist stronghold from the inside. Only the mysterious and brutal Black Hats can keep the Combined Loyalist Army in line. Anyone suspected of not doing their duty is silenced. Lady Bennick holds the whip, but she can only hold it for so long...

[AdorableSaucer]

Al Baqi Sheikhdom

Inaziz janahi zurq - In the name of the All-Loving, we go into paradise.

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Al Baqi is a desert sheikhdom under the rule of Sheikh Said IV Abd al-Aziz ibn Fawzi. Its thousand years of history along the four ancestral river valleys of Eastern Soiryndia carry the influence of war, politics and religious and cultural disputes that still impact the country to this day. Separated into four major clans, the human majority all live their lives in accordance with their cultural contexts, many of which have led to disagreements with their peers. While the nobles have recently grown more and more interested in Amrean technology, the majority of the country's population still live as they have for millennia, reaping the rich bounty of the four rivers to fuel an extensive caravan economy.

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Al Baqi Sheikhdom

Type of Government: Absolute monarchy - the whole of Al Baqi is ruled by the sheikh and his family.
Head of Government: Sheikh Said VI Abd al-Aziz ibn Fawzi, of the House of Baqi.
Economy: (Main imports, exports, industries, technology level, etc.)

• Imports: Cereals, silk, cotton, technology and industrial parts, modern weapons, raw materials (steel, timber, etc.)
• Exports: Coffee, crude oil, olives, exotic fruits (dates, pomegranate, figs, citruses and melons), almonds, pine nuts, copper, tobacco, spices (cinnamon, saffron, turmeric, cumin, sumac, black pepper), perfumes (rose, lavender, lilac).
• Industries: While Al Baqi is far from an industrialised nation, their capital of Amshadr has multiple mechanised canneries to preserve produce and coffee for export and storage.
• Technology Level: While Al Baqi used to be a great centre of magic and science in earlier times, they have fallen far behind in the race to modernise, and have little to no modern industry to speak of for the majority of people; the sheikh and his family, however, have taken to wearing Amrean imperial clothing and have inbuilt electricity provided by the country’s only powerplant. In terms of factories, the country possesses a total of two canneries, mostly operated with man or animal power, as well as two crude oil refineries, one in Amshadr and another in the second largest city, Al Fawzi.

Primary Species: Human.
Population: 6,6 million.

• Humans (Baqi, Hadi, Imam, Jalal, other): 5,5 million.
• Sahra: 540 000. Desert and steppe-dwelling goatmen
• Karaniü: 400 000. Minotaur steppe nomads.
• Ahkrak: 200 000. Rhino-beetle-headed humanoids from the mountains.
• Gnolls: 75 000
• Amreans: 3 000.
• Various other magical/non-magical creatures from surrounding nations and countries: 4000.

Culture

• Religion plays an enormously large part in most citizens’ lives, and piety is seen as a must-have in terms of personal traits. Weekly visits to the mosques are seen as the norm, if not multiple times a week. This is regardless of social class.
• Tribal identities still remain strong even after almost a century of Baqi dynasty rule. Baqis are, after all, only one tribe among four other major families: The Hadi, the Imam and the Jalal. This occasionally causes tension between certain groups, especially between Imams and Baqis.
  The Baqi hail from the heartlands between the Nahr and the Jabdal rivers. They typically have bronze skin and black hair, and are the most pious and, currently, most powerful tribe. They are the original believers in Aziz and hold onto that legacy with an iron grip. Baqi dress in very monocoloured and conservative attires that cover most of their bodies. Headdress for men include a simple white cap; for women, the whole face is covered save for the eyes. Jewelry and the ability to keep one’s clothes clean are the only true signs of class division among the Al Baqi. Their influence is strongest in their heartlands and around the capital Amshadr and the city of Al Fawzi.
  The Hadi is a tribe from around the Jabdal river delta, all the way to the Majraa in the north. They have a fierce pride in their great cultural heritage from the golden ages of Hadi kings and sheikhs, and are especially wary of their northern rivals, the Jalal. The Hadi support Baqi supremacy, but only as long as the Baqi sheikh remains fair and just to tribes beyond his own. The Hadi are faithful and pious, but also value greatly the sciences and philosophy of their heritage, defending their right to practice them at every turn. Appearance-wise, the Hadi are very similar to the Baqi, but dress more colourfully and flamboyantly than their southern allies. This makes it more evident who has the greater spending power within the tribe. Compared to the Baqi, they also employ their own regional dialect which, while not unintelligible, can be difficult for Baqis to understand at times. Their influence is the strongest in the north up to the Majraa river and especially around the university city of Khayrat.
  The Imam have long had a difficult relationship with the tribes to the north, being both a target of and perpetrator of raids and skirmishes against them. Their culture is vastly different from their neighbours north of the Tahtamil: Even compared to the Hadi, their clothing is bright, colourful and beautifully patterned. They have much darker skin than their northern compatriots, and worship a localised version of Aziz, as well as a pantheon of sages associated with Shallahist faith - in Shallahist canon, these sages are mentioned, but not worshipped; in Imamism, they often take centre-stage over Aziz themselves. The Imam dialect differs radically from both the Hadi and the Baqi dialects, so much so that it can be considered its own separate language entirely, being traceable all the way back to the language spoken during the Shaytan dynasty over 1200 years ago. The Imam are also fiercely proud of their cultural heritage, especially the golden age of Shadhad when their region was the country’s cultural centre. They earned a fierce hatred for the Baqi when their city was burnt to the ground, a hatred that lasts until this very day.
  The Jalal are the only sizable tribe in Al Baqi to not be descended from the progenitor civilisation to the other three tribes known as the Awall. The Jalal are actually a group of Tzücomen (Zikomel in Baqish) all the way from the northern steppes, who came to Al Baqi 677 years ago as raiders and bandits. Like the Imam, they speak an entirely different language, one which has its roots in Tzücomic, but over the centuries has been influenced heavily by Hadish and Baqish. Today, it neither communicates with its kin on the plains nor its neighbours in Al Baqi. The Jalal still live a largely pastoral lifestyle north of the river Majraa and are considered among the poorest tribes of Al Baqi. While bands will occasionally form and terrorise the countryside, modern weapons have made it nearly impossible for them to choose this as a lifestyle. Many have moved southwards to the farmlands or into the cities and integrated into Baqi and Hadi society.
• Coffee, tobacco and spices form the cornerstone of Al Baqi popular culture, and are all consumed by the tons by both the wealthy and the poor. Alcohol is forbidden in accordance with Shallahist law, and tobacco thus takes the spot as the recreational drug of choice, being smoked in both wooden pipes and shishas.
• Literature, architecture and calligraphy are much appreciated among the upper class and the lower class equally, though only the upper class truly has the means to dabble sufficiently.
• The Baqi try to impress on the international scene with their musical and culinary cultures.

Religious and Other Beliefs

• Shallahism: Shallahism is the main faith of the royal family, as well as the majority religion of the sheikhdom. It emphasises worship of the god Aziz through daily prayer and upstanding behaviour. Mosques to Aziz can be found in every village, town and city in Al Baqi.
  Imamism: A sect of Shallahism popular among the Imam tribe. Offers a much more liberal view of the sacred texts and also introduces a pantheon of sages of the faith that have existed throughout time and brought prosperity to the Imam and the whole of Al Baqi.
• Oshori faiths: A shamanistic faith prevalent among the desert-dwelling Sahra. It emphasises the worship of water and the sun and moon as gates into the quintessential planes.
• Kargyyraism: An animist faith prevalent in the north among the Karaniü, gnolls and northern Sahras. Emphasises connection to all natural elements through meditation, often accompanied by throat-singing or animalistic sounds.
• Arthorisism: Arthorite missionaries from New Galia have converted some Karaniü and Sahra tribes to their faith.
• The Golden Dawn: The faith of the Unbroken Host’s god-seer, too, has managed to gain some support, particularly among the periphery tribes of Karaniü, Sahra and nomadic tribes related to the Jalal.
• Church of the Sun: A small minority have converted to worshipping the Sun God as a result of foreign missionaries arriving in the capital city.

Location, Territories and Climate

The arid lands of South-western Soiryndia. The country has a total of three cities with populations over 100 000: Amshadr (450 000) on the Nahr river delta (second southernmost), Al Fawzi (193 000) on the Jabdal delta (second northernmost river) and Khayrat (110 000), also on the Jabdal delta. The rest of the population live in smaller towns and villages along the rivers. A recent acquisition of the northern steppe province of Samermek has almost doubled the country’s area, but the reality is that the Al Baqi presence in the northern half of the country is incredibly limited, in large part due to rowdy Jalal raiders at the desert border to the steppelands. 90% of the country is covered by scorching, nigh-uninhabitable deserts; the remaining 10% is lush, humid forests and farmlands around the four main rivers - the Nahr, the Jabdal, the Majraa and the Tahtamil. This is where 99% of the country’s population lives.

Map

Military and Magic

The military is poorly developed, any resemblance to a standing army limited only to levies armed with arquebuses or, if they’re lucky, proper modern rifles. While the army size that -can- be recruited can number up to a million, the majority of these are untrained, undisciplined peasants with no manner of military experience to speak on - and that’s not even mentioning the backlash the state would receive for recruiting so many. That being said, the royal family of the Sheikh has a personal company of royal guards known as the Alharas Almalakiu, or just the Alharas. These are provided with modern weaponry and equipment, and can clearly be told apart from the other armed forces by their flamboyant (and at times, cumbersome) uniforms. This company numbers roughly 100 individuals.
The pride of the Al Baqi arsenal is likely the rifled musket, the base concept for which has been in use for over 100 years. It shoots far, but reloading techniques still lag behind, making it a slow weapon to this day.
Bronze and, at times, iron cannons are featured as the main artillery in the Al Baqi army. While the weapons often are cumbersome, they are employed both in offense and defense to great effect.
Al Baqi has a very limited navy outside of sloops modified to carry cannons, a max of two per boat. The Al Baqi navy can muster up to thirty gunboats like this in case of emergency. While they possess larger ships in their trading fleet, these are owned by private merchants and would have to be commandeered by the state to be utilised.

Magic Prevalence/Usage and Elemental Alignment: While magic has historically played a huge role in Al Baqi, especially as a weapon or tool of war, it has since fallen out of fashion outside of alchemy guilds and academic circles. Their primary type of magic is solid.

History

• 3500 years ago (AC -2866): A group of humans settle around the Nahr river and reap the bounty of the fertile soil. Theirs was a culture far different from that of modern day Al Baqi - they had no concept of Shallahism, nor did they build mosques and practice the calligraphic arts. These are known today as the Awall, the precursors to what much, much later would become the three of the four main human tribes.
• 3000-2920 years ago (AC -2286 to -2366): The Awall violently expand towards the Jabdal river to the north and the Tahtamil to the south. The ancient capital city of Quailat is founded as a frontier against the barbarians in the north.
• 2600 years ago (AC -1966): The empire ruled under Quailat experiences a series of droughts in the farmlands along the Jabdal, forcing a retreat southwards back to the Nahr. The bastion city of Shuklat is founded here and remains a powerful bastion for the next few centuries.
• 2170 years ago (AC -1536): The first written record, the Tablet of King Shuk III, outlines the great conquests of the Shuk dynasty, carried on the backs of able magicians using solid magic to manipulate the sand and stone of the desert.
• 1950 years ago (AC -1316): The Ziggurat of Shuk is constructed. The project, which according to further records took nearly 100 years to finish, subsequently bankrupted the Shuk empire, causing it to collapse merely 2 years after the completion of the Ziggurat.
• 1812 years ago (AC -1178): After what is estimated to be 134 years of civil war and no dominant power outside of local warlords, a merciless conqueror known as Shaytan unifies all four river valleys from Tahtamil in the south to Majraa in the north. Proceeds to form the Shaytan dynasty during which the old Shuk dynasty logographic script is replaced by an early version of the phonemic script known today as Baqish.
• 1789 years ago (AC -1155): Shaytan dies at the age of 67, leaving his sickly third-born to inherit the throne. The empire subsequently splits in two - the north which governs the Majraa and Jabdal, and the south which hold the Nahr and the Tahtamil. The south is governed by the sickly third-born, Shaytan II bin Aimsahr; the north is governed by his cousin, Khazm I bin Faosi. The south are pushed to the very bank of the Nahr, but Khazm’s forces never make it across. The stalemate persists for half a millennium.
• 1432 years ago (AC -798): Khazm VI bin Dobah moves the northern capital from Faosi further inland to Dobah, constructing the Dobah Academy of Magic and Alchemy in the process. The focus on magic and science further bolsters the military capabilities of the north compared to the south.
• 1234 years ago (AC -600): Yusuf II bin Dobah conscripts every magician in the north in an attempt to take the south; however, even with all the military supremacy of the northern forces, they only manage to take the Nahr - sustaining enormous losses in the process. By the time Yusuf II returns to Dobah, the kingdom is financial ruin and collapses soon thereafter. The Shaytan dynasty in the south, also heavily battered from the fighting, collapses, too. For centuries, a black, empty spot forms a dense void in the historical record.
• 872 years ago (AC -238): A new faith appears in the heartlands of the Nahr, known at the time as the “Word of the All-Loving”. Prophets of the All-Loving, or Aziz, spread far and wide into the desert and between the many tribes living between the ruins of ancient metropolises. The prophets come from many peoples, but most hail or have been taught their practices by a mighty tribe known as the Baqi, led by the chieftain Shayyid the Bread-Breaker. Many accept the faith with open arms and travel to Shayyid’s home village of Beirut; however, many also grow wary of the growing cult.
• 823 years ago (AC -189): Shayyid dies at the age of 63 - his son Afzal lacks much of the diplomatic skill of his father. The prophets of the All-Loving adopt more aggressive rhetoric, claiming Afzal and the Baqi tribe are destined to rekindle the flames of ancient civilisation and restore the empires of old. Many followers join them; many critics are silenced; many foes prepare for the coming storm.
• 811 years ago (AC -177): Afzal and the Baqi face off against increasingly frequent skirmishes from a southern tribe known as the Imam, lead by Danyal of the Blue Desert. The Baqi hunker down in Beirut, which in the time since the prophets of Aziz appeared, has grown into a bustling trade and religious hub. The Imam raid smaller satellite villages and the Baqi begin to lose support, especially in the south. Desperate, Afzal pleads with the northern tribes, particularly the Hadi, led by a warrior-poet named Hafiz. Hafiz agrees in exchange for free passage through Baqi lands for a century. This is granted.
• 762 years ago (AC -128): The Imam are eventually beaten back from the Nahr heartlands, but the 49 years of skirmishes and war have left the land scarred and the people in agony. The Baqi fade into the shadows; the Imam are nearly wiped out and won’t recover for another half millennium. The Hadi assume the role as the dominant power in the region and annex the Nahr heartlands from the Baqi. Hadi rule sees a renaissance in pre-Azizan arts and music - an academy similar to the one found in Dobah over 500 years ago opens in the Hadi capital Fawzi on the Jabdal river. Emphasis on living a poetic lifestyle and devoting one’s life to philosophising over the nature of reality, magic and God consumes the upper class, initiating a golden age of humanism and culture. Many of the greatest architectural and artistic feats of the Al Baqi culture today are from this period.
• 677 years ago (AC -43): A series of draughts and mass-starvation on the countryside bring an abrupt end to the golden age of the Hadi. While state-driven efforts to relieve the peasants’ plights were effective in certain areas, a new, previously unknown enemy from the north cause so much havoc in the countryside that the majority of these relief efforts failed. This group, known then as the Zikomel (Tzücomen in their native tongue), known now as the Jalal, later settled in the lands they had taken.
• 673 years ago (AC -39): The end to the Hadi hegemony once again spurs great skirmishes and battle between the tribes. With the Jalal functioning as a tie-breaker on the three-way balance between the Hadi, Imam and Baqi, previously established facts of alliances and war are thrown out the window, and everyone will cooperate with everyone as long as it leads to the fall of at least one of the four tribes.
• 659 years ago (AC -25): After 14 years of battle, the Baqi are pushed all the way into the western deserts by an alliance between the Imam and the Hadi. Here, the Baqi survivors are given asylum with the local goatmen, known as the Sahra. A bond of brotherhood forms between the Sahra and the Baqi and they set out to unite the Sahra tribes for a counterattack. Meanwhile, the Imam-Hadi alliance crumbles as the Imam lure the Hadi chieftain and his family into an ambush by the Jalal. The Hadi disappear into the shadows thereafter, thought eliminated for good. The Jalal and Imam, now without anyone to fight, begin fighting one another.
• 634 years ago (AC 0): After 25 years in the deserts, the Baqi return to the heartlands with an army of Sahra behind them to find that the Imam and Jalal both have exhausted each others’ forces and cannot even hope to stand against this new force. The Baqi easily seize control of the four river valleys and establish the Amashadar dynasty after their chieftain-crowned-king, Amashadar ibn Baqi, in the city of Amshadar, later Amshadr, on the Nahr delta. Resources are poured into rebuilding the ravaged land, with government aid granted to peasants and merchant caravans, many of which are sent northwards to Zihomal (Tzücomen, later Miranid territory) and westwards to Al Rawiya (Amrea). This year also marks the founding of the Amshadar Calendar (AC), which is still in use today.
• 461 years ago (AC 173): The first 200 years or so of the Amshadar dynasty are referred to as the “Age of Gold and Spices”, characterised as a time when the Baqi enjoy unprecedented wealth and prosperity, greater even than the Hadi golden age. New farming technologies such as rotational cropping and magical manipulation and refinement of fertiliser bring an influx of food into the cities, which swell like balloons into regional superpowers. These cities initiate huge construction projects to the Baqi religion of Aziz, now names Shallahism. These temples are known as mosques and soon dot several sections of every city in Baqi lands. A wish for the revival of Hadi golden age art and philosophy among the upper class is shut down by the Baqi kings, who instead emphasise focus on religious art and literature in honour of Aziz. Heavy censorship of philosophical texts and works of art stifle the creative class, leading to stagnation in the cultural development of the Amshadar dynasty. Growing corruption and cronyism among the upper class eventually sap power from the Baqi kings and into the hands of the royal guards, the Alharas Almalakiu, who form a de facto government with a puppet king 461 years ago in Al Fawzi on the Jabdal delta.
• 432 years ago (AC 202): A failed coup d’état against the Alharas government causes mass purges of the upper class and the establishment of a secret police known as the Shursiri. Censorship grows ever stricter and the prosperity of the Baqi hegemony falls as many among the nobility seek asylum in Al Rawiya (Amrea). Imported matchlocks from Al Rawiya are hoarded by the Alharas Almalakiu and replace the standard bow and arrow employed for millennia.
• 428 years ago (AC 206): The censorship as well as rampant oppression and enslavement of non-Baqi groups by the Alharas government lead to insurgencies in the countryside, large scale uprisings lead primarily by a coalition of Imam, Sahras and Hadi, equipped with primitive weapons for the most part. These fare poorly against the Alharas matchlocks, and the rebels suffer heavy losses.
• 426 years ago (AC 208): The Alharas forces suffer their first true defeat at the Battle of Sunbaked Sands, when, unbeknownst to the Alharas commanders, the supply chains reaching for the Nahr heartlands all the way into the western deserts where the armies fought the rebels, was being raided ceaselessly by Jabal bandits. The matchlock-equipped army, starved and tired, is butchered by hillfolk with crescent daggers, spears and wicker shields. The Alharas manage to sound a retreat in time so as to not lose all their forces, but the rebels have gained too much ground by the time the army can properly regroup. The exiled nobility provides funding for more weapons, armour and mercenaries from Al Rawiya (Amrea), hammering the final nail in the coffin for the Alharas. The Alharas government falls that same year and the whole royal guard is executed and replaced with new recruits. A coalition of the three rebel factions, as well as returning Baqi nobility, form the Council of Wisemen to steer the country into the future.
• 396 years ago (AC 238): The Imam break out of the Council of Wisemen due to disagreements over the censorship rules which were passed down from the Alharas government - whereas the Imam advocate for full removal of all censorship, the rest of the council agree that the clause forbidding satirisation, criticism and/or ridicule of Aziz or Shallahism should persist. The Imam return to their ancestral lands in the south to establish the free artist enclave of Shadhad. A number of the artists that were exiled under the Alharas move to Shadhad and soon, Shadhad becomes a centre of the written word, producing fantastic works of literature full of allegories for philosophical concepts such as the importance of God and the human condition, ambition and motivation. Many of these works never reach the peasantry, but the nobility in the capital Amhadr, the academic centre Al Fawzi and the trading port city Khayrat all gain access to this literature in secret.
• 386 years ago (AC 248): After ten years of hailing criticism from nobles in every corner of the empire, the Council of Wisemen finally give in and remove the restrictions on literature and artworks critical of Aziz and Shallahism. This causes great dissatisfaction within the Shallahist priesthood, which proceeds to forward a counter-proposal to make criticism punishable by death and for Shadhad to be declared a sacreligious city of sin. This counter-proposal causes further division within the Council, especially coming from the Sahra, whose religion is vastly different from Shallahism altogether, being a shamanistic faith of completely different roots. The Sahra’s relinquish their support the following year.
• 380 years ago (AC 254): After six years of rule by only two of the original four members of the Council, it becomes clear that they no longer have popular support, especially not in the south, where Shadhad’s presence has brought growth and prosperity to the region, making the area once more a threat to the central-northern hegemony.
• 373 years ago (AC 261): Seven years of paranoia and pressure from the Shallahist priesthood finally culminate in the Fatwah, the order to invade the southern lands and level Shadhad with the ground in the name of Aziz. By the following year, the entire army mobilises southward. On the way, it becomes very clear that the Imam have been preparing thoroughly for this outcome, and as in ancient times, the north just cannot seem to push further south than the river Tahtamil; furthermore, the Imam have been experimenting with Al Rawiyan technology and acquired grenades, which would sink every boat trying to ford the river and break every bridge formed by magic. These grenades, coupled with matchlocks and midnight raids on the army camps, lead to losses so great that the Council army is forced to fall back.
• 371 years ago (AC 263): Unfortunately for the Imam and Shadhad city, the alchemists at the academy in Al Fawzi use solid magic to shape molten metal into long cylinders with one closed end, which are then filled with black powder and balls of lead or round stones. This newly invented cannon is not as reliant on the need to cross the river to do damage, but can shell the Imam forces from a distance. With this form of artillery, the northern forces level Shadhad with the ground. The crops around it are burned and salted, and whatever Imam cannot escape are enslaved and brought back to Amhadr.
• 351 years ago (AC 283): The cannons are once again employed to great effect in taking down a Jalal horde uprising. The effectiveness of the artillery against the mounted riders inspires further innovation within ballistics and firearms technology. Rifling becomes standard in all firearms produced.
• 285 years ago (AC 349): The powerful military sector which has been supporting the Council for nearly 150 years grows immensely powerful as greater and greater shares of the state coffers are funneled into research and development - and into the pockets of the senior staff. When another series of draughts affects the Jabdal and Nahr deltas, the army stages a coup d’état and puts an end to the rule of the Council of the Wisemen. It is also around this time that expeditions into the desert in search of metals for weapons production cause explorers to stumble upon a black, sticky goo which reacts violently to fire. They name this substance nft or “oil”. Extraction of this substance starts immediately and it replaces wood and wax as the primary energy source for lighting.
• 283 years ago (AC 351): In order to further prove their legitimacy, the military government elect a leader known as a sheikh, as a nod to the ancient tribal chieftains. The first sheikh is Sharif ibn Khayrat, a powerful Baqi general with a number of cronies in high places, particularly in the priesthood. Under the leadership of Sharif, Shallahism fully takes over what had previously been a largely privatised system of education within the now-sheikhdom. Previously secular universities and academies now double as monasteries and mosques, and the censorship on anti-religious art and literature is further reinforced. By now, after centuries of oppression of the free arts, the last of the opposition begins to fade away.
• 193 years ago (AC 441): Religious imagery has almost entirely drowned out the artworks of old - known ancient treasures have been set aside - or worse, defaced and destroyed - in favour of artifacts praising Aziz and the teachings of Shallahism. The sheikh’s grandson, Sultan II ibn Fawzi, has managed to garner so much power than he almost holds single-handed rulership over the whole country.
• 174 years ago (AC 460): Sultan II suffers what is most likely a heart attack caused by his lavish lifestyle; however, his cronies blame the sheikh’s untimely death on assassins sent by opposing cliques at court. A great purge of the nobility is conducted by the military, headed by Sultan II’s brother, Tahir ibn Dushar. Tahir’s nephew, Sultan III ibn Fawzi, is elected sheikh after the purges, even though he is only 11 years of age. Tahir serves as his advisor and makes certain to garner as much power to himself and his cronies as possible.
• 170 years ago (AC 464): A majority of the opposing cliques that had been purged four years earlier belonged to the Hadi tribe, and the remaining nobility from that tribe plot Tahir’s assassination as retaliation for what they see as treachery. Later that year, Tahir is shot during a public ceremony in the Mosque of Amashadar, the largest mosque in the kingdom. The event is condemned publically by nobles all over the kingdom, and the young sheikh reinstates the secret police to find the culprit. This causes a thirty year reign of terror known only as Alkawf Alkabr, or the Great Fear, in which everyone from the highest tower to the lowest pit are thoroughly investigated and punished on the smallest flaw. As many as 300 000 people are executed, roughly a tenth of the population at the time, and millions more are beaten and shamed. The true culprit is never caught.
• 139 years ago (AC 495): Sheikh Sultan III ibn Fawzi dies from choking on his food, later thought to have been poisoned. The Alkawf Alkabr comes to an end shortly thereafter. A Hadi sheikh by the name of Talib I ibn Haswah is elected instead of Sultan III’s son, Sultan IV. Talib and his followers belonged to a smaller clique at court, one which had secretly worked to overthrow Sultan III for years. Talib immediately set out to reduce the influence the military had on the sheikh’s decisions, as well as the presence of Shallahism in education and the public sector. While this made him a target, Talib managed to push through enough reforms to increase his popularity beyond what had been thought possible in the context of the Great Fear’s aftermath. The reforms revitalised the aid programs aimed at the peasantry, which brought a booming growth to the agricultural sector; they opened for greater freedom of expression, which brought a renaissance in the cultural class; they removed mandatory conscription, which both weakened the strength of the army considerably while also gaining Talib the support of the young men now free to work instead of slaving in the army for five years. Since Talib now was untouchable, neither the military nor the priesthood could remove him from office.
• 110 years ago (AC 524): However, merely 29 years after Talib took office, a plague swept the country, taking him with it. While the plague passed within the year, it left open a power vacuum that couldn’t simply be filled by the army or the clergy: Talib had added too many failsafes. Instead, the army and priesthood insert Talib’s cousin, one Omar I ibn Khayrat, ignoring Talib’s son, Hamed I’s, claim to the throne. Omar manages to be the exact opposite of Talib - uncharismatic, slow-witted and rash. It takes five years for the sheikhdom to once again lose all support with the nobility, and within five more, the peasantry stops caring for him, too. Omar accepts a role as puppet for his only remaining supporters - the military and the clergy.
• 98 years ago (AC 536): The military and clergy grow tired of Omar’s incompetence and replace him with sheikh Said I ibn Fawzi of the Baqi. Said I, while supported by the military and clergy, realises he needs the nobility and the peasantry on his side, and thus spends his life trying to mediate a deal between the four actors which satisfy all of them. He never gets to see the outcome, passing away at the age of 74.
• 54 years ago (AC 580): Said I’s son, Said II ibn Fawzi, tries to continue his father’s work; however, he is drawn too far away from the peasantry in his effort to appease the upper classes, causing a great peasant uprisings at the bazaar in Amhadr, known as the Day the Gutters Ran Red. Between five hundred and a thousand civilians are killed, the fault of which is laid on the sheikh. Criticism of the sheikh’s inability to appease the masses eventually drives the sheikh mad with stress, and causes him to suffer a heart attack shortly thereafter. The sheikh’s son, Said III ibn Fawzi inherits the throne.
• 35 years ago (AC 599): The first 19 years of Said III’s rule are largely uneventful - he manages to leave all four factions, the peasants, priests, nobles and army men, neither happy nor angry. However, the 19th year saw large-scale economic collapse across several trade networks as the Rebellion of the Five Provinces broke out in Al Rawiya (Amrea). Widespread unrest and riots broke out in the streets of the cities and the countryside as shops had to close and left thousands without work. The uprisings threatened another countrywide collapse, but a series of well-timed relief programs enacted by the central state kept the population just shy of outright rebellious. These relief efforts nearly bankrupted the state, however, and the sheikh had to expropriate heaps of funds from the nobility, leading to a deep-seeded hatred from the upper class that lasted throughout Said III’s remaining rule.
• 23 years ago (AC 611): As an attempt to regain respect among the upper class, Said III ushers forth a revitalisation campaign for the army and sends them to invade the northern steppes (now named Samermek) that had previously been under the rulership of roving clans and tribes. The army meet little to no resistance - in fact, they meet so little resistance that the project backfires - it did not at all manage to boost morale as planned and cost the state coffers a fortune. Instead, the sheikhdom conquers an area of land over half the size of their ancestral province with no resources to hold it. They set up a stronghold in a large village in the west called Shoog, but the province only belongs to Al Baqi in name. In the sheikh’s final years, news reach him and his court about a new project drawing a great deal of attention over in Al Rawiya.
• Today (AC 634): It has been two weeks since sheikh Said III ibn Fawzi passed, and now the young Said IV, titled Abd-al-Aziz for his devotion to Aziz and the Word of the All-Loving, sits on the throne. While he is green in the role, he and his advisors all observe the ongoings in Al Rawiya and agree on one thing: Al Baqi must modernise.

[Zealossus]

o

[Doom Chief]

Bear your blade and carve a path for your own destiny, lest you be swept up in the ambitions of others

Kingdom of Endaria

Type of Government: Absolute Monarchy

Head of Government: Zealossus Laniset, The Seventh King of Endaria

Economy: Primary exports consist of lumber, iron, and steel. The island itself has no special resource save for the gems and rich ore deposits owned almost exclusively by the dwarf holds. As a factional country with varying wars, steel is the number one commodity among them.

Primary Species: Humans (50%), Elves (30%), Dwarves (20%)

Population: 53 million

Culture

Endaria is considered a land of opportunity among the populace. If you gather a group of people to your cause it is possible to rise up, claim land, and lay claim to the Throne of Endaria. Over the course of almost 500 years, Endaria has experienced near constant conflict with this idea at the heart of it. Humans are the main cause of this, but the wish to rule over the land permeates even to the Dwarves and Elves. There are many varying cultures among the peoples of this continent that rise and fall alongside their respective factions, and their leaders. Their common thread is isolation and militarism. The isolation is bred by a need to consolidate resources for military purposes. Trade is ill advised for most overseas nations due to the hostile nature of any faction that are enemies with whatever faction they decide to trade with. After the conquest of the Yllendyr, the warring has been significantly reduced. Only the strong factions are capable of taking up arms against others, and only if there is a legitimate casus belli recognized by the Yllendyr administration.

Faction Map

Faction Map Key

Faction Map Key:
Dot - Capital
Line - Territorial Border
Red - Asharia
Purple - Quentalian Aristocracy
Light Green - Lodnor
Silver - Elaria
Pink - Dawi Mountain
Brown - Mount Draka
Gold (in middle of mainland) - Varak Haronar
Yellow - Seraventa
Blue- Azuria

Faction Cultures and Histories

Asharia

Land of Lord Asgrave de Ashintol, claimant to the throne of Endaria. His great grandfather, Lord Agravus, was the Sixth King of Endaria. He wants to change the islands' name to Asharia as well. This is the longest lasting human faction on the continent from the days of the First King. As such, they are the most militarily hardened state. Endarians are no strangers to conflict, but the Asharians are the ones who recover the fastest and often start it. In the face of Yllendyr conquest the Asharians used scorched earth tactics to slow down their invaders, but defeat was inevitable. This unintentionally created large tracts of uninhabitable land, resulting in several decades of famine. These people harbor the greatest hatred toward their pointy-eared overlords out of anyone, but a there are those who understand the sorry state of their land is due in large part to the Ashintol royal family. Lord Asgrave inherited this hatred with his rise to leadership.

Quentalian Theocracy

Inspired by the magical prowess of the neighboring Elves, this society has formed an aristocracy of sort with mages taking the mantle of "nobility" whilst all other non-magical individuals are ushered into peasantry or the military. They find little merit in conflict and are content to sit in their ivory towers researching the bounds of magic. The Yllendyr armies found an ally in these selfish humans. Knowing the magical prowess of the Elves, they tried to curry favor with the Yllendyr and Emperor Naerzo in hopes of earning concessions for their submission. They provided the prime landing point for a massed inland invasion. Following the war however, the people of Quental were not granted the concession they were expecting. Naerzo saw it fit to allow humans to maintain rule and autonomy as reward enough. Though many of their neighbors are savages by comparison, it is likely that the Betrayal of Quental saved the humans of Endaria.

Lodnoria

The most recent addition to the faction map of Endaria, Lodnor was once a small city state that boasted a powerful warrior caste system. If a child is born from two warriors, they are trained from youth to become a warrior. They must surpass a system of tests throughout their lives. Those who fail are forced into the peasant castes. This system proved to be powerful for the city state as they produced the strongest warriors among any faction. However, the caste system was restrictive for everyone who lived there. Warriors were not allowed to mate with anyone outside of their caste and led lives of constant training and war. Their lives were dictated by the iron fist of Torganus, Overseer of Lodnor. The peasants were never allowed to try any other profession besides what they were born to do, and were punished for failing in their “duty.” Even the nobility surrounding Overseer seemed to grow disgruntled as Torganus reaped the benefits of his forefathers’ work from decades prior. Under his rule, Lodnor grew immensely to the size it is at present and created the land of Lodnoria, honoring the name of their great capital. After such an intense expansion, the peoples of Lodnor had enough and started the Caste of Broken Chains Rebellion. Together, a united caste would free themselves from their bondage. Few were loyal to Torganus, and even fewer were willing to lay down their lives for his sake. In fact, the only blood that was shed that day was that of the Overseer. Free to do as they please, the people celebrated their victory and chose their own paths in life. The Asharians thought the Lodnorian land was vulnerable in this time, but was proven wrong when met with the might of a nearly doubled military consisting of both warriors and militia. The Yllendyr conquest proved to be a rude awakening for the people of Lodnor as their amassed and powerful warriors were reduced to lead riddled corpses.

Seraventa

Several thousand years ago, Humanity first came to Endaria and found it infested with Elves. Tensions have always been high between Humans and the Yllendyr, but they didn’t know how to feel about these non-Yllerian Elves. The first traces of factionalism was born in this moment. There were those who thought to pillage and claim what land they saw fit. These are the ancestors of all humans on the mainland and are the originators of the traditions of conquest on the island. However, there were those that did not wish to fight these Elves and wanted to live in peace among them. These are the ancestors of Seraventa, a group of humans who despise the traditions of Endaria. They found a piece of land to live peacefully without taking it from any Elves. An island to the north east of the mainland. Its size is insignificant, but it was enough for these peoples who sought a peaceful existence. Their wishes for peace grew more difficult as time went on and the barbarous Endarians grew and continued to conquer Elven lands. Raiders would come to their islands and steal their hard earned bounty. In one instance, they even stole the women and children of villages and towns they plundered. Infuriated, the people of the island set to the task of rescuing their people under the leadership of Seran. They built dozens, perhaps hundreds of warships to invade the mainland to save their people. In spite of the well documented history regarding Seran and their work to build a fleet capable of transporting a massive army,the fate of the expedition is unknown. However, this event marked the birth of the great Seran Naval Doctrine. To put it simply, it is a Fleet in Being doctrine. Modern day Seraventa, naming the island after the great Seran, boasted over a hundred war vessels and ensured that no enemy would get near their beloved island. With these great numbers, the Yllendyr fleets steered clear at first, only to present the people of Seraventa with an impenetrable foe, the Ironclad. Wooden warships crewed by hundreds of men were sunk one by one by a single Yllendyr ironclad. The Yllendyr did this to show their technological prowess, and showed the Seraventan’s a battle-group of fifteen ironclads. In spite of still having over eighty war ships, the Seraventans surrendered. This decision saved the lives of thousands of sailors and tens of thousands of warriors.

Azuria

City State and richest faction in Endaria. The only faction that openly welcomes trade with outsiders, such as Lieria and Fenice. Endaria has always been behind in technology, but Azurias’ trade connections to the mainland Onindyr gave them a seeming edge over their neighbors on the main island. Their ranks boasted muskets and cannons. They sold the cannon technology to Seraventa in exchange for a trade agreement and military alliance against their common foe, the Asharians. They were the only ones to attempt to conquer Azuria and Seraventa. Though Seraventa’s conquest would likely be too costly, looting Azuria would be worthwhile for the risk. Azuria is coveted not just for its trade value, but for the gold mines beneath the entire city. Looting the city would provide the victor with enough gold to replenish their army with mercenaries, and the gold mines would support the maintenance of such a force for years to come. Unfortunately for the Warmongering Asharians, their swords, axes, and longboats were met with muskets, cannons, and great ships of the line. Though they could never hold a candle to the Seraventan fleet, the Azurian navy was nothing to scoff at. The one and only Endarian Ironclad, the AHS (Azurian Hierarchs’ Ship) Indomitable spearheaded the defense against the Asharians. Though they had an Ironclad, they did not have the proper weapons to fight other ironclads. Cannonballs merely bounced off the hull of the Yllendyr vessels whilst the Indomitables’ iron hull was torn asunder by the terrifying technology of the Yllendyr Imperium.

Elaria

Elven lands. The Elves once ruled the whole island long ago, but are now reduced to the fraction presented. They didn't waste their potential in that small space though. They built multiple cities and cultivated the land into the richest farm and woodland territory on the island. This made them an even bigger target for raiding and conquest. The Lodnorians in particular took interest in Elarian land, but could never fully conquer the Elves due to the river crossing and the forests that dot their border. With Yllendyr rule, raiding and attacking these lands was deemed illegal. Though offered rulership of the island like in the days of old, they refused. Blood is shed on this island for seemingly pointless conquest, but the peoples who live here embrace that life. The Elves of old are no more, and these Elves partake in the tradition of war and conquest. Being given the throne of Endaria by the Yllendyr would be unfair in their eyes.

Varak Haronar

Under the great mountain hold of Mount Haronar lies a grand city the likes of which most dwarves fail to create in their city designs. Varak Haronar. The Dwarves of this mountain have dug deep into this mountain scrounging for gems and minerals to sell to the "Upworlders" so as to generate more wealth. They are an opportunistic faction that will always seek to better themselves above all else. If they are helping you, it likely means that they are helping themselves as well. While Azuria thrives on exports to nations on mainland Onindyr, Varak Haronar thrives on the war economy of Endaria. By virtue of location, they have a splendid trade agreement with the aggressive Asharians. Asharia often raise a substantial amount of levies in times of war and depend heavily on "outsourced" means of producing arms and armor. Varak Haronars' inhabitants gladly provided the arms of war, for the right price.

Dawi Mountain

The most traditional Dwarves of Endaria, Clan Dawi is a feudal society that values strength and honor. Clan Dawi once ruled over Mount Haronar and Mount Draka before the event known as the Great Cataclysm. The Dwarves of these three mountains were once united under the rule of Elran Dawi, Warrior King of Clan Dawi. He traveled above ground and conquered each mountain hold with impunity. Once under his rule he mandated that the three holds dig great underground highways between each other. Four decades and several rebellions later, the great underground passages were complete. King Elran died just days before he could see his dream to fruition. The people of the three mountains were overjoyed and named the passages the Elways in honor of their former king. Time passed, and the Guild Masters of Varak Haronar came up with the idea of creating a fourth Dwarf hold. One that houses people from all three holds. The project was ambitious, but if the Elways are possible, surely hollowing out a new city deep underground isn't far off? Two hundred years pass and the great city of Elran Hardrak was finished. Centered between the three Dwarf holds, hundreds of thousands of Dwarves migrated to this new city of wonderous unity. Unfortunately, fate had other plans for the Dwarves. As they continued to mine for resources near Elran Hardrak, they happened upon an ancient structure. The Dwarves that explored there were never heard from again, but great elemental horrors poured forth from the breach. Elran Hardrak came under siege and requested aid from the other holds. Though they were initiators of the city project, Varak Haronar was the first to destroy the entrances to their Elways. Mount Draka followed suit, and soon the Elways were flooded with the so called "Destroyers." Dawi Mountain was the only hold to send reinforcements, but none would return. Destroyers approached their hold and so they decided to destroy all the entrances to the Elways save one. There, Clan Dawi vowed to make a stand against the Destroyers. They would reclaim the Elways, the other dwarf holds, and save the people of Elran Hardrak. A millenia later, the Dwarves were subjugated by the Yllendyr Imperium and mandated to close the final entrance to the Elways. The Imperium had no interest in wasting resources on a fools errand to save people who are likely already dead.

Mount Draka

It is no secret to the world that one of the few remaining Ice Dragons lies in slumber atop the great Mount Draka. Clan Draka is a Dwarven faction that has pledged their dynastic allegiance to the dragon. They will fight to protect her until she has recovered from her wounds suffered while fighting an Arch Dragon Demon many many years ago. They generally seek the welfare of Endaria so as to better defend their precious dragon against outside forces. They are especially keen on the subject of preparing for the coming of demons. When the Yllendyr were on their doorstep they simply asked, "Have you come to harm our queen?" The Imperium responded no, assuming they were referring to their ruler. It was only after Clan Draka submitted that the Yllendyr understood who their queen really was.

Location/Territories: Large island north of the Yllerian Crownlands.

Religious and Other Beliefs: No official religion

Climate: Temperate. Experiences all 4 seasons

Military

Each faction is legally allowed to have half a legion of soldiers at all times due to the unrelenting warrior culture among the populace. Up to 3 legions may be raised during approved conflict. The clever factions have “retired soldiers” who are cycled into and out of the military at certain intervals so as to have a trained populace, but only have the maintenance for whatever is allowed by the imperium. The administration caught on to this and deemed that these “retired soldiers” were allowed to exist so long as they counted up to 3 legions maximum, like their legal war limit. Anymore, and they would be interred into the Yllendyr auxilia. No point in wasting good soldiers.

Magic Prevalence/Usage and Elemental Alignment: Magic is primarily used among the mages of the Quentalian Aristocracy in the name of research and the Elves of Elaria in daily life and ancient rituals.

History/Background Info

477 years ago, the Kingdom of Endaria was formed under Azrulain Korcatholus, “The First King.” Since his time, there have been five other kings that came into power and fell out of it shortly afterwards. A mere two years ago, Zealossus Laniset completed his conquest of Endaria under the banner of Azuria, becoming the Seventh King of Endaria. He conquered each of the factions fair and square on the open field of battle, but some factions still harbor ill intent toward their new ruler.

Ruler History

First King - Azrulain Korcatholus (Human) Ruled until assasination, 34 years

Second King - Eirikr Vereldan (Human) Ruled for 8 years until he is killed on the battlefield

Third King - Ildari Moonblade (Elf) Ruled for 20 years until she was forced to retreat from the throne due to raging humans.

Fourth King - Roland the Conqueror (Human) Ruled for 5 years until death on the battlefield.

Fifth King - Guildabear Drakentooth (Dwarf) Ruled for 9 years. Died due to suicide, being a sacrifice to his frozen dragon deity.

Sixth King - Agravus de Ashintol (Human) Ruled for 24 years.

Seventh King - Zealossus Laniset (Human)