The blank black stare of Xanaros swung slowly back and forth between the gods and goddesses gathered on Edenia. Long black claws clattered in a gesture of impatience on its bony knees, a sound like spider legs on stone. It listened to their claims and their grievances, their quarrels and their pride. Disgust and despair radiated off of the King in palpable waves; flowers and blades of grass turned monochromatic around it. After a while, it rose, and dramatically dusted off the dirt and dead plants off its legs. A brittle voice, dripping with loathing, came from everywhere and nowhere.
"I am the God of Nothing. It seems...unfitting for me to 'claim' one of these 'domains.' If nobody else does, I will claim the Domain of Destruction. Not that I care."
While the King could not call any aspect of creation "beautiful" -- for it hated beauty -- it viewed the Great Father's blank slate with indifference, at first. But then it's "siblings" had to frolic in their little sandbox and go about changing things. The arrogance of it, the sheer willful, disgusting ignoranc of it all. The King walked the white emptiness. It listened to the distant thunder claps and felt the earth tremble beneath its claws. It saw the rain clouds, the radiant glow above Edenia, all the glory and wonder of creation.
"I think I'm going to be sick," Xanaros thought to itself. Then it sensed the gods squandering even more of their divine power, attempting to wrest control over life and death, war and wisdom. The King felt the pull, the primordial need to compete with the other divinities. It resisted, in disgust. "I am God of NOTHING," it thought, in depressed pride.
Then, interrupting the King's inner monologue and morose wandering came a call, but not from its father. Another. A lesser being, annoying Xanaros and testing it's endless patience. With a dejected swipe of a blackened claw, it tore a rippling rent in reality. With both hands, it pulled itself into Illias's perfect little bubble land, appearing for all the world like some sort of grotesque birth. It stood, looking around in blank-faced disgust at all the riotous life. The pure power with Xanaros, the essence of NOTHING, radiated from it like heat from a forge.
After sweeping aside some grass and flowers, it sat down cross legged on the now bleached earth. In brooding silence, staring straight ahead, hands on its knees, it waited for the other gods.
The King in the Waste believes that creation is a divine flaw, an awkward hiccough in the otherwise uninterrupted perfection of NOTHING. Its holy quest is to return existence to this natural state. The Gods, even their great Father, are an accident, an embarrassing -- and temporary -- blemish. It hates noise, and color, and chaos, and harmony. It craves silence and loneliness, and one day, to be the last being in the multiverse, before it extinguishes itself and brings about total, and absolute oblivion. But first, to accomplish this, it must perform the most profane and perverse of actions; creation.
A being of self-loathing and nihilism, the King possesses a cruel and mocking sense of humor. It belittles other Gods and mortals alike, it openly speaks in scathing rebuke of our great Father, and laments the creation of the world and the beings upon it. Even its own creations are not above its scorn; far from it. Perhaps the King is even more embarrassed of its own flawed existence, and that of its servants, than even the other Gods', and their own little puppets. Regardless, the King is callous, antagonistic, demeaning, and utterly devoid of empathy when dealing with other beings.
An audible sigh went through the hall. It was a shivering, fearful sound, like dry leaves over stone. The crowd seemed to shudder slightly, a candle flame blowing in a cold wind; almost snuffed out, bringing darkness, before stabilizing once more and allowing light to return. Only Enessea was silent, hunched back against one of the smoke-stained walls of the Kinlord's hall. Her crooked fingers clutched a greasy silver platter; the knuckles were white, and shook slightly. Her painfully bright blue eyes were wide and staring. In this, she was not alone. Every Vaesir in the hall gave the Speaker their rapt attention. Drinks were forgotten, food sat in congealed puddles of fat and bone.
"Everything dies," the Speaker repeated, his imperious gaze slowly and majestically sweeping across the gathering. "Men, women, children. Earthshaker and rabbit, weed and soldier pine, every beast and plant, no matter how mighty or humble. Gods die. Even ideas perish." He stamped his staff in to the dirt floor, startling several members in the front of the crowd; several children shied away. "Civilization. Society. Intentions. Philosophies. Entropy is the natural state of every piece of existence, down to the last ember." His gleaming green eyes found the fire; unconsciously, many eyes followed his gaze, including Enessea's. The fire pit was near twenty feet long and five feet wide. Stripped carcasses, the meat long since carved, were suspended over the flames. They had nearly gone out, leaving the occasional tongue of flame and smoldering embers.
"And all that dies...!" The Speaker's voice rang out once more in to the utter silence, causing another jump and gasp to ripple throughout the crowd. "Leaves behind a small part of itself. A dream. An Echo. These Echoes build up over time, clashing across each other and the corners of eternity, like spears off a shield wall." Several of the elders and Carls in the room spoke in unison, a dull monotone, the grinding speech of tradition. "An Echo, Resounding," they spake. "The clash of souls, the tongue of kings, the dying gasp of gods." The Speaker lifted his staff in both hands above his head. Crafted of ironwood it was, wrapped in bands of bronze and gold worked with ancient runes. His head tilted back, causing his rough-spun hood to fall to his grey-maned shoulders. The Speaker was grizzled and worn, positively ancient by Vaesir standards at seventy-three winters. Pale scars mottled his thin hide; his arms and legs were thick cords of knotted muscle. He howled to the blackened beams above; "And we are the Bringers of the Echo!" he sang in a keening wail. "We are the Reaper's Toll, the Youth-Born, the Youth-Slain!"
Those Carls and Thralls not already on their feet stood, drawing oath-knives. The razor edges were drawn across palm and forearm, thigh and chest. "We are the Gallows Tree and the Hanged Man upon it!" they roared back, blood dripping from their hulking bodies to mingle together in the red dirt below. The Kinlord himself stepped forward, an imposing armored beast from the deep in his Kura'thyr. From the depths of his monstrous mask he answered the call; "There is no silence; only the absence of our song!" The Speaker lowered his staff with a thunderous crack to the floor; a flash of purple light emanated from its teeth, bathing the gathering in an eldritch glow. Enessea squeaked in terror, her crooked arms rising to cover her features. His eyes glowed like jewels pulled from the forges of some forsaken abyss.
"And what do our enemies see when our sails crest the wave?" he demanded of the Vaesir. "Death!!" the Kinlord and his warband answered. "And what does the world hear when our spear-din breaks upon the moor?!" "Death!!!" And what will your ring-givers bestow upon you?! What is the blood-moon's price?! What is the answer to the raven-song?!?!" "Death!! DEATH!! DEEEAAAATH!!!"
The call and response rose to a deafening roar. The Kinlord's retainers beat their chests and tore their shirts; guards lining the walls rang their war-spears upon great shields. The walls and ceiling of the broch shuddered ominously, near matching the storm outside. Enessea silently withdrew from the hall as the warband fell upon the serving girls, mates, captives, and each other, ripping aside clothing and armor as they engaged in an orgy of violent sex, wrestling, drinking, and feasting. This would continue for the better part of the night, before the Kinlord Lachlann and his warband departed for the mainlord. Keramallt was a Canumbrian Kinhold, on the "hospitable" southern shore of the gods-forsaken island. Equally at home harpooning whales and seals as they were raiding the "soft south-landers," Keramallt was preparing for a Great Raid. They would be joining numerous other Kinlords from Canumbria on a five year or more journey to the east, to raid isolated Attolian holdings before going south. For great riches and greater glory awaited enterprising warriors willing to take risks and go far from home for an extended period of time.
Enessea was Mornblooded; her father a wealthy Vaesir retainer from Edenperth, her mother a nameless High Mornish house-hold slave. After Enessea was born, it was clear (To everyone's great surprise) that she'd inherited more of her mother's shapely traits than the father's. But the taint was still clearly there, and when she was old enough, she'd been sold for a pittance to a passing slaver out of Jansport. Her first fifteen years of life were dark, wretched, and less said of them, probably the better. She'd lived in Jansport and various other Skornish Clanholds before a strange turn of events had changed her life and fortunes forever. The Kinlord Lachlann had been on a raid to honor a blood-feud against the Kinlord of Estein. Enessea had been a glorified camp-follower in the warband of the Kinlord Argerac; his shield-wall was broken by the Canumbrian's ferocity, and she (Along with the rest of the less valuable plunder) had been abandoned in their hasty retreat. She'd been taken a'prize by the Kinlord Lachlann and brought back with him to become part of his household. It was an honored position, as she was responsible for caring for his wife and children, in addition to general cooking and cleaning duties. And the Canumbrians seemed to express no interest in her womanly features, such as they were.
At just over five feet tall, Enessea was incredibly short to Vaesir standards and tastes. Her fore-arms, thighs, calves, and shoulders were covered in a fine coat of silvery fur, and a pair of tufted canine ears poked out of her shaggy, unruly mane of grey fur. Her feet and hands were the usual Mornblooded crooked, almost useless but for simple tasks, her face was ashen in hue and asymmetrical, and her lips were constantly bleeding and torn from her jagged teeth. So by Half-Mornish standards, she wasn't all that hard to look upon, especially with her bright, innocent blue eyes. But the Canumbrians seemed more than content with their Vaesir wives, though the occasional horny red wench or lad could be seen among the "pillow-slaves". While not a gentle ruler or kindly man, the Kinlord Lachlann and his family did not mistreat her without cause. All in all, things could much worse for the young mutant.
"What did you think of the Raid Ceremony?" a creaking voice rasped out of the shadows. Enessea's heart nearly stopped as she jumped nearly a foot in to the air. Her mouth was opened in to a great round O of surprise as she landed, wincing in pain as the shock went through her crooked feet. "Er, ah, em..." she stammered out, trying to remember not to press her lips and teeth too close together. It made for awkward conversations and simple sentences and words. Many thought her simple as a result. "It was good," she said in her slow, halting way. "The Carls will slay lots and take lots gold." She stared at the ground and shuffled back and forth in the dirt, still clutching her befouled serving platter almost like a shield before her. From the corner of her vision, she saw the Speaker approach, his staff thumping firmly in to the ground as he hop-skipped forward. He'd taken a spear to the thigh forty some-odd years ago and the wound had never healed properly, ending his raiding career. So he'd become a Speaker, discovering a latent talent for magic, oration, and language as he traveled the wilds of Canumbria, spreading news, history, and faith between its rough-and-tumble brochs and holds.
The Speaker, Treugarth by name, halted mere inches away from Enessea. His expression was curious, condescending, like he was examining an insect or a dead fish. "Good. Very gold. Much slay." He snorted derisively, looking the Mornblooded up and down while leaning heavily on his weathered staff with both hands. After a moment, his gaze softened and he shook his head. "Your wyrd is tangled, young one. You will not spend much more time in this land." Enessea looked up in surprise, her eyes wide, her expression startled and sad. "I -ill leaf Canurria?" she said in a hush, wincing as her teeth scraped her gums. Treugarth snorted again, closing his brilliant green eyes, his head bowed and shaking side to side. "Nay, child," he whispered, his voice low and gravelly. "Your wyrd takes you from the Mornlands entirely. I see a great worm coiled around a greater tree with fruits of many colors; the tree is rotting, and many of the fruits have fallen. Ravens quarrel over the slime and ruin." One eye cracked open, transfixing her with the weight of prophecy. "You will cut down this tree. Or you will hang from it." He shrugged dismissively, his cloak falling about his shoulders; the pitch-black cloth caused him to meld with the darkened hallway, almost making him disappear. "Your choice in the end, girl. We all have a choice, and we all have a voice." With that, he was gone, leaving Enessea alone, and very confused.
The next morning she was aboard the Kinlord's flagship, the newly crafted drakkar Cthonian. A fleet of ten more lesser ships followed in wake. Swathed in a sealskin coat, Enessea stood at the ship's aft, looking out at the frozen shores of Canumbria as the snow-cloaked towers of the Keramallt broch faded away with the horizon. She was afraid, but she was also hopeful. Perhaps she was destined for great things. Perhaps she was to be a sacrifice on fate's altar. Regardless, her life had been nothing but a desperate struggle since she'd gasped for her first breath. Her history of pain, abuse, and humiliation had been forged in the Mornlands; in the south, perhaps she could rewrite her fate.
High Mornish: The indigenous peoples of Morn, with white skin, blue-fire eyes, and flaxen hair. Song-writers, forever-youths, dwellers in high places. The Tower-Raisers, the Sea-Founders, the Dawn-Flowers. A race of elves strong in sorcery, peaceful and slow to reproduce or spread. Originally hunter gatherers of the farthest northwestern wastes (Ettomana, the Nameless North), they arrived in ships of enchanted ice upon the shores of Canumbria nearly four thousand years ago. In addition to being long-lived and adept magic-users, Mornish elves are nearly immune to cold and cold-based magic (But they are miserable in the heat, and powerless against flame). The Mornish created elegant towers of silver and white stone, lit from within by eldritch flames. The hollow, lightless shells of these places can be found along Morn's coasts, anywhere north or east of the Harrowmoors, and even outside of Morn proper, including the peaks of Lansigor. Philosophers and poets, artisans and lovers, there are few pure-blooded Morn left these days. They are highly valued house-slaves among the Vaesir. Indeed, their captors collect, trade, and sell them like precious living dolls, among themselves and the rich and powerful of other nations.
Humans: There are few Humans in the Mornlands. They are mostly restricted to the major settlements of mainland Morn, the Kallareen Sway, and isolated holdings of the Harrowmoors, or as slaves in any Vaesir holding. The Kallareen are the only "native" humans to the Mornlands. They are called the Smoke-Kin by the Vaesir, dark of hair and dusky of skin, with brown almond-shaped eyes and short, stocky frames. Many are believed to have Dwarven blood in their veins. Superstitious and reclusive, they are only considered part of the Mornlands because of the crippling tributes they must pay to the Kinlords to avoid being destroyed.
Mornblooded: Also referred to as the Half-Born, the Forlorn, and Lesskin, the Mornblooded are the descendants of High Mornish elves who bred with their Vaesir conquerors...whether willingly or less so. There's is a lonely life, of racial prejudice, genetic mutations, and crippling deformities. Slaves, beggars, and outcasts, many of the Mornblooded become thieves or prostitutes, or attempt to flee to more accommodating nations, generally with depressing results. Mornblooded look like elves, but with patches of mangy fur, over-elongated ears, distended maws with broken lips, jagged teeth, and crooked, asymmetrical legs.
Vaesir: Blood-letters, spear-wielders, ring-givers, victors over all. Tall and leanly muscular, covered in a seasonal coat of dappled fur. They are mostly canine in profile and physiology, but also slightly reptilian. They have long, narrow snouts, and very long pointed ears ending in tufted fur. Their feet are digitigrade and end in splayed toes like a gecko's; made for clinging to slippery ice-sheets and mountain slopes, now adapted for the decks of swaying ships and blood-soaked bogs. The Vaesir are born warriors, incredibly strong, fast, tough, and relentless in battle and the hunt. They can live to about sixty years, but most rarely make it past thirty or forty. Tribal, clannish, and divisive by nature, this is exacerbated by their fast metabolisms (Necessary to fuel their highly active lifestyle) and their fecundity. Conflict over food, resources, territory, and simple stubborn pride defines and characterizes the Vaesir. They are born to suffer, to struggle for dominion.
The Mornlands are ruled over by some two dozen warlords and their underlings; these realms and lords have no centralized government, no king or queen, no unifying religion or creed. Honor and loyalty are owed to your family, clan, and tribe, and to the ring-giver who provides you security and sustenance. The extended family unit is the core of Vaesir life. They dwell in small fortified farms and camps called Steadings, raising crops, herding livestock, hunting and fishing, as their geographical region of the Mornlands dictates. A group of five to fifteen intermarried Vaesir families creates a Clan, creating a network of Steadings around a Broch, a communal stronghold and dwelling place surrounded by stables, forges, and other support outbuildings. A Broch is a circular, squat tower (Usually of only two to five stories) built around a hearth. The hearth's chimney goes through each floor and pierces out the center of the roof (Which is dramatically slanted, to runoff rain and snow). The servants and slaves of the Broch, as well as a few guards, sleep on the first floor, while the Clanlord's household guard sleeps on the second. In smaller Brochs, the Clanlord and their family sleep on this floor as well, but otherwise they will reside on higher floors. There is no guilt, privacy or shame in the Broch. Bathing and mating are done in full view of the rest of the Broch. Cooking, cleaning, crafting, tending the hearth, and caring for the young are tasks shared by everyone, from the lowliest thrall to the Clanlord themself.
Above the Clan and Clanlord is the Tribe, the Family of Families, the Kinhold. Just as each Clan is a collection of interconnected families, a Tribe is a group of three to ten (Or more, in some cases) Clans who are bound by marriage, geographical convenience, and oaths of vengeance and loyalty. Each Clanlord pays tribute (In the form of material wealth, manpower, and fealty) to a Kinlord. The Kinlords are the rulers of Vaesir society, the representatives of Mornish politics and influence in other nations. To the common Vaesir, they are almost gods. Powerful mages, peerless warriors, ruthless in war and the bedchamber. Only the Kinlords are knowledgeable in the ways of crafting, maintaining, and utilizing the Kurathyr, the Living Mantle, "dragon-plate", the arcane armor that makes them almost unstoppable on the battlefield. The Kinhold is name for the stronghold that a Kinlord lives in, and in the realm of Clans that they rule over. The Kinhold proper looks like a group of regular sized Brochs connected to a larger-than-normal Broch (Six to twelve stories tall) by short hallways like overgrown tunnels. Each is self-sufficient in the case of a siege or raid, and boast arrowloops, secret passages and posterns, and numerous traps to confuse and terrorize attackers.
Oaths of fealty between the commoners, the military, and the nobility, such as they are, work somewhat differently in the Mornlands than in other more "conventional" nations. While the average Vaesir strives every day to join a warband, and they near worship the all-powerful Kinlords, the Lords of the Mornlands are obligated to them as well. The Carls and their masters depend on these people for food; they could theoretically provide for themselves, but this would cut down on time practicing and raiding. Additionally, if they did not protect the common folk, where would new Carls come from when they are cut down in battle? Likewise, Carls swear unswerving oaths of fealty to their Lords, Clan, Tribe, and Hold. It is their duty to protect the land, fight when it is asked of them, and die if need be. In return, their Lord provides them a hall and warm hearth, meat and drink, arms and armor, clothing and seed, salt and silver. It is a near sacred bond between Lord and Carl, a covenant more powerful than family to the Vaesir.
The Vaesir are surprisingly uninterested and nonchalant regarding religion as a whole. Many Vaesir almost worship their Kinlords as gods on Takanis; near indestructible forces on the battlefield, clad in the pieces of great monsters they've killed. Others are obstinately agnostic or even atheists. The Mornlands are a harsh and unforgiving land, where it is difficult to eke a living out of the soil and waves, especially when monsters, enchanted forests, and living lights are constantly trying to kill you. Many Vaesir actively defy the gods. In Canumbria, Krotem, and Skorn, there are some animistic shamans who commune with spirits of the wild and the elements, in particular animals and the ocean.
However, in the southern coasts and islands of the Mornlands, and in its more cosmopolitan ports, many Vaesir follow the Tenfold Truth. This is a philosophical misinterpretation of the Five Wisdoms and Corruptions of Kera-Bijan. In this faith, there are five gods of Aer (Air), Maa (Earth), Tahn (Fire), Miot (Metal), and Dwyr (Water). Each represents the "positive" and "negative" aspects of that element, and all ways that element effects life (And death). For example, the god Tahn represents fire's ability to warm a home, provide light, cook, and create, but also to burn down structures and destroy crops. This faith is relatively casual, however. The faithful keep shrines in their homes, and large Brochs maintain a good-sized shrine or small temple. There are no real priests, but there are shrine tenders and traveling sages who spread the knowledge and wisdom of the faith. It's a religion really about maintaining balance and respecting the natural forces of the world, coexisting with them, and understanding them. There are great temples to the Tenfold Truth in Edenperth, Dunperth, and Raven's Crossing.
Likewise, due to their friendly relations with Sanghara, the faith of Ishareth has spread to the Mornlands. She is called Sharyth in the Vaesir tongue. The Vaesir call her the Bloody Mother, the Steel Sister, and the Decider of Fates. She is a Vaesir goddess of battle, child-birth, consequence, and truth. In holy scripture, she is illustrated as a black-furred Vaesir, wielding a flaming sword in one hand and carrying a white staff in the other; she wears a polished steel mask. Sharyth has many followers in Raegenstrang, Skorn, and Krotem, and her followers clash repeatedly (Often violently) with practitioners of the Tenfold Truth in cosmopolitan Edenperth.
The Mornlands are divided in to numerous distinct regions. Each has different ways of surviving on a day-to-day basis, though life in the Mornlands is largely seasonal. There are no highways in the Mornlands, only hunting trails and the occasional muddy herd-track. The only road and mode of travel that the Vaesir respect is the sea, and even the poorest coastal Steadings have at least one ship for travel and trade.
The island of Canumbria is almost wholly dependent on the hunting of migrating caribou, seal, walrus, and whale, as well as fishing, gathering roots and herbs for medicinal and recreational uses, and raiding their less fortunate neighbors. There are no independent Clan Brochs on Canumbria, and its Kinlords are the poorest in all the Mornlands, their Kinholds looking like the lesser Brochs of the south. Most Canumbrias are nomadic, living in hide tents on the tundra, or in crude sod huts along the southern coast. The "Kinhold" of Ivory Throne isn't even permanently inhabited. Walrus flood the stony shores of this region during the mating season, and Tribes of Canumbria fight for the right to hunt them, or must sneak past the warring tribes to try and bag a few. The greatest hunters of Canumbria brave the storm-tossed northern waves with rare and expensive steel harpoons, seeking leugath, narwhal, orca, and sea serpents. The Kinlords of Canumbria are proud of their narwhal horn spears and their dragon-plate of gleaming green and silver scales.
While Morysland is technically part of greater Canumbria, its inhabitants do not consider themselves Canumbrian, and neither do the "true" Canumbrians. Morysten is one of the few places with a surviving, non-ruined High Mornish tower at the center of the Kinhold. Its Brochs have been incorporated in to the structure, and a bustling (If dreary) port town has grown up around it. Morysland is a rain-slicked mountain thrusting out of the sea, carpeted in ancient pine forests and surrounded by beaches of black and grey pebbles and treacherous shoals of razor sharp rocks. The Kinlords of Morysten have a reputation as the greatest mages in the Mornlands, but also as being incredibly isolated, jealous, and arrogant. They guard their ancient knowledge, Elven relics, and miserable island as if it were great mound of gold. It is a terribly kept secret that the single greatest reserve of Arcanite -- perhaps a third of the entire Mornlands' stock -- is buried in deep and treacherous mines underneath Mount Morys.
Skorn is considered the birthplace of the Vaesir, or at least, their modern way of life. The Kinholds of Skorn are rocky, covered in thorny woods and barren moors, and infested with deodands and leucomorphs. Faceless daemons lurk in the heights of the Chollain Mountains, a terrible wasteland of razor-sharp ridges and icy rivers, populated by half-Morn outcasts and cannibal clans. As a result, the Skornish are among the hardest, cruelest, fiercest fighters and survivors of the Mornlands. When the winter winds blow and the seas become a storm-tossed nightmare, they don seal-skin cloaks and rub whale-fat in their fur, to hunt monsters and outlaws, and to fish the coast and tiny swift-running rivers that empty there. But when the fog clears and the sea calms, the Kinlords of Skorn don their smoke-blackened warhelms, load their longships with nets, spears, and shields, and mount the dragonhead on their prows to go a'reaving. The Skornish are the most notorious slavers and raiders of the Mornlands, earning all of the realms a reputation as pirates and kidnappers. That's not to say that the other Vaesir don't engage in these activities as well, but the Skornish do more than all the rest combined. While the Kinlords of Skorn are as fractious and independent as any other, all of them must pay lip-service to the authority in Jansport, the Kinlord of Skarland. Skarland is the largest and richest of the Skornish Kinholds, and Jansport is the only true settlement on Skorn, as well as one of Morn's only true cities. Originally an outpost for whalers, it has become the largest slave market in the Mornlands, if not the north. Anything, and anyone, can be bought and sold in its reeking docks and stalls. Additionally, Skorn's only real forests are in Skarland, and the Kinlord's retainers patrol them relentlessly, looking for rogue woodcutters and charcoalburners, as well as the bold monsters who would dare dwell there.
Where the Canumbrians are proud hunter-gatherers and the Skornish are ruthless raiders, the Krotemi are relatively peaceful fisherfolk and miners. Copper, silver, and rock salt deposits run through the jagged hills and cliffs of Great Krotem, the shores of which are dotted with little fishing Brochs and crude lighthouses. The three lesser islands of the Krotem are each barely able to support a single Broch, and technically constitute one Kinhold themselves (Though they do not have their own Kinlord, and largely owe fealty to the Kinlord in Krotemar). While the Kinlords of Great Krotem do occasionally hire themselves out as mercenaries to foreign powers, they are more likely to mount merchant expeditions or go prospecting on explored stretches of the northern coast.
While they are inhabited mostly by humans, the Kallareen Sway is considered a realm of the Mornlands. The Kallareen islands are bitter little rocks in the Inner Sea, populated by humans with dwarven blood. The Kallareen were "conquered" by the Vaesir some two centuries ago. Unable to work their terraced farms or send out fishing boats due to Vaesir raiders, the Kallareen agreed to send the majority of their mineral wealth to local Kinlords for protection. However, this bribery doesn't apply to all Kinlords, so this has led to numerous Vaesir realms fighting each other for the right of being the Kallareen's mercenary protectors. Most Kallareen despise and fear the Vaesir, and long for a way to get back at their oppressors. Some are more pragmatic, and can be seen as craftsfolk, bankers, and advisors in Kinlord courts and settlements.
The southern coastal realms of Morn (Most everything below the Harrowmoors) are referred to as the Erean Reach. These also include Sanskar and the Turhyls. Ereans are the most cosmopolitan and internationally-minded Vaesir in the Mornlands. Compared to the rest of the Mornlands, these lands are gentle, with humid summers and rainy winters. The Dunharrow River Valley is the breadbasket of these lands, providing food for every adjacent realm, but no real international exports. The Erean Kinlords consider themselves nobles, with old hereditary bloodlines, beautiful Brochs, and richly decorated Bakanei and Kurathyr. They are the most well-known mercenaries of the Mornlands, traveling Takanis or sending out other members of their families and households to represent them. Edenperth is the largest city in the Mornlands, boasting a "massive" population of nearly twenty thousand souls. It is the closest thing that the Mornlands have to a capital. The Kinlord of Edenperth maintains an embassy, the House of Lords, to host gatherings and diplomatic talks among the Erean Kinlords. Rulers north of the Harrowmoors are invited to these meetings, but most do not deign to join. Edenperth is the only place where it is common to see High Mornish, other elves, and even more exotic races, but in most cases, they are slaves. Surabhi and Sangharan are somewhat common, as craftsfolk, teachers, advisers, and merchants. Dunperth is much smaller, with only some nine thousand permanent residents. It is less of a trade city, and more of an industrial center.
The rough and tumble highland Kinhold of Cenn does NOT consider itself Erean. The Cennish do not even have their own Kinlord; each Clanlord rules their own tiny domain in its own right. They raid and squabble among themselves incessantly, barely even noticing the politics or struggles of the rest of the realm. Passionate and fierce, they consider themselves the protectors of the cities of Edenperth and Dunperth. Both cities send them food and weapons to supply them in the bitter seasons. In return, the Cennish prevent the majority of the terrible monsters of Lansigor from terrorizing the "weak" coastal folk.
To the north of the Harrowmoors is the region called Raegenstrang, though most of this land has been united under the banner of Mundweorth. The lords and retainers of Mund's Brand are known for their fearsome bone and black-iron masks carved in the shape of scowling daemons and beasts, and favor two-handed "headhunter" axes over the spears of most Vaesir warriors. The capital of Mundweorth is Mund's Brand, a massive fortified lighthouse, and one of the last active High Mornish citadels in the Mornlands. The beacon is a huge shard of Arcanite, casting illumination over the treacherous coastal cliffs and shoals. Mund's Brand is also the name of the ancestral weapon of the Mundsblut family, a fiery greatsword. Over the last three generations, the Kinlords of Mundweorth have crushed all rivals north of the Harrowmoors, conquering the large settlements of Raven's Crossing and Graeghaele for slaves and plunder, before securing the other Brochs and Kinholds of the Mern River. The only remaining independent Raegen realm is Polmear. Polmear is largely thick woodland, and everything between the trees is bogland. Additionaly, the Mearan are the most skilled archers in the north, and have threatened to burn down the (highly valuable) trees if Mundweorth should invade in earnest. So they exist in an uneasy truce, while the Kinlord of Mundweorth bides her time, gathers her strength, and prepares to make good her claim as the Highlord of Morn.
Dividing Raegenstrang and the Erean Reach are the Harrowmoors. This area is largely haunted wilderness. A great wasteland of bogs, thorny moors and gulches, mist covered wetlands, and the occasional lonely flint tor. The Vaesir sometimes call this place the Green Desert, the Great Moor, and the Wraithlands. Magical anomalies are common here. Living lights, mournful spirits, shifting landscapes, and rifts in to other worlds contend for space with grinhounds, urgath, fomorians, and the waveborn. People do live here, but they're thin on the ground. Mornblooded outcasts, escaped human slaves, druids and hermits, outlaws and smugglers...the desperate, mad, lonely and forlorn call this place a human, or a prison. No Kinlord has made a determined attempt to colonize the Harrowmoors in hundreds of years. Most blame their current state to a curse or ritual gone wrong cast by the High Mornish sorcerers, one last act of spite to try and slow down their conquerors.
To the west of the Mornlands proper, above the highlands of Cenn, is a dreaded place where most Vaesir do not tread. A wilderness of frostbitten peaks and impossibly high waterfalls, breathtaking vistas of terrible beauty and sweeping valleys carved by eons-old glaciers and tectonic forces. This land is called Lansigor, the Western Heights. No Vaesir live here permanently, and even outcasts from their kind and the other races of the Mornlands do not last long in the Heights. There are a few dwarf fortresses, groups of desperate pioneers and prospectors striking the earth in the hopes of making it rich. Numerous veins of copper, gold, and silver run deep under the heights, as well as nests of various gemstones, including the precious Arcanite. However, Lansigor is also the breeding and nest place of the faceless daemons. Other monsters include living lights, grinhounds, fomorians, and the massive earthshaker.
South of Lansigor, brooding over the northern border of Feochain and preventing the Kallareen from attempting mainland colonization, is the Starkwald. A great and ancient forest, a thick and primeval growth of gnarled trees. The forest floor is almost devoid of undergrowth, instead harboring a dizzying array of fungus and mold, underneath which is a thick humus. Many of the trees are unnatural, twisted in to impossible geometries and sporting alien colors and scents. More so than anything other region or wild of the Mornlands, the Starkwald harbors an abundance of monstrous denizens. Deodands, leucomorphs, smiling dogs, hairy gids, carrion moths, gloomwidows, and other, more horrifying and less substantial threats haunt this overgrown wild.
The Vaesir calender, officially recorded in the great tower of Morysten, begins about 925 years ago. This is called "Dragon's Reckoning", when Morysten was conquered and High Mornish society officially ended. The Cradle of the Dawn: Approximately -4000 DR. The High Mornish elves arrive in modern-day Canumbria. They colonize modern day Morysland, the southern coast of Canumbria, the northern mainland peninsula, much of the northern and eastern slopes of Lansigor, southern and western Skarland, and the Krotem Islands over a period of nearly three thousand years. The First Packs: Approximately -300 DR. Vaesir explorers arrive in Canumbria. Many reluctantly settle the dismal island and almost immediately come in to conflict with the Mornish. Others move on to the island of Skorn. The Dragon's Claim: Approximately -120 DR. Great fleets of Vaesir warlords come out of the north. Canumbria is conquered, Skorn is completely colonized, and the northern peninsula is invaded. The Last War: Approximately -30 DR. The Mornish of Lansigor flee in to the western wastes. Every island and mainland stronghold of the Mornish is overrun and conquered or razed. The great sorcerer queen of Morysten reputedly sends a magical attack against the Vaesir, killing thousands and theoretically creating the modern day anomalies of the Harrowmoors. Morysten is besieged. The Vaesir begin to divide the spoils, none-too-peacefully, and even fight over the right of assaulting Morysten. The Red Dawn: 0 DR. Morysten is conquered. The Black Dragon Banner flies over its burning towers, and the Vaesir's claim of this wretched waste is complete. The Red Years: 0 DR - 283 DR. There are hundreds of Kinlords and thousands of Clanlords, but none of them have mastered magic yet. Arcanite reserves were rare in their homeland, and they are only now discovering the abundance here. Additionally, more progressive Lords (Especially in Morysten) are delving in to Mornish ruins, recovering relics and archives of magical power and knowledge. Incessant tribal warfare rages between numerous factions vying for power, significantly reducing the Vaesir population. Tribes of Kabal first begin to form petty confederations, in particular around the city-state of Deloq (Edenperth). First Reformation Wars: 283 DR - 318 DR. The Kinlord of Morysten declares himself Highlord of the Mornlands and begins a war of unification. He conquers southern Canumbria and Graeghaele before a Raegen and Skornish alliance, with Kabal mercenaries, defeat him at Raven's Crossing. The Push South: 312 DR - 363 DR. Numerous Kinlords begin an expeditionary conquest against the Kabal tribes. Deloq is brutally sacked, its people enslaved or put to the sword. Everything east of the Dunharrow is swept in to the sea or put in to chains. First peaceful contact is made with the Kera-Bijani, and marks the beginning of international mercenary work for the Vaesir. The Dragon's Ascent: 363 DR - 554 DR. Technological advances (In particular in mining, metallurgy, agriculture, and magic) allow for the growth of Vaesir settlements and Kinholds. A time of relative peace and stability for the Vaesir. Many of the modern Kinholds are founded, and the Turhyls are conquered. Dunperth is founded as a gateway to the south. Towards the end of this period, first contact is made with Sangharan merchant-explorers. Intrigued by the exotic goods and peoples, many Vaesir mercenaries sign on with the Sangharans for the journey back east and south. Other Vaesir Lords and independent pirate captains prey upon the Sangharans, or follow them east to scout out potential new targets. Second Reformations Wars: 550 DR - 555 DR. The faith of Kera-Bijan comes to the Mornlands. It is corrupted (Through cultural divides and language barriers) in to a form more pleasing to the Vaesir lifestyle. A religious warlord in Edenperth gathers many Clans under his banner and attempts another war of unification. This type, preaching that all Vaesir must follow the worship the Tenfold Truths. He is slain at the Battle of Brightmoor, a devastating conflict that causes the substantial growth of the southern Harrowmoors. Edenperth shrinks, many of its holdings divided between the victors in the alliance who brought it low. Fall of the Kabal: 556 DR - 630 DR. The Vaesir push west across the Dunharrow and complete their conquest of the Kabal on the northern side of the Inner Sea. The great realm of Feochain grows in power and Sanskar is seized from the Kabal. First acts of piracy against Qaroitn and the Kallareen take place during this time. The Gates are Opened: 630 DR - 733 DR. The golden century of Vaesir piracy. The Kallareen islands submit to Vaesir authority in return for crippling tributes, and the establishment of Erean and Skornish outposts on their islands. Vaesir pirates spread west, terrorizing the tribes, city-states, and vulnerable coastal nations of the Inner Sea, as well as creating a still modern plague on the shipping routes. Numerous strongholds and outposts are established hundreds of miles away to serve as points from which to strike out against rich targets. Third Reformation Wars: 730 DR - 734 DR. The second, and short-lived attempt, by the Kinlord of Morysland to proclaim themselves Highlords of the Mornlands. They are repulsed at Mund's Brand, then make some headway in to Canumbria before their armies are shattered by a Canumbrian confederation. Following a three year siege, the Morys surrender, losing much of their material wealth, overseas territory, and navy. They are still recovering (And planning revenge) to this day. The Sea War: 735 DR - 738 DR. Bold expeditionary Vaesir captains discover Attolia. After a few probing attacks on outlying island settlements, a major raid destroys a small port town. After numerous failed scouting attempts, the Attolians decipher a crude Vaesir chart after a failed raid. The resulting punitive war is devastating. Mostly a naval engagement, the incredibly long line of supply, terrible weather, hostile terrain, deadly magic, and savage inhabitants of the Mornland are matched against the awesome power of the Iron Walls of Attolia, its near-bottomless treasury, and the vast population of its Empire. The war is astronomically costly for the Empire, and a bitter stagnation for the Vaesir, unable to build new ships, explore east, conduct southern trade, or conduct their own internal political struggles. Meanwhile, Vaesir ships still abroad continue their raids against Attolian interests, and other pirates begin to fill the vacuum. Eventually, the House of Lords meet with Attolian generals and diplomats. The Kinlords of the Mornlands near unanimously agree to never again mount a raid on mainland Attolia, attack foreign pirates in Attolian waters, and give the Empire discounts as mercenaries in wars against third parties. While isolated and independent Vaesir raids do take place on Attolian outlying islands and merchant ships, no Vaesir has attempted a raid against the great island itself...for now. Eyes on the Dusk: 739 DR - 810 DR. The "Great Gates" are mapped out and traversed as the Vaesir experiment with new ways to "interact" with the south. Numerous outposts, hideouts, and strongholds established at the Gates and beyond, for smugglers and slavers mostly. A Fire in the North: 811 DR to 925 DR (Present). The Kinlord in Mund's Brand begins a war of conquest, similar to Reformation Wars, against the other Kinlords of Raegenstrang. Wielding a terrifying flaming sword of epic proportions on the frontlines, the disciplined Carls of house Mundsblut tread roughshod over the scattered Raegen Lords. Over three generations, Mundweorth conquers every other Raegen Kinhold and subjugated all Clanlords, save for the rugged Kinhold of Polmear. At this time, the southern Kinholds are oblivious to the potential danger, while Polmear tries to gather allies for a Fourth Reformation War.
Territorial Claims:
The majority of the Mornland's economy is based on mercenary work, raiding, and the slave trade. Kinlords of the mainland are more likely to travel to distant countries and hire themselves out as assassins, bodyguards, or mercenary companies to foreign powers. Islander Vaesir are more likely to be raiders, scouring the northern shores for unarmed merchantmen and vulnerable coastal towns to pillage. They even enslave their own, either out of desperation, overpopulation, or sheer pragmatism. These slaves are either put to work in farms or mines, or sold overseas to other less reputable individuals.
Most of the Mornlands are too poor to support much agriculture, and the idea of cash crops is wasteful and obscene to most Mornish. Along the Mern River, which runs through Mundweorth, in the Dunharrow River Valley, along the edges of the Harrowmoor, coastal Great Krotem, and Polmear, the main subsistence crop is dulbri. It somewhat resembles a cross between a cat-tail and a potato. A woody stalk grows out of damp, muddy ground. Little bulbs grow up the length of the top, traveling to the tip and growing in size. Once they get to the top, they are ripe, and fall off when overripe. They rot and mix with the loam, creating a healthy humus to support more dulbri, which can often grow wild and spread to other fields if left unchecked. Dulbri fruit is largely tasteless but nutritious. It is usually sliced, seasoned with herbs and animal fat, then baked in small clay ovens and served with fish, mollusks, or eel. These regions, and much of the Erean Reach, is also known for the vasko, a massive and ornery toad-like creature that is raised for its eggs, then slaughtered for its meat when it grows too large and aggressive. Otherwise, the Vaesir grow barley, cabbage, and potatoes in the north, apples, carrots, and wheat in the south, and most Vaesir raise conventional livestock such as cattle, goat, and sheep. However, all must supplement their diet and livelihood by hunting and fishing.
In rockier regions, the Vaesir (Or more likely slaves) mine copper, granite, iron, marble, silver, and tin. While not skilled at crafting jewelry or other refined goods, they do occasionally export these materials to other nations. Most is kept for making weapons, armor, cutlery, collars, and chains, or for fortifying or decorating Brochs.
The Mornlands do not have anything remotely resembling a united standing army for the defense of the realms. If they were invaded, truly invaded, by a foreign country with intent to conquer, such a force would encounter a somewhat unified Mornland. The Vaesir would never tolerate a foreign army on their soil, and even if they did not create a whole army to counter it, each Kinlord would individually harass, raid, and bushwhack the soldiers and supply lines of the invaders. Furthermore, such invaders would struggle to maintain such a supply line, and foraging off of the harsh landscape of the Mornlands is untenable. Lastly, the monstrous inhabitants of the north are not picky in those they prey upon and terrorize.
Each Clanlord and Kinlord maintains a warband of handpicked soldiers referred to as "Carls." The common folk of the Mornlands strive, dream, and toil to join this hallowed company. When not working the fields, mines, or waves, the Vaesir train night and day, pushing their already near-perfect bodies to greater extremes. The axe, bow, knife, and spear are the weapons of these common folk ("Thralls") and household guards. One of the only common laws in the Mornlands is that the rank and file, the peasantry, are not permitted to arm themselves with "Bakanei", the Dividers, swords. Only a Clanlord, Kinlord, or direct member of their family is allowed to carry or wield one. This is namely because good swords, the high-carbon steel, and knowledge to craft them, are all rare in the Mornlands. Only within the last century or so have any of the realms' rulers considered abstract concepts of the divine right of rule, noblesse oblige, or even really the true concept of "nobility."
Each Clanlord can maintain a retinue of between 10 and 30 Carls, and can call up 50 to 100 Thralls, while the average Kinlord should be able to afford at least 50 Carls, and upwards of 200 for the richer lords, and can call on 500 to 1,000 Thralls (And then of course summon the Clanlords and Carls who serve under them). However, Thralls are rarely used for expeditionary purposes (That is to say, overseas raiding, slaving, and mercenary work). Most Lords only use their Thralls in the defense of their realms, for hunting down brigands, tracking down monsters, and raiding their neighbors.
Vaesir are trained in a variety of fighting styles, though most of their tactics can be broken down in to three broad categories. When boarding ships (A common past time) most of these strategies fall apart. Missile troops provide covering fire while the warriors surge forward in a screaming mass, leaping with their powerful legs across impossible distances. The Kinlords lead the charge, shrugging off deadly blows in their dragonplate and laying about with enchanted sword and axe.
Tonu Vilaat: The Waves of Wrath, the main tactic used with mixed Carls and Thralls. This strategy is generally used when Kinholds go to war, or when the Mornlands are invaded by foreign forces. It is simple; unarmored Thralls with missile weapons gird the flanks. In the center is a mass of infantry, mostly with spears and shields, with oath knives and hatchets for the butchery. The first few ranks and the very last ranks are of the most heavily armored, veteran troops, with the soldiers in the front ranks carrying the shortest weapons and largest shields. Those in the middle carry longer spears and throwing weapons. If the enemy attempts to attack the missile troops at the flank, they simple melt back, and the veteran soldiers in the rear flow forward to reinforce, the skirmishers firing all the while. Kaarfen Steig: The Dragon's Scales, the main tactic used with elite household Carls in full battle harness with great shield and war spear. A simple but fearsome wall of massive, overlapping shields. The warriors in the front rank use javelins, short spears, cestus, and oath knives, those in back form a bristling array of spears. The flanks and rear are guarded by warriors without shields, wielding two-handed weapons and forming a more staggered, skirmishing formation. Lawr Jumas: The Spear of the Gods, a popular tactic used by Carls and Thralls against overwhelming numbers of foes, particularly those of inferior training or equipment. It is a wedge formation, with the best troops on the outside of the wedge, and the worst within. At the tip is traditionally the Kinlord, depending on their superior equipment, magical protection, and awesome fighting skill to safeguard them. The wedge thrusts forward in to the center of the enemy, breaking them apart, never stopping, until they can push through to rear and sweep to one side or the other, driving the enemy in to confusion and terror. If need be, the wedge can quickly form a circle, with the vulnerable unarmored or ranged troops in the middle, Lords circling the exterior of the shield, seeking and granting glorious death.
Weapons and Armor of the Mornlands Bakanei: In High Mornish, bakanei roughly translates to "divider." The Mornish bakanei could be described as a hand-and-a-half sword; while traditionally wielded two-handed, it can also be used in conjunction with a shield, knife, or simply one-handed if the swordsman is injured (Or cocky). The blade is about three feet long, very slightly curved, and single-edged. A variety of crossguards exist, but are usually thin and horizontal, sometimes sweeping upwards symmetrically, or with the front quillion sweeping downwards to protect the fingers. Bakanei in the Mornlands are enchanted, Arcanite infused weapons with a variety of properties. Most are simply protected against wear and tear, and supernaturally sharpened and hardened beyond the durability of normal steel. Battle Harness: Carls and Lords don this heavy suit of armor when they go a'reaving, or in the defense of their own lands against invasion. The base of the battle harness is a silken undergarment going from the thighs to the upper arms, followed by a linen tunic that goes to the elbows and knees, a thin leather tabard, and heavy bronze cuirass and pauldrons. Head protection varies by realm, generally a lacquered wood or bone mask reinforced with bronze, often with a studded leather nape guard. Rich (Or paranoid) harness wearers supplement the armor with metal scales on the skirt of the tabard and leather plates on the arms and shins. Fortune Suit: The fortune suit is a simple, even crude suit of armor, favored by independent mercenaries, pirates, and outlaws (From whence the name originally comes). The armor's core is a sleeveless coat of leather or canvas sewn with metal disks or scales (Usually of bronze, copper, or tin). This is all many of the armor's traditional users can afford. Others augment it with a leather or bronze chanfron, studded gauntlets, and leather kilt. Great Shield: A massive protective augmentation only carried by the strongest of fighters. The great shield is round, made from a base of wooden planks, covered in a thin sheet of beaten bronze and then another layer of treated hide, secured to the wood by leaden pegs. Four feet across and concave, the great shield is immensely heavy and designed to rest on the carrier's shoulder when not in use or when part of a shield wall. Headhunter: The fearsome axe of Vaesir warriors and hearty woodsmen. It is a two-handed weapon with a thick three to four foot long handle, the grip often wrapped in leather or metal bands. Veteran or superstitious warriors carve protective fetishes or the records of past kills along it. One side of the head is a heavy half-moon wedge, while the other features a four inch long spike. Incredibly effective against most armor (Natural or man-made) and shields, the headhunter is most well known to almost effortlessly cleave through bone and muscle in the hands of a strong, practiced user. Kurathyr: Dragon-plate, the Living Mantle, the most feared extension of a Kinlord's will and power. Most Kurathyr are not actually made from dragon parts, though some are. Dragon-plate is made from the scavenged parts of any fearsome monster of the Mornlands or lands beyond. The "average" Kurathyr is made from a frame of bone, bound together with soft hides and gut string. A knee-length hauberk of scales or leather is laid over this frame, followed by plates of steel up to an inch thick. Arcanite is embedded throughout the armor, forming a carefully aligned matrix of power. Kurathyr is incredibly heavy; the enchantments placed upon it augment the wearer's strength and endurance, allowing them to bear the armor's weight for hours at a time. Additionally, the Arcanite-alignment redirects the kinetic energy from blows hitting any part of the armor, redistributing any attacks evenly across the entire suit. Each Kurathyr is made for and by its Kinlord, and no two are quite the same. Some are richly decorated pieces of art; others are simple and straight-forward, looking little different from ordinary plate. If a Kinlord is slain in Kurathyr, the crystals expel any of their remaining power, cracking and turning the armor in to a useless heap. However, such is easier said than done. Most attacks feel like gentle rain to a Kurathyr-wearer, and even most magic harmlessly splashes off of it. Oath Knife: As much a symbol of status as a weapon and a tool, the oath knife is given to most Vaesir upon reaching the cusp of adulthood. The handle is made of bone or copper in poorer households, while wealthier landholders or Carls would use bronze, silver, gold, or petrified wood. This handle is engraved with symbols of the owner's house and family, personal accomplishments, and oaths of vengeance. Single-edged and only slightly curved, an oath knife is almost a short sword, roughly twenty inches in length (Including the six inch handle). It does not posses a hand guard, and most pommels are purely decorative. Self Bow: Self bows are simple weapons designed for hunting and defense against medium-sized herd animals and lightly armored enemies. Generally crafted from a single piece of wood that has been carved, scraped, and polished in to shape, then covered in protective laminate and tipped in nocks of antler or horn. Some bowyers attach a grip of leather or linen, while the string is gut, flax, or silk. Target Shield: A small wooden shield, popular amongs outlaws, landholders, and couriers. It is roughly twenty inches across and covered in a thin layer of leather secured in place with bronze studs. The rim is a thin sheeting of bronze, both to further secure everything and to act as an offensive edge. Target shields are ineffective against most missile weapons due to their small size. They are excellent close combat tools, able to knock aside blows, entangle arms and hafts, and act as an additional melee weapon as the situation merits. War Spear: The traditional weapon of professional Vaesir soldiers and household guards. It possesses a five foot long haft, and ends in a foot long leaf-shaped blade on one side and a small smaller spike on the other. This spike is used to brace the weapon on the ground, finish off downed foemen while the spear is held in a vertical position and the wielder walks past, or as a secondary head if the main head breaks. While most often used for thrusting in conjunction with a shield, the spear can be held in two-hands and make swift cutting attacks. Intended primarily for close-quarters, the war-spear is aerodynamic and can be flung accurately up to almost fifty feet.
The Thralls and outlaws of the Mornlands also use clubs, javelins, and simple knives and hatchets. Likewise, the best armor many of them can afford is a hide shirt. In Canumbria, Carls are known to use cestus made from bone and leather, and both Carls and Thralls of Polmear wield powerful yew longbows. If necessary, the Vaesir's powerful jaws and canine teeth can be brought to bear. The Mornlands do not field anything resembling cavalry.
Much as they do not have a proper standing army, the Vaesir lack a proper navy as well. However, every coastal steading has at least a decent-sized longboat, every Clanlord can float 4 to 6 longships, and every Kinlord can float at least 10 to 15 more. Additionally, the great sorcerers of Morn have numerous ways to threaten the waves. Numerous mind-controlled sea creatures and the slain, hollowed out, and reanimated corpses of other great beasts. The greatest Kinlord sorcerers can exercise limited control over the weather, at least in their own regions, to summon great waves, change the winds, and lower or raise the tides.
Live by the Sword, Die by the Sword: The Vaesir are some of the finest fighters in the world. The average Vaesir is faster, stronger, and tougher than an exceptional human. Their society rewards physical perfection and martial prowess; the only way to rise from drudgery is to be selected for a Lord's retinue. A Carl is then obligated to defend their Lord's lands, join them on raids and mercenary contracts, and continue practicing daily to stay in top physical condition. In addition to constantly struggling against the world and each other, the Vaesir lands are swarming with monstrous abominations and magical anomalies, and the very land and weather works against them. As a result of this, and their incredibly high metabolism, there are not very many Vaesir. The land could theoretically support many more, but most do not live to see old age due to dying in battle, being consumed by monsters, or becoming lost in the wilds or the waves.
Ours to Hate: While they spend as much time fighting each other as they do raiding other peoples, the Vaesir of the Mornlands would unite against a true threat. Every Vaesir man, woman, and child would water every inch of ground with the invaders' blood before giving it up. Likewise, the very landscape and its even more dread inhabitants would cause grief and agony for would-be conquerors. However, the Vaesir will likely never present a true threat to the nations of world beyond raiding and slaving. It would take a truly great warlord to unite the tribes of Vaesir as equals. The Tribes of the Mornlands would fall to squabbling likely before they took their last breath.
Witch-Knights: The Kinlords are some of the greatest warriors in the world, and all of them have at least a working knowledge of magic (In particular "battle magic" and the crafting of magical arms and armor). Several of them are true masters of their craft, sorcerers of immense power and skill. Part of this can be blamed on the High Mornish whom they conquered and enslaved, and the ruins they plundered for relics and knowledge. Great reserves of Crystal (Which the Vaesir call "Arcanite") are very common in the Mornlands, particularly in Morysland, Cenn, and Skorn. Over the centuries, these warrior-mage-lords have challenged, dueled, and slain each other over and over again, slowly whittling down their numbers.
Arcana: Mixed relationship, dependent on the Kinlord. Some mercenaries, some raiders, some traders. Exports ivory, whale oil, silver, and furs. Imports dye, iron, and silk. Attolia: Stance of non-aggression and mutual isolationism, occasional independent contracts and minor raids Caelrumoste: Exporting ships, mercenary work, currency. Importing Arcanite. Often hunt pirates and merchants alike in Caelrumoste waters. Overall neutral/professional foreign stance Kera-Bijan: Exporting mercenary work and oil. Importing iron and Arcanite Nucaal: Mixed relationship, dependent on the Kinlord. Some mercenaries, some raiders, some traders. Qaroitn: Raid target, in particular as mercenaries for the Kera-Bijani Sanghara: Exporting mercenary work, pirate hunting, furs, whale oil, ivory. Importing food, silk, spices. Overall friendly, with sharing of culture and language Surabhumi: Complicated. Little to raid targets, more likely independent attacks on supply ships, limited trade with enterprising contacts. Likely no official foreign stance Vaerheim: Mercenary contract ally and trade partner, rare conflicts of interest
Rolls: Base Land Area: 10 Land Fertility: 17 Development: 12 Land Power: 10 Naval Power: 20 Economy: 18 Magical Reserves: 11 Magical Sophistication: 1
Final Land Area: 8 Land Fertility: 8 Development: 5 Land Power: 12 Naval Power: 20 Economy: 18 Magical Reserves: 16 Magical Sophistication: 17
High Mornish: The indigenous peoples of Morn, with white skin, blue-fire eyes, and flaxen hair. Song-writers, forever-youths, dwellers in high places. The Tower-Raisers, the Sea-Founders, the Dawn-Flowers. A race of elves strong in sorcery, peaceful and slow to reproduce or spread. Originally hunter gatherers of the farthest northwestern wastes (Ettomana, the Nameless North), they arrived in ships of enchanted ice upon the shores of Canumbria nearly four thousand years ago. In addition to being long-lived and adept magic-users, Mornish elves are nearly immune to cold and cold-based magic (But they are miserable in the heat, and powerless against flame). The Mornish created elegant towers of silver and white stone, lit from within by eldritch flames. The hollow, lightless shells of these places can be found along Morn's coasts, anywhere north or east of the Harrowmoors, and even outside of Morn proper, including the peaks of Lansigor. Philosophers and poets, artisans and lovers, there are few pure-blooded Morn left these days. They are highly valued house-slaves among the Vaesir. Indeed, their captors collect, trade, and sell them like precious living dolls, among themselves and the rich and powerful of other nations.
Humans: There are few Humans in the Mornlands. They are mostly restricted to the major settlements of mainland Morn, the Kallareen Sway, and isolated holdings of the Harrowmoors, or as slaves in any Vaesir holding. The Kallareen are the only "native" humans to the Mornlands. They are called the Smoke-Kin by the Vaesir, dark of hair and dusky of skin, with brown almond-shaped eyes and short, stocky frames. Many are believed to have Dwarven blood in their veins. Superstitious and reclusive, they are only considered part of the Mornlands because of the crippling tributes they must pay to the Kinlords to avoid being destroyed.
Mornblooded: Also referred to as the Half-Born, the Forlorn, and Lesskin, the Mornblooded are the descendants of High Mornish elves who bred with their Vaesir conquerors...whether willingly or less so. There's is a lonely life, of racial prejudice, genetic mutations, and crippling deformities. Slaves, beggars, and outcasts, many of the Mornblooded become thieves or prostitutes, or attempt to flee to more accommodating nations, generally with depressing results. Mornblooded look like elves, but with patches of mangy fur, over-elongated ears, distended maws with broken lips, jagged teeth, and crooked, asymmetrical legs.
Vaesir: Blood-letters, spear-wielders, ring-givers, victors over all. Tall and leanly muscular, covered in a seasonal coat of dappled fur. They are mostly canine in profile and physiology, but also slightly reptilian. They have long, narrow snouts, and very long pointed ears ending in tufted fur. Their feet are digitigrade and end in splayed toes like a gecko's; made for clinging to slippery ice-sheets and mountain slopes, now adapted for the decks of swaying ships and blood-soaked bogs. The Vaesir are born warriors, incredibly strong, fast, tough, and relentless in battle and the hunt. They can live to about sixty years, but most rarely make it past thirty or forty. Tribal, clannish, and divisive by nature, this is exacerbated by their fast metabolisms (Necessary to fuel their highly active lifestyle) and their fecundity. Conflict over food, resources, territory, and simple stubborn pride defines and characterizes the Vaesir. They are born to suffer, to struggle for dominion.
The Mornlands are ruled over by some two dozen warlords and their underlings; these realms and lords have no centralized government, no king or queen, no unifying religion or creed. Honor and loyalty are owed to your family, clan, and tribe, and to the ringgiver who provides you security and sustenance. The extended family unit is the core of Vaesir life. They dwell in small fortified farms and camps called Steadings, raising crops, herding livestock, hunting and fishing, as their geographical region of the Mornlands dictates. A group of five to fifteen intermarried Vaesir families creates a Clan, creating a network of Steadings around a Broch, a communal stronghold and dwelling place surrounded by stables, forges, and other support outbuildings. A Broch is a circular, squat tower (Usually of only two to five stories) built around a hearth. The hearth's chimney goes through each floor and pierces out the center of the roof (Which is dramatically slanted, to runoff rain and snow). The servants and slaves of the Broch, as well as a few guards, sleep on the first floor, while the Clanlord's household guard sleeps on the second. In smaller Brochs, the Clanlord and their family sleep on this floor as well, but otherwise they will reside on higher floors. There is no guilt, privacy or shame in the Broch. Bathing and mating are done in full view of the rest of the Broch. Cooking, cleaning, crafting, tending the hearth, and caring for the young are tasks shared by everyone, from the lowliest thrall to the Clanlord themselves.
Above the Clan and Clanlord is the Tribe, the Family of Families, the Kinhold. Just as each Clan is a collection of interconnected families, a Tribe is a group of three to ten (Or more, in two extreme cases) Clans who are bound by marriage, geographical convenience, and oaths of vengeance and loyalty. Each Clanlord pays tribute (In the form of material wealth, manpower, and fealty) to a Kinlord. The Kinlords are the rulers of Vaesir society, the representatives of Mornish politics and influence in other nations. To the common Vaesir, they are almost gods. Powerful mages, peerless warriors, ruthless in war and the bedchamber. Only the Kinlords are knowledgeable in the ways of crafting, maintaining, and utilizing the Kurathyr, the Living Mantle, the arcane armor that makes them almost unstoppable on the battlefield. The Kinhold is name for the stronghold that a Kinlord lives in, and in the realm of Clans that they rule over. The Kinhold proper looks like a group of regular sized Brochs connected to a larger-than-normal Broch (Six to twelve stories tall) by short hallways like overgrown tunnels. Each is self-sufficient in the case of a siege or raid, and boast arrowloops, secret passages and posterns, and numerous traps to confuse and terrorize attackers.
Oaths of fealty between the commoners, the military, and the nobility, such as they are, work somewhat differently in the Mornlands than in other more "conventional" nations. While the average Vaesir strives every day to join a warband, and they near worship the all-powerful Kinlords, the Lords of the Mornlands are obligated to them as well. The Carls and their masters depend on these people for food; they could theoretically provide for themselves, but this would cut down on time practicing and raiding. Additionally, if they did not protect the common folk, where would new Carls come from when they are cut down in battle? Likewise, Carls swear unswerving oaths of fealty to their Lords, Clan, Tribe, and Hold. It is their duty to protect the land, fight when it is asked of them, and die if need be. In return, their Lord provides them a hall and warm hearth, meat and drink, arms and armor, clothing and seed, salt and silver. It is a near sacred bond between Lord and Carl, a covenant more powerful than family to the Vaesir.
The Vaesir are surprisingly uninterested and nonchalant regarding religion as a whole. Many Vaesir almost worship their Kinlords as gods on earth; nearly unkillable destructive forces, clad in the pieces of great monsters they've killed. Others are obstinately agnostic or even atheists. The Mornlands are a harsh and unforgiving land, where it is difficult to eke a living out of the soil and waves, especially when monsters, enchanted forests, and living lights are constantly trying to kill you. Many Vaesir actively defy the gods. In Canumbria, Krotem, and Skorn, there are some animistic shamans who commune with spirits of the wild and the elements, in particular animals and the ocean.
However, in the southern coasts and islands of the Mornlands, and in its more cosmopolitan ports, many Vaesir follow the Tenfold Truth. This is a philosophical misinterpretation of the Five Wisdoms and Corruptions of Kera-Bijan. In this faith, there are five gods of Aer (Air), Maa (Earth), Tahn (Fire), Miot (Metal), and Dwyr (Water). Each represents the "positive" and "negative" aspects of that element, and all ways that element effects life (And death). For example, the god Tahn represents fire's ability to warm a home, provide light, cook, and create, but also to burn down structures and destroy crops. This faith is relatively casual, however. The faithful keep shrines in their homes, and large Brochs maintain a good-sized shrine or small temple. There are no real priests, but there are shrine tenders and traveling sages who spread the knowledge and wisdom of the faith. It's a religion really about maintaining balance and respecting the natural forces of the world, coexisting with them, and understanding them. There are great temples to the Tenfold Truth in Edenperth, Dunperth, and Raven's Crossing.
Likewise, due to their friendly relations with Sanghara, the faith of Ishareth has spread to the Mornlands. She is called Sharyth in the Vaesir tongue. The Vaesir call her the Bloody Mother, the Steel Sister, and the Decider of Fates. She is a Vaesir goddess of battle, child-birth, consequence, and truth. In holy scripture, she is illustrated as a black-furred Vaesir, wielding a flaming sword in one hand and carrying a white staff in the other; she wears a polished steel mask. Sharyth has many followers in Raegenstrang, Skorn, and Krotem, and her followers clash repeatedly (Often violently) with practitioners of the Tenfold Truth in cosmopolitan Edenperth.
The Mornlands are divided in to numerous distinct regions. Each has different ways of surviving on a day-to-day basis, though life in the Mornlands is largely seasonal. There are no highways in the Mornlands, only hunting trails and the occasional muddy herd-track. The only road and mode of travel that the Vaesir respect is the sea, and even the poorest coastal steadings have at least one ship for travel and trade.
The island of Canumbria is almost wholly dependent on the hunting of migrating caribou, seal, walrus, and whale, as well as fishing, gathering roots and herbs for medicinal and recreational uses, and raiding their less fortunate neighbors. There are no independent Clan Brochs on Canumbria, and its Kinlords are the poorest in all the Mornlands, their Kinholds looking like the Clan Brochs of the south. Most Canumbrias are nomadic, living in hide tents on the tundra, or in crude sod huts along the southern coast. The "Kinhold" of Ivory Throne isn't even permanently inhabited. Walrus flood the stony shores of this region during the mating season, and Tribes of Canumbria fight for the right to hunt them, or must sneak past the warring tribes to try and bag a few. The greatest hunters of Canumbria brave the storm-tossed northern waves with rare and expensive steel harpoons, seeking leugath, narwhal, orca, and sea serpents. The Kinlords of Canumbria are proud of their narwhal horn spears and their dragonplate of gleaming green and silver scales.
While Morysland is technically part of greater Canumbria, its inhabitants do not consider themselves Canumbria, and neither do the "true" Canumbrians. Morysten is one of the few places with a surviving, non-ruined High Mornish tower at the center of the Kinhold. Its Brochs have been incorporated in to the surviving structure, and a bustling (If dreary) port town has grown up around it. Morysland is essentially a large rain-slicked mountain thrusting out of the sea, carpeted in ancient pine forests and surrounded by beaches of black and grey pebbles and treacherous shoals of razor sharp rocks. The Kinlords of Morysten have a reputation as the greatest sorcerers in the Mornlands, but also as being incredibly isolated, jealous, and arrogant. They guard their ancient knowledge, relics, and miserable island as if it were giant mound of gold. It is a terribly kept secret that the single greatest reserve of Arcanite -- perhaps a third of the entire Mornlands' stock -- is buried in deep and treacherous mines underneath Mount Morys.
Skorn is considered the birthplace of the Vaesir, or at least, their modern way of life. The Kinholds of Skorn are rocky, covered in thorny woods and barren moors, and infested with deodands and leucomorphs. Faceless daemons lurk in the heights of the Chollain Mountains, a terrible wasteland of razor-sharp ridges and icy rivers, populated by half-Morn outcasts and cannibal clans. As a result, the Skornish are among the hardest, cruelest, fiercest fighters and survivors of the Mornlands. When the winter winds blow and the seas become a storm-tossed nightmare, they don seal-skin cloaks and rub whale-fat in their fur, to hunt monsters and outlaws, and to fish the coast and tiny swift-running rivers that empty there. But when the fog clears and the sea calms, the Kinlords of Skorn don their smoke-blackened warhelms, load their longships with nets, spears, and shields, and mount the dragonhead on their prows to go a'reaving. The Skornish are the most notorious slavers and raiders of the Mornlands, earning all of the realms a reputation as pirates and kidnappers. That's not to say that the other Vaesir don't engage in these activities as well, but the Skornish do more than all the rest combined. While the Kinlords of Skorn are as fractious and independent as any other, all of them must pay lip-service to the authority in Jansport, the Kinlord of Skarland. Skarland is the largest and richest of the Skornish Kinholds, and Jansport is the only true settlement on Skorn, as well as one of Morn's only true cities. Originally an outpost for whalers, it has become the largest slave market in the Mornlands, if not the north. Anything, and anyone, can be bought and sold in its reeking docks and stalls. Additionally, Skorn's only real forests are in Skarland, and the Kinlord's retainers patrol them relentlessly, looking for rogue woodcutters and charcoalburners, as well as the bold monsters who would dare dwell there.
Where the Canumbrians are proud hunter-gatherers and the Skornish are ruthless raiders, the Krotemi are relatively peaceful fisherfolk and miners. Copper, silver, and rock salt deposits run through the jagged hills and cliffs of Great Krotem, the shores of which are dotted with little fishing Brochs and crude lighthouses. The three lesser islands of the Krotem are each barely able to support a single Broch, and technically constitute one Kinhold themselves (Though they do not have their own Kinlord, and largely owe fealty to the Kinlord in Krotemar). While the Kinlords of Great Krotem do occasionally hire themselves out as mercenaries to foreign powers, they are more likely to mount merchant expeditions or go prospecting on explored stretches of the northern coast.
While they are inhabited mostly by humans, the Kallareen Sway is considered a realm of the Mornlands. The Kallareen islands are bitter little mountains in the Inner Sea, populated by humans with dwarven blood. The Kallareen were "conquered" by the Vaesir some two centuries ago. Unable to farm their terraced farms or send out fishing boats due to Vaesir raiders, the Kallareen agreed to send the majority of their mineral wealth to local Kinlords for protection. However, this bribery doesn't apply to all Kinlords, so this has led to numerous Vaesir realms fighting each other for the right of being the Kallareen's mercenary protectors. Most Kallareen despise and fear the Vaesir, and long for a way to get back at their oppressors. Some are more pragmatic, and can be seen as craftsfolk, bankers, and advisors in Kinlord courts and settlements.
The southern coastal realms of Morn (Most everything below the Harrowmoors) are referred to as the Erean Reach. These also include Sanskar and the Turhyls. Ereans are the most cosmopolitan and internationally-minded Vaesir in the Mornlands. Compared to the rest of the Mornlands, these lands are gentle, with humid summers and rainy winters. The Dunharrow River Valley is the breadbasket of these lands, providing food for every adjacent realm, but no real international exports. The Erean Kinlords consider themselves nobles, with old hereditary bloodlines, beautiful Brochs, and richly decorated dragonplate armor and warswords. They are the most well-known mercenaries of the Mornlands, traveling Takanis or sending out other members of their families and households to represent them. Edenperth is the largest city in the Mornlands, boasting a "massive" population of nearly twenty thousand souls. It is the closest thing that the Mornlands have to a capital. The Kinlord of Edenperth maintains an embassy, the House of Lords, to host gatherings and diplomatic talks among the Erean Kinlords. Rulers north of the Harrowmoors are invited to these meetings, but most do not deign to join. Edenperth is the only place where it is common to see High Mornish, other elves, and even more exotic races, but in most cases, they are slaves. Dunperth is much smaller, with only some nine thousand permanent residents. It is less of a trade city, and more of an industrial center.
The rough and tumble highland Kinhold of Cenn does NOT consider itself Erean. The Cennish do not even have their own Kinlord; each Clanlord rules their own tiny domain in its own right. They raid and squabble among themselves incessantly, barely even noticing the politics or struggles of the rest of the realm. Passionate and fierce, they consider themselves the protectors of the cities of Edenperth and Dunperth. Both cities send them food and weapons to supply them in the bitter seasons. In return, the Cennish prevent the majority of the terrible monsters of Lansigor from terrorizing the "weak" coastal folk.
To the north of the Harrowmoors is the region called Raegenstrang, though most of this land has been united under the banner of Mundweorth. The lords and retainers of Mund's Brand are known for their fearsome bone and black-iron masks carved in the shape of scowling daemons and beasts, and favor two-handed "headhunter" axes over the spears of most Vaesir warriors. The capital of Mundweorth is Mund's Brand, a massive fortified lighthouse, and one of the last active High Mornish citadels in the Mornlands. The beacon is a huge shard of Arcanite, casting illumination over the treacherous coastal cliffs and shoals. Mund's Brand is also the name of the ancestral weapon of house Mundsblut, a fiery greatsword. Over the last three generations, the Kinlords of Mundweorth has crushed all rivals north of the Harrowmoors, conquering the large settlements of Raven's Crossing and Graeghaele for slaves and plunder, before securing the other Brochs and Kinholds of the Mern River. The only remaining independent Raegen realm is Polmear. Polmear is largely thick woodland, and everything between the trees is bogland. Additionaly, the Mearan are the most skilled archers in the north, and have threatened to burn down the (highly valuable) trees if Mundweorth should invade in earnest. So they exist in an uneasy truce, while the Kinlord of Mundweorth bides her time, gathers her strength, and prepares to make good her claim as the Highlord of Morn.
Dividing Raegenstrang and the Erean Reach are the Harrowmoors. This area is largely haunted wilderness. A great wasteland of bogs, thorny moors and gulches, mist covered wetlands, and the occasional lonely flint tor. The Vaesir sometimes call this place the Green Desert, the Great Moor, and the Wraithlands. Magical anomalies are common here. Living lights, mournful spirits, shifting landscapes, and rifts in to other worlds contend for space with grinhounds, urgath, fomorians, and the waveborn. People do live here, but they're thin on the ground. Mornblooded outcasts, escaped human slaves, druids and hermits, outlaws and smugglers...the desperate, mad, lonely and forlorn call this place a human, or a prison. No Kinlord has made a determined attempt to colonize the Harrowmoors in hundreds of years. Most blame their current state to a curse or ritual gone wrong cast by the High Mornish sorcerers, one last act of spite to try and slow down their conquerors.
To the west of the Mornlands proper, above the highlands of Cenn, is a dreaded place where most Vaesir do not tread. A wilderness of frostbitten peaks and impossibly high waterfalls, breathtaking vistas of terrible beauty and sweeping valleys carved by eons-old glaciers and tectonic forces. This land is called Lansigor, the Western Heights. No Vaesir live here permanently, and even outcasts from their kind and the other races of the Mornlands do not last long in the Heights. There are a few dwarf fortresses, groups of desperate pioneers and prospectors striking the earth in the hopes of making it rich. Numerous veins of copper, gold, and silver run deep under the heights, as well as nests of various gemstones, including the precious Arcanite. However, Lansigor is also the breeding and nest place of the faceless daemons. Other monsters include living lights, grinhounds, fomorians, and the massive earthshaker.
South of Lansigor, brooding over the northern border of Feochain and preventing the Kallareen from attempting mainland colonization, is the Starkwald. A great and ancient forest, a thick and primeval growth of gnarled trees. The forest floor is almost devoid of undergrowth, instead harboring a dizzying array of fungus and mold, underneath which is a thick humus. Many of the trees are unnatural, twisted in to impossible geometries and sporting alien colors and scents. More so than anything other region or wild of the Mornlands, the Starkwald harbors an abundance of monstrous denizens. Deodands, leucomorphs, smiling dogs, hairy gids, carrion moths, gloomwidows, and other, more horrifying and less substantial threats haunt this overgrown wild.
The Vaesir calender, officially recorded in the great tower of Morysten, begins about 925 years ago. This is called "Dragon's Reckoning", when Morysten was conquered and High Mornish society officially ended. The Cradle of the Dawn: Approximately -4000 DR. The High Mornish elves arrive in modern-day Canumbria. They colonize modern day Morysland, the southern coast of Canumbria, the northern mainland peninsula, much of the northern and eastern slopes of Lansigor, southern and western Skarland, and the Krotem Islands over a period of nearly three thousand years. The First Packs: Approximately -300 DR. Vaesir explorers arrive in Canumbria. Many reluctantly settle the dismal island and almost immediately come in to conflict with the Mornish. Others move on to the island of Skorn. The Dragon's Claim: Approximately -120 DR. Great fleets of Vaesir warlords come out of the north. Canumbria is conquered, Skorn is completely colonized, and the northern peninsula is invaded. The Last War: Approximately -30 DR. The Mornish of Lansigor flee in to the western wastes. Every island and mainland stronghold of the Mornish is overrun and conquered or razed. The great sorcerer queen of Morysten reputedly sends a magical attack against the Vaesir, killing thousands and theoretically creating the modern day anomalies of the Harrowmoors. Morysten is besieged. The Vaesir begin to divide the spoils, none-too-peacefully, and even fight over the right of assaulting Morysten. The Red Dawn: 0 DR. Morysten is conquered. The Black Dragon Banner flies over its burning towers, and the Vaesir's claim of this wretched waste is complete. The Red Years: 0 DR - 283 DR. There are hundreds of Kinlords and thousands of Clanlords, but none of them have mastered magic yet. Arcanite reserves were rare in their homeland, and they are only now discovering the abundance here. Additionally, more progressive Lords (Especially in Morysten) are delving in to Mornish ruins, recovering relics and archives of magical power and knowledge. Incessant tribal warfare rages between numerous factions vying for power, significantly reducing the Vaesir population. Tribes of Kabal first begin to form petty confederations, in particular around the city-state of Deloq (Edenperth). First Reformation Wars: 283 DR - 318 DR. The Kinlord of Morysten declares himself Highlord of the Mornlands and begins a war of unification. He conquers southern Canumbria and Graeghaele before a Raegen and Skornish alliance, with Kabal mercenaries, defeat him at Raven's Crossing. The Push South: 312 DR - 363 DR. Numerous Kinlords begin an expeditionary conquest against the Kabal tribes. Deloq is brutally sacked, its people enslaved or put to the sword. Everything east of the Dunharrow is swept in to the sea or put in to chains. First peaceful contact is made with the Kera-Bijani, and marks the beginning of international mercenary work for the Vaesir. The Dragon's Ascent: 363 DR - 554 DR. Technological advances (In particular in mining, metallurgy, agriculture, and magic) allow for the growth of Vaesir settlements and Kinholds. A time of relative peace and stability for the Vaesir. Many of the modern Kinholds are founded, and the Turhyls are conquered. Dunperth is founded as a gateway to the south. Towards the end of this period, first contact is made with Sangharan merchant-explorers. Intrigued by the exotic goods and peoples, many Vaesir mercenaries sign on with the Sangharans for the journey back east and south. Other Vaesir Lords and independent pirate captains prey upon the Sangharans, or follow them east to scout out potential new targets. Second Reformations Wars: 550 DR - 555 DR. The faith of Kera-Bijan comes to the Mornlands. It is corrupted (Through cultural divides and language barriers) in to a form more pleasing to the Vaesir lifestyle. A religious warlord in Edenperth gathers many Clans under his banner and attempts another war of unification. This type, preaching that all Vaesir must follow the worship the Tenfold Truths. He is slain at the Battle of Brightmoor, a devastating conflict that causes the substantial growth of the southern Harrowmoors. Edenperth shrinks, many of its holdings divided between the victors in the alliance who brought it low. Fall of the Kabal: 556 DR - 630 DR. The Vaesir push west across the Dunharrow and complete their conquest of the Kabal on the northern side of the Inner Sea. The great realm of Feochain grows in power and Sanskar is seized from the Kabal. First acts of piracy against Qaroitn and the Kallareen take place during this time. The Gates are Opened: 630 DR - 733 DR. The golden century of Vaesir piracy. The Kallareen islands submit to Vaesir authority in return for crippling tributes, and the establishment of Erean and Skornish outposts on their islands. Vaesir pirates spread west, terrorizing the tribes, city-states, and vulnerable coastal nations of the Inner Sea, as well as creating a still modern plague on the shipping routes. Numerous strongholds and outposts are established hundreds of miles away to serve as points from which to strike out against rich targets. Third Reformation Wars: 730 DR - 734 DR. The second, and short-lived attempt, by the Kinlord of Morysland to proclaim themselves Highlords of the Mornlands. They are repulsed at Mund's Brand, then make some headway in to Canumbria before their armies are shattered by a Canumbrian confederation. Following a three year siege, the Morys surrender, losing much of their material wealth, overseas territory, and navy. They are still recovering (And planning revenge) to this day. The Sea War: 735 DR - 738 DR. Bold expeditionary Vaesir captains discover Attolia. After a few probing attacks on outlying island settlements, a major raid destroys a small port town. After numerous failed scouting attempts, the Attolians decipher a crude Vaesir chart after a failed raid. The resulting punitive war is devastating. Mostly a naval engagement, the incredibly long line of supply, terrible weather, hostile terrain, deadly magic, and savage inhabitants of the Mornland are matched against the awesome power of the Iron Walls of Attolia, its near-bottomless treasury, and the vast population of its Empire. The war is astronomically costly for the Empire, and a bitter stagnation for the Vaesir, unable to build new ships, explore east, conduct southern trade, or conduct their own internal political struggles. Meanwhile, Vaesir ships still abroad continue their raids against Attolian interests, and other pirates begin to fill the vacuum. Eventually, the House of Lords meet with Attolian generals and diplomats. The Kinlords of the Mornlands near unanimously agree to never again mount a raid on mainland Attolia, attack foreign pirates in Attolian waters, and give the Empire discounts as mercenaries in wars against third parties. While isolated and independent Vaesir raids do take place on Attolian outlying islands and merchant ships, no Vaesir has attempted a raid against the great island itself...for now. Eyes on the Dusk: 739 DR - 810 DR. The "Great Gates" are mapped out and traversed as the Vaesir experiment with new ways to "interact" with the south. Numerous outposts, hideouts, and strongholds established at the Gates and beyond, for smugglers and slavers mostly. A Fire in the North: 811 DR to 925 DR (Present). The Kinlord in Mund's Brand begins a war of conquest, similar to Reformation Wars, against the other Kinlords of Raegenstrang. Wielding a terrifying flaming sword of epic proportions on the frontlines, the disciplined Carls of house Mundsblut tread roughshod over the scattered Raegen Lords. Over three generations, Mundweorth conquers every other Raegen Kinhold and subjugated all Clanlords, save for the rugged Kinhold of Polmear. At this time, the southern Kinholds are oblivious to the potential danger, while Polmear tries to gather allies for a Fourth Reformation War.
Territorial Claims:
The majority of the Mornland's economy is based on mercenary work, raiding, and the slave trade. Kinlords of the mainland are more likely to travel to distant countries and hire themselves out as assassins, bodyguards, or mercenary companies to foreign powers. Islander Vaesir are more likely to be raiders, scouring the northern shores for unarmed merchantmen and vulnerable coastal towns to pillage. They even enslave their own, either out of desperation, overpopulation, or sheer pragmatism. These slaves are either put to work in farms or mines, or sold overseas to other less reputable individuals.
Most of the Mornlands are too poor to support much agriculture, and the idea of cash crops is wasteful and obscene to most Mornish. Along the Mern River, which runs through Mundweorth, in the Dunharrow River Valley, along the edges of the Harrowmoor, coastal Great Krotem, and Polmear, the main subsistence crop is dulbri. It somewhat resembles a cross between a cat-tail and a potato. A woody stalk grows out of damp, muddy ground. Little bulbs grow up the length of the top, traveling to the tip and growing in size. Once they get to the top, they are ripe, and fall off when overripe. They rot and mix with the loam, creating a healthy humus to support more dulbri, which can often grow wild and spread to other fields if left unchecked. Dulbri fruit is largely tasteless but nutritious. It is usually sliced, seasoned with herbs and animal fat, then baked in small clay ovens and served with fish, mollusks, or eel. These regions, and much of the Erean Reach, is also known for the vasko, a massive and ornery toad-like creature that is raised for its eggs, then slaughtered for its meat when it grows too large and aggressive. Otherwise, the Vaesir grow barley, cabbage, and potatoes in the north, apples, carrots, and wheat in the south, and most Vaesir raise conventional livestock such as cattle, goat, and sheep. However, all must supplement their diet and livelihood by hunting and fishing.
In rockier regions, the Vaesir (Or more likely slaves) mine copper, granite, iron, marble, silver, and tin. While not skilled at crafting jewelry or other refined goods, they do occasionally export these materials to other nations. Most is kept for making weapons, armor, cutlery, collars, and chains, or for fortifying or decorating Brochs.
The Mornlands do not have anything remotely resembling a united standing army for the defense of the realms. If they were invaded, truly invaded, by a foreign country with intent to conquer, such a force would encounter a somewhat unified Mornland. The Vaesir would never tolerate a foreign army on their soil, and even if they did not create a whole army to counter it, each Kinlord would individually harass, raid, and bushwhack the soldiers and supply lines of the invaders. Furthermore, such invaders would struggle to maintain such a supply line, and foraging off of the harsh landscape of the Mornlands is untenable. Lastly, the monstrous inhabitants of the north are not picky in those they prey upon and terrorize.
Each Clanlord and Kinlord maintains a retinue of handpicked soldiers referred to as "Carls." The common folk of the Mornlands strive, dream, and toil to join this hallowed company. When not working the fields, mines, or waves, the Vaesir train night and day, pushing their already near-perfect bodies to greater extremes. The axe, bow, knife, and spear are the weapons of these common folk ("Thralls") and household guards. One of the only common laws in the Mornlands is that the rank and file, the peasantry, are not permitted to arm themselves with "Bakanei", the Dividers, swords. Only a Clanlord, Kinlord, or direct member of their family is allowed to carry or wield one. This is namely because good swords, the high-carbon steel, and knowledge to craft them, are all rare in the Mornlands. Only within the last century or so have any of the realms' rulers considered abstract concepts of the divine right of rule, noblesse oblige, or even really the true concept of "nobility."
Each Clanlord can maintain a retinue of between 10 and 30 Carls, and can call up 50 to 100 Thralls, while the average Kinlord should be able to afford at least 50 Carls, and upwards of 200 for the richer lords, and can call on 500 to 1,000 Thralls (And then of course summon the Clanlords and Carls who serve under them). However, Thralls are rarely used for expeditionary purposes (That is to say, overseas raiding, slaving, and mercenary work). Most Lords only use their Thralls in the defense of their realms, for hunting down brigands, tracking down monsters, and raiding their neighbors.
Vaesir are trained in a variety of fighting styles, though most of their tactics can be broken down in to three broad categories. When boarding ships (A common past time) most of these strategies fall apart. Missile troops provide covering fire while the warriors surge forward in a screaming mass, leaping with their powerful legs across impossible distances. The Kinlords lead the charge, shrugging off deadly blows in their dragonplate and laying about with enchanted sword and axe.
Tonu Vilaat: The Waves of Wrath, the main tactic used with mixed Carls and Thralls. This strategy is generally used when Kinholds go to war, or when the Mornlands are invaded by foreign forces. It is simple; unarmored Thralls with missile weapons gird the flanks. In the center is a mass of infantry, mostly with spears and shields, with oath knives and hatchets for the butchery. The first few ranks and the very last ranks are of the most heavily armored, veteran troops, with the soldiers in the front ranks carrying the shortest weapons and largest shields. Those in the middle carry longer spears and throwing weapons. If the enemy attempts to attack the missile troops at the flank, they simple melt back, and the veteran soldiers in the rear flow forward to reinforce, the skirmishers firing all the while. Kaarfen Steig: The Dragon's Scales, the main tactic used with elite household Carls in full battle harness with great shield and war spear. A simple but fearsome wall of massive, overlapping shields. The warriors in the front rank use javelins, short spears, cestus, and oath knives, those in back form a bristling array of spears. The flanks and rear are guarded by warriors without shields, wielding two-handed weapons and forming a more staggered, skirmishing formation. Lawr Jumas: The Spear of the Gods, a popular tactic used by Carls and Thralls against overwhelming numbers of foes, particularly those of inferior training or equipment. It is a wedge formation, with the best troops on the outside of the wedge, and the worst within. At the tip is traditionally the Kinlord, depending on their superior equipment, magical protection, and awesome fighting skill to safeguard them. The wedge thrusts forward in to the center of the enemy, breaking them apart, never stopping, until they can push through to rear and sweep to one side or the other, driving the enemy in to confusion and terror. If need be, the wedge can quickly form a circle, with the vulnerable unarmored or ranged troops in the middle, Lords circling the exterior of the shield, seeking and granting glorious death.
Weapons and Armor of the Mornlands Bakanei: In High Mornish, bakanei roughly translates to "divider." The Mornish bakanei could be described as a hand-and-a-half sword; while traditionally wielded two-handed, it can also be used in conjunction with a shield, knife, or simply one-handed if the swordsman is injured (Or cocky). The blade is about three feet long, very slightly curved, and single-edged. A variety of crossguards exist, but are usually thin and horizontal, sometimes sweeping upwards symmetrically, or with the front quillion sweeping downwards to protect the fingers. Bakanei in the Mornlands are enchanted, Arcanite infused weapons with a variety of properties. Most are simply protected against wear and tear, and supernaturally sharpened and hardened beyond the durability of normal steel. Battle Harness: Carls and Lords don this heavy suit of armor when they go a'reaving, or in the defense of their own lands against invasion. The base of the battle harness is a silken undergarment going from the thighs to the upper arms, followed by a linen tunic that goes to the elbows and knees, a thin leather tabard, and heavy bronze cuirass and pauldrons. Head protection varies by realm, generally a lacquered wood or bone mask reinforced with bronze, often with a studded leather nape guard. Rich (Or paranoid) harness wearers supplement the armor with metal scales on the skirt of the tabard and leather plates on the arms and shins. Fortune Suit: The fortune suit is a simple, even crude suit of armor, favored by independent mercenaries, pirates, and outlaws (From whence the name originally comes). The armor's core is a sleeveless coat of leather or canvas sewn with metal disks or scales (Usually of bronze, copper, or tin). This is all many of the armor's traditional users can afford. Others augment it with a leather or bronze chanfron, studded gauntlets, and leather kilt. Great Shield: A massive protective augmentation only carried by the strongest of fighters. The great shield is round, made from a base of wooden planks, covered in a thin sheet of beaten bronze and then another layer of treated hide, secured to the wood by leaden pegs. Four feet across and concave, the great shield is immensely heavy and designed to rest on the carrier's shoulder when not in use or when part of a shield wall. Headhunter: The fearsome axe of Vaesir warriors and hearty woodsmen. It is a two-handed weapon with a thick three to four foot long handle, the grip often wrapped in leather or metal bands. Veteran or superstitious warriors carve protective fetishes or the records of past kills along it. One side of the head is a heavy half-moon wedge, while the other features a four inch long spike. Incredibly effective against most armor (Natural or man-made) and shields, the headhunter is most well known to almost effortlessly cleave through bone and muscle in the hands of a strong, practiced user. Oath Knife: As much a symbol of status as a weapon and a tool, the oath knife is given to most Vaesir upon reaching the cusp of adulthood. The handle is made of bone or copper in poorer households, while wealthier landholders or Carls would use bronze, silver, gold, or petrified wood. This handle is engraved with symbols of the owner's house and family, personal accomplishments, and oaths of vengeance. Single-edged and only slightly curved, an oath knife is almost a short sword, roughly twenty inches in length (Including the six inch handle). It does not posses a hand guard, and most pommels are purely decorative. Self Bow: Self bows are simple weapons designed for hunting and defense against medium-sized herd animals and lightly armored enemies. Generally crafted from a single piece of wood that has been carved, scraped, and polished in to shape, then covered in protective laminate and tipped in nocks of antler or horn. Some bowyers attach a grip of leather or linen, while the string is gut, flax, or silk. Target Shield: A small wooden shield, popular amongs outlaws, landholders, and couriers. It is roughly twenty inches across and covered in a thin layer of leather secured in place with bronze studs. The rim is a thin sheeting of bronze, both to further secure everything and to act as an offensive edge. Target shields are ineffective against most missile weapons due to their small size. They are excellent close combat tools, able to knock aside blows, entangle arms and hafts, and act as an additional melee weapon as the situation merits. War Spear: The traditional weapon of professional Vaesir soldiers and household guards. It possesses a five foot long haft, and ends in a foot long leaf-shaped blade on one side and a small smaller spike on the other. This spike is used to brace the weapon on the ground, finish off downed foemen while the spear is held in a vertical position and the wielder walks past, or as a secondary head if the main head breaks. While most often used for thrusting in conjunction with a shield, the spear can be held in two-hands and make swift cutting attacks. Intended primarily for close-quarters, the war-spear is aerodynamic and can be flung accurately up to almost fifty feet.
The Thralls and outlaws of the Mornlands also use clubs, javelins, and simple knives and hatchets. Likewise, the best armor many of them can afford is a hide shirt. In Canumbria, Carls are known to use cestus made from bone and leather, and both Carls and Thralls of Polmear wield powerful yew longbows. If necessary, the Vaesir's powerful jaws and canine teeth can be brought to bear. The Mornlands do not field anything resembling cavalry.
Much as they do not have a proper standing army, the Vaesir lack a proper navy as well. However, every coastal steading has at least a decent-sized longboat, every Clanlord can float 4 to 6 longships, and every Kinlord can float at least 10 to 15 more. Additionally, the great sorcerers of Morn have numerous ways to threaten the waves. Numerous mind-controlled sea creatures and the slain, hollowed out, and reanimated corpses of other great beasts. The greatest Kinlord sorcerers can exercise limited control over the weather, at least in their own regions, to summon great waves, change the winds, and lower or raise the tides.
Live by the Sword, Die by the Sword: The Vaesir are some of the finest fighters in the world. The average Vaesir is faster, stronger, and tougher than an exceptional human. Their society rewards physical perfection and martial prowess; the only way to rise from drudgery is to be selected for a Lord's retinue. A Carl is then obligated to defend their Lord's lands, join them on raids and mercenary contracts, and continue practicing daily to stay in top physical condition. In addition to constantly struggling against the world and each other, the Vaesir lands are swarming with monstrous abominations and magical anomalies, and the very land and weather works against them. As a result of this, and their incredibly high metabolism, there are not very many Vaesir. The land could theoretically support many more, but most do not live to see old age due to dying in battle, being consumed by monsters, or becoming lost in the wilds or the waves.
Ours to Hate: While they spend as much time fighting each other as they do raiding other peoples, the Vaesir of the Mornlands would unite against a true threat. Every Vaesir man, woman, and child would water every inch of ground with the invaders' blood before giving it up. Likewise, the very landscape and its even more dread inhabitants would cause grief and agony for would-be conquerors. However, the Vaesir will likely never present a true threat to the nations of world beyond raiding and slaving. It would take a truly great warlord to unite the tribes of Vaesir as equals. The Tribes of the Mornlands would fall to squabbling likely before they took their last breath.
Witch-Knights: The Kinlords are some of the greatest warriors in the world, and all of them have at least a working knowledge of magic (In particular "battle magic" and the crafting of magical arms and armor). Several of them are true masters of their craft, sorcerers of immense power and skill. Part of this can be blamed on the High Mornish whom they conquered and enslaved, and the ruins they plundered for relics and knowledge. Great reserves of Crystal (Which the Vaesir call "Arcanite") are very common in the Mornlands, particularly in Morysland, Cenn, and Skorn. Over the centuries, these warrior-mage-lords have challenged, dueled, and slain each other over and over again, slowly whittling down their numbers.
Arcana: Mixed relationship, dependent on the Kinlord. Some mercenaries, some raiders, some traders. Exports ivory, whale oil, silver, and furs. Imports dye, iron, and silk. Attolia: Stance of non-aggression and mutual isolationism, occasional independent contracts and minor raids Caelrumoste: Exporting ships, mercenary work, currency. Importing Arcanite. Often hunt pirates and merchants alike in Caelrumoste waters. Overall neutral/professional foreign stance Kera-Bijan: Exporting mercenary work, oil, and slaves. Importing iron and Arcanite Nucaal: Mixed relationship, dependent on the Kinlord. Some mercenaries, some raiders, some traders. Qaroitn: Raid target, in particular as mercenaries for the Kera-Bijani Sanghara: Exporting mercenary work, pirate hunting, furs, whale oil, ivory. Importing food, silk, spices. Overall friendly, with sharing of culture and language Surabhumi: Complicated. Little to raid targets, more likely independent attacks on supply ships, limited trade with enterprising contacts. Likely no official foreign stance Vaerheim: Mercenary contract ally and trade partner, rare conflicts of interest
Rolls: Base Land Area: 10 Land Fertility: 17 Development: 12 Land Power: 10 Naval Power: 20 Economy: 18 Magical Reserves: 11 Magical Sophistication: 1
Final Land Area: 8 Land Fertility: 8 Development: 5 Land Power: 12 Naval Power: 20 Economy: 18 Magical Reserves: 16 Magical Sophistication: 17
